Hundreds of artefacts excavated from Qing-era shipwreck in the Yangtze

Asia One ^ | September 18, 2022 | Kevin McSpadden

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Most of the porcelain was probably made in Jingdezhen, a city in southeastern China that has been considered the country's porcelain capital for around 2,000 years and still famously uses handmade techniques to make its merchandise.

Zhai Yang, vice-director of the Shanghai Cultural Heritage Conservation and Research Center, told state-run news channel CGTN: "Due to long-time seawater corrosion, this green-glazed cup appears slightly brown. However, it represents a cultural exchange between China and the world during the early days of Shanghai's opening up as a trade port."

The wooden sailing ship was likely wrecked during the reign of the Tongzhi Emperor (r. 1861-1875) of the Qing dynasty (1644-1912).

Tongzhi and his mother, Empress Dowager Cixi (who was never an official ruler but essentially ran China between 1861 and 1908), attempted to open China to the world from 1860–1874 in a policy called the Tongzhi Restoration.

The hope was that an economic and intellectual opening in China would help slow the collapse of the Qing dynasty. One consequence was it revitalised Shanghai as a major port city, a status it still holds today.

The relics discovered at Yangtze River Estuary No.2 are a testament to this history, as they blend Chinese and Western traditions and aesthetics.

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Chinese archaeologists recovered hundreds of artefacts from a famous shipwreck near Shanghai.

South China Morning Post

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