In 1978, the excavation of the tomb of Marquis Yi shocked the academic community and was included in the "Top 100 Archaeological Discoveries in a Hundred Years". In 2020, the Spring and Autumn Zengguo Cemetery in Suizhou, Hubei Province was successfully selected as one of the "Top Ten New Archaeological Discoveries in China in 2019". This project is the fourth time in recent years that Zeng Guo Archaeology has been successfully selected as one of the top ten new archaeological discoveries in the country - Zeng Guo Archaeological Discovery is the only one in the archaeological work of the two princely states that has won this honor consecutively. It can be seen that every discovery of Zeng Guo's archaeology is eye-catching.
In 700 years, the state of Zeng was also known as the "excavated vassal state", and archaeological discoveries in recent years have shown that the prince-level tomb of Zeng is not only the tomb of Marquis Yi, but the history of Zeng is far beyond people's imagination. Comprehensive archaeological discoveries: the early Western Zhou Dynasty cemetery in the west of the Western Zhou Dynasty, the cemetery of the Sujialong cultural site in Jingshan City on the occasion of the second week, the cemetery of the Marquis of Xiangyang Guojiamiao in the early Spring and Autumn Period, the cemetery of the Marquis of Suizhou Zaoshulin in the middle of the Spring and Autumn Period, the tomb of the Marquis of Suizhou in the Warring States Period, and the Zeng State of the Spring and Autumn Period found in the Wenfeng Tower of Suizhou, it can be determined that there is indeed a Zeng State in the same lineage.
Based on these archaeological achievements, the Hubei Provincial Museum has a permanent exhibition "Zeng Shijia - The Archaeological Mystery of Zeng Guo", which is located on the second floor of the museum's south building, revealing the development process of Zeng Guo from being a leader in the Jianghan region to nourishing the Chu State and finally integrating into the Chu culture.
Map of the distribution of the ruins of the Zeng Kingdom
01 Why Zeng Guo?
When sorting out the cultural relics of Yejiashan, archaeologists made a major breakthrough and found the inscription of "Nangong" on a bronze skull, which is of great significance! The inscription is "犺作烈寇南公宝尊彝", the Nangong here is Nangongshi (kuò), the surname Ji, there is this hero in the "Romance of the Fengshen", and he is the hero of the early Western Zhou Dynasty. Experts explained that Zeng Hou called "Nangong" "Kao", and "Kao" was a title for his deceased father. Zeng Hou Qian is the descendant of Nangong Shi who was sealed in Zeng State.
In addition, there is an inscription on Zeng Hou and the bell: "Only the first day of the first month of the first month of the king, Zeng Hou and said: Bo Shi is on the road, left and right civil and military; The life of Tart Yin calms the world; The king sent Nangong to camp the land; Jun Yu Huaiyi, there is Jiangxia. The meaning of the inscription is that Nangong Shi was reused by the King of Zhou, assisted King Wen of Zhou, King Wu, and destroyed Yin to pacify the world, and the King of Zhou divided Nangong Shi and built the city site in the south.
Now research shows that Zeng was an important part of the Western Zhou Dynasty's grand strategy of operating the south after Nangong Shi, the founding father of the Zhou Dynasty, and realized the effective control of the Jianghan region by the Zhou Dynasty. Nangong Shi, also known as Nangongzi, was a famous sage and important minister in the Western Zhou Dynasty. The so-called "Four Friends of King Wen Nangongzi" comes from Yan Shigu's annotation of "Hanshu, Volume 20, Ancient and Modern People Table Eighth, Shangzhong Renren" Shi Gu said: "Below the Great Britain, the four friends of King Wen are also." According to the "Historical Records", Nangong Shi was a virtuous minister when King Wu Xingzhou was destroyed. After King Wu of Zhou destroyed the Shang, he ordered Nangong Shi to demolish the deer platform built by King Zhou and open the granary of King Zhou to provide relief to poor and weak slaves.
02 Zeng Guo on the Bronze Route
Before the Silk Road and the Tea Road, there was a "Copper and Tin Road" in the Bronze Age in China. The ancients regarded bronze as gold, copper and tin are necessary materials for casting bronze, and this ancient copper road is also known as "Jindao Tin Xing". Archaeology confirms that Zeng played an important role in transporting copper from the south to the Central Plains Dynasty on the "Copper and Tin Road".
Zeng State was established in the early Western Zhou Dynasty, belonging to the Zhou royal family with the same surname of the vassal state, the first fief is located in an important north-south passage in ancient times - Suizao Corridor, and Suizao Corridor is the main line of "Jindao Xixing", that is, the southern route of the copper road. The remains of large-scale bronze smelting in Zeng and the excavation of bronze artifacts in Sujialang in Jingshan reveal the mystery of the early copper road, indicating that Zeng Guo once assumed the responsibility of controlling, transporting and managing copper and tin resources in the south.
The Suizao corridor where Zeng Guo is located is the main line of "Jindao Xixing".
Copper, as an important strategic material at that time, was controlled by the state. The state rewards the outside world with unique resources, such as bronze ceremonial ware, jade ware, or pottery ceremonial ware made of high-quality clay. The main ones that received tribute, or obtained by force, were mainly raw materials, the most important of which were copper and tin, which were the raw materials for making bronzes. Along with the "Golden Road Tin Xing" to the capital of the Zhou Dynasty, a large number of copper and tin resources were transported to the Central Plains, laying the foundation for the creation of a brilliant bronze civilization.
03 The "dug up" Zeng Guo lineage
Through archaeological excavations and mutual evidence of documents, there have been 9 Zeng Marquis with clear names in the bronze inscriptions of Zeng Guo, and if you add that there are no bronze inscriptions of Zeng Hou unearthed, but the tomb scale is equivalent to that of Zeng Hou, and Zeng Hou with a nickname, there are more than 10.
These Zeng Marquis can be divided into three stages from front to back, the first stage is the tomb of Zeng Marquis in the early Western Zhou Dynasty represented by the Yejiashan cemetery, through the excavation in 2011 and 2013 and the corresponding bronze inscription research, the tombs of Zeng Marquis, Zeng Hou Baisheng, Zeng Hou and their wives were discovered. The excavated cultural relics of the Zeng Kingdom during this period have obvious imprints of the Zhou Dynasty.
With the passage of time, the power of the Zhou Dynasty gradually declined during the Spring and Autumn Period, and Zeng became a vassal of the Chu State, one of the "Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period", located in the Yangtze River Valley. The characteristics of the Chu Kingdom in the shape of its bronze ware are also becoming more and more obvious, confirming the turn of the Zeng Kingdom from "left and right civil and military" to "left and right Chu kings". The representative dates of the Guojiamiao and Jingshan Sujialong cemeteries are roughly from the late Western Zhou Dynasty to the early Spring and Autumn Period, and the Guojiamiao and Sujialong cemeteries have unearthed at least two Zeng Marquis and one Zeng Marquis respectively.
Then from the middle of the Spring and Autumn Period to the middle of the Warring States period, the archaeological excavation is inseparable from the Suizhou Yidigang and the drum dun cemetery, and the Yidigang cemetery and Ji's Liang, Dongfeng oil depot and Wenfeng Tower cemetery form the Yidigang tomb group, in which the unearthed artifacts are mainly the bronzes of Zeng Hou Hu and Zeng Houyu, in fact, many of the bronzes of these two Zeng Hou have been excavated as early as the 70s of the last century. The excavation of the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng can also be classified as a period of time, and the musical instruments unearthed in this stage are arranged in an orderly manner, reproducing the ancient musical scene of "eight-tone harmony".
Chronicle of the lineage of the Marquis of Zeng
Roughly following the above rationale, the exhibition of Hubei Provincial Bo includes four parts: "The First Seal of Jianghan", "The Great Power of Eastern Han", "The Mystery of Zeng Sui", and "The Reappearance of Huazhang", revealing the development process of Zeng Guo from dominating the Jianghan region to nourishing Chu and finally integrating into Chu culture, and at the same time telling the vivid past of Zeng Guo and the process of discovering Zeng Guo layer by layer.
04 Beginning to seal Jianghan
On December 28, 2010, in a nondescript Yejia Hill in Suizhou, local farmers accidentally discovered some bronzes while renovating their farmland. At this moment, everyone will inevitably think of another major archaeological discovery that shocked the world 33 years ago - in 1978, less than 20 kilometers away from Suizhou Yejia Mountain, the excavation of the tomb of Marquis Zeng shocked the world, which made a mysterious ancient Zeng Kingdom that has never appeared in historical materials and has been more than 2,000 years ago. With the approval of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, in May 2011, the rescue excavation of the Yejiashan cemetery officially began.
The discovery of the Yejiashan cemetery has greatly filled the gap in the early history of the Zeng Kingdom in the Western Zhou Dynasty, and it is located on the hill on the bank of the drifting water in Jiangzhai Village, Xihe Town, Suizhou City, Hubei Province. The hill is about 400 meters long from north to south, about 100 meters wide from east to west, and covers an area of about 40,000 square meters. The drifting river flows through the northeastern part of the cemetery and the northern and western parts of the cemetery.
In 2011 and 2013, the Hubei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology conducted two excavations of the Yejiashan cemetery, cleaning a total of 140 tombs and 7 horse pits, and unearthing thousands of bronze, lacquerware, jade and other cultural relics, including 3 tombs of Marquis Zeng. Abundant archaeological materials prove that the early Western Zhou Dynasty of Zeng was established in the present-day Suizhou area, and it was an important vassal state that the Zhou royal family divided to the south.
Schematic diagram of the main feudal states of the Western Zhou Dynasty
In the Yejiashan cemetery, the largest tombs No. 65, No. 28 and No. 111 are the core of the entire cemetery, and many bronzes with the inscription "Marquis Zeng" have been unearthed. According to the scale and layout of the cemetery and archaeological materials, researchers basically believe that these three tombs are the tombs of the monarch-level Marquis Zeng.
Among them, Tomb No. 65 is located in the middle of the Yejiashan cemetery, and the owner of the tomb is Zeng Marquis. The tomb entrance is 5.20 meters long from east to west, 3.50~3.62 meters wide from north to south, and 5.94~6.00 meters deep. The burial utensils are one coffin and two catalpa. The burial goods are mainly placed on the second floor of the tomb. Bronze ritual vessels are placed on the second-floor platform in the southwest corner, bronze weapons are placed on the second-floor platform in the south, bronze wine vessels and lacquered wood ware are placed on the second-floor platform in the east, pottery and primitive porcelain are placed on the second-floor platform in the northeast corner, copper, copper tin and other weapons and chariots and horses are placed in the azusa room, and jade ornaments are placed in the inner coffin.
There are pillar holes around the high-level tomb in Yejiashan cemetery, which is convenient for erecting a shovel and a coffin. Archaeological discoveries show that there are 3 pillar holes on each side of the tomb, or traces of "monuments" for the princes' rank with the tools of the coffin. In addition, Tomb No. 27 is located in the east-central part of the Yejiashan Cemetery and is a tomb of the Marquis of Zeng.
The family emblem seen in the Yejiashan cemetery
Tomb No. 1 is the first tomb to be discovered in the Yejiashan cemetery, located in the northeast of the entire cemetery. The tomb is 3.6 meters long from east to west, 2.5 meters wide from north to south, and 2.6 meters deep. There are two layers of cooked soil on the four sides of the tomb, and the burial tools are 1 coffin and 1 camphor. 1 dog was martyred in the central waist pit at the bottom of the coffin.
Tomb No. 1 unearthed 1 animal face pattern tripod and 4 square tripods, indicating that the tomb owner level is very high. Tomb No. 1 is located on the north side of the three tombs of Zenghou, Tomb No. 111, No. 28 Mu, and No. 65, so some scholars speculate that the owner of Tomb No. 1 is also a high-ranking nobleman at the level of the monarch. Tomb No. 1 has a strong merchant factor in terms of burial customs, bronze shapes, and ornamentation, and may be one of the earliest tombs in the Yejiashan cemetery.
In the early Western Zhou Dynasty, in 2011, the No. 2 tomb of Yejiashan cemetery in Suizhou was unearthed
This piece is lightly divided into crotch and abdomen decorated with three groups of animal face patterns. The inner wall of the vessel is cast with the inscription "Zeng Hou admonished Bao Yi". The beast-faced crotch tripod was popular from the late Shang Dynasty to the early Western Zhou Dynasty, and often appeared in pairs. This kind of Zeng Marquis Bronze Ding was unearthed in the No. 2 tomb and No. 28 tomb of Yejiashan cemetery, each with a pair of size, shape and inscription, which should be cast in the same batch and placed in different tombs.
In the early Western Zhou Dynasty, in 2013, the No. 28 tomb of Yejiashan Cemetery in Suizhou was unearthed
The lid is decorated with a beast's head and a ribbon with alternating patterns, and this kind of ornamental layout is relatively rare on the bronzes of the Central Plains. The abdomen of the body is decorated with a large mouth curly tail pattern, the lower abdomen is four groups of animal face patterns, and the circle foot is a long tail pattern. The bottom of the vessel is attached to the hanging bell, which is a rare regional cultural feature in the late Shang and Western Zhou dynasties, and the bronzes of Hubei and Zeng in the jujube corridor have the custom of wearing bells.
In the early Western Zhou Dynasty, in 2011, the No. 27 tomb of Yejiashan cemetery in Suizhou was unearthed
On the lid stood a phoenix bird with its head held high, spreading its wings and ready to fly. From the top of the cover to the foot of the circle, there are four ridges. The cover is decorated with animal face patterns, the horn tips are swirled higher than the cover surface, and the animal face is decorated with snake patterns. The head of the beast stands on the side of both ears, and the neck stretches out of the head of the whole carved beast, and the head of the beast has an elephant trunk. The abdomen is decorated with animal face patterns, and the circle feet are decorated with dragon patterns. A hanging bell is attached to the bottom of the device.
In the early Western Zhou Dynasty, in 2013, the No. 28 tomb of Yejiashan cemetery in Suizhou was unearthed
The copper plate is a shallow belly and high ring foot, inheriting the shape of the late Shang period. The lower ear of the mouth is decorated with embossed animal heads and cow-shaped patterns. A similar cow-shaped pattern can also be seen on bronzes unearthed in Zhuwa Street, Peng County, Sichuan. The circle foot is decorated with a relief cicada pattern. The relief decoration has a strong three-dimensional sense, and the cloud and thunder ground decoration is fine and regular, reflecting the high level of decoration technology. There are clear herringbone mat marks on the edge of the plate and on the inner wall. In the center of the inner wall of the plate, there is an inscription "Zeng Hou Zhi Bao Yi".
Although the Marquis of Zeng and the plate were not unearthed in the tomb, they are speculated to have been used together through the inscriptions and ornaments. The bowl is a new combination of water vessels in the Western Zhou Dynasty.
【Semi-circular dragon pattern copper Yue】Semi-circular dragon pattern copper Yue Yejiashan cemetery No. 111 tomb unearthed
Tomb 111 unearthed three semi-circular pieces of the same shape. The body of this piece is decorated with a semi-circular dragon pattern, and an oval chisel is used as a dragon head. Tomb No. 65 in Yejiashan Cemetery and Baicaopo Western Zhou Cemetery in Lingtai County, Gansu Province have also unearthed semi-circular Yue with the same shape. In terms of shape, this kind of bronze Yue can be roughly divided into three categories: axe-shaped system, wind-shaped system and semi-circular type of Yue. Different from the general axe-shaped Yue, the semi-circular Yue is rare, it should be a new type of instrument in the early Western Zhou Dynasty, and it is often used by ordinary monarch-level nobles.
In the early Western Zhou Dynasty, in 2013, Tomb No. 126 of the Yejiashan Cemetery in Suizhou was unearthed
The outer wall of this statue has four longitudinal long doors. The ornamentation is divided into three sections from top to bottom, the upper neck is decorated with cicada patterns and bird patterns, and the middle abdomen and lower hoop feet are decorated with animal face patterns. There is an inscription cast on the inner bottom of the vessel: "Ma Yu Zhao livestock, horses, grains, and grains, used as the father Wu Baoyi." Geng book". Zun and 卣 are common combinations of wine vessels from the late Shang Dynasty to the early Western Zhou Dynasty. Ma Yu Zun, the whole body is exquisitely decorated, it is a bronze boutique of this period.
In the early Western Zhou Dynasty, in 2013, Tomb No. 126 of Yejiashan Cemetery in Suizhou was unearthed
This piece is full of flowers, with cloud and thunder patterns as the ground. The handle is decorated with cicada patterns, and the two ends of the handle are carved with the head of a cow beast. There is a fungus-like button on the top of the cover, and the cover is decorated with animal face patterns. The lid and body have four longitudinal ribs. The neck is decorated with a dragon stripe band for a week. The abdomen is decorated with animal face patterns, and the two sides of the animal tail are decorated with a phoenix bird pattern. Hoop feet decorated with snake bands.
This piece of cover, the inscription on the device, each cast with an inscription: "Ma Yu Zhao livestock, horses, grain, 赉, used as the father Wu Baoyi." Geng book". The inscription is to the effect that Ma Yu was rewarded for raising horses, so he made bronze vessels to worship his father. "Gengshu" is an inscription that represents the Mayu clan.
Yejiashan Tomb No. 111 is the first Western Zhou tomb to have unearthed complete ivory
The location of the Yejiashan cemetery shows that the Zeng State is located in a key position connecting the Western Zhou Wangji and the southern land area of the Zhou Dynasty, and is located in the key point of the Zao Corridor. With the Zao Corridor in the north connecting the Nanyang Basin, and the south to the Jianghan hinterland, it was the main north-south transportation artery at that time, and the materials in the Jianghan region were transported to the north, and the barbarians of the Zhou Dynasty also marched from there.
During the Northern Song Dynasty, the "Zhongyong" unearthed in Anzhou and the bronze inscription of "Jingfang Ding" now in the Idemitsu Museum of Art in Japan record the historical events of King Zhao's southern conquest of Chu. Among them, there is a record of the king of Zhou "in Zeng and Hubei", indicating that Zeng and its neighbor E were important military strongholds of the Zhou Dynasty in the south.
With the jujube corridor
As a vassal state surnamed Ji in the eastern Han region of the Zhou Dynasty, the cultural connotation of the Zeng State in the early Western Zhou Dynasty still belongs to the Zhou cultural system, and the layout of its cemetery, the combination of burial utensils and the shape characteristics of many of them have the characteristics of Zhou culture, for example, the layout of the Yejiashan cemetery is the same as that of the cemetery in the central area of the Zhou Dynasty and the "Gong Tomb" shape of many vassal states.
05 Handong is a big country
In addition to the culture of the Zeng Kingdom in the middle of the Western Zhou Dynasty, the historical relics of the Zeng Kingdom from the late Western Zhou Dynasty to the early Spring and Autumn Period have been revealed in the Zaoyang Guojiamiao cemetery in Hubei. These tombs further unveiled the mystery of this country, which once became the "great power of Handong".
In Hubei, Zaoyang Guojiamiao and Xiongji Duanying, Jingshan Sujialong, Junchuan Xiongjia Laowan, Hedian Hejiatai, Anju Taohuapo, Wandian Zhoujiagang and other places have found the remains of Zeng from the late Western Zhou Dynasty to the early Spring and Autumn Period. From the point of view of the distribution of the remains, the Zeng Kingdom of this period occupied a vast area from eastern Han, northern Han to Nanyang Basin.
Among them, the Guojiamiao cemetery is located in Zhaohu Village, Wudian Town, Zaoyang City, Hubei Province, distributed on two relatively independent hills, the north gang is the Guojiamiao cemetery, and the south gang is the Caomenwan cemetery, with a total area of more than 1.2 million square meters.
Zaoyang Guojia Temple
From 2002 to 2003 and from 2014 to 2016, the Xiangyang Municipal Cultural Relics and Archaeology Team and the Hubei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology excavated the Guojiamiao cemetery twice, and cleaned up a total of 134 tombs, 3 carriage and horse pits, 3 carriage pits, and 3 horse pits from the late Western Zhou Dynasty to the early Spring and Autumn Period, proving that this was an important political center of the Zeng State from the late Western Zhou Dynasty to the early Spring and Autumn Period. A large number of cultural relics unearthed from the high-grade tombs and carriage and horse pits in the Guojiamiao cemetery confirm that the Zeng State at this time was a great country with strong national strength and developed culture, and had close contacts with the vassal states of the Han River and Huai River basins.
Tombs of high-ranking nobles in the National Temple Cemetery
The ruins of Zhoutai and Zhongyizhai, 1 km east of the Guojiamiao cemetery, are the ruins of the city of Zeng from the late Western Zhou Dynasty to the early Spring and Autumn Period. The Zhoutai site unearthed a large-scale building facility, the era of which lasted from the late Western Zhou Dynasty to the middle of the Warring States Period, and was occupied by the Chu people in the middle of the Spring and Autumn Period; The site of Zhongyi Village is a platform surrounded by a ring moat, and the era is from the late Western Zhou Dynasty to the Spring and Autumn Period.
The ruins of Zhoutai, Zhongyizhai and Guojiamiao cemetery constitute a site area with a complete layout. The terrain of the whole site area is high in the north and low in the south, the south is near the water, and the cemetery is located in the north of the city site, which is in line with the funeral etiquette of "buried in the north". These characteristics are basically the same as the layout of the city sites and cemeteries of the Jin and other vassal states in the same period.
The distribution of archaeological remains of Zeng proves that the territory of Zeng was vast from the late Western Zhou Dynasty to the early Spring and Autumn Period. The unearthed cultural relics of the Guojiamiao cemetery in Zaoyang and the surrounding city sites reflect that the Zeng State had strong national strength and developed culture, and its cultural appearance is basically the same as that of the Central Plains. The state of Zeng in this period is consistent with the record of "the country of Handong is great" in the "Zuo Chuan".
【Zeng Zibo Panchen Copper Kettle】In the early Spring and Autumn Period, in 2015, Tomb No. 86 in the Guojiamiao Cemetery of Guojiamiao Cemetery in Zaoyang was unearthed
The shape, size and ornamentation of the two copper pots are the same. Lid ring straps and stealing curves. The body of the vessel has three circumferential ribbons, which are ring belt patterns, stealing curve patterns, and dragon patterns. The hoop feet are decorated with hanging scales. The top of the lid is cast with an inscription: "Zeng Zibo made his own instrument in the morning, and he will be blessed forever."
In the early Spring and Autumn Period, in 2015, Tomb 55 in Caomenwan Cemetery, Guojiamiao Cemetery, Zaoyang, was unearthed
This piece is decorated with a week of tiger stripes. The upper part is cylindrical, forming a round carved tiger head. The tiger has a convex and high nose and wide ears. The tiger's mouth opened the street, and one person was headed. Tiger teeth and human face are embossed on the top surface. Tiger cannibalism is a common motif in Shang and Zhou bronzes, and the famous stepmother Wuding and Fuyang Dragon and Tiger Zun all have this theme of ornamentation. The Sanmenxia cemetery has also unearthed a car car that is very close to the decoration of this piece.
【Caomenwan Cemetery No. 1 Car】
Military strength represents the national strength of a country. A large number of weapons, chariots and horses unearthed from the cemetery of Guojiamiao confirm that the early Zeng State was a militarily powerful country. In particular, the No. 1 car pit located in the southwest of Caomen Bay No. 1 tomb is the largest car pit seen in the same period, with a length of 32.7 meters and a width of 4 meters, 28 burial cars, and 122 pieces (groups) of various vehicles and tools unearthed.
In addition, Tomb No. 1 in the Caomenwan Cemetery is a rectangular pit tomb, which has been stolen many times in history. The burial chamber is 11 meters long, 8.5 meters wide, and 8 meters deep, and the tomb passage is 10 meters long. A heavy coffin, there is no room in the coffin, the north side is placed with ceremonial instruments, the south side is placed with weapons, the bronze ritual and lacquered wood ware on the east side are stolen, and the northwest and southeast corners are chariots and horses. The tomb has unearthed a very rich collection of musical relics, and it is speculated that it may be the tomb of Uncle Yang.
During this period, the cultural connotation of Zeng still followed the shape of Zhou culture, including but not limited to the typical vertical ears, hooves, feet, straight strips, tiles, and deep belly plates, as well as the common heavy ring patterns, tile patterns, stealing curved patterns, and ring belt patterns that are common in Zhou culture.
The archaeological discovery of the Zeng State cemetery in Yejiashan shows that the Zeng State was a vassal state divided to the south by the Zhou Dynasty in the early Western Zhou Dynasty, and its ancestor Nan Gong was an important minister of the royal family. Numerous archaeological evidences prove that the Zeng Kingdom had a close relationship with the Zhou royal family, and was an important force for the Zhou Dynasty to control the south, and played a key role in the cultural exchanges between the north and the south. So what was the task of Zeng Guo being divided into the Jianghan region by the Zhou royal family? Why did Zeng change from an auxiliary force of the Zhou royal family to an ally of Chu? Are Zeng Guo and Sui Guo the same country?
06 There was a mystery
It is worth noting that the archaeological excavations of the Zeng Kingdom in the late Spring and Autumn Period and the middle of the Warring States Period have revealed the cultural relics of the Zeng Kingdom during this period on the one hand, and on the other hand, the mystery of the Zeng Kingdom has gradually been revealed.
In September 1977, when the radar repair station of the Air Force of the Wuhan Military Region was expanding its plant in the east tuanpo of the drum pier in Suixian County, it discovered a strange soil layer. At that time, Wang Jiagui and Zheng Guoxian, who supervised the construction, were all cultural relics lovers, and they decided to stop the construction immediately and report to the higher cultural relics department.
On March 19, 1978, Tan Weisi, then deputy director of the Hubei Provincial Museum and leader of the cultural relics and archaeology team, led archaeological technicians to the scene and found out the basic situation of the tomb for three days. In May of the same year, after being approved by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, the excavation of Zeng Hou Yiji was officially launched.
Tomb of Marquis B
The pit of the tomb of Zeng Houyi is made up of vertical pits dug in red sandstone, with a total area of 220 square meters. The camphor chamber is made of 171 long square logs. The material has been identified as Catalpa (Catal-pa SP.). The camphor chamber is divided into four parts of the middle, east, west and north four chambers by the wall, and some wooden nails are nailed in the gap of the camphor wall board for hanging curtains or incense sachets, and there is a small door hole at the bottom of the camphor wall to communicate with each other. The four chambers have different functions, symbolizing different parts of the court of Marquis Yi of Zeng.
There are five burial pits in the north and south rows in the west of the tomb of Zeng Houyi, and a large number of daily necessities are buried. 467 bronzes were unearthed from the No. 1 burial pit, most of which were curtain components. After restoration, it can be seen that the Zeng Hou Yi curtain is the largest and most complex curtain in the Xiantai period seen in mainland archaeology.
The inscription of the cultural relics unearthed from the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng Guojun is seen in the inscription
The official position seen by the Marquis Yizhu Jian
"Zuo Chuan" (the sixth year of Huan Gong) once recorded: "King Wu of Chu invaded, so that Xue Zhang sought success, and the army was flawed...... With the fear of the marquis, Chu did not dare to cut down. "The discovery of the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng proves that at least in the late Spring and Autumn period, there was a culturally developed and powerful Zeng state in the Suizhou region, which had a close relationship with the state of Chu. So are Zeng Guo and Sui Guo in "Zuo Biography" a country?
In October 1978, Mr. Li Xueqin put forward the argument that Zeng Guo in the bronze inscription was the Suiguo recorded in the literature in Guangming Daily. In fact, the controversy about the mystery of Zeng Sui had been going on for nearly 40 years at this time, and some scholars, including Mr. Changping Changping, insisted on the possibility of being different from another vassal state, the Sui State.
With the discovery of the tomb of Drum Pier No. 2 in 1981, where the owner of the tomb may be Mrs. Zeng Hou Yi, this Zeng State, which is not recorded in the historical records, is geographically consistent with the Sui State in the literature, and the relationship between Zeng and Sui Guo gradually fermented and became a mystery that puzzled the world.
At the same time, the state of Chu was the most important vassal state in the south during the Warring States period. According to the "Historical Records", King Cheng of Zhou in the early Western Zhou Dynasty made Xiong a viscount. After hundreds of years of continuous expansion, by the early Warring States period where Zeng Hou Yi lived, it had become a southern power with a local area of 5,000 miles, a thousand chariots, and a million soldiers. King Hui of Chu cast a bell for Marquis Yi of Zeng, and Zeng Guo buried one of the bells in the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng, indicating that the relationship between Zeng and Chu was very close during this period.
Zeng and Chu had a very close relationship during the time of Marquis Yi
The solution of the mystery is inseparable from the archaeological excavation of the Wenfeng Pagoda cemetery. Wenfeng Pagoda Cemetery is located in the northeast of Zengdu District, Suizhou City, Hubei Province, and belongs to the Yidigang Tomb Group. After the 70s of the 20th century, bronzes and tombs of the Zeng Kingdom from the mid-to-late Spring and Autumn period to the mid-Warring States period were continuously found here. Since 2009, archaeologists have carried out large-scale excavations here, providing new clues for reconstructing the history of Zeng. In particular, the inscription on the Yong bell unearthed from the tomb of Marquis Zeng has become the key to solving the mystery of Zeng Guo.
Location of Wenfeng Tower in Suizhou
Since 2009, the tombs of Zeng Guo, such as the tomb of Marquis Zeng, have been discovered here. From September 2012 to January 2013, archaeologists excavated 54 tombs of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, 2 carriage and horse pits and 1 horse pit, and cleaned up more than 1,000 sets of cultural relics from the middle and late Spring and Autumn Period to the middle and late Warring States period, some of which have inscriptions such as "Zeng", "Zengzi" and "Great-grandson".
The long inscriptions on the Marquis of Zeng and the Yong Bell are mutually corroborated with the literature, revealing the mystery of the Zeng Kingdom. Zhong Ming records that the ancestor of Zeng Hou He is the ancestor of the Zhou people, Houji, so Zeng Guo and the Zhou royal family have the same surname Ji. According to the literature, Suiguo is surnamed Ji. The two countries have the same surname.
Zhong Ming recorded that in the Wu-Chu War, Zeng was an ally of Chu and assisted the king of Chu in recovering the country. According to the literature, Suiguo, as an ally of Chu, sheltered King Zhao of Chu in this war. The two countries share the same historical facts. Combined with archaeological discoveries such as Yejiashan and Guojiamiao, the existence time of Zeng and Suiguo coincided geographically, so Zeng was Suiguo.
Zeng Hou and Yong Zhong solve the mystery of Zeng Guo
【Zeng Hou and Yongzhong】In the late Spring and Autumn Period, in 2009, the No. 1 tomb of Wenfeng Pagoda Cemetery in Suizhou was unearthed
There are eight existing pieces of Zeng Hou and chimes, this piece is No. 2, the inscription is basically similar to the No. 1 Ningbo bell, the line is slightly different, and it can be supplemented according to the No. 1 Ningbo bell. According to the inscription, the ancestor of the Zeng Kingdom was Nangong Shi, who was divided into the Jianghan region to pacify Huaiyi. In 506 BC, the combined forces of Wu, Tang, and Cai defeated the powerful Chu army and stormed the capital. King Chu Zhao fled to Suiguo in embarrassment. Under the protection of Suiguo, King Zhao was spared a catastrophe. Since then, the relationship between Sui and Chu has taken a new turn) can also be compared with the inscription "Wu has many people, and the line is chaotic" and "the king of Chu is restored".
Since then, the only tombs of Zeng Guojun that have been found later than the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng Guo through archaeological excavations are Tomb No. 2 of Drum Pier and Tomb No. 18 of Wenfeng Pagoda (Tomb of Marquis Bing). The existence of these two tombs shows that the state of Zeng after Marquis Yi was still maintained for nearly a hundred years.
Excavated in July 1981, Tomb No. 2 of Drum Pier is 102 meters west of the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng, and is a pit wooden tomb built on red sandstone. The entrance to the tomb is 7.3 meters long and 6.9 meters wide. There are traces of a double main coffin and a burial coffin in the tomb. There are more than 2,770 pieces of bronze musical instruments, ritual vessels, miscellaneous utensils, chariot and horse utensils, pottery, jade utensils, etc. Among them, there are nine tripods and eight usurpers that reflect the identity of the tomb owner, 36 bells and a bronze fence with the inscription of "Sheng Jun's Imperial Palace", and no weapons have been seen. The owner of the tomb may be Mrs. Zeng Houyi.
The owner of Tomb No. 18 of Wenfeng Pagoda is Zeng Hou Bing, which is slightly later than the tomb of Zeng Hou B. The plan of the tomb is subzigzag, and there is a rectangular stepped tomb passage in the south of the tomb, with a residual length of 6.6 meters and a total of 15 steps. The entrance of the tomb is 16.6 meters long from north to south and 15.6 meters wide from east to west, and the depth from the tomb mouth to the bottom of the tomb is 9 meters. The burial utensils are wooden 1 camphor 3 coffins, the frightened room is in the shape of "middle", divided into five chambers in the east, south, west, north and middle, only the east chamber has not been stolen and excavated, and there are more than 70 pieces of bronze utensils unearthed. There is a 2x2 meter square pit on each of the three sides of the east and west sides of the pit, which is a tomb shape that has not been seen in the past.
In the middle of the Warring States period, in 2012, the No. 18 tomb of the Wenfeng Pagoda cemetery in Suizhou was unearthed, and the wall was decorated with a pan mantis.
In the middle of the Warring States period, in 2012, the No. 18 tomb of the Wenfeng Pagoda cemetery in Suizhou was unearthed
This piece is a combination of utensils, composed of two utensils, the thread, the thread is placed in the middle of the jian, there is the dual role of ice wine, warm wine. The body is decorated with a golden triangle with moire, and inlaid with turquoise, and the decorative style is complicated. This combination is beautifully decorated and tightly fastened, reflecting the level of craftsmanship of the Warring States period.
Top view, with the rope placed in the center of the jian
With the decline of the Zhou Dynasty, King Ping of Zhou moved westward, and gradually lost control of the vassal states, and the princes' struggle for hegemony intensified, and the fate of the Zeng State was also wrapped in the tide of this era. As the state of Chu gradually developed into a large country in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, Zeng lost its position as a great power in the eastern part of the Han Dynasty and also became a small country dependent on it, and its political culture was more and more influenced by Chu culture.
07 How is the puzzle solved?
In 2013, the Hubei Provincial Museum entered the collection of Sui Zhong Ban Jiading, with the inscription "Only the first month of the first month of the king Ji Dinghai, Chu Wang Teng with Zhong Mi plus food." Its eyebrows have no lifespan, and their descendants will use it forever." Among them, "Sui" is the name of the husband's country, "Mi" is the surname of the father's Chu family, "Zhong" is the ranking, and "Jia" is its name, indicating that it is the dowry made by the King of Chu for the woman Mi Jia who married into the Sui country, and it is also a rare bronze with the inscription of the word "Sui", but because it is not unearthed from scientific archaeological excavations, there is still controversy in the academic circles about whether the "Sui" and "Zeng" in the inscription are the same country.
With the middle half of the tripod and rubbing
Since 2015, new progress has been made in the archaeological work of Zeng Kingdom, such as the Sujialong site in Jingshan, the cemetery of Handong East Road in Suizhou, and the cemetery of Zaoshulin. The history of Zeng and the lineage of Zeng Hou are becoming clearer and clearer, and the mystery of Zeng has been completely solved.
The Sujialong ruins are located on the west side of Pingba Town, Jingshan City, Jingmen City, Hubei Province, on the north bank of Zhangshui. The site can be divided into two parts: Sujialong site and Sujialong cemetery. In 1966, when the canal was built, 97 bronzes including the seven articles of Jiuding were found in the Sujialong cemetery, and the bronzes such as tripods and pots had inscriptions such as "Zeng Hou Zhongzi's father" and "Zeng Zhongsa's father", which was the first time that Hubei archaeology found nine pieces of Lieding, and the era belonged to the two weeks, which attracted great attention from the academic community.
Since 2014, archaeologists have carried out systematic exploration and excavation here, confirming that this is a large city of the Zeng Kingdom including a cemetery, a residential site, and a smelting workshop, and the site period is from the late Western Zhou Dynasty to the early Spring and Autumn Period.
From 2015 to 2017, archaeologists carried out systematic scientific archaeological excavations on the southern hill of Sujialong Base, and cleaned up 101 burials and 2 carriage and horse pits. Judging from the relevant burial objects unearthed, the specific age of the base is from the period of two weeks to the early and middle spring and autumn. These tombs are well preserved, almost not stolen, and are all pit tombs. The burial utensils are not in good condition, mainly one coffin and one coffin. The burial goods are mostly placed between the coffins and camphors, mainly bronzes, and more than 500 bronze ritual vessels have been found so far. The bronze ritual vessels are placed in an orderly manner, and the combination relationship is clear.
The bronze inscription unearthed from Tomb 169 of the Zaoshulin Cemetery excavated in 2019 proves that the owner of the tomb is Sui Zhong Mijia, and her husband is Zeng Guojun Zeng Hou Bao, the owner of Tomb 168, which is a conclusive proof of Zeng and Sui Yiguo. Combined with the unearthed documents such as the bronze gui of Yejiashan's "Nangong", the inscription of Zeng Hou and Yongzhong, the mystery of Zeng Sui, which has plagued the academic community for 40 years, has come to an end.
In the early Spring and Autumn Period, in 1966, Sujialong, Jingshan was unearthed
The shape and ornamentation of the two bronze vessels are the same. There are inscriptions on the bottom and inside the cover: "Only in February, the death of the tyrant, the treasure is almost a treasure, with listening to the night, with the enjoyment of the filial piety of the emperor's ancestors, with the longevity of the eyebrows, and the eternal use of its ten thousand years." "Huanghu" is a personal name, probably a descendant of a merchant. In 1966, the seven bronze tripods and nine bronze tripods unearthed in Sujialong originally belonged to different ritual combinations, which were pieced together as burial objects for the tomb owner, Zeng Zhongqiao's father.
In the early Spring and Autumn Period, in 1966, Sujialong, Jingshan was unearthed, the upper abdomen was decorated with stealing curved patterns, the lower abdomen was decorated with tile patterns, and the back abdomen was connected to the dragon's head. Three-legged animal head. The plate and the bowl are a combination of water vessels, which are used for the gift of the wo, the bowl is used for watering, and the plate is used to hold the discarded water.
【Zeng Zhong's father copper kettle】In the early Spring and Autumn Period, it was unearthed in Sujialong, Jingshan in 1966
Two copper kettles of Zeng Zhong's father were unearthed, and the other is now in the National Museum of China. This pot is thick and oval-shaped. The lid of the pot is decorated with a one-week hollow ring pattern, and the body of the pot is decorated with a three-week ring pattern. The inner wall of the pot and neck is cast with an inscription: "Zeng Zhong's father used Jijin to make his own Baozun pot". Although the ring stripe decoration was also popular in the early Spring and Autumn period, it was generally applied to round pots, and it was rare to be used as a square pot decoration.
In addition, the Xiongjia Laowan Cemetery and the Zhoujiagang Cemetery are located in Suizhou City, Hubei Province, where Zeng bronzes were found in the 70s of the last century, which effectively supplemented the material cultural relics of Zeng in the early Spring and Autumn Period. Xiongjia Old Bay is located between the mountains and slopes in the north of Junshui in Junchuan Town, and bronzes were unearthed twice in 1970 and 1972, with inscriptions such as "Zeng Bowen" and "Huang Ji" on them.
Zhou's post is located in Wandian Town, located on the left bank of the drifting water. In 1976, farmers found 16 bronzes from the same tomb, dating from the early Spring and Autumn period.
【Huang Jiying Bronze Ding】In the early Spring and Autumn Period, it was unearthed in 1972 in the old bay of Xiongjia in Junchuan, Suizhou
There is an inscription on the inner wall of this piece: "Huang Ji is Ji Ying Baoding, and its descendants will enjoy it for 10,000 years." The Huang State was a vassal state surnamed Ying, located near present-day Huangchuan County, Henan Province. During the Spring and Autumn Period, Zeng Guo and the Yellow Kingdom had a close relationship, and the Huang Kingdom bronzes were often unearthed in the Zeng State cemetery, which may be the dowry of the Huang State women marrying to the Zeng Kingdom.
Looking at the marriage relationship of the vassal states from the bronze inscriptions, we can see the marrying person, the marrying country, and the marrying country.
The Han and Huai vassal states formed alliances against the Chu state through marriages and other relationships
Schematic diagram of the vassal states of the Jianghuai region
In the early Spring and Autumn Period, in 1970, it was unearthed in the old bay of Xiongjia in Junchuan, Suizhou
The lid and body of this vessel are decorated with tile patterns and heavy ring patterns, and the interior of the interior is full of bird patterns. There is an inscription in the lid and the vessel: "Only Zeng Bowen made his own treasure, and used the astragalus of the eyebrow beast, and his descendants and grandchildren enjoyed it with the treasure for ten thousand years."
In the early Spring and Autumn Period, in 1972, it was unearthed in the old bay of Xiongjia in Junchuan, Suizhou
In the early Spring and Autumn Period, in 1970, it was unearthed in the old bay of Xiongjia, Junchuan, Suizhou
The vessel and cover are square, and the cover is in the shape of a four-sided slope roof. There are ring ears on both sides of the neck, similar to Fang Yi, but it is speculated from the ring ears that this piece may have the original handle, which should be the latest style of the bronze square square.
08 More cultural relics are introduced
Zeng Gong asked for the car pit to unearth the god man driving the dragon double traffic component