Zhao Jing climbed onto a 3-meter-high ladder to take a photo
Zhao Jing was cleaning up the clay pots
Wu Yidan works at an archaeological site
Zhao Jing and colleagues are working at the archaeological site
clean
tidy up
explore
check in
The deserted field archaeological site bears witness to the youth of Wu Yidan and Zhao Jing
Into the column
Black cotton jackets, cargo pants, cargo boots... For Wu Yidan and Zhao Jing of the Yangzhou Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, this is the "standard" of the two of them in winter, "how to wear it conveniently, how to wear it warmly, before we still had white clothes, and later found that we couldn't wear it on the construction site, it was dirty when it was rubbed, and now the clothes are mainly black." ”
Almost from scratch
Let's just move forward steadily
Wu Yidan was born in 1996, a girl from Wuxi; Zhao Jing was born in 1995, a girl from Henan. Because of their dreams of archaeology, they came to Yangzhou and became the two post-95 female archaeologists of the Yangzhou Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology.
Wu Yidan entered the Institute of Archaeology in 2019, when this Wuxi girl embarked on the road to Hebei to study in order to enter the coveted archaeology major. Since junior high school, Wu Yidan has had an "archaeological dream" and is determined to become a female archaeologist. Today, she is moving towards this dream step by step, "I began to enter the construction site archaeology from my freshman year, because the study is in the north, more based on the northern archaeological discoveries as a model for learning, but after coming to Yangzhou, I found that there is a big difference, almost from scratch, just go forward steadily." ”
I feel "fooled" but "I don't regret it."
In a deep pit 3 meters deep from the surface, Zhao Jing was cleaning up a clay pot, "Cold, not only the temperature on the ground is low, there is water vapor underground, but also cold air upwards." ”
Zhao Jing, who graduated from Shandong University, entered the Institute of Archaeology in 2020, "Before applying for the archaeology major, in my impression, archaeology should be as reported in the media, there are many major discoveries, exquisite artifacts, and even imagined very elaborate organs and magnificent underground palaces, but later found that this is not the case." Therefore, for a period of time after recognizing reality, Zhao Jing felt that she was "deceived", but she also said, "I don't regret it, and if I regret it, I won't continue to apply for graduate school in archaeology." ”
Field archaeology is open all year round, there are no weekends and holidays to speak of, only "weekend + heavy rain", it is a rare rest day for Wu Yidan and Zhao Jing. Monotonous, repetitive, boring daily life, diluted by the discovery of surprises, the two post-95 girls converged on the sharp edge that should have bloomed at this age, reading, running, and occasionally chasing dramas, becoming their only pastime.
2021 is the 100th anniversary of the birth of modern Chinese archaeology, two post-95 girls, like countless predecessors, embarked on the road of visiting ancient roots, green lights and yellow scrolls, a brush and a shovel, they are using their young hands, brushing away the dust of history, with love, rushing to the future they yearn for.
Lin Qianwen Wen
Si Xinli Hu Jian photo
Source: Yangzhou Network
extend:
She is the only female member of the Yangzhou Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology
Source: Yangzhou Release 2017-01-18
Wang Xiaoying (far right) at the archaeological site
Narrator: Wang Xiaoying
Job position: Deputy Director of Yangzhou Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, the only female archaeologist in Yangzhou Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology
Unforgettable 2016: Determine the location of the ruins of the south city gate of Shugang Ancient City and find the "North Gate" of the ancient city site of Shugang.
Hope 2017: Unveiling the full picture of the ruins of the South City Gate in shugang Ancient City, once it is confirmed that the South City Gate is indeed three doorways, it will show that Yangzhou at that time was indeed a capital city.
I am a native of Xi'an, after graduating from Northwest University in 2004 with a passion for archaeology and awe of Yangzhou's cultural heritage, I came to the strange ancient city of Yangzhou. Time passed really fast, more than 10 years later, I became a "new Yangzhou person", and I also deeply felt that the archaeological situation in Yangzhou had improved significantly. In 2016, the Yangzhou Tangcheng Archaeological Task Force, jointly composed of the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the Nanjing Museum, and the Yangzhou Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, continued to explore the site of Shugang Ancient City, and the location of the South City Gate of Shugang Ancient City was finally found, which can be described as a major discovery in yangzhou archaeology last year.
Archaeologists relay the secret
Find the ruins of the South City Gate of the ancient city of Shugang
After watching "Notes on the Tomb Robber" and "Ghost Blowing Lights", you will find the field archaeological work very exciting. In fact, our construction site is basically located in the wilderness, wind and sun is our normal work, because archaeological excavation work is a rigorous and meticulous work, so every archaeologist must have enough patience and care. Especially for ancient sites, as an archaeologist, we must search for every cultural relic "hidden" on the archaeological site with our eyes, measure the ancient ruins of Yangzhou City with our feet, and it is even more necessary to collect and sort out archaeological site data for research, and even need the unremitting efforts of generations of archaeologists. Last year, the determination of the location of the ruins of the South City Gate of Shugang Ancient City was a major discovery and a major event worth celebrating by our Yangzhou Tangcheng Archaeological Team.
At the 2016 annual meeting of the Jiangsu Archaeological Society, we shared with our peers the new harvest of archaeological excavations at the site of the south gate of Shugang Ancient City: "Located on the southern edge of Shugang in the northern suburbs of Yangzhou, it is the main gate of the Sui River Capital Palace, the Tang Dynasty Yangzhou Zicheng, the Song Dynasty Fort City and the Baoyou City, and it is also the important gate connecting Tang Zicheng with Luocheng through the Xiama Bridge of the Twenty-Four Bridges, sui 'JiangduMen' or 'Xingtaimen', Tang 'Zhongshumen', Yangwu 'Tianxingmen' or just here. Judging from the location of the city gate, it should be the highest standard of many gates in Yangzhou City during the Sui and Tang dynasties. ”
Excavations will continue this year
Unveil the southern gate of Shugang Ancient City
The 2017 Shugang Ancient Ruins Archaeological Excavation Plan has been scheduled, and the "North Gate" and South City Gate of the Shugang Ancient City Site will continue to be explored and unveiled in their entirety.
In the new year, we must take the doubts, as well as the experience accumulated in the archaeological excavations of Tangluo City and Tangzi City in Yangzhou over the years, explore one historical code after another, crack one question after another, and with the continuous in-depth development of archaeological excavations, the appearance of the SuiJiang Capital Palace City and even the entire Shugang Ancient City will become more and more clear.
What we are most looking forward to is that through archaeological excavations, this year is expected to unveil the mystery of the south gate of Shugang Ancient City.
More than 10 years of change is not small
The concept of cultural relics protection has gradually penetrated the hearts of the people
I still remember when we first came to Yangzhou to work, we often received phone calls, and then rushed to the construction site, just like going to "fight the fire", seeing that the ancient ruins and tombs have suffered irreparable damage during the construction, we really see in the eyes, the pain in the heart. When the rescue archaeological excavation work is carried out immediately, our archaeological department also has to fight with the construction unit for sufficient time, and some construction units only give limited time for economic benefits, so there is a scene of archaeology while construction.
Cultural relics protection is an indispensable part of economic construction, through the efforts of cultural relics departments, the support of the government, some cultural relics protection laws and regulations have been introduced and implemented. After several years of operation, the archaeological premise has been accepted by the land operation unit, and now, before the land transfer, we have sufficient time, the temporary archaeological conditions are not mature, we can also keep this area, and then carry out archaeology at the right time in the future, respect and protect the cultural heritage of Yangzhou to the greatest extent, and let them tell the story of Yangzhou.
Archaeological Youth: The treasure of life, right in the field of archaeology
Source: CCTV Release time: 2020-12-21
Their eyes are extraordinary—the first eyes that represent humanity today and see the remains of our ancestors.
They are very young, but they deal with the oldest things in human society every day. They embrace technology and fashion, but they are willing to give up the prosperity of the city and take the loneliness of the mountains. They are faced with ruins and broken walls, bricks and rubble, but they can interpret the infinite mysteries from them.
They are archeological youth. The "cool mystery" in the eyes of others, they have long been accustomed to.
"We study the past of mankind, locate the present of mankind, and serve the future of mankind." Archaeologists said this about their careers.
Packing his bags and walking toward the field, the archaeologist youth seems to be a little far from the focus of the crowd, but he is the closest person to the origin of human history. They measured the vast land of China with their feet, brushed away the dust of history with their hands, and set the clouds and the sun for the vicissitudes of the sea and the mulberry fields, and carried on the sacred learning from the top to the bottom.
Searching up and down the romanticism of the archeological youth
When it comes to the association with archaeology, the archaeologists are very frank: some because of curiosity, some because of coincidence. Regardless of the reason for entering this door, they chose to engage in archaeology, and they regarded archaeology as their lifelong love.
"I've been playing in the wild since I was a kid and I like to feel uninhibited. At that time, in addition to geology and archaeology, I applied for archaeology. Wang Yongqiang, deputy research librarian of the Xinjiang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, said that he was "in love at first sight" for the archaeology profession.
In his opinion, the mystery of archaeology is its beauty, which stimulates his curiosity. Little by little, he revealed the unknown civilization, solved one puzzle after another, and became his continuous motivation. In 2015, he presided over the excavation of the Jirentaigoukou site in Nilke County, Xinjiang, and found the earliest coal-using remains in China, pushing the history of China's use of coal resources up at least a thousand years. "This kind of satisfaction is something that ordinary people can't appreciate, just like a child getting a piece of sugar, even sweeter than sugar."
Of course, there are also many people who are "mistakenly into the peach blossom source" - they were transferred to the archaeology major, experienced confusion, and finally had a "long-term love" for archaeology. "To be honest, archaeology wasn't my first choice." Chen Dahai, an associate researcher at the Nanjing Archaeological Research Institute, said frankly, "But later, all the positive factors sprouted in my studies and career. ”
As a student who was transferred, Chen Dahai slowly experienced the luck brought by this "accident". He studied at Nanjing University as an undergraduate, and the human environment of Nanjing, the ancient capital of the Six Dynasties, made him interested in archaeology. "Archaeology sees through people, is a silent dialogue through time and space, which deeply attracts me. Human beings are both curious about the future and the past, it is an instinct, and archaeology is constantly going back along this instinct of human beings. Chen Dahai said. Along with archaeology, this young man from the countryside slowly found interest, self-confidence, and even a mission in life. After graduation, he stayed in Nanjing, where he spent 14 years fighting on the front lines of archaeology.
Searching up and down, this is the romanticism of the archeological youth. In their eyes, archaeology is a "defective" discipline, collecting fragments of broken information left by the ancients and restoring the whole of history, like a peeping leopard in the tube, with uncertainty. The interaction between imagination and positivism refreshes human cognition of itself again and again, and is also the source of pleasure for the seeker.
"Empirical evidence is gathered, analysis is drawn, conclusions are drawn, and new evidence emerges, and conclusions are confirmed or overturned." Deng Zhenhua, an assistant professor at Peking University's School of Archaeology and Archaeology, said the process was painful and sweet.
Deng Zhenhua's research direction is plant archaeology, focusing on the history of rice domestication. Previously, the earliest evidence of domesticated rice was found at the Baligang site in Henan, dating back to 8500 years ago. He once thought that the domestication gene of rice in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River may have originated in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. Unexpectedly, in a recent study with Yiwu in Zhejiang Province, he found domesticated rice dating back 9,000 years. This not only hints at the differences and complexities of rice domestication processes between different regions within the lower Reaches of the Yangtze River, but also forces him to re-examine the model of the origin of rice farming.
"The conclusion is overturned, of course there will be frustration, but from another point of view, it is a good thing, let's keep revising the conclusion." Confirm or disprove, whatever the outcome, we're always moving forward. Deng Zhenhua said, "Reasoning about the unknown is enough to attract a group of people." ”
There is the fragrance of earth in the personality
"We all have the fragrance of earth in our personalities." Zhang Min, an associate researcher at the Yangzhou Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, described archaeologists this way.
Field excavation and investigation is the most basic and important research method and work content of archaeology. A hand shovel, a backpack, a record book, and a piece of loess are their normal work. There is a basic consensus in the archaeological community: the first time they go to the field is a watershed for archaeology students, they will decide here to leave, or to stay - leave because of suffering, stay because of their hearts.
"There are two skills in fieldwork, standing and squatting." Zhang Min introduced that when workers go to the soil, they have to stand next to them and stare at it all the time, and once the phenomenon occurs, they must grasp it immediately; cleaning up cultural relics can only be shoveled and brushed by hand, and the sun squats for most of the day. Even more intolerable are the dangerous natural environment and harsh conditions in the wild. The fields do not change their suffering, they do not change their pleasure.
In 2012, Zhang Min was doing fieldwork in the mountains and forests of Nan'ao Island in Guangzhou, and he got lost in the evening. Without a flashlight, he crawled for 4 hours with a rolling belt to get out of the mountain, his clothes were torn off and his glasses were lost. "Why am I doing this?" He couldn't help but ask himself. The next day, he "ate something good" and forgot about last night's fears, only to think that the investigation was "very rewarding."
Also unforgettable about the field experience is Wang Ying, an assistant researcher at the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. A Beijing girl, who studied ancient architecture and never went down the field, was once questioned by people: "You can't do archaeology."
In 2009, at the age of 26, Wang Ying entered the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and was sent to Zanhuang, Hebei Province for the first time to participate in the rescue excavation project of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project. That year coincided with a heavy snowstorm, the snow closed the village, there were no heating facilities in the village, the materials were extremely tight, and even running water was gone. But the work of the archaeological team did not stop.
"One day, my hands were very itchy, and my whole hand was red and swollen. I said how come there are mosquitoes in winter? Wang Ying told the scene like a joke: "Colleagues said, where there are mosquitoes, this is frostbite." ”
This kind of bitterness has "dissuaded" many people, but does not include Wang Ying. Now Wang Ying is an archaeological leader, long-term excavation work at the Liaoshangjing site in Chifeng, Inner Mongolia, and the voices that were once questioned have now become encouragement and affirmation. She sees the field as the "lifeline" of archaeology, "only in the field can we get true knowledge."
This year, during excavations of the liaoshangjing monastery site, she and her team discovered the remains of three different architectural column nets stacked on the same rammed earth platform. "The Jin Dynasty carried out large-scale reconstruction of Liaoshangjing, so the appearance of Liaoshangjing when it was first built was underground. If you are not personally involved in the excavation work, you will not be able to see this layer. Wang Ying said. Good scholars start in the field. Only by doing a good job in field foundation work can research be done solidly and go long.) ”
Continuing the context forges Chinese style on historical coordinates
The public's view of archaeology often carries a layer of legendary "filters". The misconception that "archaeology is digging for treasure" was all the rage.
As professional archaeologists, they always understand that the value of archaeology is not in digging up more exquisite and brilliant "treasures", but in discovering precious historical clues and cultural codes. "It's the information, not the items." Zhu Xiaoting, an associate researcher at the Jiangsu Institute of Archaeology, said.
Zhu Xiaoting, who has just entered the industry, also had a "treasure digging" mentality. When she first started working, she thought every field excavation was as fun as "Raiders of the Lost Ark". With her rich experience, she found that "digging treasure" was only a few times of luck, more "nothing, only sand". "It turns out that digging for treasure is not the purpose of archaeology. We need to avoid looking at archaeological excavations with such a utilitarian mindset. Sometimes even broken pieces of pottery are a huge gain. She said.
In archaeological excavations, exquisite cultural relics have been unearthed, and every archeological youth has encountered them to a greater or lesser extent. Xu Zhiqiang, an associate researcher at the Nanjing Archaeological Research Institute, remembers a discovery vividly. In 2012, he was responsible for excavating a Ming Dynasty tomb that unearthed a complete blue and white plum vase. The exquisite beauty of the plum bottle amazed Xu Zhiqiang and his colleagues.
"Everyone is very excited to see the plum bottle, but after that, we still have to return to objective rationality." Xu Zhiqiang believes that cultural relics, as research objects, are exquisite or broken, and they are all symbols of history and culture. "Restrain your attachment to the exquisite, otherwise you may go astray." He said solemnly.
Engaged in archaeology, they have a special affection for artifacts, which is pure and indifferent, and has nothing to do with possession. They prefer to be a watchman, standing on the coordinates of history and watching over civilization.
And this process is often a race against time.
Zhang Min encountered many tombs in his work, and when he opened them, he found that they had been stolen. At the same time of frustration, it is more of regret. "If they can be well preserved, even if I don't come to excavate and study them!" He sighed.
For grass-roots archaeological research units, a lot of archaeological work is often carried out in conjunction with urban construction for rescue and excavation, with limited time and heavy work. "This kind of work is a one-time operation, it can't be pushed down and started, it must be fast and delicate to prevent regrets." Xu Zhiqiang said.
Gu Hanmei, an archaeology girl from the Shenzhen Cultural Relics and Archaeology Laboratory, described the archaeological excavation as "the brain is always turning, and the hand is always moving." In order to prevent regrets, she constantly exercises her thinking ability and hands-on ability, continuously expands her horizons, and improves the knowledge system in practice.
They run hard only because these are the civilizational memories that belong to all mankind. Interpret and carry the mission of passing on the civilization on their shoulders. Many people have paid and insisted on this emotion and responsibility wordlessly.
Archaeology outside for a long time, gathering less with family and more, is destined to be a lonely practice. One archaeologist wrote in the afterword to the archaeological report: "My daughter, who is under 10 years old, promised me to give me a 'green card' for 10 consecutive days at home, and I never got this 'green card'. ”
Virtue is not alone, but there will be neighbors. Happily, they now have more and more of their peers. With the increasing interaction between the archaeology department and the public in recent years, people have unveiled its mysterious veil and understood its scientific and valuable value, more and more young people choose to study archaeology, and cultural relics protection has gradually formed a public consensus.
"Archaeology is about Chinese history, about cultural self-confidence. It is a public welfare work, but also a well-known cause in history. Vigorously developing public archaeology and disseminating and inheriting Chinese history and culture is the direction of our efforts. Chen Dahai said, "If life were to start again, I would still choose archaeology." In this vast field, poetry and distance can be found. ”