On December 14 this year, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage announced in Beijing that the Bailuyuan Jiangcun Tomb in Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province, is the tomb of emperor Wen of Han, which means that the specific location of the 11 imperial tombs of the Western Han Dynasty has been told to the world, and the research of the Western Han tombs in China's archaeological community has finally buckled the most important fragment. "History has become warm", behind which is the unremitting pursuit and exploration of generations of archaeologists.
Today, let's learn the story of a Jiangsu archaeologist, Geng Jianjun, director of the Archaeology Department of Xuzhou Museum.
In the past few days, Geng Jianjun is particularly busy, and the notes on his desk record the 6 campus archaeology knowledge forums and lectures he has participated in since November this year, and then look at the back, there are still 4 waiting for him this year.
"No way, there are achievements, there are more things that need to be done."
Although he was a little "dissatisfied" with writing the speech, he could still see the pride in Lao Geng's smile.
In 2021, Xuzhou Tushan No. 2 Tomb, as the only new archaeological discovery project in Jiangsu Province in the past three years, was identified as the most complete and informative large-scale tomb of princes in The Eastern Han Dynasty that has been discovered in China.
As the person in charge of the excavation project, Geng Jianjun became a veritable "star" in this archaeological team. Colleagues at the museum secretly said that Geng Laowai was cold and hot inside, in fact, he especially liked to give lectures on history and archaeology to the children of the school, in his view, this is a responsibility, but also a kind of inheritance.
The Geng Jianjun in front of him meets all the impressions of archaeologists: meticulous, concise in speech, sharp in his glasses.
In 1985, from Tongshan, Xuzhou, he graduated from the Department of History of Nanjing University, majoring in archaeology.
"At that time, college students were particularly expensive, and my family didn't understand me at the beginning of this major, in their words, every day is to dig a grave, but I just like it!"
Geng Jianjun recalls his youth, often encountering archaeologists in his hometown who have just completed excavation tasks. "They're dirty, but they're all happy on their faces. In fact, I now understand that every successful excavation, said to be small, is to let the cultural relics unearthed, is to have an understanding of a piece of history. To say that it is big is to confirm the culture of our country for thousands of years, and to confirm one of the links, which is very meaningful. ”
Rooted in the front line of archaeology for 36 years, Geng Jianjun participated in or presided over the excavation of a large number of ancient tombs and ancient ruins: the tomb and funerary pit of the King of Chu on The Basket Mountain, the tomb of the King of Chu in Houlou Mountain, the tomb of Sushan tou Han, the tomb of Han Shan Han... Success. Among them, he was most impressed by the exploration and excavation of the No. 2 Tomb of Tushan in Xuzhou. This is the "longest archaeological project for the excavation of a single tomb in the country", from 1977 to 2020, 43 years of vicissitudes, behind the persistence and dedication of three generations of Chinese archaeologists.
In 2014, the excavation of Tushan No. 2 Tomb began for the third time, and Geng Jianjun served as the archaeological leader. The burial chamber is located underground, the cold and damp tomb bottom, although it has been safely treated, but the air circulation is poor, Geng Jianjun and the team members have to work in such an environment for at least 8 or 9 hours a day, sometimes encountering rescue excavations, busy all night is also a common thing.
Geng Jianjun's body often carries a special smell, which is actually the smell of earth under the tomb, but he smells very solid, and archaeology has to deal with dirt!
In 2020, the excavation of Tushan No. 2 Tomb was basically completed, and Geng Jianjun and his team members finally handed in a satisfactory "answer sheet": a major archaeological discovery of the tombs of the princes of the Eastern Han Dynasty: more than 4,800 pieces of various relics were unearthed, including more than 4,500 pieces of sealed mud found in the sealed soil, and more than 350 pieces of cultural relics unearthed in the tomb.
Geng Jianjun said that on the day the excavation work ended, many people's names appeared in his mind, the faces of many people, more than 40 years of perseverance, and every archaeologist who participated in this work was a hero.
In Geng Jianjun's notebook, there is such a sentence: "We must not only ask about the thick soil, but also look up at the stars."
He said that in recent years, the archaeological professional team has been growing, the talent training system is constantly improving, the ability to tackle key problems in major scientific research projects has been tempered and improved, the discipline system has become increasingly perfect, and the research methods have been continuously updated. This series of changes is inseparable from the blue wisps and forge ahead of several generations of archaeologists, and even more inseparable from the support of the party and the state.
At present, China is moving from an archaeological power to an archaeological power, and geng Jianjun is full of expectations for the future, he hopes that public archaeology can be incorporated into the cause of science popularization, combined with excellent traditional culture education in primary and secondary schools, archaeological research, archaeological summer camps, small archaeologists and other activities, and can also rely on emerging technologies such as digitalization to vividly display archaeological knowledge to the public. Construct archaeology with Chinese characteristics, Chinese style, and Chinese style.
Writing to the future, Geng Jianjun said:
"Old Geng, I use the 'space-time telescope' as if I saw your life after retirement. You often go to the newly built Tushan Han Tomb Archaeological Museum to see, which is very good. You've been doing archaeology for most of your life, and it's all worth it. Because archaeological work is an important work to display and construct the history of the Chinese nation and the treasures of Chinese civilization. In the future, the tomb displays, cultural relics exhibitions, and archaeological experiences will be made by a younger generation, who call you 'Geng Lao'. We all hope to see an old man who is still working hard, let's cheer together. ”
Integrate the small self into the big self and establish a strong national aspiration. Jointly initiated by Jiangsu Provincial Radio and Television Corporation and the Cyberspace Administration of the Nanjing Municipal CPC Committee, and jointly promoted by the Yuhuatai Martyrs Memorial Hall, Jiangsu News Broadcasting, I Su, Litchi News, and Nanjing Release Studio, the national collection activity of "Danxin Sending the Future - Letters as Evidence, Strong Countries Have Me" is in full swing. Each generation has its own opportunities and opportunities, and from here, we invite you to send a message to 2049 to paint a hot future.
Source: Jiangsu News Broadcasting