Fenshuiling Ancient Tombs

　　Located in the Fenshuiling area in the southern part of Huguan County, Changzhi City, this is an ancient tomb complex. The cultural relics and historic sites within the tombs provide rich physical materials for the study of Changzhi’s ancient history and culture. Since 1957, the city museum, in collaboration with Shanxi cultural heritage authorities, has carried out planned excavations and clean-ups of the Fenshuiling ancient tomb complex. To date, more than 270 tombs from the Spring and Autumn Period, the Warring States Period, the Han Dynasty, and later periods have been excavated and cleared, yielding thousands of artifacts including stone tools, bronze ware, jade artifacts, pottery, porcelain, glassware, copperware, and ironware—among them ritual objects, musical instruments, weapons, chariot and horse fittings, and decorative items. The Fenshuiling Warring States Chariot and Horse Pit was excavated in 1972 and contained two rows of wooden chariots, totaling 17, with single yokes and double wheels, the wheels intersecting the carriage body. Among these artifacts, many are rare treasures, such as the gold-inlaid bronze dou (food vessel), the bronze rhinoceros figure with a standing person holding a tray, the beast-eared lei (wine vessel), the lifting-handle incense burner, the bird-pillar tray, the ceremonial dagger-axe “Yicheng Zhi Chaoguo,” and a set of bianzhong (chime bells). Among them, the gold-inlaid bronze dou and the bronze rhinoceros figure with a standing person holding a tray have also been selected for overseas exhibitions. The Fenshuiling Ancient Tombs represent an underground treasure trove of significant archaeological value in our city.