Recently, an expert symposium on a West Zhou Dynasty city ruins at Chenzhuang of Gaoqing County in Shandong Province was held in Beijing.

Experts who attended the meeting believe the ruins bring Jiang Ziya, a well-known legendary figure in China's history, into the archaeological record. The findings might reveal the stories of the founding of the Qi Kingdom, which started in 1046 B.C., since Jiang Ziya was the first emperor of the Qi Kingdom.

Li Xueqin, the leader of an expert team for Xia, Shang and Zhou dynastic study, said it was the first time that city ruins belonging to the earlier Qi Kingdom have been found in China, and some bronze works with characters "Qi Gong" were the earliest records about Jiang Ziya in archaeological history. This might tell people more unknown stories about the Qi Kingdom's founding.

In addition, the ruins were selected as one of "China's Top 6 Archaeological Discoveries in 2009" by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and "China's Top 10 Archaeological Discoveries in 2009" by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage.

By People's Daily Online