A research mission from the Yunnan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology has unearthed more than 10,000 inscriptions in southwestern China, made on traditional bamboo tablets some 2,000 years ago.
According to the Xinhua news agency, the discovered collection of ancient texts is one of the largest of its kind. The artifacts found date back to the Han Dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD). In other words, the texts were written about 2,000 years ago.
In all, more than 10,000 “bamboo inscriptions” have been discovered. Among them were some 1,300 alleged written characters and 837 seal impressions. Most of the latter belong to that even narrower historical period when the Western Han dynasty (202 BC – 25 AD) ruled the ancient Chinese state.
The found engravings and texts only confirm the hypothesis that this dynasty had administrative power over the Yunnan region. And this, according to local archaeologists, is important material evidence of the formation and development of a single multinational China.
It should be noted that most of the traces found are official seals with Chinese characters, which contain the historical names of 20 of the 24 districts that existed in the territory of the former Yunnan region. This is important information, since the history of this region has not been fully studied.
According to historical documents, for example, the Han dynasty ruled the Yunnan region as early as 109 BC. The former kingdom of Yunnan is believed to have since become part of multinational China. It also appears from the fact-finding mission report that the artifacts were discovered in the Hebosuo district of Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province.
This city was the most important administrative center and two thousand years ago, under the rule of the Han dynasty. However, neither he nor Hebosuo was the capital of the kingdom of Yunnan. This capital is currently being discovered by archaeologists. It is assumed that it was located near the site of Hebosuo.
We add that the discovery was not a surprise to scientists. More than 600 historical sites have been reported in Hebosuo in the past two years alone, including ruined houses, tombs, wells, and remains of ancient roads.
