What mystery has been revealed by the major archaeological discoveries of the "ancient Dian Kingdom"?

Kunming, 4 April (ZXS) -- What mysteries have been uncovered by the major archaeological discoveries of the "ancient Dian Kingdom"?

——Interview with Jiang Zhilong, research librarian of Yunnan Institute of Archaeology and Cultural Relics

China News Agency reporter Hu Yuanhang

Sima Qian once recorded in the "History of the Southwest Yi Lie" a local government on the banks of Dianchi Lake, the ancient Dian Kingdom. But for a long time, due to the lack of historical materials, this mysterious kingdom has been little known. With the unearthing of a series of sensational archaeological relics such as the golden seal of the Dian king and the sealing mud of the Dian Kingdom, the mystery of the ancient Dian Kingdom was gradually revealed. What major discoveries have been made by the archaeology of the "Ancient Dian Kingdom"? What mysteries have been solved? Recently, China News Agency's "East-West Question" interviewed Jiang Zhilong, a research librarian of the Yunnan Institute of Archaeology and Cultural Relics and the person in charge of the excavation of the Hebosho site, for interpretation.

The transcript of the interview is summarized below:

China News Agency: There have been sporadic records about the ancient Dian Kingdom in history, but there is a lack of historical materials and empirical evidence, how did archaeology achieve a breakthrough?

Jiang Zhilong: It is now recognized that the earliest record of the ancient Dian Kingdom comes from the "Shiji". It is generally believed that the ancient Dian Kingdom was a regional regime that continued from the Warring States to the Han Dynasty, was part of the Southwest Yi, and its territory was mainly in the central and eastern regions of Yunnan centered on Dianchi Lake. However, for a long time, due to the lack of historical materials, the history of the ancient Dian Kingdom has been widely debated.

The Kingdom of Dian seals the mud. Photo courtesy of Yunnan Institute of Archaeological and Cultural Relics

In 1956, archaeologists excavated a large number of exquisite bronzes and gold seals of the Dian King in the ancient tombs of Jinning Shizhaishan on the southeast bank of Dianchi Lake, which confirmed the existence of the ancient Dian Kingdom for the first time and caused a sensation. However, to prove the existence of an "ancient country", in addition to tombs, it must be supported by cities, large buildings, villages, settlements and traces of life. In 2008, the Yunnan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, in collaboration with the Department of Anthropology at the University of Michigan, discovered more than 70 Dian and Han cultural sites in the southeast, south and west banks of Dianchi Lake. In 2016, the remains of settlements from the Han Dynasty, the Dian culture period or even earlier were found at the site of Heboshou hundreds of meters away from the Shizhaishan ancient tomb group, and from 2018 to 2019, a large number of urn coffins and pillar pits and other relics were discovered, especially important cultural relics such as the Dian Kingdom seal and sealing mud. Since 2022, a large number of Han dynasty sealing mud and simple mu, including Yizhou Taishou and Yizhou County official seal mud, have been excavated, and relics such as large building foundations and wide roads have been discovered.

Unearthed simple with words and without words. Photo courtesy of Yunnan Institute of Archaeological and Cultural Relics

These discoveries have gradually revealed the dusty ancient Dian Kingdom, cities, and settlements. It is worth mentioning that the unearthing of a large number of sealing mud and simple documents of the Dian Kingdom not only corroborates with the gold seal of the Dian King unearthed earlier, once again confirming the real existence of the ancient Dian Kingdom, but also indicates that Emperor Wudi of Han established the "Dian Xiang" in the ancient Dian State and established an administrative system based on the county system. This is an important empirical evidence of the formation and development of China's unified multi-ethnic country.

China News Agency: What is the connection between the newly discovered Hemoorsuo site and the Shizhaishan ancient tomb group? What is the significance of its findings?

Jiang Zhilong: The Hebosho site is located near Hebosho Village, Shanggari Town, Jinning District, on the southeast bank of Dianchi Lake in Kunming City, Yunnan Province, only more than 700 meters away from the ancient tombs of Shizhaishan Mountain, which is the largest, long-lasting and culturally rich site that has been discovered on the Yunnan Plateau. At present, a total of 10 sites have been officially excavated in the Hebosho site area, covering a cumulative area of about 7000,<> square meters. The results of excavations indicate that the site of the Hebosho site may be the capital of the ancient Dian Kingdom, that is, the core residence of the Shizhaishan culture. Generally speaking, the site of Hebosho and the ancient tomb group of Shizhaishan are the production and living places of the ancient Dian ancestors, and the other is the burial ground.

Distribution range of river mooring sites. Photo courtesy of Yunnan Institute of Archaeological and Cultural Relics

The site of the river mooring is of great historical and cultural value. Firstly, a complete bronze culture and chronological sequence of the Dianchi Basin is constructed. Carbon dating of plant remains at the Hebosho site indicates that the site lasted from the late Shang Dynasty in 1300 BC to the Han Dynasty. Through the scientific research of metal products, the beginning of the Bronze Age in the region was determined to be from 1200 BC to 1100 BC, more than 500 years earlier than the previously recognized Bronze Age start time, combined with dating data, stratigraphic sequences and the characteristics of excavated relics, the complete archaeological cultural sequence of the Bronze Age in the Dianchi Basin can be determined into three stages: Early Bronze Age (bronze cultural remains earlier than the Dian culture) - Middle Bronze Age (typical Dian cultural remains) - Late Bronze Age ( Cultural relics after the entry of Han culture).

Some of the official seal sealing mud and private seal sealing mud unearthed at the site of Hebosho. Photo courtesy of Yunnan Institute of Archaeological and Cultural Relics

Secondly, the seat of Yizhou County in the Western Han Dynasty was preliminarily confirmed. The mud seals, simple stalks, architectural remains and roads found at the site of Hebosho indicate that the small vicinity of the site is likely to be the county seat of Yizhou County, which was placed by the Western Han Dynasty at that time. Yizhou County was established in the second year of the Yuan Feng of the Western Han Dynasty (109 BC), and the administrative divisions involved in the official seal mud excavated from the site of Hebosho included both the counties of "Dianchi" and "Jianling" under the jurisdiction of Yizhou County, as well as the surrounding county-level administrative units "Yuewei" and "Yuewei", indicating that this is a major county-level administrative center; The discovery of official documents confirms that effective administration of the southwestern frontier began during the Western Han Dynasty; The discovery of "Changle Weiyang" wadang, painted juvadang, patterned tiles and paving tiles indicate the existence of high-specification buildings in this area.

Moreover, the empirical evidence of the rule of the Western Han Dynasty over Yunnan reveals the process of the formation and development of the diversity and integration of Chinese civilization. A series of archaeological discoveries at the site of Hebosho clarify the continuous evolution of archaeological culture from Shang Zhou to Qin and Han in central Yunnan, and empirically prove that the Shizhaishan site is a key node in the process of the diversification and integration of Chinese civilization and the formation and development of the country, and at the same time provides valuable physical data for the governance of the frontier and the integration of ethnic groups under Zhixian County.

China News Agency: Existing archaeological achievements reveal what are the characteristics of civilization in ancient Dian Kingdom?

Jiang Zhilong: Over the years, we have successively discovered four ancient tomb groups in the Dianchi Basin and its vicinity, including Shizhaishan Ancient Tombs, Jiangchuan Lijiashan Ancient Tombs, Chenggong Tianzimiao Ancient Tombs, Yangfutou Cemetery in Guandu District, and Hebosho Sites, collectively known as Shizhaishan (cultural) Great Sites. Tens of thousands of cultural relics with ancient Yunnan characteristics unearthed at the Shizhaishan site, a large number of bronzes with distinctive local characteristics excavated in Shizhaishan and Lijiashan and other places, including the well-known Niuhu copper case, as well as numerous copper drums, copper shell ware, weapons, chimes, copper buckles, etc. It shows that the ancient Dian Kingdom was an ancient country with a highly developed bronze civilization. In addition, many buckles are set with rubies, malachite and other gemstones, which also shows that there were exchanges and contacts between the ancient Dian Kingdom and the surrounding areas at that time.

The treasure of the new Yunnan Provincial Museum "Niuhu Copper Case". Photo courtesy of Visual China

China News Agency: What are the characteristics of the process of the integration of ancient Yunnan civilization into the integrated pattern of Chinese civilization? What are the revelations?

Jiang Zhilong: I would like to talk about this topic in combination with specific archaeological results. In recent years, in addition to a large number of mud seals and simple stalks, large building foundations and wide roads have also been found at the site of the river park. These ruins show a certain complexity: during the pre-Dian culture period, it was mainly a village with dry-column architecture; During the Dian culture period, semi-crypt-style houses built on the ground appeared in dense settlements; During the Han Dynasty, there was a complex fusion of primitive settlements and centrally administered counties. This change shows that the process of the integration of ancient Dian civilization into the integrated pattern of Chinese civilization is gradual, mutual learning and integration; Instead of the alternative, you die and I live type; The overall presentation of the characteristics of each beauty and beauty and commonality.

Suspected remains of large buildings. Photo courtesy of Yunnan Institute of Archaeological and Cultural Relics

In addition, we also find that during the pre-Dian culture period and the Dian culture period, the local architecture was small, and the burial products were mainly local items such as pottery and bronze; During the Han Dynasty, large-scale buildings and roads of a certain scale began to appear in the area, and items such as mainland coins and inkstones appeared along with burial goods. This shows that the integration of diversity also accelerates local development. Moreover, this process is not completely passive, but many people actively embrace advanced production lifestyles and cultural forms.

At the same time, a large number of seals and official documents unearthed at the site of Hebosho also make us pay attention to the role played by the county system in the formation of a pluralistic and integrated pattern, and the establishment of this system lays a unified pattern. (End)

Respondent Profile:

Jiang Zhilong, research librarian of Yunnan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, archaeological excavation leader (project leader). Engaged in Neolithic to Bronze Age archaeological research in Yunnan and Southeast Asia, he has presided over the fifth excavation of Shizhai Mountain in Jinning (1996), the excavation of Huize Shuicheng cemetery (2001-2004), the archaeological excavation of the Three Gorges Reservoir Area of Chongqing (2001-2003), the excavation of the Nanbeidu site in Jinggu in Nuozhadu Reservoir Area (2006-2007), the excavation of Jinlian Mountain Cemetery in Chengjiang (2007-2010), the excavation of Xueshan Site (2009-2011), and the archaeological survey of prehistoric settlements in the Dianchi Basin in Sino-US cooperation (2008-2010), Dongchuan Yubei Site Excavation (2013-2014), Lao Archaeology (2014-2019) and Shizhaishan Archaeology (2014-present), are the discoverers of Yunnan cultural settlements and city sites. He has published more than 60 papers in domestic and foreign journals such as "Archaeology", "Cultural Relics" and "ANTIQUITY", published 2 academic monographs and 4 archaeological academic reports.