Why does the Guozishan Warring States Tomb refresh the understanding of "Yue culture" at home and abroad?

Why did the Tomb of the Warring States of Guozishan refresh the understanding of "Yue culture" at home and abroad?

Nanchang, April 5 (China News Service) Title: Why did the Guozishan Warring States Tomb refresh the understanding of "Yue culture" at home and abroad?

China News Service reporter Liu Zhankun and Li Yunhan

On March 18, the Warring States Tomb of Guozishan in Zhangshu City, Jiangxi Province, was selected as a new discovery in Chinese archaeology in 2021. The more than 2,600 sets of cultural relics unearthed from the tomb have once again unveiled the mystery of "Yue culture" for the world. Can the Guozishan Warring States Tomb provide new ideas for the West to understand ancient Chinese culture? And why refresh the understanding of "Yue culture" at home and abroad? What kind of history did the "Wutou Chuwei" of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty stage?

Xu Lianggao, researcher of the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and leader of the 2019 and 2020 excavations of the Zhangshu Guozishan Tomb Archaeological Excavation in Jiangxi Province, and Wang Yile, deputy research librarian of the Jiangxi Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and head of the Zhangshu Guozishan Tomb Archaeological Excavation Project, recently accepted an exclusive interview with China News Agency's "East and West Question", telling a new historical feature of "Yue culture" from the perspective of the excavation of the Guozishan tomb on the significance of re-understanding the Yue culture and the multicultural factors in the cultural relics excavated from the Guozishan tomb.

The interview transcript is summarized below:

China News Service: Can the excavation of the Warring States Tomb in Zhangshu City, Jiangxi Province, provide new ideas for the West to understand the ancient chinese cultural history?

Xu Lianggao: The excavation of the Warring States Tombs on Guozishan Mountain can certainly provide new materials and ideas for foreign scholars and academics to understand China's ancient history and culture. In the past, Chinese and foreign scholars had a greater understanding of the history of northern China, especially the history and culture centered on the Yellow River Basin. In the past, southern China, especially the southeast region, was considered to be a barbaric land in ancient times, and these places did not have a highly developed culture. The excavation of the Warring States Tombs of Guozishan, combined with the past discoveries of Wucheng culture in this area of Jiangxi, can prove that the southeast region of ancient China actually had a highly developed culture very early, and it is also very closely related to the Culture of the Central Plains.

It is precisely because Jiangxi has such a developed cultural foundation and a long-standing connection with the Culture of the Central Plains that it will become an important part of Chinese culture after the Qin and Han Dynasties, such as becoming the "Yuzhang County" after the Qin and Han Dynasties, which is a deep historical foundation in the early days. The excavation of the Warring States Tomb on Guozishan Mountain has provided very important information for Chinese and foreign scholars to understand the early cultural features of the southeast region.

Guozishan Tomb Archaeological Site. (Drone photo) China News Agency reporter Liu Zhankun photo

Wang Yile: Ancient Chinese historical documents are very insufficient for the pre-Qin period of southern China, especially the Jiangxi region. In books such as "Zuo Zhuan" and "Warring States Policy", there are only a few words, and there is not much content to record the history of Wu Yue, such as "Wu Yue Chunqiu" and "Yue Jie Shu", and it was written late. Therefore, the sources of research materials on the pre-Qin society, politics, culture, and economy of southern China, represented by Jiangxi, are mainly continuous archaeological discoveries. For example, the Zengguo Cemetery in Suizhou, Hubei Province, its archaeological excavations have almost restored a history of Zengguo that is not recorded in history. The excavation of the Guozishan tomb also provides good material for in-depth understanding of this period of South China's history.

The Guozishan Tomb is not an isolated tomb, it is closely related to the construction of the Acropolis. The Acropolis settlement group is composed of the site of the Acropolis, 67 small city sites, more than 5 large tombs, and more than 60 small settlements of the same period. If the Guozishan tomb itself and the excavated cultural relics are compared with similar materials in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, Hunan Hubei, and Liangguang, we will find that there are many connections. The origins, production processes and raw materials of some artifacts, such as some of the excavated glass products and spices, may even be related to the Maritime Silk Road. All these provide a new perspective for understanding the historical process of Jiangxi and southern China during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty.

The public visits the model of the National Character Mountain Tomb in the Camphor Tree Museum. Photo by Liu Zhankun, a reporter from China News Service

China News Service: More than 2,600 pieces (sets) of artifacts were unearthed from the Guozishan tomb, what are the characteristics of the cultural relics unearthed? What are some of the more typical Vietnamese cultural factors? Will it refresh the understanding of "Yue culture" at home and abroad?

Xu Lianggao: First of all, the cultural relics excavated from the Guozishan tomb are of a very high level. Including lacquerware, bronzes, primitive porcelain and other very exquisite cultural relics, reflecting the high level of craftsmanship at that time, but also reflects the Jiangxi camphor tree area at that time had a highly developed culture; in addition, these cultural relics have the characteristics of multicultural integration, mainly Yue culture, but also include Chu culture, Central Plains culture and Jianghuai region Qunshu culture some factors, which is related to the area is in a multicultural intersection; in addition, it can be seen that the owner of the tomb is a very high local ruler, He had various political, economic, and cultural ties with many of the surrounding areas at that time. This multicultural character reflects the technical level, craftsmanship level, political relations, and cultural exchanges at that time.

Among the multiculturalities that can be seen, the Yue cultural factor is the mainstream factor in the multiculturalism of the tomb, which is related to its geographical location. This area should be the southeast region in the traditional sense, which belongs to the Baiyue cultural area. The tomb of Guozishan can be found in conjunction with the site of the Acropolis, which at that time was a regional political center in the western region of the Yue culture and had a very high hierarchical status. Therefore, the excavation of this tomb provides very important information for us to understand the scope of the Yue culture, the relationship between Chu and Yue, how the Yue culture controls its western region, how to face the Chu culture, and how the Yue culture operates southward.

Jade dragon phoenix excavated from the tomb of Guozishan. Courtesy of Jiangxi Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology

Wang Yile: Although the Warring States Tomb of Guozishan was seriously disturbed in the early days, more than 2,600 sets of artifacts were still unearthed. The characteristic of the excavated artifacts is "full". The material is complete, including metal, jade, ceramics, lacquered wood, etc.; all kinds of utensils, ceremonial instruments, musical instruments, weapons, daily necessities, decorations, etc. are basically available. Second, the specifications are high. The tomb is a Zigzag-shaped multi-chamber tomb with Zhaogou, with a burial chamber area of 230 square meters, which is second to none in the tombs of Wuyue nobles or in the tombs of Chu of the same period. The number of burial items is large, the volume is large, and the production process is complex, which reflects a high level of craftsmanship. Third, there are many cultural factors, such as Yue culture, Chu culture, Qunshu culture in the Jianghuai area, local culture and even some factors of the Maritime Silk Road coexisting in the same tomb. However, it is mainly due to the Cultural Factors of Yue, and the shape and structure of the tomb have many characteristics of the tombs of The Vietnamese nobles. Most of the bronze vessels such as kneeling ren hao, copper towns, copper plates, primitive porcelain cups, porcelain cups, jade, etc. are more typical Yue cultural artifacts.

Jiangxi has been the land of Baiyue since ancient times, and the understanding of "Baiyue" is also diverse. The discovery of the tomb of a Yue culture nobleman who is closely related to the Yue royal family in Zhangshu, an area far from the center of the Yue Kingdom, is a good material for studying the political structure, ruling style, and historical evolution of the Yue Kingdom. Moreover, the Qingjiang Basin where the camphor tree is located in the middle of Jiangxi and the middle reaches of the Ganjiang River, which is the main road connecting Jiangsu and Zhejiang and Liangguang, Hunan and other Baiyue regions, and the excavation of the tomb of Guozishan can connect the entire Baiyue region to study, so it is of great significance to the study of Yue culture and Baiyue culture.

Bronze kneeling man upset unearthed from the Guozishan tomb. Courtesy of Jiangxi Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology

China News Service: The Eastern Zhou Dynasty was a critical period for the formation of the "pluralistic integration of Chinese civilization", what kind of evidence will the excavation of the Guozishan tomb provide for exploring the process of "chinese civilization pluralism and integration" in Jiangxi? Why did the Guozishan tomb form a pattern of the fusion and coexistence of multiple cultural factors?

Xu Lianggao: The Eastern Zhou Dynasty played a very important role in the formation of the pluralistic integration of Chinese civilization and was a critical period. The emergence of the great unification of the Qin Empire has a historical basis, which is the result of cultural, political, economic, and military exchanges and interactions between countries in various regions during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, and this exchange and interaction laid the foundation for the unification of the Qin Empire. The regional cultures of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty included the Wuyue culture in the southeast region, such as the "Wuyue Struggle for Hegemony", and the close interaction between Wuyue and the Central Plains states. It is precisely because of the stage of "Wuyue" that the interaction between the southeast Wuyue culture and the surrounding Chu and Central Plains cultures has completely integrated the southeast culture into the Chinese culture and become an organic part of the Chinese culture. This cultural and historical stage laid the historical foundation for the "Yuzhang County" that later became the Qin and Han Empires. Therefore, the excavation of the Guozishan tomb provides very important physical evidence and archaeological evidence of this period of history, and is the discovery of very important historical relics.

Why is there a pattern of multicultural integration in the tomb of Guozishan? This has to do with its specific environment. Because the Qingjiang Basin where the camphor tree is located, the east is the core area of Yue culture, the west is the Chu Cultural Area formed after the Spring and Autumn Period, the north is the Central Plains Cultural Area and the Jianghuai Qunshu Cultural Area, and the south is the Baiyue Cultural Area in Guangdong, Guangxi, and Fujian, and the Qingjiang Basin is at the intersection of these major cultural areas. It is precisely because of such a unique cultural area and geographical location that it naturally forms a situation in which the multicultural factors of the Guozishan tomb are intertwined and coexisted.

Two copper cups excavated from the Guozishan tomb. Courtesy of Jiangxi Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology

Wang Yile: The era of the Warring States Tomb of Guozishan is the middle of the Warring States period, and this period is the early stage of the formation of China's multi-ethnic unified state. "Reunification" was already the trend of the times during this period, and various princely states took different measures in order to gain the upper hand. Like the Qin State Shang Martingale Transformation Method, the Zhao State HuFu Riding Archery, the Chu State Appointment Wu Qi, etc. all appeared in this historical background. The flow of people and materials and the exchange of ideas were particularly frequent during this period, which princely states had greater advantages in terms of cultural inclusiveness, and large-scale annexation wars also provided conditions for cultural integration.

The Qingjiang Basin where the Guozishan tomb is located is the Chu-Yue demarcation area, and the Acropolis is the central city of the Yue culture in the region, and the surrounding archaeology has found a large number of Yue, Chu, Xu and other cultures, and these cultural factors must be reflected in the ruins of the Acropolis and the tombs of its rulers. After the tomb of Guozishan, the Chu-Yue annexation war broke out. With the establishment of the Qin and Han Dynasties, the Jiangxi region changed from a region with a unique archaeological culture to a unified multi-ethnic state of "Yuzhang County". The era of guozishan tombs is at a key node in this process, which is the best empirical evidence of the "pluralistic integration of Chinese civilization".

China News Service: The discovery of the Guozishan Warring States Tomb in the Jiangxi region known as "Wutou Chuwei" will provide a new perspective for exploring the cultural changes of "Wutou Chuwei"?

Xu Lianggao: The so-called "Wutou Chuwei" is the intersection of Wuyue Cultural District and Chu Cultural District. Here you can not only see a regional area of Yue culture and Yue rule, but also the relationship between Chu culture and Wu Yue culture. From this perspective, we can also see how the rulers of the Yue culture or the Yue culture faced the Chu culture and the Chu state, how to deal with the relationship between them, how to strengthen their regional control, and how to effectively control and manage the area of "Wu tou Chuwei". The discovery of the Guozishan tomb provides a very important first-hand historical source in this regard, which was completely absent from the literature in the past.

In the past, all of our research on Yue culture and the documentary records of Yue culture, from a documentary point of view, mainly from the northern region, the Huai River Valley, etc., to see the exchanges between Chu and Yue, to see what kind of relationship Yue culture has with the north. But what is the relationship between them in the south? The excavation of the Guozishan tomb provides us with new information and perspectives, which can more fully understand the relationship between Yue and Chu.

Wang Yile: From historical records, it can be seen that "Wutou Chuwei" is a symbolic title that summarizes the historical situation in Jiangxi in the pre-Qin period, but people's understanding of "Wutou Chuwei" is limited, and its time and space background and change process are not very clear, and there are even errors. In fact, Wuyue bronzes have been excavated in Jiangxi very early, and there are also many Chu cultural sites and tombs found. In the past, these archaeological discoveries have been isolated observations without delving into the historical context.

Now the discovery of the Warring States Tomb on Guozi Mountain lets us know that after Wu Chu, Yue Chu became the main force in Jiangxi during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, and the construction of the acropolis was the forefront of the Confrontation between Yue and Chu, and the State of Yue sent heavyweights here to strengthen the control of this area. At the same time, starting from the tomb of Guozishan and linking previous archaeological discoveries, it is possible to investigate the time when Wu Chuyue and other forces entered various parts of Jiangxi and its dissipation process, and dynamically restore the formation of the concept of "Wutou Chuwei". (End)

Respondent Profiles:

Xu Lianggao, researcher of the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and leader of the 2019 and 2020 excavations of the Zhangshu Guozishan Tomb Archaeological Excavation in Jiangxi Province. Courtesy of respondents

Xu Lianggao, a researcher at the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, has participated in or presided over the archaeological excavation and research of the ruins of the capital city of the Jin Dynasty, the ruins of the capital city of Yanshi and Shang Dynasties in Henan, the ruins of the Zhouyuan and Fenghao Western Zhoudus in Shaanxi, and the 2019 and 2020 excavation leaders of the archaeological excavation of the Tomb of Zhangshu Guozishan in Jiangxi.

Wang Yile, deputy research librarian of Jiangxi Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and head of the Zhangshu Guozishan Tomb Archaeological Excavation Project. Courtesy of respondents

Wang Yile, deputy research librarian of Jiangxi Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, has participated in archaeological excavations such as the Jing'an Tiger Dun Site, the Gao'an Hualin Papermaking Workshop Site, and the Nanchang Western Han Dynasty Xiahou Tomb, and is currently the person in charge of the Jiangxi Zhangshu Guozishan Tomb Archaeological Excavation Project.

Source: China News Network