Wulu Luo Legacy (Exquisite Collection of Baiyue Cultural Relics from Guangxi)

Author: National Museum of China, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Museum
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-02-01
Features: This book is also part of the "Ancient Civilizations of China's Border Provinces Series." It features 120 important artifacts from Guangxi's ancient Western Ou and Luoyue cultures, provided by Guangxi's archaeological and cultural heritage institutions. These artifacts include bronze, jade, iron, and pottery, aiming to showcase the diverse cultures and unique historical landscapes of Guangxi's ancient Baiyue people, shaped by historical and geographical factors, and to reveal the gradual unification and integration of the Chinese nation throughout history. The exhibition "Splendors of Ou and Luoyue: Treasures of Guangxi Baiyue Culture" jointly organized by the National Museum of China and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Museum is another significant display in the series of ancient cultural exhibitions of China's border regions. "Baiyue" was the ancient term for the numerous tribes and ethnic groups in southern China, and the Baiyue people made significant contributions to the development of southern China, particularly the Lingnan region. The Western Ou and Luoyue, primarily distributed in Guangxi, were important branches of the Baiyue. Generally, Baiyue studies focus on the Yu, Dong Ou, Min Yu, and Nan Yu, with the Western Ou and Luoyue often being part of Nan Yu research. This exhibition on Guangxi Baiyue cultural treasuresly showcases the cultural characteristics and features of the Western Ou and Luoyue, revealing their diverse cultural colors and unique historical processes shaped by historical and geographical factors. We hope this exhibition can comprehensively present the achievements of Ou-Luo cultural archaeology and, from one perspective, reveal the process of the Chinese nation's unification and integration.
[Editor's Recommendation] Ou-Luo refers to the two major branches of the "Baiyue" people active in the Lingnan region during the Warring States and Qin-Han periods—the Western Ou and Luoyue. As the core forces of the Baiyue army, they inflicted heavy casualties on the Qin army during Qin Shi Huang's southern campaign, forcing the emperor to open the Lingqu Canal, wage a decade-long struggle, launch three campaigns in the Lingnan region, and lose 300,000 Qin troops before finally subduing the Baiyue and unifying the Lingnan, establishing the three commanderies of Nanhai, Guilin, and Xiang. What factors allowed the Baiyue tribes, who were at a clear disadvantage in terms of troop strength and equipment, to sustain such a long resistance? Were the Baiyue truly as barbaric and backward as the Central Plains believed? What was their way of life? How did the Baiyue tribes, unified by Qin and later ruled by the Southern Yue Kingdom, experience cultural collisions and integration? Why did unique primitive porcelain, geometric-patterned pottery, and Yue-style tripods flourish there? Many of these questions will be answered in the exhibition.