Zhuangqiaofen Site

Zhuangqiaofen Site

The Zhuangqiaofen Site is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Zhuangqiaofen Site is located in Qunfeng Village, Lindai Town, Pinghu City, Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province. It is a large Liangzhu culture site and an ancient human settlement from the Neolithic Age. Discovered in May 2003, the site has produced artifacts such as oval ding vessels, lidded ding, red clay pottery jars, he vessels, and tall-stemmed ding. In May 2013, it was officially listed by the State Council as part of the seventh batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

The Zhuangqiaofen Site is a 4,500-year-old Liangzhu culture site. Three man-made earthen platforms were discovered, along with 236 cleared tombs; nearly 3,000 artifacts made of pottery, stone, jade, bone/horn, and wood were unearthed. Among them was a composite stone plow with wooden plow bottoms—reflecting the advanced state of plow-based agriculture and plow culture during the Liangzhu period. A large amount of carbonized rice was also found, as well as seeds from plants like gourds and pears, and animal remains including deer antlers, dogs, pigs, and fish. The site shows clear divisions into residential areas, burial grounds, agricultural zones, and production areas across four major sections—an unprecedented major discovery. The relatively logical functional zoning between these areas holds significant importance for understanding settlement patterns, scale, and social organization during the Liangzhu culture period.

According to information from the Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, major discoveries have been made at the Zhuangqiaofen Site in Pinghu, Zhejiang. A large number of carved symbols and some primitive script characters were found on unearthed objects. Experts have confirmed that these are the earliest known primitive script characters discovered in China to date. This indicates that around 5,000 years ago, the people of the Liangzhu culture began using written symbols, marking the time when the Huaxia civilization had entered a literate era.

On July 6, 2013, ancient script experts from across China gathered in Pinghu to conduct on-site analysis of these symbols. The experts concluded that the inscriptions found at the Zhuangqiaofen Site are indeed primitive script characters from the Liangzhu culture, representing the earliest known examples discovered in China to date.

As archaeological work progressed, the site leader and researchers from the Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology discovered several sequentially arranged symbols on two stone yue axes. After extensive research, they concluded that these inscriptions are primitive script. They even boldly speculated that these stone yue axes may have been specifically used for carving characters or symbols, functioning similarly to oracle bones in the Shang Dynasty or bamboo slips in the Warring States Period.

Experts conducted academic analyses of these primitive scripts and identified them as the earliest known in China. While discussions among multiple experts concluded that it is still uncertain whether these scripts are precursors to oracle bone script, they suggest that the origin of writing may have been diverse.

Lindai Town: Located in the northeastern part of the Hangjiahu Plain, Lindai Town borders Shanghai to the east and the Hangzhou Bay to the south. It is one of the coastal towns of Pinghu City, Zhejiang Province. Approximately 90 kilometers from Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Suzhou respectively, the town enjoys a superior geographical location with convenient land and water transportation. The Shanghai-Hangzhou Highway and Hangzhou-Jinhua Highway run through the area, while the Zhapu-Suzhou Expressway, Zhawang Highway, and Zhapu-Suzhou inland waterways traverse it vertically. It lies just 5 kilometers south of “the Eastern Great Port”—Zhapu Port—making it part of the golden zone of Shanghai’s economic sphere. The town covers an area of 51.8 square kilometers, with a population of nearly 40,000, encompassing 12 administrative villages and 2 residential committees. Lindai’s industrial economy is developing rapidly... More details about Lindai Town ++

Further Reading:

· Zhejiang Province’s Second Batch of Provincial-Level Archaeological Site Parks

· Sixth Batch of Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units