Most MYSTERIOUS Archaeological Discoveries In China!
Check out the Most MYSTERIOUS Archaeological Discoveries In China! From ancient artifacts to strange finds, this top 10 list of chinese archaeological discoveries will amaze you!
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9. Yang Guan Zhai Ruins
Found in 2017 in Gaoling, Shaanxi in China, the ruins are from a very prosperous period from the Yangshao culture, which existed from 5000-3000 BCE. An important thing to note is the size of the ruins, the burial site within them is 85,000 square meters, and contains over 2,000 graves, which is much bigger than most burial grounds of that time period by a large margin.
8. Peking Man
A constant desire of mankind in terms of archaeology is to know where man came from and when it evolved, the fossilized remains of primitive man are a great help to this, and in China in the 1920's, certain major bones were found to help fill in this picture.
From the year 1929 to 1937, 15 partial crania, 11 mandibles, many teeth, some skeletal bones and large numbers of stone tools were discovered in the Lower Cave at Locality 1 at what is now called the Peking Man site at Zhoukoudian.
7. Jinyang Palace
Due to the many dynasties that China has had over the millennia, there are many palaces that exist within the country that have been lost to time, one of which was the Jinyang Palace. This palace was part of the Sui Dynasty, which lasted from 581-618 AD. And in 2016, it was finally discovered in the Jinyang ancient city in Shanxi province.
6. The Tomb Of Yu Hong
Yu Hong and his wife were the leaders of the Sui Dynasty and were buried in 592 AD. Then, in 1999, their tomb was accidentally discovered by people from Wangguo village in Jinyuan district of the city of Taiyuan. This particular finding is important for many reasons, including the fact that it's the only find from this area to mimic the Central Asian Culture of the time period.
5. Ruins of Zheng and Han City
Archaeology can be a game of timing as much as anything else. China is known to try and keep certain sites preserved, thus preventing archaeologists from seeking out the truth living within the ground beneath their feet. The discoveries at the Ruins of Zheng and Han City in 2017 were proof of that patience.
4. Pre-Qin Settlements
The Qin Dynasty was China's first feudal dynasty, and thus held many advancements for the nation. However, in 2017, proof of a settlement on the Canning River Plain in Sichuan province proves that about 1800 years prior there was another area lived, and they lived quite advanced based on the construction of the housing.
3. Western XIa Mausoleums
Found at the foot of theHelan Mountains in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region of northwestern China, nine mausoleums were discovered that were a part of a key part of China's history via the Western Xia Dynasty.
2. Famen Temple
Religion has often played an interesting role in China's history, which can be proven by the finding and then reconstruction of the Famen Temple. As the name suggests, it's found in Famen Town in the Fufeng Country.
As for when it was constructed, that's a little bit harder to determine. There are reports that it was built in the Northern Zhou dynasty, by Emperor Huan and also by Emperor Ling of the Eastern Han dynasty.
1. Terracotta Army
In China, 1974, one of the major archaeological discoveries of our time was discovered: The lost tomb of the first Chinese emperor. Many don’t remember that it was actually some farmers who were the first to come upon these soldiers as they were looking for water during a severe drought.
Jinyang Wind and Fire Meteor, Traditional Fire Spinning in Taiyuan
Jinyang Feng Huo Liuxing
Jinyuan* district Wind and Fire Meteors A documentary on the Dongjie village Wind and Fire Meteor troupe of master Jia Tiancang.
Jia Tiancang, known locally as Lao Jia Old Jia is a third generation inheritor of both the Jinyang Wind and Fire Meteor and Xinyi Liuhe* traditions founded by master Han Ronghua. He has spent his entire life practicing Wind and Fire Meteor and has learned and mastered around 100 traditional techniques.
He has further developed the tradition by creating several of his own techniques such as Young Wife Works the Millstone and Chang E Flies to the Moon.
Today he is known locally as one of the top Wind and Fire Meteor teachers in the Jinyang area.
The Jinyang Feng Hou Liuxing tradition can be traced back to Han Ronghua. Han Ronghua was born during the late Qing dynasty and began to study martial arts at an early age under the famous Xingyi master Che Yizhai. Under Che's instruction he became extremely skilled in Xingyi. Later he moved with his grandfather to Qi county in neighboring Jinzhong prefecture to conduct business there. In Qi county he met and began studying under He Daguang a master of Dai family Xinyi.
Both Taiyuan city and Qi county at that period were major trade centers in Shanxi. Because of this they were famous for their street performers as well as magnificent festival parades both of which included many locally unique performance traditions..
Having enjoyed these performances since childhood Han began to learn traditional methods of performance and acrobatics including the fire meteor from local performers in Qi county.
Eventually he developed his own methods of fire meteor performance by drawing on his martial arts skills as well as what he had learned from various veteran traveling performers
In 1928 he left Qi county and retired to Dongjie village, his native home in the Jinyuan district of Taiyuan, and began teaching martial arts as well as wind and fire meteor skills.
Soon the wind and fire meteor performances of his students became the most popular attractions at local festivals.
From there the skill quickly spread and wind and fire meteor performers could be found across the area.
However after the fall of the republican government and the many upheavals that followed the popularity of the practice began to wane.
The last performance was in the 1970's when during the lantern festival one man who was standing too close to the performance had several holes burned in his clothes from the flying sparks. Because of this he filed a lawsuit against the performer. Not only did he win his case but as a result a law was passed banning the public performance of wind and fire meteor.
After that there was not another performance in over 30 years.
However in 2005 the few remaining masters of Jinyang Wind and Fire Meteor came together to register to have the Jinyang Feng Huo Liuxing recognized as an intangible cultural heritage item. Much of the work for this was done by Han Ronghua's grandson Han Jiuniu. He had spent many years years collecting interviews and artifacts to document the history and was instrumental in bringing the remaining old masters together to document and preserve the art.
In 2006 it was recognized as a provincial level intangible cultural heritage item. Later in 2008 it was officially listed as a national level intangible cultural heritage item.
With the recognition of it's importance as a national cultural heritage they were able to once again begin public performances. Today there are several wind and fire meteor troupes practicing in Jinyuan.
Huo Liuxing Chui Fire Meteor Hammers have a recorded history in China of about 900 years.
They were practiced as part of festivities during temple fairs and holiday celebrations. They were also commonly shown as part of the performances of traveling circuses and acrobatic troops.
During Chinese holiday celebrations such as the lantern festival the fire spinners would traditionally lead the huge street parades.
During these festivals the narrow streets of the traditional Chinese cities would be packed with people. The fire spinners would go first using the spinning fire to open up the street to let the parade of lanterns, lion or dragon dancers, floats, altars, gods, and spirit warriors through the crowds.
The meteor hammers used in these demonstrations were almost always double ended.
Traditional Chinese Huo Liuxing Chui differ from the kind used by modern performers in the west as instead of using flammable liquid for fuel they would use a metal cage filled with burning coals.
During the performance the coals will emit showers of sparks giving the meteor it's burning tail.
*(Jinyang is old name for the area that is known known as the Jinyuan district of Taiyuan.)
* (The Han family Xinyi Liuhe tradition is Han Ronghua's amalgamation of the Xingyi Quan he learned from Che Yizhai and the Dai Family Xinyi he learned from He Daguang.)
Taiyuan
Taiyuan, Jinyang) is the capital and largest city of North China's Shanxi province. It is one of the main manufacturing bases of China. Throughout its long history, Taiyuan was the capital or provisional capital of many dynasties in China, hence the name Longcheng.
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Li Ethnic group's staff methods from Hainan Island
Boxing and staff arts of the Chen family of Wanling township, Qionggzhai Li and Miao ethnic county, Hainan Island.
Demonstrated by Chen Chongqin 4th generation inheritor.
The Li Jia Quan and Li Jia Gun methods of Wanling township's Chen family can be traced back to the late 19th century with Chen Chongqin's great grandfather Chen Tongyi.
At the time the Li people had been pushed back into the more remote heavily forested mountain areas of Hainan island, having lost much of their land to Chinese immigrants and more to Miao mercenaries sent by the Qing government to fight them.
The Li people mostly survived off from subsistence farming and hunting and gathering, supplementing their lively hood by trekking to the coastal Chinese cities to sell their handmade goods or forest products to Chinese traders.
Chen Tongyi was a hunter who regularly made the trek to the coastal cities to sell medicinal products taken from the animals he hunted such as Deer horn and penis, bear gallbladder, and monkey bone paste.
At this time the Li people were often not allowed to go into Chinese establishments. They were forced to sell their goods on the street and in the case of medicines they often ended up selling to Chinese middlemen who would in turn sell them to wholesalers. At this exchange they received a fraction of the price paid by the wholesalers who collected supplies in the region for export.
During one trip Chen came across a man who had been attacked and left severely injured by a group of soldiers.
Chen had sold this man bear gall on previous occasions and knew the location of his house. Disgusted with the actions of the soldiers he carried the man home and using some of the supplies he had brought to sell he made medicines and helped to care for him until it was clear he was in a stable condition.
The next time Chen was in town the man found and made him come back to his house for a meal.
The man told Chen he was a boxing coach named Zheng Dingnan.
Zheng then said he would buy whatever he had on him and made Chen promise to bring all his medicines to him first next time he came into town.
The next time Chen came into the city he went to Zheng's house as promised. Zheng insisted he come in and told Chen that out of gratitude for saving him that he would act as Chen's proxy to sell the medicines directly to the local major medicine exporters in order to ensure he got a pair price, and that while he was in town he wanted Chen to stay with him and his family rather than camping on the streets.
Chen was overjoyed and from then on he would have Zheng sell the medicines for him rather than getting ripped off by street middlemen.
About 2 years later he had come into town with his medicines and was at Zheng Dingnan's house. Zheng said he felt like he needed to do something more to show his gratitude to Chen. Chen said he had done much more than enough and that his family was able to live much better thanks to the boxer.
However the boxer then asked Chen if he had ever had any interest in martial arts. Chen said he had always wanted to learn but no one in his village knew martial arts and they could not afford any teacher of any skill level.
From then on the boxer began to insist Chen stay for several days whenever he came to the city. During this time he would teach Chen boxing which Chen would practice daily at home for several months until his next trip to the coastal city.
After a few years he began to teach Chen methods of staff fighting.
Eventually Chen was able to master the old boxing teacher's entire Si Men Quan Four Gate Boxing system.
He later became famous among the local Li people for his skills in boxing and stick fighting. These skills he passed on to his sons and grandsons and they have been preserved in Chen family.
Qingtang Village Boxing news clip, Hailufeng martial arts
Qingtang village boxing,
Qingtang village is located in Lufeng county, Shanwei prefecture, Guangdong.
The Qintang village boxing methods are based on the five animals consisting of Tiger, Dragon, Snake, Crane, and Lion.
The curriculum is divided into two divisions both of which contain over 20 forms of empty hand boxing.
The first division is Shi Zhuang Quan Lion Stake Boxing. This consists of the basic forms of Qingtang village boxing and is the public face of the system. It is seen as developing strength and maintaining health.
The second division is called Nei Jia Quan Inside Family Boxing
These methods focus on combat efficiency and are kept within the village and only taught to skilled members.
Along with boxing children in the village are taught various gymnastics consisting of methods of leaping and tumbling. This includes feats such as jumping or somersaulting through hoops of fire or knives and doing flips or rolls over swung weapons.
Qingtang village is famous for its' lion dancing which is said to descended from Ming dynasty military lion dancing.
The most famous is the Pan Lid Face Lion but they also have the Female Pig Lion and Dragon Lion types.
Within each martial school in Qingtang village there is a shrine to the Lion Grandfather, the local god of lion dancing, and on either side of his shrine are the sayings Fists which strike the ferocious tiger of the southern mountain and Legs which kick the great dragon lord of the northern ocean.
Qingtang village was founded by a Ming dynasty military officer from Guangzhou named Huang Yongxing.
Born around 1410 into a military family he was quickly elevated to a ranking officer and sent to Shanwei prefecture to oversee the policy of creating military settlements in which the soldiers worked in farming to generate food for themselves and the army while continuing to regularly train and drill.
By the 1460's the Tun Tu Farm Station institution was beginning to crumble. Huang moved his family into one of the abandoned military barracks after securing deeds to the land around it. This was the origin of present day Qingtang village.
While his descendants no longer worked as soldiers they still passed down the military language as well as the methods of boxing, weapons, and lion dancing that he had taught them.
The oral mythology of modern Qingtang village boxing has also incorporated a variation of Xilu myth.
Following the burning of the Southern Shaolin temple in Kangxi's reign there were 7 great monks who escaped the destruction and hid among the people. One of these monks had heard that the people of Qingtang village were descendants of Ming soldiers and were fond of practicing boxing, weapons, and lion dances. Coming to Qingtang village he was given shelter and permanently settled there. While there he taught martial arts to a number of the villagers. Among these the two brothers Huang Kaifeng and Huang Kaimao successfully passed the provincial military exam.
Among the youngest and most skilled of the unnamed monk's students was Huang Ziqiang who followed his teacher from a young age learning his Southern Shaolin boxing style. Later he also learned and mastered a system of Emei boxing*. His system is often said to be the main source for what is practiced in the village today.
Huang Ziqiang became famous locally for his martial arts and maintained a sizable school in a neighboring region which produced many skilled students.
Among his top students within Qingtang village was Huang Junlian who was given the name Unrivaled In Two Counties (ie in the Hailufeng region) and Huang Donglian who was known for his mastery of the entire curriculum of Qingtang Quan as well as for his volatile and violent personality and his brutality and high level of practical combat skills which he maintained into old age.
The people of Qingtang village speak their own language, a form of what is known as Jun Hua or Military Language.
Jun Hua is a rare type of language, widely scattered across Guangdong and surrounding areas and found only in settlements which descend directly from the military field stations of the early Ming dynasty. The Jun Hua language has evolved differently in the various isolated settlements. But all versions have their basis in the lingua franca of the Ming military. The original Ming military language had it's basis in official Mandarin. However it contained elements from other regional languages and a large number of military specific terms, phrases, and slang.
* this along with other story details and generation count suggest a post Taiping rebellion setting rather than the claimed early 18th century setting. The monk is also sometimes referred to as a flower monk probably a member of a nominally Buddhist folk sect based mainly in southern village Taoist traditions. These sects were spread among the Hakka and Hoklo and often claimed links to Shaolin.
Chan Buddhist Martial Arts of Jinshan Temple
Jin Shan Temple Boxing Xi Xin Quan (Washing Heart Boxing)
This boxing style is demonstrated by Jinshan Si Monk Bai Chuanzhang.
Jinshan temple is located along the southern bank of the Yangtze River, on the edge of Zhenjiang city in Anhui province.
Bai Chuan Zhang was born into a local Zhenjiang Wushu family. His father, uncles, and grandfather were all well known martial artists. At the age of 3 he began to train in foundational methods under his grandfather.
During the early 1950's his family lost their land and were split up being sent to work camps in various parts of China.
Finding himself homeless and alone he went to Jinshan temple to ask for shelter and at age 12 made the decision to become a Buddhist disciple.
The monks at Jinshan temple studied Chan Buddhism spending long hours practicing Chan mediation. The monks of the temple also had a long history of martial practice.
His teacher, senior monk Pu Xiu, was the inheritor of the traditional boxing methods of the temple and would lead the daily practice sessions.
Because of his background Bai Chuanzhang had both the interest and foundation to completely master the traditional practices of the temple's arts.
This boxing system contains extensive Qigong practices and was meant to be used as the active counterpart to the monk's daily practice of Chan sitting meditation.
Along with the Boxing set there is also a Jian (Straight Sword) and a Damo Cane set as well as a range of drills, Qigong, stretching, breathing, massage, and conditioning exercises.
Traditionally the temples boxing methods were only practiced by the monks and did not have a name. During the 1980's traditional arts survey many ancient unnamed lineages were turned up and in order to be cataloged, names had to be invented. Bai Chuanzhang chose the name Xi Xin Quan Washing Heart Boxing, this name may contain an allusion to the original name of the temple Ze Xin Si Pool of the Heart Temple.
Bai Chuanzhang is still alive today and teaches traditional Chan Buddhism. However he has not found a successor for his boxing methods and is currently the only one who knows the traditional boxing of Jinshan temple.
Because he has not been able to find a successor he is now writing a boxing manual and filming his practices for the local Zhenjiang historical archives so that some record will remain.
Jinshan temple is one of China's most famous Buddhist temples.
It was built on an island in the Yangtze river around 1600 years ago in the Eastern Jin dynasty.
Over the millennia the river shifted and today the island has become a peninsula in the river.
Jinshan Si is one of the 4 most famous Buddhist temples in China and features a number of building, caves, grottoes and a huge pagoda.
But most awesomely it is also the site of Zhongling Spring which is famous in ancient books as being the source of some of the best water anywhere for brewing fragrant tea.
The temple was originally named Ze Xin Si Pool of the Heart Temple, and later called You Long Si Swimming Dragon temple
However by the Tang dynasty it gained the name Jin Shan Si Golden Mountain Temple.
This is supposedly because the monk Fahai discovered a pot of gold hidden in the mountain and turned it in to the emperor who returned the gold instructing him to use it build his temple on the spot.
In reality the temple was already there and a small vein of gold was found there during the Tang period.
Jinshan temple and island are home to many legends, all Chinese people have heard of Jinshan Si from the famous Legend of the White Snake.
Locals and history buffs also know the area around the temple as the site of The Battle of Huangtiandang where the greatly outnumbered troops of Southern Song dynasty general Han Shizong ambushed and defeated the invading Jurchen Jin army led by Wanyan Wuzhu. The River directly in front of the temple saw Han Shizong's wife Lady Liang Hongyu (famed as a master of Boxing, Wrestling Horsemanship, and archery) personally man the signal drums on the Song flagship leading their navy to encircle and set fire to the Jin navy.
Jinshan island and Zhenjiang city occupy a strategically important location on the Yangtse and have always been considered to be of great military importance.
Not only is it an ideal strategic location for controlling the Yangtze River, but according to the ancient systems of Fengshui it is seen as being a major point where various streams of natural energy converge. Because of this Qin Shi Huangdi believed the area was too powerful and having an area of that power outside of his own capital posed a possible threat to his dynasty. To restrain that threat he had an army of 3000 prisoners tunnel through one of the hills surrounding Zhenjiang in order to drain the energy away from the area.