Ruins of the Zhongshan Ancient City

Ruins of the Zhongshan Ancient City

The ruins of the Zhongshan Ancient City are a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The ruins of the Zhongshan Ancient City are located on the northern bank of the Hutuo River in Pingshan County, Hebei Province.

The ruins were the capital city of the Zhongshan State during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. The Zhongshan State was a small kingdom established by the Xianyu people in the late Spring and Autumn period and gradually grew powerful in the early Warring States period. In the 46th year of King Xian of Zhou (323 BC), it, along with the states of Yan, Han, and Song, proclaimed its king simultaneously and maintained this status for thirty years. From its founding by King Wu to its destruction by the states of Zhao, Yan, and Qi, the state lasted for 120 years.

From 1974 to 1978, the Hebei Provincial Cultural Relics Work Team conducted comprehensive archaeological excavations at the Zhongshan Ancient City ruins. They discovered that the city site had an irregular triangular layout, covering an area of about 60 square kilometers, divided into eastern and western sections. The eastern city housed the palace district and craft workshops, while the northern part of the western city and areas outside the western city formed the royal tomb district, with residential zones located in the southern part.

Within the royal tomb district, two large-scale tombs were excavated, arranged from east to west. Tomb No. 1 on the west side belonged to King Cuo of Zhongshan, while Tomb No. 6 on the east side has an unidentified occupant. Both tombs featured massive rammed-earth burial mounds (grave hills) on the surface, atop which were built ceremonial structures such as offering halls. Tomb No. 1’s mound was 92 meters wide from east to west, 110 meters long from north to south, and about 15 meters high, built in three terraced levels. Judging by the gravel drainage and postholes, it was a three-tiered pavilion-style building with surrounding corridors and a tiled roof. Each tomb was flanked by two accompanying burial pits, with chariot-and-horse pits, boat pits, and miscellaneous sacrificial pits symmetrically arranged in front of the burial mounds. The main burial chambers were of a Chinese-character shape, with square inner coffins in the center—measuring 14.9 meters from north to south and 13.5 meters from east to west—and tomb passages on the south and north sides, each 110 meters long. Tomb No. 6 was slightly smaller but followed the same structure.

Over 19,000 burial objects were unearthed from the two tombs, including bronze ritual vessels, pottery ritual wares, lacquerware, and many other rare artistic treasures. Examples include a gold-and-silver inlaid dragon-and-phoenix bronze zun stand, supported by four crouching deer holding up a circular base, upon which coiled dragons and phoenixes formed by writhing creatures lifted another zun stand; a fifteen-branched bronze lamp, 84.5 cm tall, shaped like a tree with monkeys playing among its branches, and two figures standing below looking up in playful interaction—its design full of life and charm; the bronze hu vessel of King Cuo of Zhongshan and the bronze hu of his heir, inscribed with a total of 1,101 characters, providing accurate records of the tomb owner, the lineage of the Zhongshan rulers, and related historical facts, making them vital historical materials for studying the Zhongshan State. Other artifacts include a silver-headed figurine bronze lamp and a silver-inlaid double-winged divine beast, all exceptional works of art. (Source: National Cultural Heritage Administration)

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units