As they stroll, few of the pedestrians know that in the sheds opposite the compound of the Sichuan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) are housed a treasure trove of priceless cultural relics dating back about 2,500 years. These relics may shed light on the origins of the ancient Shu people (Sichuan was called Shu in ancient times) and the history of lacquerware production in Chengdu.

Amazing Findings

"The discovery of the relics, which has been hailed as one of Sichuan's most important archaeological finds, was accidental," said Jiang Zhanghua, deputy director of the Chengdu Archaeological Team.

While building a dining hall for the CPC Sichuan Provincial Committee on July 29, 2000, workers found several big pieces of ebony. Hearing the news, the Chengdu Archaeological Team rushed to the scene. Since then, they have explored a 1,000-square-metre area of the construction site and discovered astonishing things.

"The construction site was the graveyard of the royal family of the ancient Shu Kingdom in the early Warring States Period (475-221 BC)," Jiang said.

Running from northeast to southwest, the graveyard covers about 600 square meters from which 17 boat-shaped and single-plank coffins have been unearthed. Most of the coffins are 3 meters to 4 meters long, while the largest is 18.8 meters long.

Each coffin is made of a nanmu tree. Beneath the coffins are tie beams.

The burial method, with so many boat-shaped and single-plank coffins put together above crossties has never been seen before in China, archaeologists said.

"Evidence shows that the graveyard was robbed in the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD). If that had not happened, there would have been more than 30 coffins in the graveyard," Jiang said.

Although only three of the existing 17 coffins have not been robbed, a profusion of cultural relics have been excavated. They include pieces of pottery, bronze and lacquerware. Jiang said jade ware should have been buried in the tombs, too. "Tomb robbers must have taken it away as jade was considered more valuable at that time," Jiang said.

The exquisitely made pottery pieces, including cauldrons, stemmed cups and bowls, and jars and urns, were common in the early and mid-Warring States Period.

In the double-eared pottery urns, archaeologists found remnants of grains and nuts. The bronze ware includes spears, dagger-axes, choppers, knives, hooks and seals.

The lacquerware, which was the most conspicuous among the relics, includes double-eared drinking utensils, tables, pedestals of chimes, combs and a 25-stringed plucked instrument. Made of wood, the lacquerware, painted black and red, features designs of dragons and birds.

Archaeologists believe that the lacquer pieces were made between the late Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC) and the early Warring States Period (475-221 BC). The designs of dragons look quite like those inscribed on the bronze ware made in the same period along the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River.

Although the chimes were stolen in the Han Dynasty, their pedestals and the mallets to strike the chimes remained among the lacquerware. "Because only kings could use chimes in ancient times, the graveyard must have been that of the royal family of the ancient Shu Kingdom," Jiang said.

Mysterious Shu

The cultural relics unearthed from the graveyard shed light on the origins of the ancient Shu people and the history of lacquer production in Chengdu, said Yan Jingsong, an archaeologist from the Chengdu Archaeological Team.

According to ancient documents, Can Cong, legendary ancestor of the Shu people, came from the upper reaches of the Minjiang River, a tributary of the Yangtze River, where the Qiang people lived.

Some archaeologists inferred from the documents that the Shu people originated from the Qiang people. But opponents argued that they had no other convincing evidence.

Ancient Qiang people were accustomed to burying the dead twice. When burying the dead for the second time, they would only place the bones in the coffins. "Only in this way could a person be considered dead and his burial ceremony grand," Jiang said.

"As the bones in the graveyard on Commercial Street were buried for the second time, they serve as evidence that the ancient Shu people originated from the Qiang people," Yan said.

It had been held that lacquerware production developed in Chengdu after the neighboring Qin Kingdom conquered the ancient Shu Kingdom in 316 BC.

"Judging from the lacquerware unearthed from the graveyard on Commercial Street, however, we can conclude that lacquerware production was highly developed in Chengdu at least in the early Warring States Period," Yan said.

Archaeologists reckon that there are similar coffins to the east of the graveyard on Commercial Street. But this can be confirmed only after further excavation.

According to Jiang, a plan has been made to build a museum above the graveyard to exhibit the relics excavated.

(China Daily November 8, 2002))