History of The 100 years of archaeology

The Centennial History of Chinese Archaeology is arranged with the word "100"

"Why China? There should be frontiers. We cannot see only the Central Plains and not see the frontier. The recorded territory of the Qing Dynasty exceeded 13 million square kilometers, how big was the Northern Song Dynasty? 2.8 million (square kilometers), the Southern Song Dynasty 2 million (square kilometers), and the Ming Dynasty actually controlled 3.5 million (square kilometers). At the recent symposium on the publication of "A Century of Chinese Archaeology (1921-2021)", Wei Jian, director of the Department of Archaeology and Literature of Chinese Min University, made a refreshing speech.

Shi Jinsong, deputy director of the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that people's thoughts are further away: "From the Neolithic Era or even earlier, local cultures have begun to establish contact, interact and exchange with neighboring areas while maintaining their own development characteristics and cultural appearance. Since then, it has been integrated into the unified multi-ethnic state in different ways. Just like the Baodun culture, Sanxingdui-Jinsha culture, Bashu culture and other regional cultures in Sichuan that eventually merged into the Qin and Han civilizations, the diversity of Chinese civilization has been greatly enriched. Only by putting regional culture into the map of the entire Chinese civilization and intertwining multiple clues of historical development can we form an understanding of the complete history. ”

Published in November 2021, the Centennial History of Chinese Archaeology (1921-2021) (China Social Sciences Press) was initiated by Wang Weiguang, director of the Ethnic and Religious Committee of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and former president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and edited by Wang Wei, member of the Faculty of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and chairman of the Chinese Archaeological Society, organized and mobilized scientific research forces across the country and even overseas, and 276 experts and scholars overcame the difficulty of finding materials in units or libraries during the epidemic period and jointly wrote it. This 9.17 million-word tome is a tribute to the centenary of the birth of Chinese archaeology.

The Centennial History of Chinese Archaeology (1921-2021) is not a simple and general overview, but a comprehensive, systematic and in-depth summary of the tome, which covers the era from the Paleolithic age to the Ming and Qing dynasties, from archaeological discoveries, special studies, to various branches and fields of archaeology. The four major parts of more than 200 topics objectively and comprehensively show the accumulation of practical experience, the continuous innovation of research methods and theories, the gradual formation of theoretical frameworks, and the process of increasingly perfect historical cognition since the birth of modern Chinese archaeology for a hundred years.

Epigraphy of the Song Dynasty is also archaeology. However, modern Chinese archaeology, which explores the unknown history through archaeological methods, began with the discovery of Yangshao culture in 1921. Nowadays, archaeology has become a discipline of public interest, and the Sanxingdui "Shangxin" in March 2021 and the confirmation of the "Baling Tomb" of the Han Wendi emperor in December have aroused widespread onlookers.

The most important value of archaeology is also in its "proof of the history of the past": in the past hundred years, new discoveries year after year, generations of archaeologists continue to excavate and research, with underground archaeological materials to confirm the documentary records, supplement the lack of ancient history, provide unprecedented possibilities for the establishment of Chinese prehistory and Chinese historical research, and constantly shape the development of Chinese civilization, expand people's understanding of Chinese history and culture. Archaeology is inseparable from understanding history.

The party and the state attach great importance to the cause of archaeology.

Song Xinchao, deputy director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, said that under the cordial care of General Secretary Xi Jinping and the great attention of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, Chinese archaeology has ushered in a new period of development opportunities, and cultural relics and archaeology have become an important part of the national strategy and social development plan. The Archaeological China Project, the Archaeology of the Cave Temple, and the Archaeological Site Park have been clearly included in the national "14th Five-Year Plan" and the outline of long-term goals for 2035, and the planning for cultural relics protection and scientific and technological innovation has been upgraded to the national level. The construction of the archaeological team has been vigorously strengthened, the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and other institutions have been greatly improved, the establishment of archaeological institutions in 10 major cultural relics provinces in the country has increased to 180 people, and the archaeological research institutions in other provinces and important cities have clearly required no less than 90 people.

Today, modern Chinese archaeology has completed a glorious 100-year history and stands at a new starting point. I believe that in the next hundred years, we will have not only the prosperity of archaeological discoveries, but also the prosperity of archaeological scholarship.