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A raft-style wooden structure, with timbers arranged in multiple layers crosswise, is one of the major discoveries in the recent excavations at the Jizhong site in Shaoxing, Zhejiang province. Dating back to the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770-256 BC), the site provides valuable insights into the study of the ancient Yue state. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The story of "sleeping on brushwood and tasting gall" is one of China's most enduring parables. It tells of King Goujian of the ancient Yue state, who endured years of humiliation before rising to become one of the great leaders of the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC).

But for decades, one question has lingered among archaeologists: where exactly was his capital?

Recent excavations beneath the streets of modern-day Shaoxing in eastern Zhejiang province have provided an answer. Over the past two years, archaeologists have identified what is believed to be the core area of the capital of the Yue vassal state, a breakthrough that fills a gap in the study of Yue archaeology.

In Yuecheng district of Shaoxing, within the grounds of Jishan High School, the Jizhong site was discovered in 2023 during a school renovation. Subsequent excavations spanning 4,000 square meters have uncovered a complex of palace-platform buildings from the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770-256 BC) associated with the Yue state, as well as administrative structures from the Han (206 BC-AD 220) and Six Dynasties (222-589) periods.

It is the first time such architectural features have been confirmed within the boundaries of Shaoxing's ancient city.

Buried 5 to 6 meters deep, the Yueera foundations reveal a "raft-style" wooden structure, with timbers arranged in multiple layers crosswise and packed with earth, which archaeologists describe as "unprecedented" in the wetland environment of the southern part of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

Two rows of five large base platforms, each approximately 1.8 meters long, 1.1 meters wide, and 0.15 meters thick, with diagonal holes at the four corners, have also been discovered. Square wooden pillars, each 20 centimeters on each side, once stood atop these platforms.

Historical texts describe how Goujian's capital was constructed under the guidance of his chief adviser and strategist, Fan Li. He is said to have overseen the building of both an inner "small city" for royal functions and a larger outer city. The outer city came to be known as Li City, in recognition of his role.

"Within the small city, he built the palace for Goujian's court activities," explains Li Longbin, director of the Shaoxing Municipal Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology.

Further evidence emerged just 400 meters away at the Tashan Hechangfang site, located on the southern slope of Tashan Hill. Excavations covering 3,600 square meters have revealed a section of the Eastern Zhou palace city wall, the innermost defensive structure surrounding the royal precinct, along with high-level ceremonial remains.

The wall's foundation consists of four to five layers of north-south-aligned timbers laid in a trench filled with earth and stone, capped with rammed earth.

A foundation trench containing timbers of the Yue state city wall at the Tashan Hechangfang site, dating to the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770-256 BC). [Photo provided to China Daily]

Four postholes found on the eastern wall align with the Sima Gate, a structure recorded in Han Dynasty texts such as Yue Jue Shu, a compendium of essays on various facets of the Wu and Yue vassal states, and Wuyue Chunqiu (Spring and Autumn Annals of Wu and Yue), providing rare confirmation of the capital's layout.

Together, the Jizhong and Tashan Hechangfang sites reveal a cohesive picture of the Yue capital's layout, Li says, describing the area as the Yue capital's "central business district".

The ceremonial area at Tashan Hechangfang includes an artificially constructed altar platform and a trench.

Beneath the platform, excavators found 32 sacrificial pits arranged in two rows, east to west. The trench, measuring 42 meters east-west and 8 meters north-south, contained several hundred stamped hard pottery jars and urns holding sacrificial animal bones — deer, cattle, duck, fish, and turtle — along with tin ge daggers (a type of ritual weapon) and stone chimes.

These artifacts date to approximately the mid-to-late Spring and Autumn Period, coinciding with the era of Goujian's activities.

The presence of cattle bones provides material evidence for the Yue state's sacrificial animal practices, revealing a dimension of the vassal state's ritual life previously known only from texts.

Together, these finds offer the first archaeological window into Yue royal ceremonies.

Beneath the Yue layers, archaeologists uncovered even earlier remains associated with the Majiabang culture, dating back approximately 6,000 years. These include sand-tempered pottery cauldrons, red clay jars, jade pendants, and earrings.

This discovery extends the documented history of human activity in Shaoxing by around 3,500 years, and marks the first identification of Neolithic Majiabang cultural remains within Shaoxing's ancient city, according to archaeologists.

After conquering Yue, the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC) established the Kuaiji Commandery. Historical records indicate its headquarters were initially in Wu county (modern Suzhou in Jiangsu). In 129, during the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220),Wu county was established as the Wu Commandery, and the Kuaiji Commandery was moved to Shanyin county (modern Shaoxing).

The Jizhong site confirms this through artifacts inscribed with "Kuaiji" (the commandery) and "Shanyin" (the ancient name for Shaoxing), including a brick stamped "Wall of Kuaiji Commandery" — reserved for official buildings — as well as a clay seal of the "Shanyin Assistant Magistrate", and a wooden visiting card bearing both place names, the earliest such text from the region.

An aerial view of the excavation area at the Tashan Hechangfang site in Shaoxing, Zhejiang province. [Photo provided to China Daily]

To date, more than 500 official wooden and bamboo slips from the Han and Six Dynasties have been unearthed.

"Only the commandery headquarters or official offices could use such custom-made inscribed bricks, and the discovery of official administrative documents confirms this," Li explains.

These artifacts trace the site's administrative continuity from the Qin through the Six Dynasties.

Experts note that earlier studies of Yue archaeology focused primarily on tombs, Yue settlements and water management infrastructure. By contrast, the identification of palace structures and ceremonial spaces marks a significant shift toward understanding the political and cultural core of the vassal state.

Luo Yunbing, a researcher at the Hubei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, emphasizes the significance of the ceremonial remains.

The sacrificial complex at Tashan Hechangfang, with its altar, pits and trench forming a carefully planned ceremonial zone, represents a state-level ritual practice with distinctly southern characteristics, Luo says.

The animal remains, he adds, reflect the economic life of the period, with duck bones being particularly rare and worthy of further study.

Li Yanxiang, a professor at the University of Science and Technology Beijing's Institute for Cultural Heritage and History of Science and Technology, highlights the importance of the tin-plated iron armor scales unearthed at Jizhong.

The plating on both sides, which provided both corrosion resistance and a decorative finish, has not been found elsewhere, Li Yanxiang says.

Luo Rupeng, an official of the Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, emphasizes the broader significance of the discoveries.

While the general layout of Shaoxing as the Yue capital has been understood in outline, previous excavations have focused largely on peripheral areas.

Jizhong and Tashan Hechangfang now penetrate the core, providing crucial material evidence of the state's highest echelons and establishing a model for the study and preservation of early cities in Zhejiang's water towns, he adds.