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

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