Marquis Yi

The Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng (Chinese: 曾侯乙; pinyin: Zēng Hóu Yǐ) is an important archaeological site in Suizhou, Hubei, China, dated sometime after 433 BC. The tomb contained the remains of Marquis Yi of Zeng (sometimes "Duke Yi"), and is one of a handful of ancient Chinese royal tombs to have been discovered intact and then excavated using modern archaeological methods. Zeng was a minor state subordinate to its powerful neighbor, Chǔ. The tomb was made around 433 BC, either at the end of the Spring and Autumn period or the start of the Warring States period. The tomb comes from the end of the thousand-year-long period of the burial of large sets of Chinese ritual bronzes in elite tombs, and is also unusual in containing large numbers of musical instruments, including the great set of bells for which it is most famous.

The People's Liberation Army accidentally discovered the tomb in 1977 while destroying a hill to build a factory at Leigudun. The tomb was constructed of large wooden timbers and covers an area of 220 square meters. The date "jiayin 3rd day" (甲寅三日) written on an astronomical diagram on a lacquered clothing chest from the tomb is believed to be the date of the Marquis's death or an important date in his life, and has been extrapolated to the evening of the 3rd day of the third lunar month of 433 BC.

The tomb is divided into four separate chambers, resembling the layout of a palace of the day. The northern chamber is the smallest and contained military artifacts. The eastern chamber contained the tomb of Marquis Yi, who was buried in a wooden lacquer coffin nested inside a larger lacquer coffin. This chamber also contained eight other coffins that held the remains of eight women. The western chamber contained thirteen coffins that held the remains of thirteen other women. The central chamber is the largest, and contained a large ensemble of ritual musical instruments, including a set of 64 bianzhong (bronze bells).

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