We continue our series "If Treasures Could Talk", showcasing some of China's most valuable ancient treasures. Today, we take a look at shell containers of the ancient Dian Kingdom in what is now southwest China's Yunnan Province, and find out what they reveal about the culture of the ancient kingdom.

You have a new message from an ancient treasure.

It's a bloody scene. A ferocious tiger is attacking a bull. Yet the bull is refusing to defend itself. Instead, it's prepared to sacrifice its life to protect the young calf hiding beneath him.

Bronze Cow and Tiger Table

Collection: Yunnan Provincial Museum

Period: Warring States Period (475-221 BC)

The artefact reflects the aspirations of a people living two thousand years ago in what is today, Yunnan Province. The Kingdom of Dian lasted for nearly 500 years, from the Warring States Period to around 100 BC, during the Han Dynasty. Yet it is mentioned in only a handful of historical texts. Most of what we know about Dian, we have gleaned from bronze artefacts, like this one. During religious ceremonies, gifts to the gods would have been placed on this small table. The design is thought to reflect the Dian people's understanding of life and death.

As one life ends, another begins. This object celebrates life and the human desire to reproduce. One simple, but terrifying scene, embodies some powerful emotions. It also acknowledges the power of divine forces. With time, though, Dian bronze vessels came to reflect a preoccupation less with the spiritual world, and more with human existence.

Another shell container dating from the latter period of Dian history, also depicts bulls and tigers fighting. But here, the roles are reversed. One bull, clearly enraged, has pierced the tiger's leg with its horn. The other bull is preventing the tiger's escape. In the tree, we see two frightened monkeys, along with a bird that's about to take flight.

Containers like these were used by the Dian nobility to store the shells that served as currency at the time.

The craftsman who fashioned this container reveals himself as a perceptive observer of the natural world. His is an accurate portrayal of the strong preying on the weak. A determined bull can overcome even the most powerful tiger – just as the vessel's owner no doubt defeated his enemies. With time, Dian shell containers began to describe scenes from real life: Rituals, battles, hunts. They also incorporated symbols of the authority of the Dian king and nobility.

They describe the Dian kings' transformation from trembling servants obeying the will of the gods, to confident rulers. Around a hundred ancient shell containers have been uncovered in Yunnan. They reveal a gradual change in subject focus, from the spiritual, to the secular.

When the Kingdom of Dian eventually came to an end, its bronze vessels faded into the mists of history. Still, among the mountains of Yunnan, the simple, yet fierce vitality they embodied remains alive, in the dances and drumbeats of the local ethnic groups.