CHINA ARQUEOLOGIA golden-age-chinese-archayeolog

in the histories, none were located in Hubei. Zeng may have been an alternative name for the
Sui state, known to have been located in the region of Suizhou and one of the Chu state's main
rivals during the seventh century BCE; by the sixth, it had largely fallen under Chu control. The
lists of mourners at Marquis Yi's funeral, recorded on bamboo slips placed in the tomb, mention
only personages from Chu and one other state, an indication that by this time Zeng had lost its
political independence. Culturally, the Zeng state also seems by this time to have been heavily
dependent on the Chu state: in typology and style, many of the Zeng bronze ritual vessels derive
from objects found in sixth-century Chu tombs at Xichuan Xiasi in southern Henan
province, although the presence of certain types borrowed from further east (such as the zunpan,
cat. 95) suggests that it still retained some independence in its bronze repertoire. What is
clear, however, is that the still undiscovered tombs of Chu kings, thought to be located north
of Jiangling in western Hubei province, would have dwarfed that of Marquis Yi — both in scale
and in the magnificence of their contents. CM
1 The description of the tomb is based primarily on the
excavation report, Hubei 1989. The main descriptions in
English are in Thorp 1981-1982^ Thote 1996, 906-907,
and So 1995, 427-428.
2 The total weight of bronze yielded by the tomb is estimated
at over ten metric tons. See Hubei 1989,1:475-
476.
3 For a discussion of the role of music in ceremonials, see
Falkenhausen I993b, 23-30.
4 For a discussion of this chime, see Falkenhausen I993b,
introduction, and chaps. 7 and 8.
5 The inscriptions usually occur in a seven-character
formula: "Marquis Yi of Zeng commissioned [this article);
may he possess and use it for eternity." A few of the
bronzes name earlier Zeng marquises. See Hubei 1989, i:
459-460, and cat. 95.
6 Two other bells with virtually identical inscriptions were
reportedly unearthed from Anlu (Hubei province) during
the Sung period. It is likely that the bo from the tomb of
the marquis was originally part of a chime that included
the Anlu bells. See Thorp 1981, 68-70.
7 Certain phrases in the inscription have been taken to
indicate that the Chu bell was cast in response to news of
the marquis' death; if the interpretation is correct, Marquis
Yi died in 433 BCE. However, carbon-14 samples
taken from the wooden beams of the tomb indicate a
probable date for the tomb of around 420 BCE. Hubei
1989,1:463.
277 ZENCHOU YI TOMB AT LEICUDUN