Tomb Cluster of the Ba Kings at Xiaotianxi, Chongqing

　　Introduction     Situated in Xiaotianxi, Chenjiazui Village, Baitao Town, Fuling, approximately 20 kilometers from the city center. This cluster of tombs was discovered in 1972. In April of that year, villagers unearthed important cultural relics such as bronze swords, bronze weights, chime bells, and animal head ornaments while digging soil to make bricks. In late October of the same year, museums from Sichuan Province and Chongqing Municipality, along with the former Fuling City cultural relics work team, excavated and cleared three of the ancient tombs. They unearthed 54 pieces of weaponry, 41 pieces of household utensils, 8 pieces of production tools, 37 pieces of musical instruments, and 52 other cultural relics. The bronze items were often adorned with tiger-shaped knobs, palm-print patterns, and flower-bud motifs, all of which exhibit distinct characteristics of Ba culture. Judging from inscriptions featuring the character “王” (king) and artifacts such as gold-inlaid bronze chime bells, these are believed to be the burial sites of the Ba royal family, consistent with records in the Huayang Guo Zhi (Chronicles of the States South of Mount Hua). A set of 14 chime bells unearthed here was once exhibited abroad. According to the Huayang Guo Zhi · Ba Zhi (Chronicles of Ba), “The ancestral tombs of the Ba kings were mostly located in Zhǐ,” with Zhǐ referring to present-day Fuling. The excavation of the three Warring States-period Ba royal tombs at Xiaotianxi confirms the historical accounts. The three tombs yielded a total of 192 cultural relics, providing valuable material for the study of the history and culture of the Ba people.

　　 Fuling District, Chongqing