Imperial gravestones unearthed in NE China
( 2003-12-05 11:30) (Xinhua)
Chinese archeologists have unearthed three tombstone remnants in northeast
China that are believed to have belonged to the imperial family of Jin
Dynasty some 800 years ago.
The tombstones, whose inscriptions included Chinese characters
representing several rulers of the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234), including
Wanyan Aguda and Wanyan Xiyin, could have belonged to the Wanyan family
itself, according to experts with the Acheng Institute of prestigious
Harbin Normal University in Heilongjiang province.
The three tombstones, all apparently damaged by man, were discovered in
what was believed by experts to be the family's burial ground with a group
of seven tombs near Jixingtun village in Daling township, Acheng city,
close to the headwaters of Haigou River, where the Jin Dynasty was originated.
On the burial ground lay numerous pieces of tiles, stones and other
building materials that were often spotted in architectures from the Jin
Dynasty, said archeologists.
Experts noted that these were the first Jin tombstones to be excavated
around the city of Harbin, which abounds in aristocratic tombs and was once the
foothold of the Jin army.
Earlier reports noted that four Jin tombstones had been discovered, one
in Russia and the three others in Jilin province neighboring Heilongjiang.
Wanyan Aguda proclaimed himself the founder and first emperor of the
Jin Dynasty in 1115 that toppled the Liao Empire (916-1125) through long years
of war. Jin was defeated in 1234 by the rising Mongol nomads, who later
founded the imperial Yuan Dynasty (1271- 1368).
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