In October 1921, the Swedish geologist Anderson and the Chinese scholar Yuan Fuli and others excavated the ruins of Yangshao Village in Shichi County, Henan. The discovery of the Yangshao culture is seen as a sign of the birth of Chinese archaeology. In the years that followed, much of the archaeological activity in China was the cooperation of foreign academic institutions with the Chinese government or scholars. The excavation of Yin Ruins was first presided over by Chinese academia and marked the root of field archaeology from the West in China.
Since the late Qing Dynasty, villagers in Xiaotun Village in Anyang often picked up tortoiseshell bones in the fields, some of which were artificially roasted or carved, known locally as "dragon bones". These "keels" are actually Yin Dynasty oracle bones, and a large number of Shang Dynasty relics have been preserved around Anyang, and Yin Ruins is a general term for the remains of the Shang Dynasty in the region.
Since the end of the 19th century, the oracle bone has become famous at home and abroad, its value has doubled day by day, and theft and excavation have been repeatedly prohibited. The disorderly "digging up treasures" is endlessly harmful, and scientific excavation and protection work cannot be delayed. In October 1928, Dong Zuobin [Dong Zuobin (1895-1963), a full-time researcher at the Institute of History and Linguistics of the Academia Sinica (hereinafter referred to as the "Institute of History and Language"), a native of Nanyang, Henan Province, was trained by Zhang Jiamou, and entered the Institute of Chinese Studies at peking university under the recommendation of Xu Xusheng, and later taught with Fu Sinian at Sun Yat-sen University. ] opened the prelude to the excavation of Yin Ruins.
In order to carry out its work smoothly, the Academia Sinica issued an official letter to the then Henan Provincial Government (hereinafter referring to the then Henan Provincial Government), stating the importance of excavating the Yin Ruins and requesting the protection of Dong Zuobin, who was in charge of the excavation work. The official letter also mentions that "the proceeds shall be properly preserved by the 'Academia Sinica' and then made public for study by scholars at home and abroad." In this regard, the Official Letter No. 1102 of the Henan Provincial Government replied: "Self-care should be taken care of, except for the knowledge of the license to which the order belongs, and the protection of the whole is provided." (Official Letter of the Government of Henan Province, September 1928, Collection of the Second Historical Archives of China, Archives of the Academia Sinica, Quanzong No. 393, Case File No. 148)
Figure 1 "Official Letter of the Government of Henan Province", September 1928, Collection of the Second Historical Archives of China, "Academia Sinica" Archives, Quanzong No. 393, Case File No. 148
A total of more than 700 pieces of oracle bones with characters were collected in this test excavation, many of which were unrecognizable words. For Dong Zuobin, who focused on the study of oracle bones, it was a great harvest, but for modern archaeology, the significance is limited. Because Dong used the old method to carry out in-situ excavations, there was no detailed record of the placement of oracle bones and stratigraphic relationships, and the map drawn was too simple.
After hearing the news of the excavation, He Rizhang,[He Rizhang(1893-1979), a native of Shangcheng, Henan, traveled to Japan after graduating from National Peking Normal University, and later, with the support of Feng Yuxiang, presided over the work of the Henan Provincial Library and concurrently managed the Henan Provincial Museum of Nationalities. He asked the provincial government to come forward and keep the excavated oracle bones in Kaifeng (the capital of Henan at that time). In response to this proposal, Fu Sinian, director of the Institute of History and Language, said that the excavation was a cooperation between the Antiquities Preservation Committee and the "Academia Sinica", and where the artifacts were preserved should be decided after consultation. ("Submission of Fu Sinian, Director of the Institute of History and Linguistics", November 1928, Collection of the Second Historical Archives of China, Archives of the "Academia Sinica", Quanzong No. 393, Case File No. 148)
Li Ji, director of the archaeological team of the Institute of Historical Languages, conducted a field survey of the Yin Ruins in the winter of 1928, and he thought that the remains here were rich, perhaps continuous, and the excavation was of great significance, so he started the formal excavation in the spring of the following year. Li Ji holds a ph.D. in anthropology from Harvard University, has presided over the excavation of Xiyin Village in Xia County, Shanxi Province, and has rich experience in field archaeology. In May 1929, the Henan warlord Feng Yuxiang broke with the Kuomintang Nanjing government, and the spring excavations were affected and forced to stop. When the archaeological team was evacuated, some of the artifacts from the excavations were brought back to Beijing for convenient study, which was implemented in the future.
When the fighting subsided, Li Ji began a third excavation on October 17. Soon after the start of construction, He Rizhang said that "the turtle bones and other artifacts stored in the Anyang land are actually an example of local civilization in Henan." It is possible to study the Chinese with the essence of China's national essence, but it is not possible to transfer the example of Henan's local civilization to others. (Official Letter of the Government of Henan Province, October 1929, Collection of the Second Historical Archives of China, Archives of the Academia Sinica, Quanzong No. 393, Case File No. 300.) In order to prevent the archaeological team from continuing excavations, the Henan Nationalities Museum took over the work. Director Fu Sinian reported the matter to Cai Yuanpei, then president of the Academia Sinica, and petitioned the Nationalist Government to order it. The great war was imminent, and the Henan provincial government did not think anything of it. Communication through official channels was poor and excavations came to a standstill.
He Rizhang, a person with a long reputation in the field of library science, has made great achievements in the field of epigraphy. But for archaeology, he has neither a scientific attitude nor a scientific method. With the support of the provincial government and the Department of Education, He Rizhang's attitude is extremely tough. Fu Sinian had no choice but to go to Kaifeng, Henan Province, to circumvent it with his own strength. ("Letter from Yang Xingfo and Fu Sinian to Li Ji and Dong Zuobin", November 1929, Collection of the Second Historical Archives of China, "Academia Sinica" Archives Quanzong No. 393, Case File No. 300)
Figure 2 "Letter from Yang Xingfo and Fu Sinian to Li Ji and Dong Zuobin", November 1929, Collection of the Second Historical Archive of China, "Academia Sinica" Archives Quanzong No. 393, Case File No. 300
In December, He Rizhang published "The History of excavating the Oracle Bone Script of Anyang Yin Ruins", lamenting the results of the excavations by the archaeological team and the "perfidious acts" of the "Academia Sinica"; on New Year's Day of 1930, he published "Reflections on the Display of Oracle Bones and Artifacts of Anyang Yin Ruins", stating that in addition to the oracle bones, he also paid attention to archaeology, geology and anthropology, and was not a person who was dismissed by the outside world as "neither knowledge nor planning". In response, Fu Sinian wrote the original commission of the two excavations of yin ruins into "The Experience of the Excavation of The Yin Ruins in Anyang", and warned Henan and all those who cared about cultural and academic undertakings, and tried to eliminate misunderstandings and win support.
Under the unremitting efforts of Fu Sinian, the Institute of History and Language finally reached a "Five Articles on Solving the Excavation of Anyang Yin Ruins" with the Henan Provincial Government: "1. In order to seek cooperation between the central academic organs and local governments, the Education Department of the Henan Provincial Government selected one to three scholars to participate in the Anyang Yin Ruins Excavation Group of the National Central Research Institute 2. The excavation work and the antiquities obtained shall be listed by the Anyang Yin Ruins Excavation Group and sent to the Department of Education of Henan Province for inspection every month; 3. For the sake of research convenience, the Anyang Yin Ruins Excavation Group may move the excavated antiquities to the appropriate locations for the sake of research convenience, but must be notified to the Henan Department of Education for future reference; 4. The antiquities of the Yin Ruins, except for repeaters, are displayed in the Kaifeng Forest of Steles after each batch of research is completed for local people to visit; 5. After all the excavations are completed, the Central Research Institute will consult with the Henan Provincial Government on the display methods." ("Five Articles on the Excavation of the Yin Ruins in Anyang", December 1929, Collection of the Second Historical Archives of China, Archives of the Academia Sinica, Quanzong No. 393, Case File No. 300)
Figure 3 Solution to the excavation of The Yin Ruins in Anyang
Although the agreement has been signed, the situation remains unclear. He Rizhang and others touched the fish in muddy waters, becoming more and more unscrupulous. According to Wang Yilun, a staff member of the Shiyu Institute who remained in Anyang, "What a robbery! "From February 17, 1930, He Rizhang organized 70 or 80 workers every day to search for antique artifacts on the site of Yin Ruins and destroy the excavation site, which was extremely undignified. ("Letter from Wang Yilun to Cai Yuanpei and Yang Xingfo", November 1930, Collection of the Second Historical Archives of China, "Academia Sinica" Archives, Quanzong No. 393, Case File No. 300) In April, He Rizhang was kidnapped and imprisoned by Wan Xuancai, chairman of the Henan Provincial Government, and was later escaped from danger through many deliberations by his family. After this change, He Rizhang avoided his hometown and no longer interfered in the excavation of Yin Ruins.
Archaeology has not been introduced to China for a long time, and the difficulties faced do not stop there. In December, Fosnian reported a theft of excavations. The number of people excavated this time reached as many as 40, and the losses caused by it were immeasurable. Due to the chaos of the times, the wind of excavation is increasing, and countless antiquities have been damaged or scattered, which is heart-wrenching. Shi Yu urged the Henan provincial government to bring the pirates to justice and severely punish them in order to set an example; at the same time, it sent troops to protect the important sites represented by Yin Ruins to prevent such incidents from happening again. ("Submission of Fu Sinian, Director of the Institute of History and Linguistics", December 1930, Collection of the Second Historical Archives of China, Archives of the Academia Sinica, Quanzong No. 393, Case File No. 300)
Figure 4 Fu Si Nian's report on the villagers' illegal excavations-1
Figure 5 Fu Si Nian's report on the villagers' illegal excavations-2
Figure 6 Fu Si Nian's report on the villagers' excavations-3
In the eyes of people who do not know the truth, archaeology is no different from tomb robbery, and it is both groundbreaking. Dai Jitao, then president of the Examination Institute of the National Government, once questioned Cai Yuanpei: "In recent years, the study of traditional Chinese studies and science has suddenly begun to excavate ancient tombs and find academic materials. In academia, it may be taken for granted; in the patriotic and patriotic people, it is painful, calling for silence and weeping without tears. China is extremely poor and weak today! Academic education is extremely corrupt! I don't know how many tens of millions of things should be done, so why send a tomb and then learn? Even his understanding was so "narrow", it is no wonder that some villagers accused Li Ji of "deliberately invading the ancient tomb".
With the end of the Central Plains War, the two-year dispute over the Yin Ruins finally subsided, and the excavation work continued. In February 1931, Fu Si Nian reported, "The firm plans to go to Zhangde in early March to prepare for the continuation of excavations." ”
(Author: Liu Changxiu)
(Unit: Second Historical Archive of China)
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