Nanyue garden
From: Michele Thompson
To: VietnamStudies Group
Sent: Saturday, June 03, 2006 5:44 AM
Subject: [Vsg] Fwd: [WSW] Nanyue garden
Dear VSG Folk,
For those with any interest in ancient Nan Yue the article below should be of some interest, especially to those of us also interested in botanical matters.
cheers
Michele
Michele Thompson
Dept. of History
Southern Connecticut State University
Begin forwarded message:
From: pinesy@pluto.mscc.huji.ac.il
Date: June 2, 2006 11:00:55 PM EDT
To: WSW <wsw@yahoogroups.com>
Subject: [WSW] Nanyue garden
Enjoy:
http://english.eastday.com/eastday/englishedition/nation/userobject1ai2074315.html
Scientists find ancient imperial garden
Archeologists have developed a clear image of a 2,000-year-old imperial garden
found in Guangdong Province by studying more than 100,000 seeds found in an
ancient well at the site.
Various kinds of vegetation including banyan trees and waxberries were planted
more than 2,000 years ago in the imperial garden, which belonged to the
Southern Yue state, archeologists said.
The garden is the oldest imperial garden excavated in China.
"It was without doubt an elegant garden decorated by a plethora of flowers and
trees," said Zhao Zhijun, a researcher with the Institute of Archeology under
the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
"Members of the royal family of the Southern Yue enjoyed beautiful scenery in
the garden while tasting delicious fruits such as lychees, melons, persimmon,
dates, grapes and apples," Zhao said.
A large amount of waxberry stones and melon seeds have been discovered in an
ancient well in the garden. This is the first time melon remains were found in
Guangdong Province, according to archeologists.
Archeologists also found wax gourd seeds in the well, which are the earliest to
be discovered in the country.
"It's widely believed in academic circles that wax gourd originated in China.
But evidence has never backed that up until we discovered these wax gourd seeds
in the garden," Zhao said. The seeds not only tell archeologists about the life
of nobility of the Southern Yue state, but also the long history of the
cultivation of fruit and vegetables in China, said Zhao.
Yuri Pines (currently at IAS, Princeton, 001-609-734-8164[o]; 609-279-2925 [h])
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Dept. of East Asian Studies
Mt Scopus 91905 Jerusalem Israel
Tel (h) 972-2-5321305; (o) 972-2-5882853 and 5881624
Fax (o) 972-2-5883703
E-mail pinesy@mscc.huji.ac.il