The key points of the national treasure painting丨The core knowledge points about the tomb of King Wudun are all here!
The important progress work meeting of the major project of "Archaeological China" was held in Huainan City, Anhui Province on the 16th, focusing on the new archaeological discoveries of the Wuwangdun tomb. The tomb of Wuwangdun is the largest, highest-level and most complex large-scale high-grade tomb of Chu State that has been scientifically excavated so far.
↑ The layout of the wooden coffin chamber of the main tomb.
The rough diameter of the large tripod placed at the south end of the east I. room is more than 88 centimeters, which is larger than the famous Chu Dading (Casting Ke Dading) unearthed from the Li San Lonely Pile.
↑ The large tripod placed at the south end of the East I. room.
↑ Casting Ke Dading, also known as Chu Dading, was unearthed in 1933 in Zhujiaji, Zhujiaji, Anhui Province, the tomb of King Chu.
At present, more than 1,000 numbered cultural relics such as lacquered wood and bronze have been extracted, and a series of important cultural relics such as wooden figurines have been announced.
This archaeological excavation has attracted much attention. In order to let everyone quickly understand the relevant knowledge points, we gathered the questions that netizens are most concerned about, interviewed experts, sorted out multiple information, and had a "quick question and quick answer"——
Q: How far has this tomb been excavated?
A: This tomb is indeed "grade". The diameter of the bottom of the No. 1 tomb of Wuwangdun (the main tomb) is more than 130 meters, the opening side of the tomb is about 51 meters long, and the bottom area of the tomb pit is more than 400 square meters, the scale is huge, and it is the largest one in the excavated Chu tomb.
The number and size of the coffin are often related to the identity of the tomb owner. The main tomb has an extremely complex multiple coffin structure, the fir wood and the thin plate alternate in turn, forming a multi-layer seal, and the whole coffin chamber is divided into nine chambers, which is the most sub-chambers of the Chu tomb seen at present.
At present, the No. 1 Chu Tomb of Wuwangdun is being excavated in the coffin, and it is planned to complete the main field excavation work before the arrival of the high temperature season, and strive to fully complete the archaeological excavation task of the No. 1 Tomb within this year. The reporter saw that even a seemingly ordinary piece of wood was well protected. Archaeologists have also established high-precision three-dimensional digital models of the tomb's soil sealing, soil filling and each layer of the wooden coffin.
Q: Why did the tomb of Chu come to Anhui?
A: When it comes to the state of Chu, everyone will think of the "land of Jing and Chu", but why is the tomb of King Wu in the "Jianghuai region"? In fact, in that era of frequent wars, "if you can't fight, you can run" was the norm, and the state of Chu, which fell in love with the Qin state and killed each other, was particularly fond of moving the capital.
In 241 BC, Huang Xie, one of the "Four Princes of the Warring States", organized the last joint attack on Qin in the history of the Warring States Period, but it ended in failure. Fearing retaliation from Qin, the state of Chu moved its capital to Shouchun, which is now Shou County, Huainan City, Anhui Province.
After more than 800 years, the "afterglow" of the Chu State fell on Shouchun.
Q: Who is the owner of the tomb?
A: I don't know yet. As the last capital of the Chu State, Shouchun has gone through the four kings of Chu Kaolie, Chu You, Chu Ai, and Chu Wang. King Chu Ai was killed shortly after he ascended the throne, and the last king of Chu was captured by the King of Qin, so it is less likely that these two kings were buried according to the system. The tomb of King Chu You has been found to be located in Shuangmiao Village, Xie Jiaji District, Huainan City, and only the father of King Chu You, King Chu Kaolie, is left.
However, this is only speculation, and there is no empirical evidence yet. Archaeological excavations are serious sciences that do not allow for speculation or speculation. Experts said that the archaeological excavation will further look for key evidence such as Chu Jian and large bronze inscriptions as the identification of the tomb owner.
Supplementary popular science: Who is King Chu Kaolie?
He was once a "hostage" of the Qin State and the official son-in-law of the King of Qin, and later fled to the Chu State with the help of Chunshenjun Huang Xie, inherited the throne, and became the 39th king of the Chu State. The idiom "Mao Sui self-recommended" is also related to King Chu Kaolie - Mao Sui went to Chu with the plain king of Zhao State, and it was King Chu Kaolie who met him.
Q: Are there any written records in the tomb?
A: Yes, a large number of ink script characters have been found on the cover of the coffin room, and nearly 1,000 characters have been found and collected, which is a typical Chu script. The position of the cover plate and the function of each side chamber are of great significance for the study of the construction process of the tombs of the Chu State, the official system, and the titles of famous objects.
In the future, archaeologists will also interpret the collected texts and release the archaeological results to the public in a timely manner.
Q: What is the significance of the archaeology of this tomb?
A: Through this archaeological excavation, we can further understand the funeral system and official system of the Chu State, which can be used to study the social life and historical and cultural picture of the Chu State after its eastward migration.
The greater significance lies in the fact that the state of Chu was one of the most developed and powerful countries at that time, and it was the first to produce the county system, which had a profound impact on the great unification. The tomb owner lived on the "eve" of the formal establishment of a unified state in China, and provided systematic scientific and archaeological data for the study of the historical evolution of the Zhou, Qin, Chu, and Han dynasties, as well as the formation of the centralized unified state and culture of the Qin and Han dynasties.
Q: Why is it called Wuwangdun?
A: Wuwangdun is just a place name, which is a name that has been handed down. Some people guess that it may be that the people who guarded the tomb called the tomb owner my king, and over time he may have become the king of Wu, or it may be that after five years, the state of Chu was destroyed by Qin, and it was commemorated with the word "five", and then passed on as "Wu". Of course, these are just folk speculations, and there is no empirical evidence yet.
The tomb of King Wu has undergone robbery and excavation. In 2019, the Public Security Bureau of Huainan City, Anhui Province cracked the theft and excavation of the ancient tomb of Wuwangdun, and recovered more than 70 pieces of precious cultural relics and 26 national first-class cultural relics.
Let's take a look at the "beautiful" → of some precious cultural relics
It is reported that the Wuwangdun Archaeological Site Park is under planning and construction. It will be another major measure to promote the creative transformation and innovative expression of archaeological achievements and show the outstanding characteristics and brilliant achievements of Chinese civilization.