Master Archaeologist

Chapter 188 The Flower of Civilization Blooming in Lingnan
"big baby?"

"In our eyes, everything in this Nanyue king's tomb is a treasure!"

Deng Xueliang, a researcher at the Guangzhou Institute of Archaeology, said with a longing face while putting vegetables in his mouth.

indeed.

For the Guangzhou Institute of Archaeology, there is nothing in this tomb of the Nanyue king that is not a treasure.

Any thing is a cultural relic of the early Western Han Dynasty.

For Guangzhou, which is extremely short of cultural relics from the Qin and Han Dynasties, it is an inestimable treasure.

"Copper, iron, jade, agate, turquoise, pottery, everything!"

"There are more than ten jade swords alone!"

"There are a lot of iron weapons of all kinds. There are dozens of iron spears and iron halberds!"

"It turns out that there aren't many iron weapons in the west ear room, but it doesn't mean that the Nanyue Kingdom has not entered the Iron Age."

"And there are many practical tools made of iron, including hoes, chisels, and nails."

"These iron objects have traces of use, including weapons."

"This shows that these iron utensils are not specially made ceremonial utensils, but practical utensils used by the tomb owner during his lifetime."

"It seems that the popularity of ironware in Nanyue Kingdom needs to be re-evaluated."

"The advanced ironware culture of the Western Han Dynasty should have spread to South Vietnam without much hindrance."

"The Central Committee of the Western Han Dynasty did not have the same strict defense against the Xiongnu as it did against the Huns."

Don't underestimate the ancients.

After experiencing the struggle for hegemony during the Warring States Period, people in the Qin and Han Dynasties knew very well how important the monopoly of technology was.

The Huns didn't know how to make ironware, so the Western Han people would naturally strictly control the outflow of ironware.

In some mutual markets between the north and the Huns, large transactions are generally exchanged for grain, cloth and the like with the Huns for livestock.

The most is to sell salt to the Huns.

Ironware, especially iron weapons, is only allowed to be used in the army, and it is absolutely impossible to sell them to the Huns casually.

As for craftsmen who can make ironware, they must be protected even more closely.

They can only manufacture weapons for the Western Han army day and night in the weapons workshop under the jurisdiction of the Shaofu.

It will even be strictly monitored and restricted.

It is absolutely not allowed for any craftsman who can make ironware to be obtained by the Huns.

The Huns attacked the border counties of the Western Han Dynasty all the year round. After burning, killing and looting, they could only take away some people and some iron farm tools.

Even during the time of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, agricultural tools made of iron had not yet been popularized across the country, and it was still the agricultural tools made of bronze or even wood that really dominated the mainstream.

In the slow-moving society in BC, it would take as long as a hundred years to complete the replacement of bronze to iron.

In the military of the Western Han Dynasty, some elites took the lead in replacing iron weapons, and then trained elite cavalry.

After 60 years of sharpening their swords, Wei Qing and Huo Qubing went out to defeat the Xiongnu and sealed them off as wolves.

It's just that they didn't expect that the Nanyue Kingdom, which is in a safe corner of the south, could have such exquisite ironware.

Although the ironware unearthed in the inner coffin has been corroded very badly due to poor preservation, and even stuck together.

But being able to forge standard iron weapons is enough to show that there should be a group of professional "blacksmiths" in Nanyue.

Perhaps it inherited the iron and steel smelting technology of Wu and Yue.

It may also be the technology from the Central Committee of the Western Han Dynasty.

In short, the level of ironware in the Nanyue Kingdom is no worse than that in the Central Committee of the Western Han Dynasty.

This also makes Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty even more powerful.

The Nanyue Kingdom, which also had iron weapons, had almost no ability to resist in the face of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty in Nangu, and was easily wiped out.

The sons of good families in the Western Han Dynasty ate the sauce from their hometown and sang Liu Bang's big wind songs. They easily crossed the south of the Five Ridges and crushed all the way to Panyu.

The army under Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was really invincible in the world!
"However, compared to ironware, the craftsmanship of jadeware in Nanyue Kingdom is truly top-notch."

"I'm afraid it is even more powerful than the craftsmen of the Western Han Dynasty in the same period."

"We found the jade wares in the head box, foot box, and your inner coffin. The jade wares have bi, huang, group jade ornaments, hooks, seals, horn-shaped cups, covered boxes, covered cups, and high bearing plates. Cups and other jade ornaments."

"Jade carving patterns include grain pattern, scroll pattern, cattail pattern, cloud pattern, hooked thunder pattern, pedicle pattern, scale pattern, noose pattern, string pattern, dragon pattern, phoenix pattern, parrot pattern, animal face pattern, etc. .”

"The engraving techniques of patterns include line engraving, bas-relief, high-relief, hollowing out, round carving, double-sided carving, etc."

"The jade in the main tomb is simply the pinnacle of BC jade craftsmanship!"

"I am proud to say that not only the Western Han Dynasty, but all civilizations and countries in the world at that time probably did not have such exquisite and comprehensive jade carving techniques!"

"Especially a group of jade pendants composed of open-carved jade bi, jade huang, jade man and gold, jade, glass beads and many other small pieces, it is even more exquisite!"

"This group of jade pendants is about 85 centimeters long and 50 centimeters wide from east to west. It consists of 32 pieces of jade, among which the double-wind vortex wall, the dragon and phoenix vortex wall, and the double-dragon cattail pattern wall are rare. precious."

"In all the tombs of nobles in the Western Han Dynasty, no such exquisite jade has ever been unearthed."

"There is also the high-legged jade cup, which is also a rare treasure. Among all the jade cups unearthed in the country, it is the most exquisite and beautiful."

"The jade craftsmanship of Nanyue Kingdom is indeed very powerful."

"This is definitely not something that a country that has only been in existence for a few decades can master."

"The Nanyue Kingdom definitely inherited a group of craftsmen from Wu, Yue, and Chu, and continued to cultivate them carefully, so that there are so many exquisite jade wares."

Craftsman is something, it doesn't mean that it can be cultivated through cultivation.

Just like modern people engage in art, they can’t do it just because they want to.

This thing needs talent.

And it needs to be supported by a long inheritance.

The Nanyue Kingdom was established as a descendant of the Qin State's Southern Expeditionary Army. When they went out, they definitely did not bring any jade craftsmen.

However, in the Southern Expedition Corps, there are a large number of immigrants from the six countries.

At the beginning, Qin Shihuang sent the Southern Expedition Corps to bring hundreds of thousands of immigrants from six countries to Lingnan to conquer Baiyue.

On the one hand, relocating immigrants from the six countries to unfamiliar places can reduce the risk of rebellion in the Central Plains.

On the other hand, Nanzheng really needs a large number of population support in order to gain a firm foothold in Lingnan.

Zhao Tuo also relied on these immigrants from the six countries to gain a firm foothold in Lingnan. Finally, while the Central Plains was busy fighting for hegemony between Chu and Han, he unified Lingnan and established a country.

The Nanyue Kingdom was not really established from a poor state.

There are hundreds of thousands of immigrants from the six countries in the Central Plains, plus 10,000+ Qin troops as a basic base.

Therefore, in terms of art, craftsmanship, and culture, there is a context to inherit, and there is a heritage of the Six Kingdoms.

Immigrants from Chu, Yue, and Wu were able to provide Nanyue with iron smelting technology and jade manufacturing technology.

Immigrants from Qi and Yan can undertake the task of building sea-going ships and establishing a navy for Nanyue.

The soldiers from the Qin State took on the responsibility of protecting everyone and expanding the territory.

In a sense, the entire Nanyue Kingdom is a colonial group composed of the people of the six countries + the army of the Qin State.

They came to Lingnan to colonize, not the native people of Lingnan, they brought advanced technology and culture with them!

This is how the Nanyue Kingdom, the "flower of civilization" blooming in the south of the Five Ridges!
(End of this chapter)