"The local villagers of Yejiashan dug up 15 bronzes when they leveled the land?!"

The news quickly spread to the Suizhou police and the cultural relics department.

It was then quickly reported to the Hubei Institute of Archaeology.

The local police immediately dispatched manpower to protect the excavation site.

Because Rao Wenyi, deputy director of the Hubei Institute of Archaeology, is leading a team to excavate the Han tombs in Fenghuang Mountain, Jingzhou.

Therefore, the director of the Hubei Institute of Archaeology simply took command himself, and immediately rushed to Suizhou with the remaining front-line archaeologists in the institute.

Anywhere, a bronze is dug up from a field, and it's definitely a big deal!

It's bronze!

Once the bronze ware appears, it is likely to be the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and it may even be the site or tomb group of the early Western Zhou Dynasty, or even the Shang Dynasty!

And the place of discovery is Suizhou!

In modern times, Suizhou is not a first-tier city that has attracted much attention.

But in the field of archaeology, Suizhou is amazing!

Especially in the archaeology of the Eastern and Western Zhou periods, Suizhou is a place that cannot be bypassed.

Because it was once ruled by one or two famous princely kingdoms of the Zhou Dynasty!

This vassal state is called Zeng Guo, or Suiguo!

In 1966, 97 pieces of bronze vessels were found in the water conservancy project in Jingshan Sujiayuan, including 33 bronze ritual vessels such as inscriptions such as Jiuding Qiqi and Zeng Hou Zhongzi's father, as well as horse stirrups, titles and other horse vessels.

The composition of these bronzes suggests that they came from a tomb!

The identity of the father of the Nine Tripods and the Seven Tripods, the owner of the instrument, Zeng Hou Zhongzi, shows that this is an important area of the Zeng Kingdom!

And this batch of bronzes was dated between the Western Weekend period and the early Spring and Autumn period!

Jingshan is next door to Suizhou, and the two cities are connected.

However, compared to this excavation in 1966.

In 1978, the tomb of Marquis Zeng Yi was discovered in Suizhou Drum Pier, which is a more well-known and sensational archaeological discovery in the world.

The tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng is dated to the early Warring States period in 433 BC or a little later.

However, the total amount of bronzes unearthed exceeded 10 tons, including many sets of bronze ritual vessels such as Jiuding and Bagui, 65 bells, etc.

All the important bronzes in the tomb are more than 100 times inscribed with the name of "Zeng Hou B", and the tomb owner can be identified as Zeng Hou B.

Among the 10 tons of bronzes, there are a number of musical instruments, ritual vessels, weapons, chariots and horses, household utensils, funeral supplies, etc., a total of 15,404 pieces, of which 1,851 are musical instruments!

There are not only large instruments such as bells and pans, but also small instruments such as qin, se, zheng, sheng, and zhu.

Among them, the set of Zeng Hou Yi chimes was even hailed as the eighth wonder of the world, rewriting the history of world music!

A complete set of 65 pieces of bells, with a total weight of more than 5,000 kilograms.

It has the most complete series of musical tones of the Zhou Dynasty and its musical title system known so far, and it also proves that there was a complete system of twelve musical tones in the Warring States Period, breaking the previous belief that the twelve rhythms were transmitted from ancient Greece.

Even this set of chimes has been included in the "Catalogue of the First Batch of Cultural Relics Prohibited from Going Abroad (Territory) Exhibition", which can be called a treasure of China.

When every student takes a history class at school, the textbook has a record and explanation of this set of chimes.

It is also because of the excavation of the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng that Suizhou is directly famous in the Chinese archaeological community.

And this vassal state called "Zeng" has also entered the eyes of archaeologists and historians.

For ordinary people, Zeng Guo is no stranger at all.

Because the "Zeng Hou Yi Chime" in the middle school history textbook is a representative cultural relic of the music and art of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.

"Zeng Hou Yi Bronze Jianyi" is also a national treasure and is considered to be the earliest "refrigerator".

The design prototype of the opening ceremony of the 2008 BJ Olympic Games is also taken from the chimes of Zeng Hou Yi and the bronze of Zeng Hou Yi.

It can be said that anyone who has received nine years of compulsory education knows that during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, there was such a powerful vassal state, called Zeng State.

But, wonderfully, for archaeologists and historians who delve into history.

This Zeng country, but it is very unfamiliar, and even suddenly jumped out of the crack in the stone!

It's interesting to say.

In China, a country with the most complete historical records in the world, Chinese historians did not know about the existence of this Zeng country from various historical documents.

The earliest record of "Zeng Guo" was found in 1933, when a "Zeng Ji Wu Tsu Pot" was unearthed from the Chu Tomb of the Warring States Period in AH Shou County.

This maker "Zeng Ji Wuqi" was the wife of King Chusheng in the early years of the Warring States Period, and she was married from Zeng Guo.

At first, archaeologists thought that this Zeng State was the "Yan Kingdom" in historical records.

"Shiben" said: "Zeng's, Xia Shaokang sealed his young son Qu Lie in Yan." ”

This Yan country, is the Xia Dynasty Shaokang second son Qu Lie's feudal country, because the first fief name "Yan" and get the name of the country, Xia, Shang, Zhou, survival time of about 1400 years.

Probably in 567 BC in the middle of the Spring and Autumn Period, Lu Xianggong was destroyed by the Ju State in the 6th year.

In the history books, there are many records about the Yan Kingdom, which can be known as one of the earlier and more active vassal states in the eastern part of China.

Moreover, according to historical records, the Song Dynasty also unearthed the "Zeng Shi Pan" and recorded the "Zhongling" of the Southern Expedition of the King of Zhou through the Zeng State, and it can be determined that there was indeed such a Yan State in the Lanling area of Shandong.

However, the key place appeared, "Zeng Ji Wu Yan Pot" was found in the tomb of Chu in the Warring States Period, at this time the Yan Kingdom has been destroyed for hundreds of years, where did Zeng Ji come from?

Moreover, according to the inscription on the pot, although the father country of this Mrs. Zeng is "Zeng Guo", her father's surname is "Ji"!

As the feudal kingdom of Xia Shaokang's son, it must not be the surname Ji, but the surname of the Xia family!

As a result, Guo Moruo proposed for the first time in the "Fortnight of Jin Wen Ci Series" that the "Marquis of Zeng" should be the "neighbor of Chu" Zeng, rather than the Yan State of Shandong.

It was not until 1966 and 1978 that a number of tombs of Marquis Zeng were unearthed in Suizhou, and it seems that it can also be determined that Suizhou next to the Chu State during the Western Zhou Dynasty did indeed have such a powerful vassal state called "Zeng".

Moreover, this Zeng State is surnamed Ji, which is obviously the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty, and the King of Zhou divided it into the border clan state in order to suppress the Chu State in the east.

But the appearance of this Zeng State not only did not relieve historians, but made them even more confused.

Suizhou, why is it called "Suizhou"?

It is because during the Western Zhou Dynasty, there was a famous country in this place: "Suiguo"!

This Sui country is not a small country, and there are many records in the history books!

According to the record of "Zuo Chuan: The Sixth Year of Huan Gong", the head of the "Hanyang Zhuji" was tasked with monitoring the southern barbarian country to defend Zhou Xinjiang.

A history of Suiguo is a history of Suichu relations.

From the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty, Sui Guo led the vassal states near Hanyang to fight with Chu every day, just like a father beat his son.

After the Zhou Chamber moved eastward, Suiguo was still fighting with Chu State, but it changed from taking the initiative to attack and resisting the invasion.

Until the middle of the Spring and Autumn Period, Chu became stronger, and the people of Suiguo saved the life of the king of Chu, and Suiguo once spent a honeymoon period with Chu.

Finally, in the thirty-second year of King Cheng of Chu (640 BC), he was subordinated to Chu with the country, and did not pass through China, so he completely fell to Chu and submitted to Chu.

A history of Suiguo, it can also be said to be the history of Ji Zhou's decline from prosperity to weakness.

In a number of historical books that record the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, you can find the complete history of Suiguo, and the reason why Suizhou is called Suizhou is also because it used to be Suiguo.

As a result, when Suizhou was boundary, a number of tombs of Marquis Zeng in the early Western Zhou Dynasty and the middle and late Spring and Autumn Period were discovered.

Historians and archaeologists are confused.

Where did this Zeng country come from?

Why is there never a record of this country in the history books?!