Elephants in ancient China

The existence of elephants in ancient China is attested both by archaeological evidence and by depictions in Chinese artwork.

Long thought to belong to an extinct subspecies of the Asian elephant named Elephas maximus rubridens, they lived in Central and Southern China before the 14th century BC.

[4] Fossil elephant experts Victoria Herridge and Adrian Lister disagree with the assignment, stating that the claimed diagnostic dental features are actually contrast artifacts, created due to the low resolution of the figures in the scientific paper, and are not evident in better quality photographs.

The state of Chu used elephants in 506 BC against Wu by tying torches to their tails and sending them into the ranks of the enemy soldiers, but the attempt failed.

In December 554 AD, the Liang dynasty used armoured war elephants, carrying towers, against Western Wei.

Bronze wine vessel in the form of an elephant
Stone elephant and a soldier at Emperor Zhezong of Song 's tomb
Four round pieces: a red one labeled with 相, a red one with an elephant head, a black one labeled with 象 and a black one with an elephant head.
The elephants