Page 534 - The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology: Celebrated Discoveries from the People’s Republic of China

Archaeological investigation of the Eastern Zhou has encompassed an even wider area,
covering nearly every province in the country. Excavations at Houma in Shanxi province, an
urban site of approximately 40 square kilometers, began in the 19505 and continue to the pres-
ent day. The most important find thus far is a bronzecasting foundry, a site that has yielded
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more than 100,000 pieces of ceramic models, molds, and earthen cores. Molds were used to
create a variety of objects — bells, ritual vessels, chariot fittings, weapons, tools and other im-
plements of daily life, as well as coins shaped like cowries or spades. Some molds were used to
form complex decorative patterns on bronzes — herringbone (renziwen), rope, and whirlpool
patterns, cloud and thunder motifs, split-bodied or coiled serpents, animal masks, dragons,
tigers, oxen, fish, and birds. The casting apparatus, as well as the molds for tuyeres and remains
of kilns, has provided insight into nearly every aspect of bronze metallurgy.
The recovery of approximately five thousand fragments of jade and stone from some four
hundred sacrificial pits in a field southeast of the city represents another major find from the

excavations at Houma. The majority of these fragments bear inscriptions in red or black ink —
the briefest inscription contains ten characters, the longest more than two hundred. These
documents, collectively termed the Houma Covenant Texts (Houma mengshu), record covenants
sworn between lords and their vassals and bear witness to the political struggles of the Jin state
during the late Spring and Autumn period (770-475 BCE); they have provided us with a wealth
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of new historical information. The covenant texts clearly describe the Houma region as "the
location of the Jin state." At Qiaocun, another Houma site, a pottery inscription (taowen)
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bearing the phrase "Ji g Ting," identifies the site of Houma as the capital of the Jin, which
in 585 BCE was relocated from the ancient city of Jiang by Duke Jing of Jin to Xintian (also
known as Xinjiang).
Some of the most important burial remains have been found in the territories of the
southern feudal states. Large-scale tombs of the Chu state were found in Xiasi (Xichuan county,
Henan province); in Hubei province, the sites of Baoshan (Jingmen county), as well as Tianxing-
guan and Wangshan (Jingzhou city) yielded important tombs. The tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng
in Sui county, Hubei province, was the best preserved of these and yielded a wealth of burial
goods: bronze vessels, jades, lacquered wood objects, bamboo artifacts, leather armor, and mu-
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sical instruments. One hundred and twenty five musical instruments were found, comprising
eight types: bells (zhong), chimes (qing), drums (gu), two types of zithers (qin and se), reed pipes
(sheng), vertical flutes (xiao), and bowed string instruments (hu). A complete chime (bianzhong)
comprising sixty-five bells was unearthed, together with its lacquered wood stand. The bells
that compose this extraordinary set retain an excellent sound quality and are remarkably
resonant.

533 I THE B R O N Z E ACE