Scientists discover ancient wells in China with 10,000 bamboo slips that offer insights into governance from 1,800 years ago
- Bamboo slips were found in two wells, with one being in much better shape
- Mostly contained tax information, which can be deeply insightful
Archaeologists in China hope that around 10,000 bamboo slips discovered in a 1,700-year-old well can help them unlock certain mysteries about life and governance during the Three Kingdoms (220-280) period.
The artefacts found in central China’s Hunan province are a series of bureaucratic updates about how the town of Dutou city operated day to day.
Dutou was the head of government for the county, which was ruled by the state of Wu, and the discovery of the slips should illuminate how the region was governed.
They included information about household registration, taxation, farming, mining and other economic activities in the town, according to a press release from the Institute of Archaeology from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Bamboo slips, called jiandu in Chinese, were the primary medium for writing for thousands of years, and their excavation has proven to be an invaluable source for understanding the history of China. Archaeologists have found more than 300,000 bamboo slips to date.
The slips were found in two wells, one of which was far better preserved than the other.
The archaeologists are confident that the slides are from the Wu state because the timestamps say they are from “jiahe year one” or “jiahe fifth year. Jiahe was the reign name of Sun Quan (r. 222-229), who declared the formal independence of Wu from its rival state Wei in 222. It had previously been a vassal state of Wei for two years.
That declaration of independence from the Wu state from its rival state, Wei, kickstarted the Three Kingdoms period, defined by the competition between three states — the other being Shu — for supremacy over all of China.
The period was defined by constant war between the three kingdoms, and it was only finished when Sima Yan usurped the leadership of the Wei state, established the Jin dynasty, and eventually conquered the Wu capital.
The Three Kingdoms period was relatively short-lived by Chinese history standards, lasting only 60 years. The Zhou dynasty (1046 BC-256 BC) was the longest-lasting dynasty at 790 years, with the shortest being the Qin (221 BC-206 BC) at just 15.
However, the Three Kingdoms has been romanticised in the country thanks to the 14th century novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a historical fiction that follows the lives and intrigue of lords during the three-way split of China and the eventual reunification.
Fans of literature may recognise a parallel to Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace.
Most of the recently discovered bamboo slips are taxation records, which describe in immense detail how taxes were collected and how the government allocated resources.
It also detailed trade between local counties, helping archaeologists learn about the nature of small-scale trade during the Three Kingdoms.
The press release, referencing the inhabited Nanling mountain region, said: “[Dutou’s] special geographical location and multicultural factors provide important examples for studying the development of economic and cultural exchanges and transportation between the north and south of Nanling.”
Dutou was excavated for seven years, during which time the scientists unearthed more than 360 unique pieces of infrastructure, such as moats, roads, tombs, and houses.
They also found an immensely diverse collection of pottery and a metallurgy site about 10km from the city, which they believe was used to make an ancient version of tin or another non-metallic metal.
Dutou is the only well-preserved ancient city along the Hunan-Guangdong road, part of an extensive network of roads connecting much of southern China. Those roads were often used as primary forms of transport for everything from trade and military to migration.
The Hunan-Guangdong road was about 201km long and connected south China with the central plains.
