Archaeologists in Henan Province, central China, have found 160 tombs from the Han Dynasty (202 B.C.-220 A.D.). These tombs contained over 1,000 cultural artifacts, such as bronzes, irons, and ceramics, as well as a number of ancient coins. A file photo of one of the tombs is provided (Xinhua).
Recently, an ancient tomb, estimated to have been constructed more than 1,400 years ago, was discovered in Xianyang, Shaanxi Province in Northwest China. It has been identified as the burial place of Yuwen Jue, the first emperor of the Northern Zhou dynasty (557-581) during the Northern and Southern Dynasties period (386-589).
Though it appears that the tomb had been plundered before, a collection of 146 burial artifacts, mostly pottery figurines, were discovered. These figurines depicted people holding shields, warriors on horseback or camels carrying cargo.
According to Wang Meng, an archaeologist, in Northern Zhou gravesites, pottery figurines are the most frequently encountered funeral artifacts. These objects were not very large and regularly modeled after creatures and people.
The east side of the tomb entrance yielded an epigraph regarding the person buried there. This was a square stele with the standard script characters that revealed the deceased to be the Northern Zhou's first emperor who passed away in the 10th month of the "Northern second year" (558). He was lain to rest with the appellation of "Duke of Lueyang."
Zhao Zhanrui, an assistant researcher at the Shaanxi Academy of Archaeology, expressed that the knowledge of Yuwen Jue's interment as "Duke of Lueyang" allows for an analysis of the "political and social changes" of the Northern Zhou period. This excavation project was headed by the Shaanxi Academy of Archaeology.
Fang Gang, a historian, informed the Global Times that Yuwen Jue was bestowed the title of Duke of Lueyang while he was still a young boy. His life was cut short at 15 years of age, the majority of which was spent as a puppet in the hands of Yuwen Hu, the nephew of his own father, Yuwen Tai.
The province has unearthed a second Northern Zhou tomb, in Xianyang, following the Xiao mausoleum which was the tomb of Yuwen Jue's brother, Yuwen Yong.
Unearthing revealed a burial site situated among many top-tier tombs from the Northern Dynasties to the Sui (581-618) and Tang (618-907) empires. It is noted that the tomb was initially encircled by a ditch, its main entrance facing south while the rear was directed north - making it a typical medium-sized Northern Zhou tomb.
Xue Ruiming, a Chinese archaeologist, informed the Global Times that Northern Zhou tomb architecture was characterised by a "ditch" design. This was due to the notion that the ditch for the departed was comparable to walls in a living person's home, as a way of showing them respect even after death, Xue explained.
Xue pointed out that giving the same degree of respect to the deceased as to the living is part of the Chinese tradition of burial.
In 1985, the Lixian Tomb in Guyuan, Northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, created a stir when it was discovered to be from the Northern Zhou era. This demonstrates that Northern Zhou tombs are not limited to just Shaanxi.
Archaeologists unearthed the tomb of the former governor of the Yuanzhou prefecture, the ancient name for Guyuan. On top of the 300 artifacts, such as murals and pottery figurines, there were also extraordinary pieces such as Persian gold gilded silver vessels and Lapis lazuli stone jewelry from Central and Western Asia.
Wang explained to the Global Times that the Northern Zhou period saw a lot of culture exchanges between China and the West, which the artifacts serve to represent.
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