Xiongnu capital, Dragon City, and inscribed seal of the Chanyu 2nd C. BCE

August 28, 2023

Xiongnu capital, Dragon City, and inscribed seal of the Chanyu 2nd C. BCE - 1st C. CE

"Archeologists discover capital of Xiongnu Empire in central Mongolia:

ULAN BATOR, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Dragon City or Longcheng City, capital of the Xiongnu Empire, has been discovered in central Mongolia, a Mongolian archeologist said Saturday.

"As a result of more than a decade of research on political center of the Xiongnu Empire, I am very happy that we have discovered and excavated the empire's capital Dragon City or Longcheng City," Tumur-Ochir Iderkhangai, leader of the archeological research team, told Xinhua.

"The front decoration of the roof of the city's building bears an inscription of ancient Chinese characters 'Son of Heaven Chanyu.' So, we believe that the city is the Xiongnu Empire's capital," said Iderkhangai, who is also associate professor at the Department of Archeology at the Ulaanbaatar State University.

This is the first time that a real object with the inscription "Son of Heaven Chanyu" has been found in the territory of Mongolia, the archeologist noted.

The city was first discovered in the Ulziit district of Arkhangai province in 2017, but its excavations did not begin until this year due to financial problems, Iderkhangai added."

-taken from Xinhuanet

...

"Chinese sources indicate that the Xiongnu did not have an ideographic form of writing like Chinese, but in the 2nd century BC, a renegade Chinese dignitary Yue "taught the Shanyu to write official letters to the Chinese court on a wooden tablet 31 cm long, and to use a seal and large-sized folder." The same sources tell that when the Xiongnu noted down something or transmitted a message, they made cuts on a piece of wood ('ke-mu'), and they also mention a "Hu script"."

-taken from wikipedia