Early in the Neolithic Age, dragon patterns were used in jade articles as the jade dragon-boar 玉猪龙. This is the first dragon image found on pottery excavated at the Taosi Site in Shanxi Province.
National Treasure 国宝
Pottery Basin With Painted Coiled Dragon Pattern, Longshan Culture 龙山文化彩绘蟠龙纹陶盘
Pottery | Neolithic – Taosi Culture (about 4300-3900 years ago) | H 8.8 cm, D 37 cm | Excavated from Taosi site, Xiangfen, Shanxi (M3072:6) | Chinese Archeological Museum collection. 陶器｜新石器时代陶寺文化（距今约4300-3900年）｜山西襄汾陶寺遗址 （M3072:6）｜中国考古博物馆藏
A Painted Pottery Basin with a Coiled Dragon Pattern from the Longshan Culture (c. 2500-1900 BCE), unearthed at the Taosi site 陶寺遗址, represents one of China’s earliest dragon images, featuring a snake-like, coiled beast with a square head and open mouth, showing a key step in dragon motif evolution before bronze, often used for high-status burials, linking older painted pottery with later Shang bronze designs. 1
This basin was one of fourteen pottery vessels found in one of the large burials at Taosi in southern Shanxi, a late Longshan culture 龍山文化 (c. 3000-2000 BC) site. The interior is painted with a coiling serpent, extending a long spiky form (perhaps a tongue or flame) from its serrated teeth. The placement of the serpent image inside the basin suggests an association with water, one that the serpent would retain in later periods.
It is tempting to see this serpent as a dragon, a creature long venerated in China. Its coiled form is reminiscent of both earlier dragon-like creatures on painted pottery and the graphics for Chinese dragon (loong) found on later oracle bones. It is not known whether these images are directly related, or even if they carried the same or similar meanings.
The basin was fired at a low temperature, its decoration applied after firing. These factors suggest that it was made specifically for burial in the grave rather than for everyday use — a further indication of the tomb occupant’s high status.
The red pigment is applied over a black ground. The painted designs differ from other Longshan pottery, which was dominated by grey and black wares, and link the basin with older painted pottery traditions. The use of colour on this later Longshan vessel may have been influenced by designs in lacquer.
Painted Pottery Plate with Dragon Design 彩绘龙纹陶盘
Pottery | Neolithic – Taosi Culture (~2300 BC-1900 BC) | Excavated from Taosi site, Xiangfen, Shanxi | Chinese Archeological Museum collection. 陶器｜新石器时代陶寺文化（公元前2300年-前1900年）｜山西襄汾陶寺遗址 ｜中国考古博物馆藏
Taosi site is located on the east bank of Fen River, south of Taosi Village, Xiangfen County, Shanxi Province, dating from 2300 to 1900 BC, with an area of about 3 million square meters. It is a large central settlement in the late Longshan culture, demonstrating the most complete elements of a capital city in prehistoric China.2 The internal functional area of Taosi city is a milestone in the development of early ancient Chinese urban planning. According to the location, chronology and scale, archaeologists consider the Taosi site is probably the city of Pingyang 平阳, the capital of Emperor Yao 尧帝.3
Early statehood during Longshan Culture
Important archaeological discoveries show that the early state had already appeared during the Taosi cultural period, and the ritual system was initially formed, which was the main source of the glorious civilisation of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties. Therefore, Taosi is a typical representative site of the early Chinese civilisation, proving the history of Chinese civilisation for more than 5,000 years.
Longshan cultures predominated in China’s Central Plains during the late Neolithic period, from about 3000 to 2000 B.C. First identified in 1928 at the Longshan site in Shandong province, different regional Longshan cultures have since been found in Henan, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Hubei, and Hunan.
Excavations of Longshan settlements, which were typically encircled with rammed-earth walls, have uncovered bronze tools, lacquered wooden objects, and pig and deer bones used for divination. Some objects contain pictographs that may be the earliest writing in China.
Studies of the massive cemetery at Taosi reveal evidence of increased social stratification. Of the excavated burials, only six (less than 1.5 percent) are large, eighty are medium, and some six hundred are small in size. The small burials have few or no burial goods, whereas the medium-size burials contain painted wooden coffins, pottery vessels, and a few wooden, stone, and jade objects. The six largest graves — all apparently of adult men — were more lavish, each with several hundred items, including unusual murals, tables, whole pig skeletons, lacquered goods, and musical instruments.4
Also, the Taosi site has discovered the world’s earliest observatory so far.5 This was discovered in 2003-2004. Archaeologists unearthed a Middle Taosi period semi-circular foundation just beside the southern wall of the Middle Taosi enclosure, which could have been used for calendrical observations. The structure consists of an outer semi-ring-shaped path, and a semi-circular rammed-earth platform with a diameter of about 60 m. The platform is 42m in diameter and over 1000 sq m in area, and can be reconstructed as a three-level altar.6
Bronze Gear with 29 Teeth 铜齿轮形器
Bronzeware | Neolithic – Taosi Culture (~2300 BC-1900 BC) | Excavated from Taosi site, Xiangfen, Shanxi | Chinese Archeological Museum collection. 铜器｜新石器时代陶寺文化（公元前2300年-前1900年）｜山西襄汾陶寺遗址 ｜中国考古博物馆藏
In a tomb at the site, a bronze object resembling a gear was also discovered. This was identified as a bracelet, but does not look comfortable or attractive (see above). However, as a gear it would make sense. The 29 open spaces might match the 29 days of some lunar months. Most lunar months have 30 days, and thus the 29 day lunar months would have been exceptional, requiring special treatment. One could therefore link this to the observatory as well, assuming that it was also a calendrical device.
Could Taosi be the capital of an early nation 4,000 years ago? But did Emperor Yao rule it? He could have, although his own existence is supported largely by myth and legend. Hence, the archaeological project known as Xia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project 夏商周断代工程8, commissioned by the Chinese government in 1996, to determine with accuracy the location and time frame of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties.
Photos taken at China Archaeological Museum (formerly Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences) in Beijing Oct 2024, unless otherwise indicated.
About Chinese National Treasure Series
中華國寶系列 Chinese National Treasure series feature specific artefacts and relics from museums all around the world that are historically significant to be considered a National Treasure. The series covers the 5,000 years of Chinese civilisation from Neolithic periods before the Xia dynasty (c. 2070-1600 BC) to modern day.
Footnotes :
- 出土于陶寺遗址大型墓内。盘内壁绘龙纹，龙采用蛇身和鳄鱼头形象组合而成，由外向内盘绕，龙首位于陶盘的边沿处，头上有角，是目前我国发现的最早带有鳞片的龙形象。龙口中衔着谷物，说明龙与农业的关系，表明陶寺遗址处于比较发达的农业社会。Museum information card, Oct 2024 ↩︎
- 陶寺文化因山西襄汾陶寺遗址的发掘而得名，其年代为距今4300-3900年。在已发掘的墓葬中，有4座大墓中各出土1件陶彩绘龙纹盘，推测龙纹是以短腹蝮蛇为原型，该类陶盘应该为祭祀用器。鉴于陶寺文化处于比较发达的史前农业经济阶段，当时人种植的主要农作物包括粟、黍、稻和大豆等，龙口衔之物可能为农作物的谷穗，隐含着陶寺先民期盼农业丰收的美好愿望。Museum information card, Oct 2024 ↩︎
- Emperor Yao (simplified Chinese: 尧; traditional Chinese: 堯; pinyin: Yáo; Wade–Giles: Yao2; traditionally c. 2356 – 2255 BCE)[2] was a legendary Chinese ruler. He is considered by some sources as one of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Yao, accessed 19 Dec 2025 ↩︎
- Painted Pottery Basin, 2012-12-24 15:04:00 From: http://cultural-china.com http://www.admissions.cn/culture/353914.shtml, accessed 18 Dec 2025 ↩︎
- Liu Jue (刘珏), Catch a Sunrise Before Time at China’s Oldest Observatory, June 14, 2023, https://www.theworldofchinese.com/2023/06/catch-a-sunrise-before-time-at-chinas-oldest-observatory/, accessed 19 Dec 2025 ↩︎
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taosi, accessed 19 Dec 2025 ↩︎
- Painted Pottery Gui Tureen 彩绘陶簋
Pottery | Neolithic – Taosi Culture (~2300 BC-1900 BC) | Excavated from Taosi site, Xiangfen, Shanxi | Chinese Archeological Museum collection. 陶器｜新石器时代陶寺文化（公元前2300年-前1900年）｜山西襄汾陶寺遗址 ｜中国考古博物馆藏
斑斓绚丽的彩绘陶器是陶寺礼器的一大特色。彩绘陶器因彩绘未烧结易污损而没有实用功能，专为丧辣等礼仪活动制造。簋是盛稻、粟等谷类食物的食器，在新石器时代晚期就已具有标志等级身份、祭祀等礼仪内涵。Museum information card, Oct 2024 ↩︎ - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xia–Shang–Zhou_Chronology_Project, accessed 19 Dec 2025 ↩︎
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