Marquis Zeng was neither a great historical ruler nor a historically known statesman, in fact, he is historically unknown. Although he was a ruler and buried with the ritual of a ruler, but his State is so tiny, yet his burial wealth surpasses all known archeological discoveries of tombs so far. The only exception is the tomb of Chin Chi Wong , the greater than life Emperor who joined and completed the Chinese Great Walls. There is one more likely explanation for Marquis Zeng's riches, other than the story of the Musical Bells, given as a gift from King Hui of the State of Chu ( please click on the picture of the bells to read the story ). He had acquired his wealth through the clan invention of the kitchen accessories for steaming foods, then as the family name spread, he must have added many other inventions and sales of kitchen utensils. The following pictures are some of the unique kitchen tools unearthed from this 2500 years old grave. So it appears that the Marquis was not only a smart inventor but also a ancient business tycoon too. With over 15000 objects the Marquis took to his grave, chariots and all, even Tutankhamen of Egypt cannot match his burial wealth. For such riches one could easily get used to his life style even in the after world. There are just 2 small things missing, i.e. a televisions and a telephone. The Marquis was Zeng Ji ( ), the Source Sage's ( ), contemporary. Yet all  this happened almost a century before the great Greek philosophers Aristotle was born (384 - 322 BC).  

           Back to the Hot Pot Page .... or ..... to 5000 years DNA Page 

  On the right is a gold bowl with lid and a gold ladle 

Above: A bronze ladle and a gold cup with lid. All together over 8 kilograms of gold objects are unearthed. Lots more below! 

Above bronze strainer with stand and a bronze scoop with enlarged details. More below !

This one on the left is called Gi.

It is used to separate rice from its shell by through the mixture up in the wind and by blowing the shells away with wind. 

There are great big bronze urns for grain storage and lacquer boxes to keep sweets and dry fruits. 

                                                    These big bronze jars are for wine storage. 

This is of course the spoon for the Marquis' personal gourmet . See the inlaid of stones and turquoise in the handle. 

There are lots more kitchen tools than these shown here. There are over 15000 burial articles.  

Back to the Hot Pot Page .. or .. to 5000 years DNA Page