Matianping Chu Tombs

Matianping Chu Tombs

Matianping Chu Tombs

Warring States-period tombs. Located within Lufeng Town, Xupu County. The Matianping area has a high density of Chu tombs, with investigations indicating there are hundreds of them. In 1978, 1982, 1986, and 1988, archaeologists carried out four excavations, clearing a total of 120 tombs and recovering over 570 artifacts. Analysis of tomb structures and the unearthed objects suggests they can be divided into early Warring States and middle to late Warring States periods. Early-period tombs mostly feature narrow rectangular pits with head niches, yielding only pottery items. Aside from two tombs in Gaodīcūn that contained pottery li tripods, the rest included jars, bowls, dou stems, or combinations of jars with dou stems or bowls with dou stems. Middle to late-period tombs come in both narrow and wide rectangular pit styles and contain a wealth of artifacts, primarily pottery. The types, shapes, and decorative patterns of the pottery are similar to those found in the mid-Warring States period in regions such as Changsha, Yiyang, and Changde. However, there is a greater variety of dou stems, and every tomb includes at least one. Bronze artifacts mainly consist of weapons, including a dagger-axe from Tomb No. 41 inscribed with “Zhèngzhǐ Kù” (Zheng Armory), which is believed to be of Central Plains origin. Other bronze items include basins, yí pitchers, plain mirrors, dragon-phoenix pattern mirrors, and four-mountain mirrors with feather-patterned backgrounds. Lacquerware includes dou stems, ear cups, and zhī cups. Additionally, there are glass beads resembling dragonfly eyes and fragments of wooden figurines. Historical records debate whether the Xiangxi Yuan River basin belonged to Chu or Qin after Bai Qi captured Ying in 278 BCE and took control of Qianzhong. The discovery of the middle to late Warring States Chu tombs at Matianping helps further deepen discussions on this issue.

Lufeng Town: Lufeng Town and Zhongxia Township were merged to form Lufeng Town.

A town under the jurisdiction of Xupu County and the county seat. Established as Chengguan Town in 1949 and renamed Lufeng Town in 1982. It is located in the central part of the county, covering an area of 100.8 square kilometers with a population of 102,000. The town government is stationed on Shengli Street. The Xiangqian Railway runs through the area. Provincial highways 1840, 1802, and 1808 pass through here. It administers nine neighborhood committees: Dongfeng Street, Shengli Street, Minzhu Street, Jiefang Street, Changxing Street, Tuanyuan Street, Xinglong Street, Xingfu Street, and Tianxingtang, as well as the villages of Hengyan, Shanmenlong, Zhonglin, Yaotou, Wanshui, Maoping, Diping, Gaodi... More detailed information about Lufeng Town++