The story, recently reported by CCTV, has amused and shocked people across China.
The mastermind, Chu, a resident of Hubei province in central China, was addicted to reading novels about archaeology and tomb raiding. When reading was no longer enough, he began meticulously verifying details from the stories against county records.
“The more I read, the more obsessed I became. I started digging deeper: Which dynasty? Which important figures? How were the tombs built? Some of them actually existed,” Chu later said.
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Experts say all the cultural relics stolen in the tomb raid date back to 771 BC. Photo: CCTV |
Experts say all the cultural relics stolen in the tomb raid date back to 771 BC. Photo: CCTV
He was particularly fascinated by the tomb raiding techniques described in the novels. As his obsession grew, Chu decided to put these fictional methods into practice.
His real-life tomb raiding quest began when a local news report detailed an archaeological discovery at a large family tomb. The area, a protected cultural heritage site in Hubei, was first excavated over 20 years ago during highway construction.
The report mentioned the excavation of a large number of jade and bronze artifacts, sparking Chu's interest and leading to his first illegal excavation attempt.
Chu quickly recruited a man surnamed Chen and other accomplices. He studied the layout of the surrounding mountains to identify a general search area, then used a probe and a specialized shovel to narrow down the location.
After two weeks, Chu finally located a tomb entrance. He cautiously took his first swing with the shovel. “I saw some green corrosion. If that’s on the surface, then what’s underneath certainly isn’t stone. It’s bronze,” Chu recounted.
Over two nights, the three men excavated 20 bronze artifacts. To quickly make money, they contacted a man surnamed Li to act as a middleman and find a wealthy buyer.
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A tombstone marks the preserved ancient tomb area where the daring theft took place. Photo: CCTV |
A tombstone marks the preserved ancient tomb area where the daring theft took place. Photo: CCTV
In 11/2023, police posing as buyers agreed to a price of 4 million CNY (approximately 560,000 USD) for the 20 artifacts. This transaction led to the arrest of all the tomb raiders.
According to experts, all 20 artifacts date back to the Spring and Autumn period (771 BC), with 9 classified as first-class national cultural relics.
Chu and Chen were sentenced to 10 years and 10 years and three months in prison, respectively, and fined 70,000 CNY (approximately 9,800 USD). Li, the broker, received a sentence of three years and six months for concealing the proceeds of crime.
Hai Thu (SCMP)
