The Relentless Rhythm of Chinese Archaeology

The winter of 2017 found a weary archaeological team in Xianyang, Shaanxi province, fresh from completing an exhausting rescue excavation tied to local construction. Such projects—often hurried and bureaucratically fraught—are the unglamorous reality of modern archaeology in China’s rapidly developing landscape. Just as the team leader promised a brief respite, a call came from senior archaeologist Xing Fulai: two intact Qin-era tombs had been uncovered west of Xianyang.

The dilemma was palpable. Fatigue warred with professional curiosity. As one team member later recalled, “Xing has a golden touch—he excavated the Northern Zhou tomb of the Sogdian official An Jia and the Western Xia ruins at Tongwan City.” The tombs’ location near the Qin capital’s western sector hinted at elite occupants. Within hours, the “break” evaporated as the team mobilized for what would become a career-defining discovery.

Breaking Ground on the Xianyang Plateau

The twin tombs, labeled M2 and M3, stood in parallel—a deliberate arrangement signaling connection between the occupants. As picks struck the densely packed, frozen earth (a promising sign against looting), anticipation grew. By 9 meters down, the first burial chamber emerged. “I saw miracles,” the lead archaeologist would later write, capturing the team’s exhilaration.

M2 featured a single coffin within an outer chamber (yi guan yi guo), while larger M3 boasted two outer chambers and a coffin (er guo yi guan), plus rare textile remnants of a funeral canopy (huangwei). These details aligned precisely with Zhou-era burial protocols recorded in Zhuangzi: “The Son of Heaven uses seven layers of coffins, feudal lords five, high officials three, and scholars two.” The hierarchy was unmistakable—these were high-ranking Qin officials from the Warring States period (475–221 BCE).

Bones and Social Bonds

Physical anthropology revealed M3’s occupant as a 45–50-year-old male, while M2’s degraded bones offered fewer clues. Their side-by-side placement suggested bingxue hezang (companion burial), typically spousal but possibly familial or even—as one team member provocatively suggested—reflecting a same-sex relationship. M3’s superior grave goods marked him as the dominant figure, perhaps a lord buried with a retainer or kin.

Treasures from the Warring States

The tombs yielded 155 artifacts that painted a vivid portrait of Qin aristocracy:

– Jade Bi Discs: Twelve nephrite disks, ten exceeding 14cm diameter, ritually placed on the bodies to ward off decay. Photographers captured their ethereal beauty—milky veins swirling through green stone like ink paintings.
– Jade-Hilted Swords (yujujian): The ultimate male status symbol. One sword’s pommel, guard, and scabbard mounts were carved from mutton-fat jade, embodying the era’s aesthetic of “hero meets beauty.” These matched historical accounts, like the Shuo Yuan tale of ostentatious noble Jing Hou flaunting his jade sword before the unimpressed Crown Prince of Wei.
– Bronze Ritual Vessels and Weapons: Further cementing the occupants’ military and aristocratic status.

The Looters’ Near-Miss

As word spread, locals gathered at the perimeter, some marveling at how these tombs escaped Xianyang’s notorious “river of tomb raiders.” The intact state was miraculous—most elite Qin burials were plundered centuries ago.

Legacy: Windows into Qin’s Warrior Elite

These tombs encapsulate Qin’s pre-imperial culture—martial yet refined, hierarchical yet intimate. The jade swords mirror those later found with the Terracotta Army’s officers, while the burial customs reveal Confucian shi si ru shi sheng (“serve the dead as you serve the living”) ideals.

Most poignantly, they remind us that archaeology’s greatest rewards come not from gold, but from context—the chance to reconstruct relationships like those between M3’s nobleman and his companion, frozen in time beneath Xianyang’s soil. As the team reflected, sometimes the real treasure is the story whispered through 2,300-year-old jade and bones.