Rising from Ruin

Echoes of King Kaolie: Archaeological Discoveries from the Wuwangdun Tomb No. 1 showcases the first artifacts from the historic excavation of Wuwangdun Tomb, confirmed by the National Cultural Heritage Administration as the largest in scale, highest in rank and most structurally complex tomb from the ancient Chu state dating back over 2,200 years.　

A year after field excavations concluded at Wuwangdun Tomb in Huainan, East China's Anhui Province, more than 200 artifacts discovered at the site, including bronze vessels, jade and gold ornaments, wooden figurines and painted lacquer-ware feature in the exhibition, which runs for four months to the end of April.　

Huainan is believed to be the site of Shouchun, the last capital of Chu State. It was the second-most powerful kingdom of the Warring States Period (475-221 BCE), the most violent and transformative chapter in ancient Chinese history.　

As the exhibition draws crowds, the story behind these artifacts is changing long-held perceptions. These unparalleled treasures paint a vivid portrait of a sophisticated civilization at its peak, captured just before its dramatic fall on the eve of China's imperial unification.

The complex consists of a main burial chamber, chariot pits and accompanying graves. At its heart lies the monumental Tomb No. 1, an east-west oriented structure measuring approximately 134 by 114 meters with a height of 16 meters.　

To the west of the tomb stretches the longest known Chu-style chariot pit, extending some 148 meters.　

More than a solitary monument, the tomb aligns along an east-west axis with the Chu royal palace. The central axis of this necropolis extends through two mountain ranges, revealing a profound, premeditated vision of political order.　

The Chu regime started as a small, semi-barbarian state on the southern frontier of ancient China during the Western Zhou Dynasty (1046-771 BCE). From its base in the fertile Yangtze River Valley, the Chu grew powerful through constant conquest, swallowing up dozens of smaller neighboring states to expand its territory.　

During the Warring States period, when seven major powers competed for ultimate supremacy, the Chu was the second most powerful state after the Qin (which would eventually become dominant), and a wealthy and sophisticated cultural center with its own unique traditions.　

In 263 BCE, King Kaolie ascended the throne. As crown prince, he had been sent to the State of Qin as a political hostage, a common practice to ensure alliances at that time. This experience exposed him to the Qin's growing strength.　

When he escaped from the Qin and returned to Chu State to become king after his father's death, he attempted to restore the Chu's fading prestige through careful military and diplomatic maneuvers. But he ultimately failed to reverse the state's trajectory.　

In 241 BCE, King Kaolie launched a coalition attack against the Qin, but after a catastrophic defeat, he was forced to move his capital to Shouchun.　

King Kaolie died three years later after a 25-year reign. He was succeeded by King You and then King Ai. Fifteen years after his death, the last Chu king, King Fuchu, was captured by Qin forces, clearing the way for the founding of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BCE), the first imperial dynasty of a unified China.　

The occupant of Wuwangdun Tomb at Shouchun - the final Chu capital where four kings ruled - used to be shrouded in mystery. However, analysis of the skeletal remains offers compelling clues: the individual died after age 50, stood approximately 164 centimeters tall, and had maternal ancestry linked to North China. This biological profile aligns closely with historical descriptions of King Kaolie.

In 260 BCE, Qin State launched a massive invasion against Zhao State, besieging the Zhao army at Changping in North China's Shanxi Province. The experienced Zhao general, Lian Po, adopted a defensive strategy, refusing to engage the Qin forces in open battle in the hope of wearing them down.　

The Qin army, frustrated by Lian Po's defenses, spread a rumor that the only general the Qin feared was Zhao Kuo. The king of Zhao believed the rumor and decided to replace Lian Po with Zhao Kuo, son of another famous Zhao general. He had studied military treatises from a young age but lacked practical experience.　

Upon taking command, Zhao Kuo immediately abandoned the successful defensive strategy and ordered a full-scale offensive. The Qin forces feigned retreat, lured the Zhao army into a vulnerable position, and cut off their supply lines. Trapped for 46 days, the Zhao army was utterly destroyed, and about 450,000 Zhao soldiers were captured and buried alive.　

Zhao Kuo was killed in the final battle, giving rise to the idiom Zhishang Tanbing, which means discussing military strategy on paper. It is used to criticize those who have vast book knowledge but no hands-on experience. Zhao Kuo became the ultimate symbol of the armchair strategist.　

By 257 BCE, the Qin forces had besieged the Zhao capital, Handan, in North China's Hebei Province. Lord Pingyuan, a Zhao nobleman, was tasked with securing a military alliance with the powerful state of Chu to break the siege, but he was short one member for his diplomatic mission. A minor follower named Mao Sui stepped forward. He had been in Lord Pingyuan's service for three years but was completely unknown. Lord Pingyuan was skeptical but agreed to take him for his boldness, hence the idiom Mao Sui Zijian, meaning to volunteer one's services without being asked, with a strong positive connotation of seizing an opportunity to prove one's worth.　

In the Chu court, despite Lord Pingyuan's urgent pleas, King Kaolie hesitated. Mao Sui, sword in hand, approached the throne and warned the king of the dangers the Chu would face if the Qin conquered Zhao State and compelled the Chu to swear an oath of alliance. The ceremony involved smearing blood on their lips, thus giving rise to the idiom Shaxue Weimeng, literally to smear blood on one's mouth and swear an oath of alliance.　

After that, the Chu troops marched to the Zhao's aid. At the same time, Lord Pingyuan sent urgent messages to his brother-in-law, Lord Xinling of the neighboring state of Wei, pleading for the Wei to attack the Qin and save the Zhao. Lord Xinling repeatedly urged the Wei king, but the king refused, fearing the Qin's revenge.　

In a desperate endeavor, Lord Xinling persuaded the Wei king's favorite concubine to steal the king's tiger tally. In ancient China, a tiger tally was a bronze token split into two and used as the ultimate military authority. The king kept one half, and the commanding general kept the other. An order was only valid when the two halves matched. 　

In this way, Lord Xinling commanded the Wei troops against the king's order to join the rescue. Today, the idiom Qiefu Jiuzhao, literally "stealing the tally to save Zhao," is used to describe a situation where someone takes unconventional or even unauthorized measures to achieve a greater good.　

The combined forces of the Chu, Wei and Zhao finally lifted the Qin's siege, etching these idioms into history, with King Kaolie at the narrative center.

Archaeologists concentrated their efforts on Tomb No. 1. The structure, confirmed to be square with a descending passage, contains a burial pit with nine chambers arranged in a cross shape - a central coffin chamber surrounded by eight subsidiary compartments, the most chambers discovered in a Chu tomb.　

Conducted from 2020 to 2024, the excavation was a collaborative undertaking bringing together Anhui Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, the National Cultural Heritage Administration's Archaeological Research Center, Xiamen University, Shandong University and Huainan Museum. It represents the first and thus far, only complete, state-of-the-art excavation of a royal Chu tomb.　

Though King Kaolie failed to restore the Chu's former might, the material splendor of his tomb bears witness to the profound cultural wealth the kingdom amassed over generations. That the Chu endured as the final major state to fall to the Qin stands as powerful testament to the formidable power it had built across centuries.　

More than 10,000 exquisite artifacts, including sets of bronze vessels, lacquerware, musical instruments, wooden figurines and a great number of animal and plant remains have been discovered.　

Among these treasures stands an exquisite phoenix-tiger drum stand, an object reserved for Chu nobility and likely used in courtly performances or shamanistic ceremonies. Each phoenix, standing atop a fierce tiger and clasping a pearl in its beak, is meticulously painted with delicate feathers and carved with dragon motifs, seemingly designed to complement the drum's resonant power.　

The excavation revealed a massive three-legged cauldron, which is a highlight of the exhibition at the National Museum of China. With a diameter exceeding 88 centimeters, this cauldron is now the second-largest vessel of its type discovered in China, eclipsing the renowned Zhuke Cauldron, which also dates from the Chu.　

Unearthed from King You's tomb in 1933, King Kaolie's son and successor, the Zhuke Cauldron is now a centerpiece of Anhui Museum in Hefei, Anhui Province. It measures 87 centimeters across, weighs roughly 400 kilograms, and is inscribed with the forger's name Zhuke and the phrase Anbang, meaning "securing the state."　

The largest bronze vessel or ding discovered in China so far is known as the Houmuwu Cauldron from the Shang Dynasty, dating back more than 3,000 years. It was unearthed in 1939 at Anyang, near the Bronze Age ruins of Yin Xu, last capital of the Shang.　

The artifacts from Wuwangdun represent the ultimate expression of the Chu's cultural sophistication. As a monument to a pivotal threshold in history, they tell a broader story of the final flourishing of a major state on the cusp of China's epochal transition from warring rivalry to the dawn of a unified empire.

The excavation of his final resting place was selected in 2024 as one of China's top 10 archaeological discoveries, an honor　

This article is a transcript of an episode of NewsChina's Podcast The Context. Find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Deezer, Listen Notes, Player FM, Podcast Index and RSS Feed. that highlights the site's significance and reframes his rule from a story of political decline to one of enduring cultural triumph.　

Now, plans for a cultural park promise to bring the legacy of Chu back into the light, celebrating one of the most complex chapters in China's early history. More than a tomb, Wuwangdun is a civilization's final and most eloquent testament that, until now, has been whispering in the dark.