Walking Through the Cradle of Chinese Civilization: Yinxu's Palace and Temple Ruins

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Our visit to Yinxu's Imperial Temple Complex，the political and spiritual heart of the Shang Dynasty 3,000 years ago—felt like stepping into the pages of history. This UNESCO World Heritage Site, one of the ancient world's most sophisticated city-states, features 50+ monumental structures divided into grand palaces, ancestral temples, and altars (Groups A, B, C). Among the ruins, we traced the origins of Chinese writing through oracle bones（the world's oldest systematic script), marveled at ceremonial bronze vessels and stood before the replica of the Simuwu Ding,an 875kg bronze colossus symbolizing royal power.

The chariot pits here rewrite history: These earliest-known horse-drawn carriages in China (predating even the Zhou Dynasty) prove advanced craftsmanship existed centuries earlier than presumed. But nothing prepared us for Lady Hao's Tomb,the pristine burial of China's first recorded female general, whose military prowess and ritual bronze collection (200+ artifacts!) shattered gender norms.

As winds whispered through the same pines that once shaded Shang rituals, we grasped how deeply China's identity—its writing, rituals, and social hierarchy—took root here. Beyond relics, Yinxu excavates an entire slave society's blueprint, where every oracle crack and sacrificial pit whispers of humanity's unbroken thread.

Post by Maryyngyng1 | Apr 13, 2025