Fangwanggang Han Tombs

Fangwanggang Han Tombs

The Fangwanggang Han Tombs are a cultural relic protection unit of Anhui Province.

In 1997, construction began on the Chaohu Fangwanggang Han Tomb Museum, comprising the original Fangwanggang Han Tomb site and an exhibition of elite artifacts unearthed from Han tombs in Chaohu. It was expanded into the Chaohu City Museum in 2002.

【Fangwanggang】

Also known as Jiewangcheng (Tyrant King City), Fangwanggang is a roughly 500-meter-long north-south earthen mound, located about 2.5 kilometers from downtown Chaohu. Not far to the east are Qishan and Gushan, two hills of comparable height. According to the Book of Documents: "Tang attacked Jie and exiled him to Nanchao." King Jie of Xia, the last tyrannical ruler of China’s first dynasty—the Xia Dynasty—was both brutal and highly skilled, allegedly able to straighten iron hooks with his bare hands. He is also associated with the idiom “jie ao bu xun” (tyrannical and intractable): jie means fierce, ao refers to a disobedient horse, and xun means obedient. Together, the phrase describes someone arrogant and unruly. King Jie once said, “Will the sun ever perish? If it does, then I will perish.” He favored the beautiful concubine Mei Xi, who loved the sound of silk tearing—literally the sound of fabric being ripped apart. Daily, King Jie had 100 bolts of silk torn for her amusement. In 1766 BC, after Tang of Shang defeated Jie of Xia, the defeated king fled, but was pursued and captured by Tang, who then exiled him to Nanchao (modern-day Chaohu) under house arrest. It is said that Fangwanggang is where King Jie was imprisoned and eventually buried. The name “Fangwanggang” refers to the mound where he was exiled, and it is also called Jiewangcheng. Although the tomb of King Jie, who died 3,700 years ago, has never been confirmed, archaeological surveys in 1984 revealed seven ancient tombs with prominent burial mounds on Fangwanggang.

【Original Site of the Fangwanggang Han Tombs】

In 1996, a Western Han tomb was excavated on Fangwanggang, belonging to a man named Lü Ke (discovered during infrastructure work by the Chaohu East Asia Grain Machinery Factory). Fortunately, the tomb had not been robbed and remained remarkably intact. Lü Ke’s tomb was a vertical earthen pit wooden-chamber grave, with its entrance sealed by 50–60 cm of charcoal, primarily to prevent moisture and decay. The tomb passage was on the west, leading eastward to the main chamber via a 6.2-meter-long sloping ramp. Entry was through two wooden doors set in the central barrier wall on the west side of the burial chamber. The main chamber measured 9.2 meters east-west and 7 meters north-south, constructed mainly from nanmu (a high-grade wood), featuring a double-layer outer and inner coffin chamber, separated by pillars and partitions into front and rear sections. The front chamber held a shelf for burial objects, while the rear contained an outer wooden coffin, an inner coffin, and a smaller innermost coffin. The outer coffin was painted black over a red lacquer base, while the inner coffin featured red lacquer over a black base. The inner coffin held the remains, which had decomposed, though skeletal structure was still clearly visible. The deceased was buried with their head to the west and feet to the east (facing the direction of Chaohu Lake). During the Western Han Dynasty, nobles believed in treating the dead as they did the living, favoring lavish and abundant burials—a trend that flourished at the time. A total of 797 artifacts were unearthed from Lü Ke’s tomb (including 110 bronze items, 400 lacquered wooden pieces, 20 jade artifacts, along with some ironware, lead objects, and plant seeds such as chestnuts and dates). Based on 20 early Western Han wuzhu coins, it is estimated that the tomb dates to the reigns of Emperor Wu, Emperor Zhao, or Emperor Xuan of Han. Among the grave goods was a jade seal inscribed with “Lü Ke zhi yin” (Seal of Lü Ke, carved in intaglio). A bronze sword was found in the southern compartment. Judging by the tomb structure and the inclusion of five ding vessels, the deceased Lü Ke was likely a high-ranking official, equivalent to a provincial or ministerial-level officer today. However, historical records contain no details of Lü Ke’s life, leaving behind an enduring mystery.

【Exhibition of Elite Artifacts from Chaohu Han Tombs】

The Exhibition of Elite Artifacts from Chaohu Han Tombs mainly displays relics from Lü Ke’s tomb, supplemented by finds from other Han tombs in the Chaohu region, divided into three sections: bronze ware, lacquerware, and jade artifacts. Highlights include a gilded bronze vermilion bird, a jade cup with a vermilion bird stepping on a tiger and holding a ring (a wine vessel, cylindrical with three short legs, one side carved with a vermilion bird perched on a chimera, the other side featuring a bear-shaped handle), a pale green jade chimera-pattern belt hook, a dragon-shaped ring, and a silver box.

【Bronze Ware Section】 The bronze artifacts unearthed from the Fangwanggang Han Tombs in Chaohu are mostly refined eating and cooking utensils, characterized by simple and elegant designs with an emphasis on practicality. Bronze is an alloy of copper (pure copper) and tin, sometimes with small amounts of lead added, giving it a bluish-gray hue—hence the name “bronze.” During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, bronze objects were mainly used as ritual vessels symbolizing power and wealth. By the Qin and Han periods, bronze items had evolved from symbolic ritual use to more utilitarian and lightweight designs.

[Note: After the Stone Age, the Bronze Age (a stage of human material culture marked by the use of bronze tools) arrived, greatly enhancing social productivity. Bronze has a lower melting point than pure copper and is easier to cast. Bronze with 10% tin is 4.7 times harder than pure copper, offering excellent performance.]