BRONZES OF HSIN-CHANG HSIEN—BISHOP 467 
no record was kept of its position and its relation to the other objects 
in the tomb while this remained intact. Possibly a careful search 
of the Classics may throw some light on its significance. 
Less important pieces, of all types and descriptions, were to be 
counted by the score; many were in a fragmentary condition, while 
others, through the circumstance, already adverted to, of their hay- 
ing been found inside larger vessels, had escaped quite whole. 
It is still far too early to begin basing any definite conclusions 
upon these bronzes; before that time arrives, very much more in- 
tensive and comparative study will have to be given them. Even a 
superficial examination, however, reveals the existence of several 
hitherto quite unknown types; while in some ways it would seem 
that the group as a whole suggests contacts not merely with the 
ancient Chinese culture lands of the middle and lower Yellow River, 
but also with the art of the old kingdom of Ch’u, which during much 
of the Chou dynasty dominated the Yangtse Valley. It will be 
recalled that this State, during the seventh and sixth centuries 
B. C., invaded Chéng again and again, at times making it tributary ; 
and this long-continued military and political contact can hardly 
have done otherwise than leave its impress upon the art of this 
unfortunate buffer State. Beyond this, for the present, I should not 
like to go. 
While opinions appear to differ as to the precise date of this most 
noteworthy interment, the prevailing view seems to be that it is of 
the latter part of the Chou dynasty, or, roughly, between 400 B. C. 
and 250 B. C. The form of the characters appearing on the inscrip- 
tion already mentioned would admit of this; and the curious mixture 
of primitive and highly civilized elements indicates a considerable 
antiquity, prior at least to the time when coffins began to be used 
regularly in State burials. The highly eroded condition of the 
mound and the total absence of any local tradition or historical 
record of any burial here point to the same thing. 
Of interest is the fact that in the course of the digging there was 
found a small saw of shell, perhaps 314 inches in length, and notched — 
at one end as if for hafting. I saw and photographed this curious 
object at the military headquarters at Chéng Chow. It was stated 
that it had been found in the course of operations at the Hsin-chéng 
Hsien site, and I see no reason to doubt this, although I am at pres- 
ent inclined to think that it belongs to a culture stage considerably 
older than that represented by the interment itself. Possibly this 
plateau may have been the site of a village in times prior to the 
advent of bronze. 
While fully recognizing the intense interest of the objects found 
at Hsin-chéng Hsien, and the importance attaching to their further 
