Yinxu

Infobox World Heritage Site
WHS = Yin Xu


State Party =
Type = Cultural
Criteria = ii, iii, iv, vi
ID = 1114
Region = Asia-Pacific
Year = 2006
Session = 30th
Link = http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1114

Yinxu (zh-cpl|c=殷墟|p=Yīnxū|l=Ruins of Yin) is the ruins of the last capital of China's Shang Dynasty (1766 BC - 1050 BC). The capital served 255 years for 12 kings in 8 generations.

Rediscovered in 1899 it is one of the oldest and largest archeaological sites in China and is one of the Historical capitals of China and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is located in the central Henan province, near the modern city of Anyang, and is open to the public as the Garden Museum of Yinxu.

It is famous as the original source of oracle bones and oracle bone script, the earliest recorded form of Chinese writing.

History

At the beginning of the 14th century B.C.E. King Pangeng of the Shang Dynasty established his capital on the banks of the Huan River. The city was known as Yin, and from that point on the dynasty that founded it would also be known as the Yin Dynasty.cite book |last=Bai |first=Shouyi |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=An Outline History of China |year=2002 |publisher=Foreign Language Press |location=Beijing |isbn=7-119-02347-0]

King Wu Ding continued to use Yin as his capital and from this base launched numerous military campaigns (many led by his own wife Fu Hao) against surrounding tribes securing Shang rule and raising the dynasty to its historical zenith.

Later rulers were pleasure-seekers who took no interest in state affairs as social differences increased within the slave-owning society. King Zhòu (紂), the last of the Shang dynasty kings, is in particular remembered as ruthless and debauched. His increasingly autocratic laws alienated the nobility until King Wu of the Zhōu Dynasty (周) was able to gain the support to rise up and overthrow the Shang.

The Zhōu (周) established their capital in Feng and Hao near modern day Xi'an and Yin was abandoned to fall into ruin. These ruins were mentioned by Sima Qian, in his "Records of the Grand Historian", but soon they were lost and their location forgotten with the once-great city of Yin being relegated to legend along with the dynasty that founded it.

Archaeological discoveries

Yinxu is famous for its oracle bones, which were first discovered in 1899 by Wang Yirong, director of the Imperial College.cite news | first = | last = | authorlink = | author = | coauthors = | title = The Discovery of Oracle Bones and the Locating of Yinxu site | url = | format = | work = | publisher = The Garden Museum of Yin Ruins | pages = | page = | date = | accessdate = | language = English | quote = The Discovery of Oracle Bones and the Locating of Yinxu site. In 1899, Wang Yirong, the director of the Imperial College and a well-known scholar of ancient inscriptions discovered dragon bones (known today as oracle bone inscriptions). He sent his assistants to Xiaotun village in Anyang, and enabled him to confirm that Xiaotun was indeed the Yinxu (Ruins of Yin) in the historical records. In 1917 Wang Guowei successfully deciphered the names in oracle bone inscriptions of Shang ancestors and from these was able to reconstruct the Shang genealogy. It matched the record in Sima Qian’s ‘Shiji’ (Records of the Historian). Thus, the legend of Shang dynasty was confirmed as history and the importance of Yinxu was recognized by the academic world. The first excavations at Yinxu began in 1928. ] Director Wang was suffering from malaria at the time and was prescribed Longgu ("dragon bones") at a traditional Chinese pharmacy. He noticed strange carvings on these bones and concluded that these could be samples of China’s earliest writing. He sent his assistant in search of the source of these bones and they were finally traced to the small village of Xiaotun just outside of Anyang.cite web |url =http://www.cctv.com/program/travelogue/20041118/101442.shtml |title = An Yang, ancient capital of the Shang Dynasty |accessdate = August 6 |accessdaymonth = |accessmonthday = |accessyear = 2007 |author = |last = |first = |authorlink = |coauthors = |date = |year = |month = |format = |work = |publisher = China Central Television |pages = |language = English |doi = |archiveurl = |archivedate = |quote = ] In 1917, Wang Guowei deciphered the oracle bone inscriptions of the names of the Shang kings and constructed a complete Shang genealogy. This perfectly matched that in the "Records of the Grand Historian" by Sima Qian confirming the historical authenticity of the legendary Shang dynasty and the archaeological importance of Yinxu.cite news | first = | last = | authorlink = | author = | coauthors = | title = The Discovery of Oracle Bones and the Locating of Yinxu site | url = | format = | work = | publisher = The Garden Museum of Yin Ruins | pages = | page = | date = | accessdate = | language = English | quote = The Discovery of Oracle Bones and the Locating of Yinxu site, In 1899, Wang Yiron, the director of the Imperial College and a well-known scholar of ancient inscriptions discovered dragon bones (known today as oracle bone inscriptions). He sent his assistants to Xiaotun village in Anyang, which enabled him to confirm that Xiaotun was indeed the Yinxu (Ruins of Yin) in the historical records. In 1917 Wang Guowei successfully deciphered the names in oracle bone inscriptions of Shang ancestors and from these was able to reconstruct the Shang genealogy. It matched the record in Sima Qian’s ‘Shiji’ (Records of the Historian). Thus, the Shang dynasty legend was confirmed as history and the importance of Yinxu was recognized by the academic world. The first excavations at Yinxu began in 1928. ]

The first excavations at Yinxu were lead by Li Chi of the Institute of History and Philosophy from 1928-37. cite news | first = | last = | authorlink = | author = | coauthors = | title = Information Panel | url = | format = | work = | publisher = The Garden Museum of Yin Ruins | pages = | page = | date = | accessdate = | language = English | quote = Since the first excavation in 1928, archaeologists have been working at the Yinxu site for over seventy years. There have been two main periods of excavation: (1) from 1928-1937, when excavations were carried out by the Institute of History and Philosophy; and (2) since 1950, when the Institute of Archeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (formerly Chinese Academy of Sciences) have been responsible for excavations have yielded some very important results: evidence of stratification of the Hougang site, remains of palaces and temples, royal cemeteries, oracle bone inscriptions, bronze-and bone-workshops and the discovery of the Shang city on the north bank of the Huan(g) River. ] They uncovered the remains of a royal palace, several royal tombs, and more than 100,000 oracle bones that show the Shang had a well-structured script with a complete system of written signs. cite web |url =http://www.cctv.com/program/travelogue/20041118/101442.shtml |title = An Yang, ancient capital of the Shang Dynasty |accessdate = August 6 |accessdaymonth = |accessmonthday = |accessyear = 2007 |author = |last = |first = |authorlink = |coauthors = |date = |year = |month = |format = |work = |publisher = China Central Television |pages = |language = English |doi = |archiveurl = |archivedate = |quote = ] Since 1950 ongoing excavations by the Archeological Institute of the Chinese Social Sciences Academy have uncovered evidence of stratification at the Hougang site, remains of palaces and temples, royal cemeteries, oracle bone inscriptions, bronze and bone workshops and the discovery of the Shang city on the north bank of the Huang River.cite news | first = | last = | authorlink = | author = | coauthors = | title = Information Panel | url = | format = | work = | publisher = The Garden Museum of Yin Ruins | pages = | page = | date = | accessdate = | language = English | quote = Since the first excavation in 1928, archaeologists have been working at the Yinxu site for over seventy years. There have been two main periods of excavation: (1) from 1928-1937, when excavations were carried out by the Institute of History and Philosophy; and (2) since 1950, when the Institute of Archeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (formerly Chinese Academy of Sciences) have been responsible for excavations have yielded some very important results: evidence of stratification of the Hougang site, remains of palaces and temples, royal cemeteries, oracle bone inscriptions, bronze and bone workshops and the discovery of the Shang city on the north bank of the Huan(g) River. ] One of the largest and oldest sites of Chinese archaeology, excavations here have laid the foundation for work across the country.

Excavation sites

At 30km² this is the largest archaeological site is China and excavations have uncovered over 80 rammed-earth foundation sites including palaces, shrines, tombs and workshops. From these remains archaeologists have been able to confirm that this was the spiritual and cultural center of the Yin Dynasty.cite news | first = | last = | authorlink = | author = | coauthors = | title = Foundation Sites of Palaces and Ancestral Shrines of Yinxu | url = | format = | work = | publisher = The Garden Museum of Yin Ruins | pages = | page = | date = | accessdate = | language = English | quote = Yinxu is the historical remains of the capital city of the Period of the Shang Dynasty. In 1300 B.C., King Pan Gang removed his capital to the area around Xiaotun Village in the northwest of the present Anyang City, which was call Yin in the history. The capital lasted 255 for 12 kings in 8 generations.Being the main component of Yinxu, the Palace and Ancestral Shrine Foundation Sites of Yinxu covered a total area of about 700 thousand square meters. The archaeological excavation was started from 30s of the last century and discovered over 80 rammed-earth foundation sites, among which there were not only palaces, ancestral shrines, sacrificial altar, defensive trench, but also workshops, oracle bone pits, sacrificial pits, noblemen’s tombs and so on, and a large number of oracle bone inscriptions, bronze vessels, jade objects and other precious historical relics have been unearthed. Being the initiating place of the Chinese archaeology, Yinxu was in the first group of the important units of historical relics under the protection of the state.The three key elements of the capital city, the written language and bronzes possessed by the culture of Yinxu have been the witness of the Chinese long history and splendid civilization. ]

The best preserved of the Shang Dynasty royal tombs unearthed at Yinxu is the Tomb of Fu Hao. The extraordinary Lady Hao was a military leader and the wife of Shang King Wu Ding. The tomb was discovered in 1976 and has been dated to BCE 1250. It was completely undisturbed, having escaped the looting that had damaged the other tombs on the site, and in addition to the remains of the Queen the tomb was discovered to contain 6 dog skeletons, 16 human slave skeletons, and numerous grave goods of huge archaeological value. The tomb was thoroughly excavated and extensively restored and is now open to the public.

Also located on site is the Exhibition Hall of Chariot Pits where the earliest samples of animal-driven carts discovered by Chinese archaeology are on display.cite news | first = | last = | authorlink = | author = | coauthors = | title = Exhibition Hall of Chariot Pits | url = | format =
work = | publisher = The Garden Museum of Yin Ruins | pages = | page =
date = | accessdate = | language = English | quote = The chariots of the Shang Dynasty excavated in Yinxu have been the earliest sample of animal-driven carts discovered by Chinese archaeology. These 6 chariot pits of the Shang Dynasty and the remains of road of the Shang Dynasty were excavated separately by Anyang Working Station of the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Historical Relics Working Team of Anyang Municipality in the protective area of Yinxin in recent years. The chariot pits were preserved well basically, one chariot one pit, there are two horses in each of the 5 pits and there is one person buried in each of the 4 pits. Through the appraisement, most of the immolated were adult men and one was a boy. The chariot pit of the Shang Dynasty have not only exhibited the level of civilization of the ancient animal-drawn carts, but also reflected the cruel institution of immolation in the slave society. ] These artifacts were excavated by the Anyang Working Station of the Archaeological Institute of the Chinese Social Science Academy and the Historical Relics Working Team of Anyang Municipality in the northern and southern lands of Liujiazhuang village and the eastern land of Xiaomintun village and put on display within the hall.cite news | first = | last = | authorlink = | author = | coauthors = | title = The Exhibition Hall of Chariot pits of the Yin Dynasty | url = | format =
work = | publisher = The Garden Museum of Yin Ruins | pages = | page =
date = | accessdate = | language = English | quote = The 6 pits of the Yin Dynasty and the restored remains of a road of the Yin Dynasty exhibited here were excavated separately by Anyang Working Station of the Archaeological Institute of the Chinese Social Science Academy and the Historical Relics Working Team of Anyang Municipality in the northern and southern lands of Liujiazhuang Village and the eastern land of Xiaomintun Village in the protective area of the Yin Ruins, and the remains of the road of the Shang Dynasty was excavated in the southern land of Anyang Aero Sports School. These chariot pits were preserved well basically and are of high value of academic research and exhibition. There is one chariot in each pit, there are two horses in each of the 5 pits and there is one person buried in each of the 4 pits. Through the appraisement, most of the immolated were a full man and one was a boy. The chariot pits of the Yin Dynasty have not only exhibited the level of civilization of the ancient-animal-drawn cars, but also reflected the cruel institution of immolation in slave society. ] The six pits each contain the remains of a carriage and two horses. Five of the pits were also found to contain the remains of a human sacrifice (four adult males and one child). Also on display are the remains of an 8.35 meter wide Shang Dynasty road discovered at Anyang Aero Sports School in 2000.cite news | first = | last = | authorlink = | author = | coauthors = | title = The Remains of a Road of the Shang Dynasty (with racks to the two directions) | url = | format =
work = | publisher = The Garden Museum of Yin Ruins | pages = | page =
date = | accessdate = | language = English | quote =The road was about 8.35 meters wide. This was discovered in Anyang Aero Sports School in 2000. ]

In 1988 after archaeologists' proposal Yinxu became the listed as the oldest of the seven Historical capitals of China and in 2006 the site was inscribed on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.cite web |url =http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1114 |title =Yin Xu |accessdate = August 6 |accessdaymonth = |accessmonthday = |accessyear = 2007 |author = |last = |first = |authorlink = |coauthors = |date = |year = |month = |format = |work = |publisher = UNESCO |pages = |language = English |doi = |archiveurl = |archivedate = |quote =The archaeological site of Yin Xu, close to Anyang City, some 500 km south of Beijing, is an ancient capital city of the late Shang Dynasty (1300 to 1046 BC). It testifies to the golden age of early Chinese culture, crafts and sciences, a time of great prosperity of the Chinese Bronze Age. A number of royal tombs and palaces, prototypes of later Chinese architecture, have been unearthed on the site. The site includes the Palace and Royal Ancestral Shrines Area (1,000m x 650m), with more than 80 house foundations, and the only tomb of a member of the royal family of the Shang Dynasty to have remained intact, the Tomb of Fu Hao. The large number and superb craftsmanship of the burial accessories found there bear testimony to the advanced level of Shang handicraft industry, and form now one of the national treasures of China. Numerous pits containing bovine shoulder blades and turtle plastrons have been found in Yin Xu. Inscriptions on these oracle bones bear invaluable testimony to the development of one of the world’s oldest writing systems, ancient beliefs and social systems. ]

ee also

* Historical capitals of China
* Oracle bone and oracle bone script
* Tomb of Fu Hao

ources, references, external links, quotes

s-ttl|title=Capital of China
years=1350 BC-1046 BC|row=1