????A
small blue glass bottle unearthed from the foundation of a collapsed
pagoda in east China suggests that China acquired glass-making
technology 1,000 years ago.
????Archaeologists said the gourd-shaped
glass bottle with lead content was made by ancient Chinese
with special technique, which was quite different from today's
glass-making technology.
????This kind of glass-making technology
emerged in the Tang Dynasty (618 to 907). But only a small
number of the glasswork has been found in China, due to the
difficulty and complexity of the technique.
????Archaeologists believe that the newly
found glass bottle belonged to a king of the Wuyue Kingdom,
which occupied, 1,000 years ago, areas comprising that are
now today's southern Jiangsu and northern Zhejiang provinces.
Members of the Wuyue Kingdom believed in Buddhism.
????The glass bottle was discovered with
an iron case on March 11, which was believed to contain Buddhist
relics, from the foundation of Leifeng Pagoda near the scenic
West Lake in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province.
????The excavation has drawn wide attention
in China, because of a Chinese legend about the Leifeng Pagoda.
According to the legend, fairy Bainiangzi was covered under
the Leifeng Pagoda for the sacrifice of love.
????The over 1,000-year-old Leifeng Pagoda
collapsed 77 years ago. Experts have debated for a long time
whether to rebuild the pagoda.
????Last year, a decision was made by the
Hangzhou city government to rebuild it. The excavation of
the foundation of the old pagoda is a part of the rebuilding
project.
????(Xinhua 03/19/2001)
