Tombs of the capital of State of Chu, Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770-256BC)
Location: Jinzhou, Hubei Province
Period: 7th Century-3rd Century BC
Excavated from the 1960s to the present

Significance: It is of great importance to the understanding of the Chu culture and the burial systems of State of Chu during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty.

Bronze sword of Gou Jian, Prince of State of Yue: weapon (mid, length 55.7 cm); Inscriptions on the sword of Gou Jian: (up-left); Small wood-carved, painted screen: furnishings (bottom, length 51.4 cm, height 15 cm); Hollowed-out bronze cup with the pattern of intertwining dragons, functioning as an incense burner: (in the background, height 12.7 cm)

Introduction

Ji'nan City was the capital of the State of Chu in the Eastern Zhou period. Around the ruins of Ji'nan City, there are seven concentrated tomb sites and altogether over 700 large- and- middle scale tombs for the royals and nobles of the Chu State. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the cultural relics unearthed here have exceeded 10,000 items, among which the discovery of the sword for King Goujian of Yue State, the body remains of the Western Han Dynasty (206BC-8AD) and the embroidered silk articles have attracted a great deal of attention around the world, because they are of great importance to the understanding of the Chu culture and the burial systems of State of Chu during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty.