China News Service, Beijing, August 21 (Reporter Sun Zifa) As an important traditional festival of the Chinese nation, worshiping Qu Yuan and eating rice dumplings during the Dragon Boat Festival are two well-known representative activities, and their historical origins have attracted widespread attention from the public and academic circles.
The reporter learned from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences on August 21 that based on archaeological research on plant bags unearthed from the Wuwangdun Tomb in Huainan, Anhui, dating back 2,200 years, the Chinese scientific research team recently revealed the sacrificial properties of the plant bags, and found a possible historical origin for the legend of "throwing rice dumplings into the river to commemorate Qu Yuan." At the same time, its shape of wrapping seeds with leaves also provides a possible origin for the traditional food of zongzi.
Plant packages and enlarged pictures unearthed from the tomb of King Wu, phytoliths, sporopollen, and plant seeds found in the plant packages. Photo courtesy of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
This important archaeological research result was jointly completed by Ge Yong, associate researcher of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zhang Zhiguo, research librarian, and Yang Fan, associate research librarian of the Archeology Center of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, together with collaborators such as the Anhui Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology, Capital Normal University, and the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The relevant paper was recently published in the comprehensive academic journal "National Science Review" (NSR).
According to the research team, the earliest record of rice dumplings can be traced back to "Feng Tu Ji" written by Zhou Chu in the Western Jin Dynasty, and the connection between rice dumplings and the commemoration of Qu Yuan was first seen in "Xu Qi Xie Ji" written by Liang Wujun of the Southern Dynasty. However, in archaeological discoveries, only plant remains that can be called "zongzi" have been found in the Tieguai Tomb of the Northern Song Dynasty. Although "zongzi-like" plant bags were also unearthed at the Chengyang City site 2000 years ago, no in-depth research was conducted at that time, making it difficult to discuss the historical origin of zongzi.
The tomb of King Wu in Huainan, Anhui is the best-preserved and largest tomb of King Chu (King Kaolie of Chu) discovered so far. In March 2024, a large number of well-preserved plant packages were unearthed from the tomb's coffin chamber. The research team immediately collected samples and formulated a detailed research plan. After nearly two years of systematic research, they obtained two main understandings:
First of all, a large number of unhulled rice, millet and millet were wrapped in these plant packages, and phytoliths were also found in wheat seed bracts, indicating that this was not accidental mixing, but a purposeful selection of intact seeds for packaging. Combined with the records on Qin bamboo slips that food can be used as money for the deceased, it is reasonable to believe that the function of the plant bags in the side chamber of the tomb is more towards offering sacrifices to the deceased rather than being used for food.
Secondly, the plant bag was wrapped with leaves, which were confirmed to be leaves of Quercus oak, and "rope"-like plant bindings could be seen on the surface of the plant bag, which was confirmed to be made of plant leaves of the subfamily Triaceae and Arundoideae. It can be confirmed that these plant bags have a similar structure to the legendary and modern rice dumplings. This similar shape implies a possible inheritance relationship, but it cannot simply be regarded as the same.
On this basis, the research team believes that the plant bags unearthed from Wang Wudun's tomb represent a sacrificial method popular in the Chu period, rather than the "zongzi" described by later generations.
They emphasized that due to cultural exchanges and inheritance, the plant bags before 2200 years ago may have gradually changed in the inheritance of later generations, gradually changing from sacrificial items to edible ones, and people in different places improved their adaptability, and finally evolved into the well-known Dragon Boat Festival rice dumplings.
