Top 10 Recent Discoveries From Ancient China
Top 10 Recent Discoveries From Ancient China
A history as old as China’s is a smorgasbord for archaeologists. The ancient culture continues to reveal long-hidden layers, adding to an already complex past. The latest from this vast country covers a remarkable trove, from revealing missing links to what games the nobility played to how the climate brought death to dynasties. Even more intriguing are the new mysteries and legends proving to be true.
10 A Legend’s Treasure
A river in China is said to be strewn with treasure. The legend goes that during a peasant revolt, their leader led a 100-boat convoy down the Minjiang River. The gold-carrying ships were ambushed on their way south in the modern Sichuan Province. During the battle, the precious cargo sunk to the bottom and away into the world of myths. It took centuries and surprised construction workers to prove that the story was real.
9 The Unknown Human
When found in 2007 and 2014 respectively, two skulls created a buzz. Both were extracted from China’s Lingjing site in the Henan province. They belonged to the same strange species: a modern human with Neanderthal features.
Similar to people today, the pair owned reduced brow lines, slight cranial vaults, and big brains. However, semicircular ear canals and a thicker skull at the back was Neanderthal. Additionally, the low broad brain case was a trait of early eastern Eurasian humans.
8 Giant Buddha and Temple
In 2016, a renovation project began at the Hongmen dam in Nancheng County. The first step was to lower the water level. By the time it was down by 10 meters, villagers noticed the unmistakable face of a Buddha emerging. Closer investigation revealed it had been carved from the cliff face, and the head was only the visible tip of a complete statue that stood 3.8 meters high.
7 Royal Mausoleum
Several wealthy kings served under China’s emperor in the second century BC.
The elaborate resting place of King Liu Fei was recently opened. The arrogant royal once ruled the Jiangdu kingdom (modern-day Xuyi County) and had a luxurious lifestyle until he died in 128 BC. The crypt had been plundered but remained an archaeological wonderland. Excavations running from 2009–2011 listed over 10,000 artifacts from three main tombs, 11 attendant graves, weaponry, and horse-and-chariot pits. The king’s chamber consisted of smaller rooms connected by corridors and came with a stocked kitchen, coin-filled treasury, musical instruments, model chariots, and a wide variety of weapons.
6 Drought Inscriptions
The Qinling Mountains in central China receives most of the summer rainfall. It provides regional rivers with water and a recent discovery revealed it was also an emergency reservoir during droughts. One cave received at least 70 visits over a period of 500 years.
5 A Game with No Rules
Nearby Qingzhou City lies a massive, elite tomb. A lot of its treasures were removed by looters over the course of its 2,300-year-old existence. The recurring waves of thieves were probably in no mood to play games because a rare entertainment set was left behind during each robbery.
4 Origins of Polo
Conventional wisdom names Persia as the place where polo was born around 2,600 years ago. Now, archaeologists have come across polo sticks and balls that might give China that honor.
3 Chariot Graveyard
A mass grave of a different sort was unearthed in recent years. In Zaoyang city in Hubei Province, a piece of land produced vehicles, people, and animals. Thirty tombs belonged to members of the nobility who died between 770–476 BC. Separate from them was a massive pit. Inside were 28 wooden chariots arranged flat on their sides and densely stacked together.
2 The Missing Textile Link
The Han Dynasty produced copious amounts of silk. Distributed throughout Eurasia and even the Roman Empire in the west, it wasn’t clear how weavers managed to keep up with the demand. In 2013, construction workers uncovered a five-chambered tomb from the second century BC. Located in the city of Chengdu, the crypt held a woman, aged around 50. Below the burial room were four compartments. One made weaving history.
1 The Blue Monster
The spring of 2013 brought another remarkable tomb to the attention of archaeologists. Unfortunately, it had been gutted by looters shortly before discovery. The bodies were gone and the coffins all but destroyed.
May 9, 2012 China_Water level drop in E China's Huaihe River affects navigation
The water level in the Xuyi County section of east China's Huaihe River has dropped too low for heavy ships to navigate through, due to a continuous drought since the beginning of the year.
Rainfall from January to April reduced obviously compared to the same period of last year in the Huaihe River region in east China's Jiangsu Province, resulting in a unrelenting decline of the water level.
In the Xuyi section of the river, the water level has lowered to 13 meters, half a meter down the safety standard for large ships, and half above the 12-meter dead storage water level of the river. The cement base of the lighthouse in the waterway has been partially exposed.
The lowering of the water level has narrowed down the river channel, and heavy ships have to remove part of their loads in order to get through the section.
The Great Day of Annihilation
Liu Bei
Liu Bei (Mandarin pronunciation: [ljoʊ peɪ]; 161 – 10 June 223), courtesy name Xuande, was a warlord in the late Eastern Han dynasty who founded the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period and became its first ruler. Despite having a later start than his rivals and lacking both the material resources and social status they commanded, Liu Bei overcame his many defeats to carve out his own realm, which at its peak spanned present-day Sichuan, Chongqing, Guizhou, Hunan, parts of Hubei, and parts of Gansu.
Culturally, due to the popularity of the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong, Liu Bei is widely known as an ideal benevolent, humane ruler who cared for his people and selected good advisers for his government. His fictional counterpart in the novel was a salutary example of a ruler who adhered to the Confucian set of moral values, such as loyalty and compassion. Historically, Liu Bei was a brilliant politician and leader whose skill was a remarkable demonstration of a Legalist. His political philosophy can best be described by the Chinese idiom Confucian in appearance but Legalist in substance (simplified Chinese: 儒表法里; traditional Chinese: 儒表法裡; pinyin: rú biǎo fǎ lǐ; Wade–Giles: ju2 piao3 fa3 li3), a style of governing which had become the norm after the founding of the Han dynasty.
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