Buried for thousands of years! The "auspicious beast" that has long disappeared from China was actually created by Li Bing?

In October 2010, the northeast corner of Tianfu Square, located in the heart of Chengdu, will undergo a major renovation: the Telecom Building, which has stood here for 32 years, along with the bell tower on top, will be demolished and replaced by a brand new Tianfu Grand Theater (Figure 1). As the construction progresses, old Chengdu residents and archaeologists are eagerly looking forward to a reunion. What they are thinking about is the "old friend" who they met 37 years ago and is still buried deep underground.

It turned out that in November 1973, when the construction workers were digging the foundation of the Chengdu Telecom Building, they unexpectedly discovered a huge stone beast buried deep in the foundation. According to the recollections of the cultural relics staff who were invited to the construction site at that time, the stone beast was lying sideways, with the right half buried in the sand, and only the left foot and abdomen were exposed. It was impossible to identify what kind of animal it was. Due to the technical conditions in the 1970s, it was very difficult to dig, lift or transport such a "giant beast". Everyone could only say goodbye to it temporarily and bury it on the spot in accordance with the "Cultural Relics Protection Law".

Figure 1. Chengdu Telecom Building (left) and Tianfu Grand Theater (right) Image source: Reference 1

What kind of animal is this "old friend" buried deep underground? For 30 years, there have been many different opinions from the public and academic circles, and it has become a mystery to be solved. Some construction team members at that time speculated that it was a stone horse, while others thought it was a stone elephant, because elephants have such a huge body. Some experts speculated that it was a stone lion, because this place was once the site of the Ruishou Gate of Xuanhua Garden of the Former Shu Dynasty, and there were stone lions at the palace gate. Others think it is a stone rhinoceros. The reason is that ancient books record that Li Bing, the governor of Shu more than 2,000 years ago (Figure 2), made 5 stone rhinoceroses and placed them under Chengdu Prefecture and Shiqiao, and in the abyss, to suppress water.

Figure 2. Stone statue of Li Bing, governor of Shu. Image source: Reference 2

Fortunately, with the help of this urban reconstruction project and more advanced technology in the new century, the time has come to solve the mystery. On January 9, 2013, the moment of reunion finally came. The stone beast deep underground was brought to light with the help of a crane: it turned out to be a stone rhinoceros, which was huge, 3.3 meters long, 1.2 meters wide, 1.7 meters high, and weighed about 8.5 tons (Figure 3).

Figure 3. The stone rhinoceros when it was unearthed. Image source: Reference 3

After the rare reunion, people hoped to better preserve the stone rhino. However, after careful investigation, cultural relics experts found that the newly unearthed stone rhino was partially covered with concrete, and the remaining uncovered parts were weathered and peeled off. The natural stress and mechanical damage caused by the construction of the telecommunications building at that time also caused damage to it (Figure 4). At the Cultural Relics Restoration Center, experts carefully "treated" the stone rhino through a series of protective measures such as surface cleaning, desalination treatment, reinforcement of weathered parts, and local repair. By 2015, the stone rhino was finally "recovered and discharged" and transported to the Chengdu Museum for collection. The reborn stone rhino has a slightly conical head, a plump and strong trunk, short limbs, and cirrus patterns carved on its body. It looks sturdy, simple, and naive. Once such a cute stone rhino was exhibited, it was immediately loved by the local people.

Figure 4. Domestic and foreign cultural relics protection experts are inspecting the stone rhinoceros. Image source: Reference 4

When was this stone rhino made, and what mission did it perform? Experts speculate that the earliest date of this stone rhino’s production was the late Warring States Period, and at the latest before the Eastern Han Dynasty. Combined with the ancient records of Li Bing using stone rhinoceros to suppress water spirits and water monsters, it is speculated that its function may be related to this. Some experts also believe that this stone rhino is not only a "mascot" to suppress water, but also has a more important mission - a dredging mark. It turns out that in the ancient Chengdu Plain, people would use the dry season of the river to remove the silt deposited in the river. How deep is the silt dug for such a dredging project? Combined with past experience, people found a suitable depth, buried a dredging mark (such as a stone rhino), and dug it every year until it was reached.

Today, the thousand-year-old stone rhinoceros has a new "position". It stands quietly in the Chengdu Museum, welcoming visitors in an endless stream, as if telling people about the ancient Shu people's history of water control (Figure 5).

Figure 5. Stone rhinoceros on display at Chengdu Museum Image source: Reference 2

References:

Disappearing landmark buildings in Chengdu, WeChat official account of School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Xihua University

Wei Min. The stone rhinoceros unearthed on the northeast side of Tianfu Square and the historical event of Li Bing's water control - also on the water conservancy construction and urban development in the Chengdu Plain during the Qin and Han Dynasties [J]. Cultural Relics World, 2018, (06): 22-26.

Luo Kaiyu. The Stone Rhinoceros and Han Dynasty Stele Unearthed from Tianfu Square in Chengdu Are Treasures from the Shu Prefecture Government Office of the Qin, Han and Three Kingdoms Periods[J]. Sichuan Cultural Relics, 2013, (03): 51-59.

Li Ruizhi. Auspicious stone rhinoceros: a different perspective on cultural relics protection[J]. Popular Archaeology, 2016, (03): 88-91.

Feng Guanghong. A brief study on the newly discovered stone rhinoceros in Chengdu[J]. Journal of Literature and History, 2013, (03): 4-8.