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Royal tombs and more at Yinxu ruins
September 4, 2011, Sunday
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THE archeological site of Yinxu, close to Anyang City, some 500 kilometers south of Beijing, is an ancient capital city of the late Shang Dynasty (1300-1046 BC).
It testifies to the golden age of early Chinese culture, crafts and science, a time of great prosperity during the Chinese Bronze Age.
A number of royal tombs and palaces and prototypes of later Chinese architecture, have been unearthed at the site. This includes the Palace and Royal Ancestral Shrines Area, which features the foundations of more than 80 houses, and the tomb of Fu Hao, the only tomb of a member of the royal family of the Shang Dynasty to have remained intact.
In about 1300 BC, King Pan Geng relocated the capital from Yan to Yinxu which he built into a magnificent city.
Around the year 1046 BC, King Wu sent a punitive expedition against King Zhou, the last ruler of the Shang Dynasty. Yinxu was deserted and the city was turned into ruins, hence the name (the ruins of Yin) in historical sources.
The large number and superb craftsmanship of the burial accessories found there bear testimony to the advanced level of the dynasty's crafts industry.
Inscriptions on oracle bones found in Yinxu bear invaluable testimony to the development of one of the world's oldest writing systems, ancient beliefs and social systems.
It has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage in 2006.
It testifies to the golden age of early Chinese culture, crafts and science, a time of great prosperity during the Chinese Bronze Age.
A number of royal tombs and palaces and prototypes of later Chinese architecture, have been unearthed at the site. This includes the Palace and Royal Ancestral Shrines Area, which features the foundations of more than 80 houses, and the tomb of Fu Hao, the only tomb of a member of the royal family of the Shang Dynasty to have remained intact.
In about 1300 BC, King Pan Geng relocated the capital from Yan to Yinxu which he built into a magnificent city.
Around the year 1046 BC, King Wu sent a punitive expedition against King Zhou, the last ruler of the Shang Dynasty. Yinxu was deserted and the city was turned into ruins, hence the name (the ruins of Yin) in historical sources.
The large number and superb craftsmanship of the burial accessories found there bear testimony to the advanced level of the dynasty's crafts industry.
Inscriptions on oracle bones found in Yinxu bear invaluable testimony to the development of one of the world's oldest writing systems, ancient beliefs and social systems.
It has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage in 2006.
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