Tomb of the Guangling King of the Eastern Han Dynasty in Ganquan

Tomb of the Guangling King of the Eastern Han Dynasty in Ganquan

The Ganquan Han Tombs are located around Ganquan Mountain, 18 kilometers northwest of Yangzhou City, within the territory of Ganquan Township, Hanjiang County.

To accommodate soil extraction by the Ganquan Brick and Tile Factory, the Nanjing Museum excavated two tombs on the northern side of the mountain—Shan Mountain (Tomb No. 1) and East Mountain (Tomb No. 2)—in 1975 and 1980 respectively.

The two tombs were large earthen mounds, each 12 meters high and 60 meters in diameter. Prior to excavation, the brick and tile factory had removed the top 5 meters of earth from the mounds, piling the broken bricks and mixed soil on the southern side. Excavation revealed that both tombs were brick-chambered graves facing south, which had been looted in ancient times. Tomb No. 1 had a 1-meter-diameter looting pit on the eastern side of the front chamber, while Tomb No. 2 had a large 4-meter-diameter looting hole in the central-eastern part of the main chamber. Some remaining burial objects were cleared out during the excavation.

Tomb No. 1 yielded 20 items including a bronze goose-foot lamp, glazed pottery five-branched lamp, double-fish dish, and jars. The base of the goose-foot lamp had a wide rim inscribed with 18 seal-script characters in intaglio: “Shanyang Residence Bronze Goose-Foot Short Lamp, Made in the 28th Year of Jianwu, Twenty.”

Tomb No. 2 was larger in scale, featuring two coffin chambers, and served as the primary burial site. A total of 90 residual burial objects were unearthed, including pottery items such as tripods, boxes, pots, basins, stoves, and mortars. Of particular significance were a number of exquisitely crafted artifacts: bronze items included a goose-foot lamp, an inlaid silver ox lamp, a gilded Boshan incense burner, and a silver-plated box-shaped lamp, all notable for their elegant forms and fine craftsmanship. Gold items were finely wrought, featuring crown-shaped ring ornaments with double-dragon motifs, crystal-inset convex mirror ring ornaments, dragon-shaped plaques, shield-shaped ornaments, and flower-shaped decorations, all welded together from tiny gold wires and beads. These pieces also incorporated inlaid crystals, glass, and turquoise, employing techniques such as filigree, granulation, welding, and inlaying—demonstrating highly sophisticated goldwork. Other treasures included early Chinese celadon jars, a delicately crafted bronze seal inscribed with “Eternal Joy Without End,” a unique agate seal with a tiger knob, and fragments of a glass bowl believed to have been imported from the Roman Empire.

Based on the styles of pottery unearthed from both tombs, they are dated to the early Eastern Han period. The inscription “28th Year of Jianwu” (52 AD) on the goose-foot lamp, along with the reference to “Shanyang Residence” and records in the “Biographies of the Ten Kings of Guangwu” in the Book of the Later Han, confirm that Tomb No. 2 is the joint burial tomb of Guangling King Liu Jing and his wife, while Tomb No. 1 is a family tomb. On February 24, 1981, Tao Xiuhua, a farmer’s wife from Ganquan Township, discovered the “Guangling King Seal” gold seal while digging in the mixed soil and rubble south of Tomb No. 2. Investigations confirmed that this seal was indeed part of the burial objects of Tomb No. 2. This seal is the only known gold seal of a feudal king from the Han Dynasty to have been discovered to date. It stands 2.121 cm tall and weighs 122.87 grams. Exquisitely cast, it features a turtle knob atop a square pedestal, with the four seal-script characters “Guangling Wang Xi” (Seal of the Guangling King) inscribed in intaglio on the face. Its discovery garnered significant attention in Japan. Because the seal shares identical design, inscription, and craftsmanship with the “Seal of the King of Na of Wa under Han Rule” unearthed in Japan, it ultimately resolved the debate over the authenticity of the latter seal. It also confirmed the historical accounts in the “Account of the Eastern Barbarians” in the Book of the Later Han regarding “In the second year of the Jianwu Zhongyuan era, the Wa people sent envoys claiming to be officials who paid tribute and offered congratulations” and “Emperor Guangwu granted them seals and ribbons.” This affirmed the significant historical value of the “Seal of the King of Na of Wa under Han Rule” in both ancient Japanese history and the history of China–Japan relations.