Vue aérienne de l'excavation de la propriété de bateaux coulés leader paysan Zhang Xianzhong (Chang Hsien-chung) de la fin de la dynastie Ming (1368-1644
Aerial view of the excavation site of the sunken boats owned by peasant leader Zhang Xianzhong (Chang Hsien-chung) of the late Ming dynasty (1368-1644) at the bottom of the Minjiang River in Meishan city, southwest China's Sichuan province, 20 March 2017. More than 10, 000 cultural relics that sank to the bottom of the Minjiang River in Sichuan province nearly 400 years ago have been found in the Pengshan district of Meishan, Sichuan province, since an archaeological dig started in early January. The items include gold, silver and bronze coins, jewelry, iron swords, spears, rings, earrings and hairpins. They provide proof that the river is where Zhang Xianzhong fought against a local general in 1646 and left countless treasures in his sunken boats, according to the Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute. Zhang (1606-46) was a leader of a farmers' uprising in the late Ming dynasty (1368-1644). A native of Shaanxi province, he captured Chengdu, Sichuan, and declared himself emperor in 1644. Two years later, Zhang deserted the city, planning to move to neighboring Hubei province. Local chronicles show that Zhang and his troops were ambushed on the Minjiang River by Yang Zhan, a Ming general who set Zhang's boats on fire. About 1, 000 boats sank. From the 1950s to the 1990s, silver washed up on the shores of the Minjiang River, believed to come from Zhang's boats.
