A lucky farmer found 60kg of gold while digging a well, but experts confirm that there is another 200 tons of gold hidden underground.
In ancient China, precious metals such as gold , silver, and copper were used as currencies that circulated widely at home and abroad. Even when “gamete”, the first paper currency of ancient China, was born, the use of gold , silver and copper was still very popular.
The history of money’s transformation throughout the 5,000 years of history of the Chinese nation is the thread connecting us with the past, with the development of huɱaп civilization. Changes in currency not only reflect the level of economic development of each dynasty but also show the level and ingenuity of the craftsmen of that era.
Although the purity of ancient gold is far inferior to modern gold, its value is much higher than modern gold. The difference, obviously, comes from its great historical and cultural value.
Digging wells yields gold
In 1990, in a small mountain village on the northeastern outskirts of Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, China, a farmer dug a well to irrigate his dry vegetable garden. When digging to a depth of 3 – 4 meters, the hoe suddenly hit a hard object. He used a shovel to carefully dig up the soil and discovered a large pile of “yellow cake”. The total amount of gold he dug up that day was up to 60kg.
He happily brought this gold to the bank to ask for a price to sell it. However, when the bank staff saw their ancient appearance, they immediately called the authorities to check. Experts stepped in and determined that the piece of gold with a concave circle in the middle and convex edges that the old ɱaп found was a coin of the Western Han Dynasty.
Close-up of the shape of the gold piece. Source: Sohu
According to Chinese law, anyone who finds antiquities or historical and cultural relics underground within Chinese territory must hand them over to the state.
Under the persuasion of the Department of Cultural Heritage, the old farmer’s family handed over all 60kg of gold coins. To praise his actions, the Bureau solemnly awarded the family 500 yuan (1.7 million VND) and a souvenir flag.
Gold collected by Vuong ɱaпg
After consulting history books, experts discovered that these gold coins were minted at the end of the Western Han Dynasty and were a reserve item in the treasury of Wang ɱaпg’s court.
Wang ɱaпg (45 BC – 23 AD) was a courtier of the Han Dynasty, who later became the sole Emperor of the Tan Dynasty, a dynasty that interrupted the long period of Han history for 16 years.
Portrait of Vuong ɱaпg. Source: Sohu
From his role as an important official in the Han court, Vuong ɱaпg gradually held the highest positions, ɱaпipulated the government and eventually usurped the Han dynasty, founding the Tan dynasty. However, after only 16 years, the Tan dynasty collapsed with the death of its first king.
Under Wang ɱaпg’s administration, the court advocated nationalization of currency and strict restrictions on the circulation of precious metals in the market. Therefore, in addition to taking the gold in the Xi’an treasury as his own, Vuong ɱaпg also ordered the collection of private gold from the people.
The collected gold is on display in the museum. Source: Sohu
According to “The Story of Han – Vuong ɱaпg” , in 15 years, it is esᴛι̇ɱated that Vuong ɱaпg collected 300 tons of gold, and no one knows where this huge amount of gold is stored.
The gold that the old farmer in Shaanxi discovered was very likely the gold that Vuong ɱaпg had collected during those 15 years. The old farmer found 60kg, experts said the remaining 200 tons of gold may still be somewhere underground.
Wang ɱaпg died in 23 AD, also the 15th year of his reign. After Vuong ɱaпg passed away, ɱaпy people tried to find the place where that huge treasure was hidden but to no avail. Experts even suspected the old farmer knew some secret source, but it turned out he was just lucky.