The Xiasi Spring and Autumn Chu Tombs

The Xiasi Spring and Autumn Chu Tombs

The Xiasi Spring and Autumn Chu Tombs is a cultural heritage site protected at the provincial level in Henan.

The Xiasi Spring and Autumn Chu Tombs in Xichuan is a group of noble tombs from the mid-to-late Spring and Autumn period of the Chu State, located in Xiagou Village, Xiasi East Gully, Cangfang Town, on the western shore of the Danjiangkou Reservoir in Xichuan County, Henan Province. In 1977, a severe drought hit southwestern Henan, causing the water level of the Danjiangkou Reservoir in Xichuan County to drop. One day, a local shepherd boy was herding sheep by the reservoir and tripped over some objects that had emerged from the ground. He later discovered that one of the objects was a bronze ware, and beside it were several similar bronze items—thus leading to the discovery of the Chu tombs in this area.

Archaeologists excavated a total of 25 tombs and 5 chariot-and-horse pits in this tomb complex. Among them, there were 9 noble tombs containing sets of bronze ritual vessels and ornaments made of materials such as jade. Based on inscriptions on a flat-bottomed ding vessel unearthed from Tomb No. 2, which read “Prince Wu selected this fine metal” and “Commander Ziyi was deeply respected by the people,” experts concluded that the tomb belonged to Ziyi, the prime minister during the reigns of King Gong of Chu and King Kang of Chu.

The Heshangling and Xujialing Chu Tombs in Xichuan are located on a long ridge about 1 kilometer southeast of Chenzhuang Village. In 1989, when the water level of the Danjiangkou Reservoir dropped, the Heshangling Chu Tomb was looted, although some of the artifacts were later recovered by the Xichuan County Public Security Bureau. The Xujialing Chu Tomb complex is located in Yanjiang Village. These two tomb groups were respectively listed among China’s Top Ten Archaeological Discoveries in 1992 and 2007. The entire Chu tomb complex holds significant reference value for the study of the Chu capital Danyang, the historical and cultural development of the Chu State, its relationships with surrounding feudal states, contemporary ritual music systems, and ancient scripts and calligraphy.

The Cloud Pattern Bronze Zun (wine vessel stand) unearthed from Xiasi in Xichuan stands 28.8 cm tall, is 103 cm long, and 46 cm wide, weighing over 90 kilograms in total. It has a rectangular shape and is considered the treasure of the Henan Museum. It is a national first-class cultural relic of the People’s Republic of China and is also among the artifacts prohibited from being exhibited abroad.

A large number of Chu relics from Xichuan suddenly enriched the Henan Museum, which had previously lost many precious Luoyang jade artifacts. The exquisite jade artifacts from Xichuan have been collected by the museum, including a beast-faced jade plaque decoration so finely and exquisitely crafted that it is almost breathtaking, and hailed as “China’s No. 1 Spring and Autumn jade relief.” The remaining Xichuan jade artifacts are housed in the Xichuan County Museum, which thus became one of China’s first county-level museums.

Further Reading:

· Second Batch of Henan Provincial Cultural Heritage Protection Units