Tradition of Wrapping Grains in Funerary Rituals 2200 Years Ago

The origin of zongzi — rice and millet wrapped in leaves — has long been debated owing to a millennium-long gap between its legendary association with Qu Yuan (c. 340–278 BC) and the earliest unequivocal evidence, which dates only to the Song Dynasty. Here we present well-dated archaeological evidence of plant bundles (c. 2200 cal. BP) from the Wuwangdun Site, the first well-excavated tomb of King Kaolie of Chu. These plant bundles share the essential characteristics of modern zongzi and overlap both temporally and geographically with the Qu Yuan legend. They consist of Quercus dentata leaves containing rice (Oryza sativa, 43.6%), broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum, 26.1%) and foxtail millet (Setaria italica, 28.5%), secured with cords made from Panicoideae and Chloridoideae plants — a wrapping practice structurally identical to that of modern zongzi. Most seeds were preserved as whole husks, indicating that the bundles were used as funerary offerings rather than for consumption, which aligns with the legend that zongzi were thrown into the river to commemorate Qu Yuan. Notably, Q. dentata leaves are still used to wrap zongzi in regions that once formed the northern border of the Chu Kingdom. Our findings demonstrate that the plant bundles from the Wuwangdun Site most likely represent the prototype of zongzi, bridging the gap between legend and material culture and showing that the tradition of wrapping grains for ritual purposes began in the Chu Kingdom no later than 2200 years ago.