On the afternoon of December 23, 2021, the Guangzhou Society of Cultural Relics museum, guangzhou institute of cultural relics and archaeology, South Vietnam King Museum and Guangzhou Museum jointly held a press conference to officially announce the selection results of "Guangzhou Archaeology 100 Cultural Relics and Ten Important Discoveries". The site of Zengcheng Jinlan Temple excavated from the late Neolithic faience pottery bowl was selected as one of the hundred fine cultural relics of Guangzhou archaeology, and the site of Zengcheng Jinlan Temple was selected as one of the top ten important discoveries in Guangzhou archaeology.
Ruins of Zengcheng Jinlan Temple
Archaeological discoveries have written the historical context of the origin and development of Chinese civilization, depicted the brilliant achievements of Chinese civilization, and demonstrated the great contribution of Chinese civilization to world civilization. 2021 marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China and the 100th anniversary of the birth of modern Chinese archaeology. From October to November 2021, the Guangzhou Society of Cultural Relics and Museums, the Guangzhou Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, the Nanyue King Museum and the Guangzhou Museum jointly hosted the selection activity of "100 Fine Archaeological Relics and Top Ten Important Archaeological Discoveries in Guangzhou Archaeology". The development of Guangzhou's century-old archaeology, through one cultural relics and one site after another, is like a slowly unfolding historical picture, showing us the glory of Guangzhou's civilization history.
Archaeology needs professionals for many years to "eat and sleep, green lights and yellow rolls"
It is also inseparable from the attention, support and participation of the public
"Guangzhou is the first batch of historical and cultural cities in the country, with a long history and rich cultural relics resources. As early as 1916, archaeological activities were carried out in Guangzhou. Since 1953, in cooperation with urban construction projects, Guangzhou has unveiled the prelude to large-scale field archaeology work, which has an important influence in the country and is known as an 'important stronghold' of national urban archaeology," said Liu Xiaoming, deputy director of the Guangzhou Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism and director of the Guangzhou Municipal Bureau of Cultural Relics, saying that since the founding of New China, several generations of archaeologists have rescued and protected a large number of ancient sites and tombs through arduous efforts, and unearthed a large number of cultural relics. These archaeological sites and cultural relics record the human history of Guangzhou for 5,000 to 6,000 years and the development trajectory of Guangzhou City for more than 2,200 years, witness the continuous history of foreign exchanges in Guangzhou since the founding of the city, and present us with a rich and vivid "Guangzhou Story".
Liu Xiaoming said that since the Eighteenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Guangzhou has continuously improved the laws and regulations on cultural relics, enriched the archaeological team, and strengthened archaeological work, and achieved fruitful results. Not long ago, the ruins of the Nanyue State Palace and the tomb of the King of Nanyue were rated as China's 'Top 100 Archaeological Discoveries in a Hundred Years', which fully demonstrated the influence of Guangzhou archaeology. "The selection of 100 cultural relics and ten important discoveries this time comprehensively reflects the human history of Guangzhou and the history of Guangzhou's urban development, as well as the historical context of the origin and development of civilization in Lingnan."
Museum of the Nanyue King of the Western Han Dynasty (Photo by Wang Weixuan, reporter of Guangzhou Daily and New Flower City)
The reporter learned that this selection activity includes two links: public online voting and expert final evaluation. Online voting started on October 20, 2021 and ended on November 20, 2021, lasting 30 days. The final appraisal meeting of experts was held on November 22, and seven experts were invited, including Liu Rui, researcher of the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Huang Miaozhang, counselor and research librarian of the Guangzhou Municipal People's Government, Cao Jin, director of the Guangdong Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and research librarian, Han Weilong, research librarian of the Guangzhou Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Feng Yongchao, deputy research librarian of the Guangzhou Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Zheng Junlei, vice president and professor of the School of Sociology and Anthropology of Sun Yat-sen University, and Liu Chengji, director of the Guangdong Provincial Cultural Relics Appraisal Station and research librarian. At the press conference, five winners of the public online voting session took the stage and received award certificates and exquisite cultural and creative prizes. The reporter learned that they have cultural and cultural relics workers and cultural relics enthusiasts, as well as college students and ordinary citizens.
"Archaeology is a compass to the depths of history, connecting the past, present and future of humanity. Archaeological research and interpretation, the dissemination and utilization of archaeological achievements not only requires archaeological professionals to 'eat and sleep in the wind, eat and sleep for many years, green lights and yellow rolls', but also inseparable from the attention, support and participation of all sectors of society. Liu Xiaoming said that the public network voting link of this selection activity is very hot, and many citizens and friends actively participate in selecting their own 'heart water' cultural relics, more in-depth understanding of the development process and gratifying results of Guangzhou archaeology, and enhancing the understanding of Guangzhou, a famous historical and cultural city.
Welcome to see the "Top Ten" and "100 Pieces" on the spot
The next step will be to launch a series of lectures on cultural and creative products
The reporter saw that the cultural relics that were selected as the top 100 cultural relics of Guangzhou Archaeology covered the late Neolithic period to the Qing Dynasty, and the cultural relics were rich and diverse, with high historical, artistic, scientific, cultural and social values. The era of the ten important archaeological discoveries in Guangzhou covers the late Neolithic period to modern times, and there are many types, including tombs, building sites, sluice gates, ancient roads, kiln sites, academies, docks, etc.
Yi Xibing, president of the Guangzhou Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, said at the scene that in the next step, the Guangzhou cultural relics department will also hold a series of special lectures on important archaeological discoveries and cultural relics in Guangzhou, and related cultural and creative development and other revitalization work is also being promoted. At present, many of the "100 cultural relics" are being exhibited in the "Haiyu Youtong" exhibition of the National Museum of Beijing, showing the charm of Guangzhou culture and Lingnan culture to audiences across the country.
Liu Xiaoming said that the relevant information of the hundred cultural relics and the top ten discoveries has been published on the Internet, and everyone can easily view it in the "cloud". In addition, most of these cultural relics are exhibited in several museums such as the Erling Museum of the Southern Han Dynasty, the Museum of the King of Nanyue, and the Guangzhou Museum, and you can also go to the scene to see them first. When the future conditions are suitable, we can also consider planning a special exhibition with the theme of "100 Cultural Relics, Ten Discoveries".
According to the organizers, Guangzhou's archaeological achievements, including 100 cultural relics and ten important discoveries, carry Guangzhou's 5,000 to 6,000 years of human social history and more than 2,200 years of urban memory, fully reflect the origin of lingnan civilization, the formation and development process of Lingnan culture, reflect the interaction between ancient Guangzhou and neighboring areas, and the remarkable achievements of exchanges and references with other civilizations in the world through the Maritime Silk Road, and witness the history of urban archaeology and cultural relics protection in Guangzhou in the past 70 years. Through these archaeological achievements, the ancient history of Guangzhou has been reconstructed, and the picture of the life of the ancestors has become vivid and vivid. In the next step, the Guangzhou Cultural Relics Department will also hold a series of special lectures on important archaeological discoveries and cultural relics in Guangzhou, so as to continuously enrich the historical and cultural nourishment of the whole society with archaeological results and further enhance the influence of archaeological work.
Archaeological materials have temperature, depth, and affinity
Take us back to the daily life of Guangzhou
At the media release site, Quan Hong, president of the Guangzhou Society of Cultural Relics and Museums, commented on the 100 artifacts selected in the end. He introduced that the carved dragon and phoenix pattern heavy ring jade pendant of the Western Han Dynasty during the Nanyue Kingdom period excavated in 1983 from the tomb of Wang Wen of Nanyue in Nanyue was the "king of votes" selected by online voting and experts. This relic is also the prototype of the emblem of the current Museum of the King of South Vietnam.
The Western Han Dynasty South Yue Kingdom carved dragon and phoenix pattern heavy ring jade pendant
In this selection, the cultural relics unearthed in Guangzhou can be called exquisite. Some of them are very well-known, such as the golden seal of the "Emperor Wen Xingxi" excavated from the tomb of King Wen of Nanyue, the group jade pendant, the jade horn cup and so on. There are also some that are not so familiar to everyone, such as the South Vietnamese jade dancer excavated in 1983 in Fenghuanggang, Xicun, the large tomb excavated is of high specifications, and it is believed that it may also be the tomb of a certain generation of South Vietnamese kings; and another is the pottery drum excavated from dongshan agriculture and forestry road in 1986. "We saw a lot of brass drums, but there were very few pottery drums, and we came out with 3 pieces." Quan Hong said.
Western Han Dynasty Nanyue Kingdom Tao Drum
Another example is the Eastern Han Pottery Building, which is now in the Guangzhou Museum, which was excavated in 1957 in Dongshan Xianglangang, and is also among the most exquisite artifacts of its kind found in these decades. Other cultural relics are now in the National Museum of China, such as the Eastern Han Pottery Boat excavated at the top of the Shahe River in 1954, showing the charm of Guangzhou culture and Lingnan culture on the highest cultural platform in China.
Western Han Dynasty South Yue kingdom round carved jade dancer
For another example, the glass bottle excavated from the Southern Han Kang Mausoleum is the only one of the many scattered broken glass found at that time that can be restored intact. Persian blue glazed pottery vases in the Southern Han Dynasty, similar artifacts in the past were excavated in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and other places, but in recent years, the discovery of Guangzhou has the tendency to catch up. Together with the "Persian style" silver box unearthed from the tomb of the King of Nanyue, the Western Han Dynasty beads excavated from Hengfu Road in 2001, and the Ming Dynasty Venetian silver coins excavated from the tomb of Dongshan Wei in 1964, they have given us a deeper understanding of ancient China's foreign exchanges.
Five generations of Southern Han Persian blue glazed clay pots
Not only are "things rare and expensive", but many cultural relics have the meaning of "ruler". In 1953, an oval rectangular lacquer box found in an ancient tomb in Shigang, Xicun, Guangzhou, with the word "蕃禺" engraved in the middle, is the earliest example of the place name "蕃禺" found in archaeological objects.
Qin· 蕃禺" inscription lacquer box
Neolithic ink-colored gray clay pots are not only the finest of the faience pottery rarely unearthed in Guangzhou, but also the most complete, best-preserved pattern and most complex ink-painted pottery excavated in Guangdong so far. The Shang Dynasty Yuyazhang excavated from the archaeological site of Moyi Mountain in Zengcheng is the first yuyazhang excavated in the Pearl River Delta region to be cleaned up in the dating of tomb remains. The collared jade bracelet in the burial items at the Huangpu Lanyuanling site is the best and best-preserved collared jade bracelet seen in Guangzhou.
Shang Dynasty Yuyazhang
Through this selection, we can see that archaeological materials have depth and affinity. They are an intuitive reflection of social life in different periods and a first-hand record of The Temperature of Guangzhou's Urban Development. Numerous pottery houses, pottery courtyards, pottery ox carts, pottery dance figurines, and rough and freehand characters such as those seen on the Eastern Han Pottery Stove excavated in Dayuangang, Haizhu in 1956, suddenly pulled us back to the daily life of Guangzhou almost 20 centuries ago. As Yi Xibing said: "The people who lie at the door of the stove and struggle to burn the fire always remind me of how I couldn't light the fire when I was cooking at home when I was a child, and I was reprimanded by my mother." Across the screen, you can imagine the appearance of the little man with a face full of ash." Another example is those lantern figurines, "all of which are lanterns, some are cute, some are cheerful, some are arrogant, and some can't see the joy and sorrow." ”
He also imagined: "One day in the late Tang Dynasty, a ceramics dealer purchased a batch of daily pottery and glazed pottery (kimchi jars, water jars, wine bottles, rice bowls and mortars, etc.) from other places to Guangzhou by waterway, and after landing outside the South Gate, the underwriters came ashore to inspect the goods, and found that some of the utensils were damaged, and after difficult or happy consultation, the two sides decided to pick out the damaged utensils and bury them on the spot. More than 1,000 years later, archaeologists have brought them back to life, leaving many questions: Where did they come from? Where are you going? What were the sales at that time? Did Lao Guang also make kimchi back then? ”
Indeed, the history as we know it today is the life of the ancients, and our life today will certainly give future generations a sense of history.
From Cam Ranh Temple to the site of the Three Congresses
Archaeology connects the past, present and future of humanity
The earliest of the "Ten Important Archaeological Discoveries in Guangzhou" is the site of Zengcheng Jinlan Temple, which was excavated three times from 1958 to 1961 and found the remains of the faience pottery culture and three cultural layers dating back to about 6,000 years; excavations in the north of the site from November 2020 to May 2021 found more than 500 square meters of shell mounds, and 46 tombs from the late Neolithic to the Warring States period (43 ancient human remains were excavated). It is the earliest prehistoric shell mound site in Guangzhou.
Located in the South China Botanical Garden in Tianhe District, there is a "first village in Guangzhou", which is the site of Fei'eling. During the summer vacation of 1956, students from the Geography Department of Sun Yat-sen University went to the Fei'eling area for surveying practice and collected 11 shouldered stone axes on the ground. On August 26, teachers and students of the Department of History of CUHK and the Municipal Cultural Management Commission conducted the first ground survey at the scene, and found that there were stone tools such as shoulder stone axes, shoulder stone axes, stone spears, stone chisels, and more than 300 pieces of edgy pottery such as checkered patterns, hammer patterns, and thunder patterns. Subsequent second surveys also made quite a few findings. At the beginning of the second year, the Department of History of CUHK excavated this. Cultural remains of the late Neolithic and Bronze Age have been found on multiple hills. The site is the first archaeological excavation in Guangzhou to excavate the cultural relics of the pre-Qin period, so it has the name of "first village". Quan Hong said that with the discovery of sites such as Jinlan Temple, Fei'e Ling is no longer the "first village", but it does not hinder its important position in the archaeological history of Guangzhou.
Tianhe Fei'e Ling Ruins Group
After doing archaeological excavations in the Guangzhou area for so many years, "I have been puzzled to find no large cemeteries or settlements from the middle and late Warring States to the early Western Han Dynasty, let alone the city site." But the Whampoa Pitouling Cemetery, which began its second excavation in October 2020, provides us with some clues in this regard. Zhang Qianglu, vice president of the Guangzhou Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, said in an interview with the Guangzhou Daily New Flower City reporter before. As the latest discovery among the ten important discoveries, this site located in the northwest of Huangtian Village, Longhu Street, Huangpu District, has been excavated twice in 2016-2017 and 2020-2021, and the tombs found from the middle and late Warring States period to the early Western Han Dynasty are the highest number, largest scale and most complete preservation of the high-grade Yue people's cemetery found in Lingnan at present; M30 is the most complete preserved sealed soil and the largest sealing soil preservation scale in Lingnan region. Zhang Qianglu said that the site of Pitouling suggests that the social development and personnel gathering in the area from Jiufo Town to Luogang Town in Huangpu District in the middle and late Warring States period have reached a considerable scale, which provided a historical accumulation for the Guangzhou urban area selected by the later Nanhai County's zhiren Hucheng in the middle and late Yunshan Mountains. Li Yan, a researcher at the Guangdong Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, also believes that in the northeast of Guangzhou and west of Boluo, the site of the Yue people should be able to be found, especially in the vicinity of high-density tomb groups such as Pitouling, Lanyuanling and Laifenggang excavated in Huangpu District in recent years, "there must be corresponding central settlements or city sites."
Whampoa Pitouling Ruins
The remains of the Southern Yue Kingdom of the Western Han Dynasty among the ten important discoveries are probably the most well-known to the citizens of Guangzhou. The tomb of King Wen of Nanyue in the Western Han Dynasty is the largest, most complete preserved and most abundant Han Dynasty painted stone chamber tomb found in Lingnan so far, and the royal garden composed of stone pools and curved stone canals in the ruins of the Nanyue State Palace Of the Western Han Dynasty is the earliest example of the palace garden in the current archaeological discovery era in China. In addition, the site range from bottom to upper layers of cultural layers from the Qin to the Republic of China in 12 historical periods, up to 5 to 6 meters thick, recording the development trajectory of Guangzhou for more than 2,000 years. The wooden sluice gate site of the Western Han Dynasty and Nanyue State is the earliest, largest and most complete preserved wooden sluice gate site in the world.
The ruins of the Wooden Sluice Gate of the State of Nanyue in the Western Han Dynasty
Historically, The ceramic production kilns in Guangdong have spread throughout the province from north to south and from west to east. Some of them are world-renowned but little known to the Chinese, such as the Xicun kiln in Guangzhou. At the time of excavation, the Xicun kiln was located on the hill on the east bank of the Zengbu River in Xicun, Guangzhou. From here, the original large and small hills are undulating, and belong to the edge of the hills north of Guangzhou. At that time, the kiln site area had long been cultivated, and the ground only left a 7-meter-high hill bag made of kiln tools and porcelain pieces, called "Emperor Gang", and there were 3 small piles about 100 meters northwest of Emperor Gang, which cleared out many Relics of the Northern Song Dynasty. In 1956, because of the construction of the Xicun Workers' Stadium, the staff of the Guangzhou Municipal Cultural Relics Management Committee at that time carried out rescue excavations of the Xicun kiln, which gave them an in-depth understanding of the Xicun kiln today.
Emperor Gangxi Village Kiln
Among the ten important archaeological discoveries, the "Building Base Site of the Three Congresses of the Communist Party of China" is the only relic of the modern period. Yi Xibing said that in the past, everyone did not pay much attention to the study of modern cultural relics and relics through archaeological means, but from the practice of recent years, archaeology can play a good role in this regard, providing a lot of scientific and important information. In addition to the three major sites, projects such as the restoration of the former site of the Whampoa Military Academy and the restoration of the former residence of the "second residence" in Haizhu District have also received archaeological support, which fully illustrates the practical significance of urban archaeology in today's urban development.
The site of the Third National Congress of the Communist Party of China
Text/Guangzhou Daily, Xinhuacheng Reporter: Bu Songzhu
Photo: "Guangzhou Archaeology 100 Cultural Relics and Ten Important Discoveries" Courtesy of the organizer (except for the signature)