JING'AN, Jiangxi, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese archaeologists have started to excavate a 2,500-year-old tomb containing 47 coffins made of a rare wood called nanmu in east China's Jiangxi Province. The tomb, in Lijia village in Jing'an county, is 16 meters long, about 11.5 meters wide and three meters deep. It is believed to date back to the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770-221 B.C.). It is the largest group of coffins ever discovered in a single tomb and the excavation has been dubbed "the most important archaeology project of the year" by cultural experts and media. Nine coffins wereopened by archaeologists earlier because they were rotten and partly destroyed by tomb robbers.
Archaeologists opened another coffin on Sunday morning, finding a relatively complete human skeleton, bodily tissue, as well as many bronze, gold and silk items, porcelain and jade. The bodily tissue has been identified as the brain of the dead in the coffin. The tissue has shrunk to the size of a fist, but it has complete brain structure with two cerebral hemisphere, cerebel, and brainstem. "This is the first time that such a complete structure was found in southern China and it will fill in gaps in the study of human bone structure in the pre-Qin era (770-221 BC)," said Zhu Hong, apalaeoanthropological expert from Jilin University. Zhu said the unique burial style could explain why the skeleton and the brain tissue were preserved so well in an area where the soil was acidic and unfavorable for preservation of human body. The coffins were made from halved nanmu, a rare and extremely durable wood, and covered in a layer of loess. They were fire-heated to make them solid, pressurized and waterproof.To view the rest of this article, please visit the source
The tomb of China's first emperor, guarded for more than 2,000 years by 8,000 terracotta warriors and horses, has yielded up another archaeological secret.After five years of research, archaeologists have confirmed that a 30-meter-high building is buried in the vast mausoleum of Emperor Qinshihuang near the former capital, Xian, inthe northwestern province of Shaanxi, Xinhua news agency said on Sunday.Duan Qingbo, a researcher with Shaanxi Institute of Archaeology, said the building might have been constructed for the soul of the emperor to depart.
Archaeologists have been using remote sensing technology since 2002 to study the internal structure of the unexcavated mausoleum.
They
concluded that the building, buried above the main tomb, had four
surrounding stair-like walls with nine steps each, Xinhua said.
Qinshihuang unified China in 221 BC.
The life-size terracotta
army, buried in pits near the mausoleum to guard the emperor in the
afterlife,was accidentally unearthed in 1974 by farmers who were
digging a well.
A mysterious underground chamber has been found inside the Chinese imperial tomb guarded by the famous Terracotta Army, Chinese archaeologists say. Historical records describing the tomb of Qin Shihuang, China's first emperor, do not mention the room which is 30 metres (98 feet) deep. The unopened chamber was found at the site near the old imperial capital of Xian using remote sensingtechnology.
One expert says it may have been built for the soul of the emperor. More than 2,000 years old, the chamber is buried inside a pyramidal earth mound 51m (170 feet) high on top of Qin's tomb. It is situated near the life-size terracotta warriors and has four stair-like walls, says Duan Qingbo, a researcher with the Shaanxi Institute of Archaeology. The Chinese authorities have not given permission to excavate the site. It is believed that they wish to perfect archaeologicaltechniques before probing any further, and archaeologists have had to use the sensing technology at the site since 2002. Despite his brutal methods, Emperor Qin is remembered as a hero in China for forging a unified state. To view the rest of this article, please visit the source
Perched between eight peaks deep in the Kii Mountains of Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, the village of Koyasan (Koya Mountain) appears as if resting inside a lotus flower. This unique feature may be a significant factor in its being chosen as the centre for Shingon Buddhism in Japan.Founded in 816 by Kukai, usually referred to as Kobodaishi, Koyasan is a treasure trove of ancient esoteric culture. Imagine all the ancient spiritual and cultural grandeur of Nara and Kyoto in one, easily traversed location. Throw in the surrounding peaks with their draping mists and you're in for an atmospheric experience.It was 804, during the Tang Dynasty, when Kukai, as part of an imperial mission, crossed the sea to China.
There the accomplished monk received the teachings of the Shingon tradition under the guidance of the national teacher Hui Kuo of the Ching Lung Temple.
Two years later, Kukai returned to Japan and,with imperial consent, began propagating the Shingon faith there.
It is quite remarkable that
master Hui Kuo chose this young Japanese monk as his successor over
hundreds of Chinese disciples and, hence, Kukai is recognised as being
the eighth patriarch in the Shingon lineage.
He passed on the teachings
in both Nara and Kyoto, but Kukai's heart inclined towards untouched
mountains, far removed from the distractions of the city. He had a deep
ambition to construct a monastic community where practitioners of
Buddhism could dedicatetheir lives to prayer for the peace of the land
and salvation of its people.
There is an old legend
about how Kukai discovered Koyasan. When about to leave China for the
return trip to Japan, on completion of his two years of study, he
prayed that the place where he should establish a religious community
would somehow be revealed to him. As the story goes, while praying, he
threw a three-pronged vajra (a religious instrument) into the air and
it landed in the very spot where the Garan in Koyasan now stands. Upon
arriving back in Japan, Kukai searched for the implement. When he
entered what is now Uchi County in Yamamoto, he came across an unusual
character of nearly seven feet tall with a bright red face.He was a
hunter, bearing a bow and arrows and holding a two-headed dog on a
leash. The hunter said: "I am a hunter from the southern mountain and I
know the......
All our articles are sorted under categories and topics, making it easier to cross reference different subjects. Below are all the different categories the articles are sorted under alphabetically.
61(61/0) 
JING'AN, Jiangxi, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese archaeologists have started to excavate a 2,500-year-old tomb containing 47 coffins made of a rare wood called nanmu in east China's Jiangxi Province. The tomb, in Lijia village in Jing'an county, is 16 meters long, about 11.5 meters wide and three meters deep. It is believed to date back to the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770-221 B.C.). It is the largest group of coffins ever discovered in a single tomb and the excavation has been dubbed "the most important archaeology project of the year" by cultural experts and media. Nine coffins wereopened by archaeologists earlier because they were rotten and partly destroyed by tomb robbers. 
Source
A mysterious underground chamber has been found inside the Chinese imperial tomb guarded by the famous Terracotta Army, Chinese archaeologists say. Historical records describing the tomb of Qin Shihuang, China's first emperor, do not mention the room which is 30 metres (98 feet) deep. The unopened chamber was found at the site near the old imperial capital of Xian using remote sensingtechnology. 
