Strolling down the southern halls of the National Museum of China, where an exhibition of prehistoric treasures opened on August 19, Wang Yuchun, a middle school student from Beijing, feels like she is "traveling back in time to meet some of my earliest ancestors."

"It is amazing to know that people living in eastern China some 5,000 years ago could create such trendy jade ornaments, such beautiful stone implements, and such elegant pots," she said.

Deeply impressed by the mysterious motifs carved on the surfaces of the stone and jade funeral objects, she said: "The exhibition arouses my strong interest to learn more about ancient Chinese history."

Jointly organized by Zhejiang Provincial Bureau of Cultural Heritage, Zhejiang Institute of Archaeology and Cultural Relics, and the museum, the grand exhibition, entitled "Dawn of Civilization," offers visitors 213 sets of treasures. About two thirds are jade objects, from the Liangzhu culture of the New Stone Age. The exhibition runs until November 19.

Along with the prehistoric treasures of stone, jade, pottery and silk, a number of old photos, video programs, maps and illustrations, and small scale models of the sites of the ruins help visitors understand Liangzhu culture.

The first 20 people through the doors each morning will each receive a set of 3D photos of some of the Liangzhu culture relics as souvenirs, said Yang Guimei, a chief coordinator at the exhibition from the National Museum of China.

Dawn of civilization

"Seventy years ago, Chinese archaeologists bumped into some new findings in the small town of Liangzhu, in the Hangzhou Bay of East China's Zhejiang Province. It turned out to be that their findings reveal what is known worldwide today as Liangzhu culture, a glorious, primitive culture that plays an important role in shaping the Chinese civilization," said Dong Qi, deputy director of the museum, at the opening ceremony of the exhibition.

Since the very first Liangzhu culture site was discovered in 1936, at least 500 more sites dating from between 5,300 and 4,000 years ago, have been excavated. They cover about 36,000 square kilometers in the Taihu Lake Rim and Hangzhou Bay, on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

The sites span East China's Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces, and Shanghai, with Liangzhu and Pingyao towns in Zhejiang as their heart.

The past 20 years have witnessed a large number of discoveries of tombs and ruins, gradually making clear the characteristics of the Liangzhu culture. New findings are still coming out even today.

All of the ruins and sites discovered so far clearly show the people of the Liangzhu culture were bright and diligent. They made splendid achievements materially and spiritually, applying plough implements in paddy rice field agriculture, producing black pottery, jade and lacquer-wares, and even silks.

"It is safe to say that the Liangzhu culture is a pinnacle of primitive Chinese culture that exerts strong influences upon the following periods of Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties," Dong said.

The ancient culture spurred the rapid growth and evolution of primitive civilization in central China, finally leading to the prosperity of early Chinese civilization, Dong said.

The ceremonial objects cong, yue, and engraved motifs featuring a semi-god with a non-human face, which were widely used in the ritual systems of the Xia and Shang dynasties (c. 21st century-1046 BC) bear a strong influence from the Liangzhu culture.

Attractive exhibits

The Beijing exhibition consists of three sections. One is about stone objects, another about pottery and weaving items, and the third about jade wares.

What first attracts the attention of visitors is the stone yue axes and several stone plough-heads on display in the first section.

They were excavated from the sites of Fanshan and Yaoshan towns of Yuhang in Zhejiang Province at different times.

Each with a perfect round hole in it, the stone yue axe is believed to be a weapon from the New Stone Age. The jade yue axes are believed to have been used as funeral objects, according to Liu Bin, a chief coordinator of the exhibition from the Zhejiang Province side and veteran researcher from the Zhejiang Institute of Archaeology and Cultural Relics.

The stone yue axes may have also served as a symbol of military power for the owner of the tombs. The more stone yue axes were buried in a tomb, the more military power the owner of the tomb had, Liu said.

Usually only two or three stone yue axes are found in small tombs while more than 100 are placed in each of several large tombs, possibly belonging to the rulers of a certain tribe, Liu added.

Unlike the stone yue axes, the jade yue axes were possibly symbols of kingship between the primitive tribes, said Liu.

For instance, exhibit No 1018 in the third section of the exhibition, a jade yue axe attached to a wooden handle that is decorated with jade beads on both ends, is believed to be one used as a staff of authority by a king.

The shape of the object suggests the origin of the ancient Chinese character "wang," meaning kingship, easily found in the oracle bone engravings in later times in ancient China, researchers say.

A larger stone plough-head on show in the first section of the exhibition was excavated last July from the Zhuangqiaofen ruins in the city of Pinghu, Zhejiang Province. It is so far the earliest stone-made plough-head ever found in China, and is believed to be attached to a wooden handle.

It is widely considered a key piece of evidence indicating the formation of a farming culture more advanced than that with farming tools like the pickaxe, said Liu Bin.

On display in the second section is a range of black pottery items.

The charming pottery containers and vessels possibly used for food, fruits and wines, found in the tombs, ruins, and other sites of the Liangzhu culture indicate a highly developed lifestyle, researchers say.

The most eye-catching are he pots with three solid legs, four-legged, black pottery ding vessels, black pottery dou plates with carved emblems, a cup with a broad handle, a pot with a lid and a pair of exquisitely modeled loop handles, and a cute and funny-looking filter.

The black pottery dou plate suggests the origin of the Chinese character "dou," originally meaning a stemmed cup or bowl for food or fruits, and later referring to such vegetables as beans and peas, Liu explained.

Besides diverse jade ornaments for the waist, the hair, the neck, the ear, and the wrists, visitors may be surprised to spot the fragmented parts of a jade spinning machine.

It is estimated that the spinning machine may have been used to weave hemp cloth about 35 centimeters in width, according to Liu.

Many of the jade objects on show, including the ornaments, the spinning machine and belt hooks, suggest that people of the Liangzhu culture may have cultivated a refined taste for clothing and adornments. This would have laid a solid foundation for the coming of the government-oriented ritual systems popular in the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, researchers say.

(China Daily September 1, 2005)