This series showcases the National Treasures and significant artefacts and relics on display in museums that represent significant milestones in over 5,000 years of Chinese civilisation. These items are selected by scholars, historians and by popular votes in some cases.
Early Kingdoms
Table of Contents
Neolithic Cultures of China 新石器時代文化
Neolithic, final stage of cultural evolution or technological development among prehistoric humans. It was characterised by stone tools shaped by polishing or grinding, dependence on domesticated plants or animals, settlement in permanent villages, and the appearance of such crafts as pottery and weaving.
It would seem that the definition of Neolithic in China is undergoing changes. The discovery in 2012 of pottery dated about 20,000 years BC (10,000 years before anywhere else) in Xianren Caves in Jiangxi indicates that the emergence of pottery alone can no longer be used to define the period. It will fall to the more difficult task of determining when cereal domestication started.
Artefacts from Neolithic China 新石器時代
National Treasure – Painted Pottery Basin with Dancing Figures (Neolithic) - I like to shake a leg / I like to nod my head / I like to make a snow… Continue Reading
National Treasure – Painted Pottery Jar with Nude Figure in Relief (Neolithic Period) - The sanctity of childbirth and the male-female figures are important symbols of Chinese Neolithic culture. Continue Reading
National Treasure – Pottery Stove with Pottery Cauldron (Neolithic – Hemudu) - The museum says it's for baking clay like a low temperature kiln, but it looks more like a cooking stove. Continue Reading
National Treasures – Ivory Butterfly-Shaped Container With Double-Bird Pattern (Neolithic – Hemudu) - This archaeological artefact was unearthed at Hemudu, Yuyao, which demonstrates the sacred primitive belief of Hemudu people. Continue Reading
National Treasures – Lacquered Wooden Bowl (Neolithic – Hemudu) - The earliest example of lacquerware found in China Continue Reading
Around 4000 BC there was a spread of certain ceramic and handicraft styles that become increasingly common in all different cultural regions: ding 鼎, dou 豆, rectangular and semilunar knifes, and (c. 2000 BC) bronze casting. Only when the majority of these prehistoric cultures exhibited increasing similarities at around 3000 BC, the concept of one “China” and a Chinese “mega-civilisation” is formed.
Yangshao Culture 仰韶文化 (c. 5000-3000 BC)
The first neolithic culture discovered in China was the Yangshao Culture 仰韶文化 (c. 5000-3000 BC). Archaeological finds stretch from the Yellow River plain in the east into Gansu in the west. All ceramics are of reddish colour and painted with various black, geometric patterns, sometimes figures of animals. The people were led by shaman-chiefs lived around Yangshao village of Banpo 半坡 near Xi’an.
National Treasure – Eagle-shaped Pottery Ding (Neolithic Period) - It catches your eyes the moment you enter the museum. And it looks intently at you just like Kermit the… Continue Reading
National Treasure – Human-Faced Fish Decoration Pottery Bowl (Neolithic-Yangshao) - A life cut short, a wish that lasted forever. Continue Reading
National Treasure – Painted Pottery Jar with Stork, Fish and Stone Axe (Neolithic-Yangshao) - One of the earliest storytelling depicted on a pottery jar from 5000 years ago. Continue Reading
National Treasure – Yangshao Boat-shaped Painted Pottery Jar (Neolithic) - Egyptian painted boats on pottery jar during Predynastic period (~3500BC), the Chinese made boat-shaped pottery jar. Continue ReadingHongshan Culture 紅山文化 (c. 4700-2900 BC)
Hongshan Culture 紅山文化 (c. 4700-2900 BC) was named after the excavation of the site at Hongshanhou in Chifeng City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. It was a Neolithic culture based mainly on agriculture that dates back approximately 6,500 to 5,000 years. To date, over 700 Hongshan sites have been found in Chifeng.
National Treasure – Goddess Head (Neolithic – Hongshan) - This mask hails from a 5,000-year-old painted clay goddess that was found in the 1983 at the apex of the… Continue Reading
National Treasure – Jade Dragon (Neolithic – Hongshan) - This is the famous C-shaped jade dragon, a significant artefact from the Neolithic Hongshan culture. Continue ReadingThe Hongshan culture maintained close ties with neighbouring Neolithic cultures: the Yangshao culture (7,000-5,000 years ago) of the Central Plains, the Lingjiatan culture (5,800-5,300 years ago) of the Yangtze-Huai River area, and the Liangzhu culture (5,300-4,300 years ago) of the Lower Yangtze River.1
Liangzhu Culture 良渚文化 (c. 3400-2250 BC)
The Liangzhu culture 良渚 in the lower Yangtze region can be seen as a kind of offspring of the Longshan culture. In the relics of Liangzhu culture it becomes clear that these neolithic societies were already stratified in ruling class and that of the ruled, because for the first time it was only the tombs of political and religious leaders as found in Taosi 陶寺, Shanxi, and Fanshan 反山, Zhejiang. These tombs were equipped with rich tomb offerings, consisting of jade objects like cong 琮 tubes and bi 璧 disks or yue 鉞 ritual axes, pottery, ivory, stone axes, shark teeth, lacquerware, and even mural paintings within the grave chamber.
National Treasure – Royal Jade Cong (Neolithic Period) - Discovered in 1986, this was the heaviest jade Cong on record from the Liangzhu period. Hence the name, "King of… Continue Reading
National Treasure -Jade Yue (Battle-Axe) (Neolithic – Liangzhu) - Found in elite tombs, often placed in the deceased's hand, indicating its importance as an attribute of power. Continue ReadingLiangzhu culture has made a lasting impact on modern Chinese societies especially cultivation of rice, jades, and other farming and boat technologies. It is highly influential which spreads to even as far south as Guangdong. Sadly the culture died out in 2300 BC due to geographical instability (muds, floods, heavy rains etc.).
Longshan Culture 龍山文化 (c. 3000-2000 BC)
Longshan Culture 龍山文化 (c. 3000-2000 BC), also sometimes referred to as the Black Pottery Culture, was a late Neolithic culture in the middle and lower Yellow River valley areas of northern China from about 3000 to 1900 BC.
National Treasure – Pottery Basin With Painted Coiled Dragon Pattern (Neolithic) - "Waiter, there's a snake in my soup!" Continue ReadingThe Longshan culture, however, became adept at farming. The Longshan excelled at cultivating grain, especially millet. Their success in farming allowed the Longshan culture to establish permanent villages, something not achieved to such a degree by the Yangshao, even though the latter was a sedentary culture.
Tombs, fortifications, and the discovery of a solar observation platform indicate a sophisticated society with several distinct levels. By around 1700 BCE the culture had morphed with other regional cultures into a wider Chinese Bronze Age culture.
About 4,000 years ago, the area that is now China entered a transitional period. The early cultures that are mentioned in the previous section continued to produce pottery for as long as their societies existed. Additionally, a primitive metallurgical industry slowly started to develop. People began to mine copper, tin and other metals and a smelting technology developed that led to the creation of bronze sometime around the year 2000 BC.2
Xia Dynasty 夏朝 (c.2070-c.1600 BC)
The Xia dynasty 夏 (21th – 17th cent. BC) was, according to traditional historiography, the oldest of the Three Dynasties of antiquity 三代 (Xia 夏 , Shang 商 and Zhou 周). Yet unlike the two others, the authenticity of the Xia could never be surely established by archaeological findings.3 The Xia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project 夏商周断代工程4, commissioned by the Chinese government in 1996, proposed that the Xia existed between 2070 and 1600 BC.
Artefacts from Xia Dynasty 夏朝 (c.2070-c.1600 BC)
Treasures – Turquoise Inlaid Bronze Plaques with Beast Mask Design (Xia Dynasty) - This could be the earliest Taotie motifs used in bronze. Continue Reading
Treasures – Turquoise Mosaic Dragon (Xia Dynasty) - Snake or dragon? We assume it is the dragon because of an anonymous poem from 2nc century BC. Continue ReadingSome scholars consider the Xia dynasty legendary or at least unsubstantiated, but others identify it with the archaeological Erlitou culture (c. 1900–1700 BC). Excavations in Erlitou 二里頭 near Zhengzhou 鄭州, Henan, have brought to light artefacts that might be remnants of a residence of the Xia, but so far no written source has been found that proves this identification.
Erlitou Culture 二里頭文化 (c.1900-c.1500 BC)
The Erlitou culture was an early Bronze Age society and archaeological culture. It existed in the Yellow River valley from approximately 1900 to 1500 BC. A 2007 study using radiocarbon dating proposed a narrower date range of 1750–1530 BC. The culture is named after Erlitou, an archaeological site in Yanshi, Henan.
Treasures – Bronze Jue (Xia Dynasty) - The Erlitou culture yielded significant number of Xia Dynasty artefacts, a period shrouded in myths until now. Continue Reading
Noting parallels between the accounts of the Xia and Shang, they suggested that the history of the Xia was invented by the Zhou to support their doctrine of the Mandate of Heaven 天命, by which they justified their conquest of the Shang. Some even doubted the historicity of the Shang dynasty.
Shang Dynasty 商朝 (c.1600-c.1046 BC)
Jadeite| Shang Dynasty (c. 16th-11th centuries BC), King Wu Ding’s reign | Unearthed from tomb of Fu Hao at Yinxu, Anyang, Henan Province, 1976 | National Museum of China Collection. 玉器｜ 商王武丁时期 ｜1976年河南安阳股墟妇好墓出土 ｜中国国家博物馆藏
The Shang dynasty 商 5 (17th-11th cent. BC), in Chinese sources often called Yin 殷, was a house ruling over a substantial part of what is today northern China. From their capital, located at Xiaotun 小屯 close to the modern city of Anyang 安陽, Henan, the kings of the Shang exerted power and cultural influence on polities and statelets as far as south of the Yangtze River.
Artefacts from Shang Dynasty 商朝 (c.1600-c.1046 BC)
National Treasure – “Zi Long” Bronze Ding (Shang Dynasty) - The Chinese government spent an undisclosed amount of money to procure her home. Continue Reading
National Treasure – Bronze Zun with Four Rams (Shang Dynasty) - Baa Baa Black Sheep have you any wool? Yes Sir, Yes Sir, Three bags full. Continue Reading
National Treasure – Da He Ding (Shang Dynasty) - The first time I ever saw your face ~~~~ - Roberta Flack, 1969 Continue Reading
National Treasure – Houmuwu Ding (Shang Dynasty) - The Houmuwu ding is definitely the heaviest of the heavy, the ultimate National "Heavy" Treasure 國之"重"器. Continue Reading
National Treasure – Ivory Cup inlaid with Turquoise (Shang Dynasty) - She was Wu Ding's lover, confidante and comrade-in-arms. When she died at just 33 years of age, he was devastated.… Continue Reading
Treasures – Bronze Ding with Dragon-shaped Flat Legs (Shang Dynasty) - It could have been just another bronze ware if not for the prominent crunching tigers on the handles. Continue Reading
Treasures – Oracle Bone Medical Records (Shang Dynasty) - These were supposed to be divination bones, but they turned out to be the first medical records in history. Continue ReadingWhile historiography pretends that the Shang ruled as a single dynasty over “China”, archaeological finds of later decades brought to light numerous prospering cities and thus proved that the Shang were but one of many states, albeit the most powerful one.
Chinese scholars of the late imperial period doubted the authenticity of historiographic accounts on the Shang and dismissed them as myths and tales. Only the discovery of inscribed oracle bones near Anyang in the early 20th century proved that the Shang and their kingdom had been historical fact.
Sanxingdui Culture 三星堆文化 (c. 1700-1150 BC)
Sanxingdui has produced a wealth of startling Bronze Age artefacts. Many of these treasures were deliberately smashed or burnt before being buried, raising questions about what they were used for and how they met their end.
National Treasure – Bronze Divine Tree (Shang Dynasty) - At 3.96 metres in height, it's the largest single bronze artefact ever discovered in China. Continue Reading
National Treasure – Gold Sceptre from Sanxingdui (Shang Dynasty) - Symbol of power from over 3000 years ago, a lost civilisation from Sanxingdui. Continue Reading
National Treasure – Grand Statue of Human Figure (Shang Dynasty) - One of the biggest questions that still confounds Sanxingdui experts is: What did the bronze standing man once hold in… Continue Reading
National Treasure – Jade Zhang (Ritual Object) with The-Worship-of-Mountain Patterns (Shang Dynasty) - Interpretation is subjective. It was thought to be a token of the military but then it was for mountain worship. Continue Reading
Treasures – Kneeling Figure With A Twisted Head (Shang Dynasty) - The Sanxingdui bronze figure was brought to light after 3000 years lying underground. Continue ReadingThe Bronze Age artefacts are wildly different from other finds in China: many depict heads and masks with bulging eyes and elephantine ears in a style not dissimilar to Aztec art. Experts regard the discovery as groundbreaking because it surfaced cultural influences that are new to the region, challenging existing knowledge of Chinese prehistory.
King Zhou 紂 (trad. r. 1154-1123, rather probably 1060-1027 BCE), also called Shou 受, posthumous title Di Xin 帝辛, was the last ruler of the Shang. He was a tyrant and many opposed to his rule. Finally an uprising led by Ji Fa 姬發 (1076-1043 BC) , a ruler over the western extensions of the Shang kingdom, began the downfall of this mighty king. In the Battle of Muye 牧野之戰 (near modern Qixian), the Shang army was defeated, so that King Zhou, without protection, withdrew to Lutai 鹿臺 (lit. the “Deer Terrace”) where he burnt himself, while his concubine Da Ji 妲己 strangulated herself.
Zhou Dynasty 周朝 (c.1046-256 BC)
The vast time sweep of the Zhou dynasty — encompassing some eight centuries — is the single longest period of Chinese history. However, the great longevity of the Ji lineage was not matched by a similar continuity of its rule. During the Western Zhou 西周 (1046–771 BC), the first of the two major divisions of the period, the Zhou court maintained a tenuous control over the country through a network of feudal states. This system broke down during the Eastern Zhou 东周 (770–256 BCE), however, as those states and new ones that arose vied for power.
Artefacts from the early Zhou period
National Treasure – “Li” Bronze Gui (Western Zhou) - A crucial battle recorded for posterity, a tyrannical rule ended, a new era was born. Continue Reading
National Treasures – Bird-shaped Zun of the Marquis of Jin State (Western Zhou) - The owner gave the State of Jin its name, but his grave was raided and nothing was left to identify… Continue ReadingWhen you discuss about Zhou dynasty, one main character that would come to mind is Duke of Zhou 周公旦. He is not king but the uncle of the young King Cheng of Zhou 周成王 (r. 1042–1021 BC) Ji Song 姬誦 (1056—1020 BC) when his brother King Wu of Zhou Ji Fa 周武王 姬發 died prematurely due to stress. Duke Zhou, whom name is Ji Dan 姬旦, singlehanded established the “Rites of Zhou“「周禮」 that became the foundations of thousands of years rituals and rites In imperial China. He is also considered the ancestor of the Hakka people 客家人.
Western Zhou 西周 (c.1046-771 BC)
National Treasure – “Guoji Zibai” Bronze Pan (Western Zhou Dynasty) - This bronze basin was the largest ever excavated in China and was used for bathing. Just don't throw the baby… Continue Reading
National Treasure – Bo Ju Li with Ox-head Ornaments (Western Zhou) - This is a bronze unearthed in Beijing, dating the capital's history back by 3,000 years. Continue Reading
National Treasure – Bronze “Tai Bao” Ding (Western Zhou) - With its elegant long legs, here comes the "supermodel" of ancient bronze ding. Continue Reading
National Treasure – Da Ke Ding (Western Zhou Dynasty) - The ding was an honour given by feudal kings, and it was unusual for a chef to be given such… Continue Reading
National Treasure – Da Yu Bronze Ding (Western Zhou Dynasty) - After leaving Beijing two different times, it is finally back in the Capital for good. Continue Reading
National Treasure – Zhong of Su Marquis of Jin (Western Zhou) - It was stolen from the tomb in Shanxi and then found in antique shops Hong Kong. The tomb raiders did… Continue Reading
National Treasures – Jade Pendants of the Jin Marchioness (Western Zhou) - These jade pendants flow down the dress of the Marchioness like a percussive wind chime that rustle as she walks. Continue Reading
Treasures – Animal Mask Pattern Bronze Hé (Western Zhou Dynasty) - The first Zhou Dynasty bronze found in Guangdong, predated Nanyue bronzes by 5 centuries. Continue Reading
Treasures – General Duoyou Bronze Ding (Western Zhou Dynasty) - A alternate kind of war memorial, the ding tells the story of a victorious battle and the casualties of war. Continue Reading
Treasures – Mao Gong Bronze Ding (Western Zhou Dynasty) - The ding that got away, it travelled across the seas to Taiwan together with the retreating Nationalists. Continue Reading
Treasures – Three Dings of Song (Western Zhou) - We are three. The moon comes from its quiet corner, puts a pitcher of water down in the center. The… Continue ReadingEastern Zhou 东周 (771-256 BC)
By this period, the Zhou emperors were nothing but a figurehead that had control on their tiny state surrounded by powerful kingdoms. However a sense of balance still exists between the kingdoms as the conditions for a unified country are not mature and the kings would use the upkeep of the Zhou rites as an excuse to wage wars to maintain the balance of power.
Treasures – Bronze Pan of Zi Zhong Jiang (Eastern Zhou) - Personal hygiene was very important since ancient times, and it starts with washing hands. Continue ReadingSpring and Autumn Period 春秋时代 (c.771-c.481 BC)
The period of over 500 years that followed, China was embroiled in civil wars. The first period was between 771-475 B.C. called the Spring-Autumn period 春秋時代, when Hundred School of Thoughts 諸子百家 flourished, and 4 main schools emerged towards the end – Confucianism 儒家, Legalism 法家, Taoism 道家 and Mohism 墨家.
Spring and Autumn Period 春秋时代 (c.771-c.481 BC)
National Treasure – Lotus-Crane Square Hu (Spring-Autumn Period) - Pair of square bronze jars from the tomb of the Duke of Zheng were separated, one in Henan, and another… Continue Reading
Treasures – Bronze Spade-shaped Coins (Spring-Autumn Period) - Money makes the world go round. The earliest minted money found in China. Continue Reading
Treasures – Bronze Square Hu with Intersecting Dragons (Spring Autumn – Jin) - This is perhaps the earliest of the drinking games using a wine vessel. Continue Reading
Treasures – Houma Covenants (Spring Autumn – Jin) - "The treaty is broken, its witnesses are despised, no one is respected." - Isaiah 33:8b (NIV) Continue ReadingWarring States Period 战国时代 (c.481-221 BC)
Then it was followed by a period was known The Warring States 戰國時代 (475-221 B.C.) when these philosophical ideas where prominent in the different states. State of Qin was a proponent of Legalism. These were chaotic times, a lot of pieces of relics uncovered were related to the bloodshed and battles that went on during that time.
Warring States Period 战国时代 (c.481-221 BC)
The Warring States period in Chinese history comprises the final centuries of the Zhou dynasty, which were characterised by warfare, bureaucratic and military reform, and political consolidation. It concluded with the wars of conquest that saw the state of Qin annex each of the other contender states by 221 BC and found the Qin dynasty, the first imperial dynastic state in East Asian history.
Treasures – Bronze Ding Intertwined With Gold And Silver Patterns (Warring States) - Dings, ancient Chinese cauldrons, were used for cooking, storage, and rituals. They evolved from clay to bronze, with their appearance… Continue Reading
Treasures – Bronze Kettle Inlaid with Land and Water Combat Patterns (Warring States) - 400 characters, 8 different scenes - this is diorama etched into a bronze ware. Continue ReadingThe sequence of states is based on the order of annexation by Qin. By far, these are not the only states during this period of contention. Smaller states remnant of the Spring and Autumn period were left out as they surrendered after the last major state (Han 韩) surrendered to Qin, thereby heralding the start of Qin dynasty.
State of Wei 魏国 (403 BC–225 BC)
State of Wei 魏 (403 BC–225 BC) was one of the seven major states during the Warring States period of ancient China. It was created from the three-way Partition of Jin, together with Han and Zhao. Its territory lay between the states of Qin and Qi and included parts of modern-day Henan, Hebei, Shanxi, and Shandong.
National Treasure – Gilded Silver Belt Hook (Warring States – Wei) - Another evidence of cultural exchange from the West happened long, long time ago - before the Silk Road. Continue ReadingState of Qin
National Treasure – Rectangular Sheng by Shang Yang (Warring States – Qin) - This is way before ISO exists, and is used as a standard measure for volume of one "sheng". Continue Reading
National Treasure – Stone Drums of Qin (Warring States – Qin) - A collection of ten stones recorded a hunting trip 3,000 years ago, recovered in the 7th century and have since… Continue Reading
Treasures – Gold-Inlaid Tiger-shaped Tally with Inscription (Warring States – Qin) - Before modern communications, orders to mobilise troops were conveyed using tallies, similar to the gold-inlaid tiger-shaped tally. Continue ReadingAnd it all ended when Qin vanquished the other states and formed the first unified Chinese nation.