Shi Xingbang, a native of Yaoxian County, Shaanxi Province, was an archaeologist, who served as the director of the Shaanxi Provincial Archaeological Research Institute, the executive director of the Chinese Archaeological Society, and the president of the Shaanxi Archaeological Society, and has presided over a number of major archaeological excavations in Henan, Shaanxi, Beijing, Shanxi and other places. Among the "100 Great Archaeological Discoveries in China in the 20th Century" published by the media, Shi Xingbang presided over two. His archaeological career unfolded simultaneously with the history of New China, especially the "Banpo Archaeological Paradigm" founded in his youth, which became a classic in archaeology. Through history, he made the overall framework of China's prehistoric culture and the formation of Chinese civilization clearer in front of ordinary people.
Banpo ruins, terracotta warriors, Shimokawa ruins, Famen Temple underground palace... These world-famous historical relics are well known to the world, but not many people know about the heroes behind the scenes who have made these relics reappear in the sky and make stunning appearances. Mr. Shi Xingbang, who sits in Xi'an, the "capital of archaeology", is the leading figure among these behind-the-scenes heroes. At the Second Chinese Archaeological Conference in 2018, Shi Xingbang won the "Lifetime Achievement Award", which is a full affirmation and praise for his lifelong commitment to field archaeology. Today, the old man Shi Xingbang, who is about to usher in his 100th birthday, has become a monument and a legend in the archaeological community...
Crooked, plunged into the field of archaeology
Shi Xingbang was born in 1923 in Shizhu Township, Yao County, Shaanxi. Yao County is the natural gateway of Guanzhong to northern Shaanxi, known as the "Key to the Northern Mountains" and "Guanfu Throat", and the deep cultural heritage of the local area also provides rich nourishment for his growth. Shi Xingbang's family belonged to the wealthy middle peasants, raising hundreds of sheep, and from an early age he would herd sheep, roll felt and cultivate. When Shi Xingbang was in elementary school, he took classes in a big temple in the countryside, and there was a teacher named Kou Huaiyi, who had strict teaching requirements during the day, and lived with Shi Xingbang at night, teaching him new ideas and telling him a lot of new and interesting things. Under the supervision of Teacher Kou, Shi Xingbang also seriously practiced calligraphy and laid a solid foundation.
In 1937, Shi Xingbang studied at Xi'an No. 1 Middle School, he only spent half a year in the classroom, he encountered the outbreak of the National War of Resistance, the Japanese army began to bomb Xi'an indiscriminately, the school was forced to relocate to Hannan, he transferred to Sanyuan Middle School, and his study life became difficult. However, not long after, Shanxi University relocated, and some very knowledgeable professors and associate professors took the initiative to teach courses to middle school students, which allowed him to learn the knowledge of geography, biology and other disciplines, and his grades also improved. When he graduated from high school in 1944, he took the Shaanxi Provincial Examination and achieved the first place.
Shi Xingbang filled in two university volunteers, one was the Political Science Department of the Central University in Chongqing at the time, and the other was the Ethnic Affairs Department of Xinjiang College. Originally, he had been very interested in the stories of Ban Chaoding And Zhang Qiantong in the Western Regions since he was a child, and wanted to increase his understanding of the frontier and ethnic minorities through university studies. It happened that in that year, the Kuomintang government was very jealous of the Soviet Union's activities in Xinjiang, and set up a new border politics department at the Central University, hoping to cultivate a group of talents who were proficient in minority languages and could stabilize the frontier. After the admissions teacher saw Shi Xingbang's volunteer, he transferred him to the Border Politics Department.
Shi Xingbang
As the saying goes, crooked hit right. It was the courses of anthropology, ethnology, ancient history, primitive society, villager society, archaeology and other courses learned in the Border Politics Department, as well as the frontier alliance flag system, the political and religious system, and the toast system, that Shi Xingbang had a systematic understanding of ancient culture and built a complete knowledge framework in his mind, which played a great role after he transferred to archaeological work.
Han Rulin was an authority on Yuan history, and under his influence, Shi Xingbang's interest in Mongolian history, culture, and language increased greatly. Han Rulin's teaching is rigorous, and the lectures focus on comments and inspiration, and then list a large number of materials that need to be referenced, so that students can continuously deepen their understanding in research and thinking. In the first midterm exam of Mongolian history, Shi Xingbang only scored 62 points, and he was the only one among his classmates who passed. It turned out that most of the topics in the bibliography produced by Teacher Han were, and Shi Xingbang usually read more books, and there was still some accumulation, and others read less, so they could not pass. In the year of graduation, Shi Xingbang also translated the "Secret History of Mongolia" with his classmates.
Because of his good academic foundation, Shi Xingbang stayed at Chuo University as a teaching assistant. He originally wanted to go to graduate school with Mr. Han Rulin, but unfortunately, the Department of Border Politics was cancelled, the relevant teaching materials were handed over, and Mr. Han was transferred to the History Department as the director. In 1949, this year only Zhejiang University was still recruiting graduate students, so Shi Xingbang applied for the anthropology major of Zhejiang University, and the examination room was set up in the living room of the tutor Professor Wu Dingliang's home, and the examination was taken for 3 and a half days continuously. The format of the exam is also very simple, Teacher Wu casually draws a book from the shelf and asks him to comment on the ideas in the text, or let him translate books in foreign languages. At that time, the paper he submitted was temporarily "supported" by other teachers. Fortunately, when Shi Xingbang was in college, he often participated in club activities, and his relationship with Teacher Wu was relatively familiar, and he was fortunate to be admitted.
During his graduate studies, Shi Xingbang also learned archaeology from the famous archaeologist Xia Nai, and then participated in the excavation of the Jin Tomb on Yuquan Mountain in Hangzhou, which became his first field practice. In 1950, Xia Nai was invited to the newly established Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences as deputy director, and Shi Xingbang also followed him as academic secretary. In addition to archaeology, he also studied The Russian and English versions of Marxist-Leninist works, which strengthened the cultivation and shaping of the concept of history. As a result, Shi Xingbang has gradually become a personal experiencer and an important pioneer in the history of new Chinese archaeology.
An ordinary field internship, accidentally unveiling the mystery of "Banpo"
As the "ancient capital of the Thirteen Dynasties", Xi'an has rich historical resources and cultural accumulation, and has always been an important place for archaeological excavations. In 1953, Shi Xingbang cooperated with the Shaanxi Archaeological Survey excavation team to conduct a "treasure hunt" on the construction site of the Welfare Area of the Third National Cotton Factory in the eastern suburbs of Xi'an. One afternoon, when he was tired of walking, he found a dirt ridge to sit down and rest, and accidentally found a very neat cliff on the low earthen beam across the river, which stimulated his professional sensitivity. Looking closer, there were already many relics on the stubble that had been taken, and some broken pottery pieces were scattered underground, and he knocked with a pickaxe, and found a lot of neat stone pieces, visually measuring the typical characteristics of the stone age. Suddenly, Shi Xingbang's heart was excited, and the picture of the ancestors working with pottery and stone tools suddenly appeared vividly in front of his eyes. After returning to the Institute of Archaeology, he immediately reported to the Institute.
But the actual excavation of this site was a year later. At that time, construction in various places was in full swing, and many construction sites dug up tombs and ruins, but because of the perennial war, the talent in archaeology was extremely scarce, and the personnel were not enough to be dispatched and used. To this end, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Ministry of Culture and Peking University jointly held an archaeologist training course, each 3 months, so that they can quickly get started and supplement to the front-line archaeological positions. They were taught by guo moruo, Zhai Bozan, Xia Nai and other famous masters, which is unprecedented in the archaeological community. This training course has been organized for four sessions, which is vividly known as the "Huangpu Phase IV".
Under the strong advocacy of Shi Xingbang, the third training course held in 1954 was arranged to go to Banpo Village in Xi'an for field internship, and he served as the chief tutor. No one expected that this internship excavation was carried out in just a few days, and actually unveiled a scene of human life 6,000 years ago, which is the "Banpo Primitive Clan Commune Settlement Site" that shook China and foreign countries.
Mr. Shi Xingbang, the leader of the excavation team of the Banpo site
Prior to this, archaeological excavations on the mainland were mainly in accordance with the Soviet paradigm, using the method of digging trenches and cutting strips to take away cultural relics and artifacts. Shi Xingbang, who was only 31 years old at the time, after careful consideration, proposed a new archaeological paradigm - in order to preserve the integrity and historicity of the site, first carry out all-round exploration, and excavate downward with layers and levels, and then decide on the next excavation plan after having a full understanding of the site.
Shi Xingbang led the students to excavate the remains of a well-preserved collapsed round house and a large rectangular house through this method, and the remains of other houses and buildings excavated were also clear and impressive. This is the first time in the history of Chinese archaeology that such a discovery has caused a great sensation. At the end of the training course, the leading comrades of the Beijing cultural relics and archaeology circles came and fully affirmed Shi Xingbang's exploration and encouraged him to make more discoveries.
The excavation of Banpo Village lasted for 3 years, during which several groups of intern students were replaced. The entire site covers an area of about 50,000 square meters, and the excavation is 10,000 square meters, presenting a village ruin with a complete layout. After identification, it was confirmed as the yangshao culture temple bottom ditch type, and the human face fish pattern basin excavated here was recorded in the middle school history book and was well known to the people of the whole country. In fact, this kind of pot is placed on the child's urn coffin, pinning parents' mourning for the child who died prematurely, and the inside of the pot is painted with an eye, which is considered to be the passage to heaven out of the soul.
Excavation of the Banpo ruins of the No. 1 large house
Shi Xingbang also remembers a can of millet, when the jar is opened, almost everyone is amazed, the original 6,000 years ago millet and now almost exactly the same, but because of the passage of time, millet is only left with an empty shell, a little wind, will flutter up. This precious millet has become a valuable physical material for the study of prehistoric human life.
What he is even more proud of is another initiative in the history of archaeology - to carry out open excavations, allow local people, especially villagers to visit, and organize temporary cultural relics exhibitions because of ugliness, showing the material creation and life scenes of prehistoric human beings one by one. When everyone visited, the archaeologists acted as volunteer docents, and through the colorful explanations, they improved the villagers' awareness of cultural popularization and cultural relics protection. Since then, citizens have continuously reported to the archaeological team with the "treasures" dug up from their homes, and the only reward that makes them satisfied is sometimes just a photo or certificate, and sometimes even verbal praise from archaeologists and relevant departments.
One day, a big lady handed over a pointed bottom pottery vase, in fact, she couldn't figure out what this pottery vase that could not be put down was for, just thinking that the archaeologists had culture, and it was right to hand it to them. Shi Xingbang, after research, found that this is a water bottle, hung around the neck with a rope, and when they go to the river to get water, the tip bottom is easy to flip in the water, and it can hit the water at once. Local villagers call this kind of clay vase "beauty bottle", but some villagers, after digging it out of the tomb, think it is unlucky and throw it in the place next to the toilet, or simply smash it on the spot. Whenever he heard such news, Shi Xingbang would be extremely sorry.
Shi Xingbang has always advocated that archaeologists must not bury their heads in "digging up mud dolls" as some people misunderstand, but must become "social activists" with the awareness of responsibility and coordination ability. It is the sense of "on-site" participation of the general public that makes the excavation and protection of cultural relics in Banpo Village more solid, and provides valuable information for deepening the study of Yangshao culture.
The excavation of the Banpo site is an important milestone in the archaeological history of New China, which not only deepened the study of Yangshao culture, but also established a new paradigm for neolithic archaeological research, and also created a type of panoramic settlement archaeology, whose influence continues to this day. The Shi Xingbang in the year of its establishment was also accompanied by the excavation of the Banpo site, and its reputation rose for a time.
Excavating the "Shimokawa Ruins", the archaeological career has been bitter and happy
After the excavation of Banpo Village, Shi Xingbang returned to Shaanxi for a time, successively working in the Shaanxi Provincial Archaeological Research Institute, the Shaanxi Provincial Museum, and the Shaanxi Provincial Cultural Relics Management Committee, until 1976, when he returned to the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Soon after, he began excavations at the site of Qinshuichuan in Shanxi, which became another milestone in his archaeological career.
Shimokawa Village is a typical Paleolithic relic, and the cultural relics are very rich. Due to the special historical era, most of the excavations that follow Shi Xingbang are not professional archaeologists, but "training classes" composed of people from all walks of life, and some even do not know what archaeological excavations are and how to do them. At that time, Shi Xingbang, wearing a faded Zhongshan suit, wore round cloth shoes on his feet, walked up and leaned forward slightly, smiling, making people feel amiable. But in his work, he is extremely strict, starting from the basic knowledge, and then taking everyone to the field for internship, like a teacher with an apprentice, teaching everyone the method of archaeological excavation by hand.
For four years, Shi Xingbang initially lived in the ear room of a fellow villager, and later lived on the upper floor where the villagers placed grain, agricultural tools and miscellaneous items. At that time, the conditions in Shimogawa were still relatively difficult, and occasionally diesel engines were used to generate electricity, most of the time it was illuminated by lighting kerosene lamps. Here, Shi Xingbang lived an ascetic life, with only a simple bed, a table with a bumpy surface, a small square stool with unstable legs and a dim kerosene lamp, even so, he insisted on reading and studying every day, writing his experience and writing records. Under his leadership, the trainees were not idle at night, teaching themselves lectures and copying notes, setting off an unprecedented wave of learning.
Perhaps out of professional sensitivity, Shi Xingbang had to take pictures and retain information about everything he came into contact with, even the shacks set up by farmers, the pigsty and sheep pens, and the bamboo baskets with local characteristics. Some students were curious to ask him, these things are everywhere, what is the value of the record? He said that it is precisely this kind of daily record that is very important, accumulated over time, and will be of great use.
Yangshao culture, fish-patterned faience pots, collection of the National Museum
Shi Xingbang also took the trainees to participate in the wheat harvest of the local villagers, so that everyone could more deeply feel that intellectuals should participate more in labor and undergo training. Another purpose of labor is to see if luck is good enough to find a new "treasure" from the soil. Once, they found a sandstone slab in their hometown, and Shi Xingbang used it as a teaching material to teach everyone how to identify cultural relics, as well as the development process and main functions of such utensils. The students gathered around him and listened with interest.
Archaeological work is most of the time both meticulous and monotonous, and some trainees sometimes find it difficult to tolerate this kind of mechanical work over the years. Every once in a while, Shi Xingbang would take everyone to the village near the site, going up the mountain to pick pine nuts, wood ear fungus, and picking wild fruits, which could not only change their minds, but also improve their food. The beautiful natural scenery has adjusted the monotonous work life and improved the work efficiency.
Many trainees are impressed by the "August 1st" Founding Day, when the life of the archaeological team was very difficult, in order to celebrate the Founding Day, they specially sent a car to Changzhi to buy meat. On the way back, it rained heavily when I arrived at Qinshui County, and the car could not get on the mountain. At that time, the weather was very hot, and after a few days, the meat was somewhat flavorful and could only be cooked in the county seat, but there was no oil and water anymore. After arriving at the excavation site, the steamed buns did not even eat the dogs in the forest farm. Some trainees' expectations have failed, and it is inevitable that there will be complaints. In this regard, Shi Xingbang took the lead in taking two buns and ate them with relish. Many people saw that Shi Xingbang had eaten, and it was not easy to say anything more, so they ate their own buns with him.
The excavation of the Shimokawa site lasted for four years, and some people figuratively call it "Shimokawa University". Many trainees said that the exercise they received at the archaeological site was great, and the progress made was also great. In addition to professional knowledge, everyone also learned more from Teacher Shi the principle of doing things. Since then, Shi Xingbang has spent nearly 30 years to further deepen the study of cultural relics and relics in Xiachuan Village, and has published a series of research results.
The "accidental discovery" of the Famen Temple underground palace is actually expected
In 1987, Shi Xingbang presided over the excavation of the Underground Palace of Famen Temple, which is another of his masterpieces. Although some people use "unexpected discovery" and "good luck" to describe the re-appearance of the Underground Palace Buddha referring to the relic, Shi Xingbang said that it is more representative of the significance of archaeological work to use "expected".
In the summer of 1981, the pagoda of Famen Temple collapsed. Because this temple flourished in the Tang Dynasty and became famous, Buddhist circles at home and abroad have proposed to rebuild the pagoda. In order to cooperate with the reconstruction of the pagoda, Shi Xingbang, who was the director of the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology at the time, led an archaeological team to excavate and clean the base and perimeter of the pagoda from February 1987, and unexpectedly found a han white jade manhole cover built by Tang Yizong in the middle of the pagoda foundation. When the corner of the manhole cover was lifted for only a few seconds, the countless gold and silver jewels exposed inside shocked everyone. After the relevant situation was reported, the superior attached great importance to it, arranged for guards to protect, and dispatched experts to provide support.
According to historical records, Famen Temple built an underground palace with Buddha finger relics inside. But where the entrance to the underground palace is, no one can figure it out. Shi Xingbang discussed with Han Wei, who was the deputy leader, that the cultural relics could not be put into the underground palace through the algae well, and there should be other exits. So, the archaeologists launched a carpet search nearby, and three days later found the palace entrance on the north side of the Luohan Hall. On the north side of the palace entrance, there is a long walking path, down the 19 steps, is a square platform, on which are scattered nearly 10,000 copper coins. After clearing the platform, a corner of the dungeon gate, sealed with boulders, was revealed. Shi Xingbang concluded through reliefs of the lintel of the ShuangfengMen gate that the underground palace was built by the Tang Dynasty, which made everyone feel extremely happy.
The archaeological team used engineering equipment to lift the boulder, only to find that the stone door was locked with a 35-centimeter-long iron lock. After careful investigation, it was learned that there were 4 stone gates in the entire underground palace, and according to the rules of "opening in 30 years, opening is rich in age", the key is controlled by different senior monks, and each time the underground palace is opened, it is a temporary event. But it's been more than 1,000 years, and it's clear that the key can't be found anymore. Fortunately, the archaeological team was full of talents, and one of the team members managed to open the lock without damaging the palace gate.
On this day, on April 10, 1987, Shi Xingbang led the archaeological team into the underground palace, a golden and brilliant underground palace, once again presented to the world. Although many years have passed, Shi Xingbang still dances with excitement every time he talks to people about the grandeur of excavating the underground palace.
The underground palace is divided into three parts: the front hall, the middle hall and the rear room, and the collection of cultural relics and monuments in it is innumerable. When everyone cleans up and moves the treasures out one by one, all the people are full of energy, and they often work overtime all night without complaint. After statistics, a total of 121 pieces of gold and silverware, 20 pieces of glassware, 17 pieces of porcelain, 400 pieces of jewelry, etc., 19 items of miscellaneous utensils were excavated, and all the copper coins were counted as more than 30,000 pieces, and there were almost 700 pieces of silk. Such a well-preserved and rich collection of underground palaces is unprecedented in the archaeological history of Tang Dynasty cultural relics and relics.
Another major discovery of this excavation was that the world witnessed the Buddha's finger relics that were only found in the scriptures and legends before, and 4 pieces were unearthed at once. According to the classification of cultural relics, other excavated cultural relics are classified in three grades of 1, 2 and 3, only the relics are numbered as "special 1" to "special 4", because everyone agrees that if they do not do this, it is not enough to reflect their great value.
The excavation of the underground palace of Famen Temple is not only a major archaeological discovery of the Tang Dynasty on the mainland, but also a major event in the Buddhist community. In the Tang Dynasty, there were once 4 temples where Buddha finger relics were placed, and only Famen Temple, which has experienced thousands of years of wind and frost, has survived to this day and received a steady stream of Buddhists from all over the world to visit.
"Correcting" the terracotta army excavation, archaeology is a delicate work
Shi Xingbang has been in Shaanxi for a long time and has a lot of work intersection with the terracotta warriors and horses, a famous relic in Xi'an, which has both a sense of accomplishment brought about by dedication to protecting cultural relics and eternal regrets caused by special historical conditions.
In 1974, when Yang Zhifa, a villager in Xiyang Village at the foot of Lishan Mountain in Lintong, was digging a well against drought, he inadvertently discovered the large-scale Terracotta Warriors and Horses Pit of the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum, thus unveiling the long archaeological excavation process of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses for decades. At the beginning, the archaeological team sent to excavate was not an expert, and actually used the method of pouring cold water and hot water to make the clay figurines clean, and also called large tools such as dump trucks for excavation, and even some news media saw the problem and called it "potato-type archaeology". In 1979, Xia Nai led the experts of the National Archaeological Institute to the site to investigate, was shocked by this barbaric excavation method, and after returning to contact other archaeological experts, jointly wrote a report upwards, and decisively stopped it. In 1984, Shi Xingbang was assigned to return to Xi'an to guide the landfill, clean-up and subsequent excavation work on behalf of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage.
Terracotta painted remnants
Shi Xingbang first spent more than half a year to guide the archaeological team to backfill the tunnels that had been dug, and to organize rework for those that were not meticulous enough. Only then did he begin to organize new excavations. Everyone consciously abandoned large mechanical equipment, mainly relying on their hands, using small brushes and small shovels to patiently and meticulously clean the clay figurines, and try their best to protect them. However, at that time, the technical conditions were limited, and some pottery figurines were still very bright in color when they were first unearthed, and they would fade after a long time after encountering the wind, and they became the current black gray. Shi Xingbang feels that if the current scientific and technological means are used, the "colored" terracotta warriors will be preserved for a long time, and the audience can also see the best visual effects.
While excavating, they carried out scientific research and presented military academic issues such as the coordinated operation of different branches of the armed forces and the command system of ancient and modern times in the qin "car soldiers" and "infantry" to the world very clearly. In particular, the relationship between "two-car grouping" and "before and after" has enhanced people's new understanding. Through these terracotta warriors, the battle pomp of the "underground legion" comes to life.
During the excavations, there was also a bizarre incident of "the theft of the head of the general's figurine". It turned out that the archaeological team had hired a temporary worker named Jian Qiyi to take care of the warehouse equipment. He met a man named Wang Gengdi and asked him to visit the archaeological excavation site. Unexpectedly, this king even started the idea of the pottery figurines, sneaked into the storeroom at night, and stole the extremely precious head of the general figurine. You know, at that time, so many terracotta warriors were excavated, and there were only 6 general figurines in total.
The case alarmed the top brass, and the public security organs quickly launched the investigation work. Later, Wang Gengdi was arrested and tied up through the downtown area, deterring those who stole cultural relics and smugglers. The archaeological team also launched a responsibility investigation, a large number of people were dealt with, and Shi Xingbang also made a profound review because of his leadership responsibilities.
Since becoming the president of the Shaanxi Archaeological Research Institute in 1984, Shi Xingbang has made a series of important achievements in deep ploughing the land of Sanqin, including the establishment of archaeological workstations in Tongchuan, Suide, Hanyin and other places, presiding over a series of important cultural relics excavation work, and achieving important breakthroughs in many fields. Some people figuratively say that Shi Xingbang and Xi'an have achieved perfect mutual achievements in archaeology.
Qianling archaeology has become a pity, and the exploration is more recent
Unlike Shi Xingbang's other achievements that are undisputed and praised, his insistence on excavating Qianling has caused great controversy in the archaeological community, and the voices of approval and opposition have been equal, which has never had the opportunity to realize this wish.
Qianling is located on Liangshan Mountain in Qian County, Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province, and is the joint burial tomb of Emperor Gaozong of Tang and Wu Zetian. This is a masterpiece of the Tang Dynasty's "mountain as a mausoleum" commemorative construction project, and it is the only tomb of a husband and wife emperor in the long feudal history, or the only mausoleum that has been discovered with a double city wall. In addition, the various protective measures of the mausoleum are very tight and exquisite, and it can be predicted that the tomb has remained intact to this day, and once excavated, it is very likely to be another discovery that shocked the world.
According to folklore, at the end of the Tang Dynasty, Huang Chao used 400,000 troops to plan to excavate Qianling, and painstakingly dug a large ditch more than 40 meters deep, but did not find the entrance to the tomb, so he had to give up. There is still a deep ditch on the west side of the main peak of Liangshan, known as the "Yellow Nest Ditch". Shi Xingbang and other archaeologists have repeatedly appealed and jointly formulated the "Qianling Development Plan", pointing out that qianling is currently in damage and should be excavated protectively so that it can be effectively protected.
However, some archaeologists have also proposed that the current technical conditions for the protection of cultural relics are still lacking, and once the Qianling Tomb is excavated hastily, a large number of excavated cultural relics may be diseased due to contact with the air, causing irreparable losses. Such regrets often occur in the archaeological community. Therefore, it is appropriate to leave some wealth for future generations to excavate under better conditions. For this point of view, Shi Xingbang sighed helplessly: "I can't wait in this life, I can only look at future generations!" ”
Shi Xingbang has been engaged in archaeological excavation work for a long time, and has brought out many apprentices by hand, many of whom have become famous masters in today's archaeological circles. Wang Renxiang is a master's student brought out by Shi Xingbang, and during his graduate studies, he followed his mentor to the south and north, and has excavated many historical sites and suffered a lot. Later, Wang Renxiang not only studied prehistoric archaeology with Shi Xingbang, but also brought his interest in food into the work, and carried out archaeological research on food culture with ingenuity, which had a great reputation in the entire East Asian region and also created a new research field.
Young people are the future and hope of archaeology. Shi Xingbang sent a message to young people to have the perseverance to persevere to the end, be mentally prepared to bear hardships and stand hard work, learn a good materialist view of history, and at the same time cultivate the vision of the world and the vision of all mankind. Following the path guided by the master, there will be more young people active in the field in the future, using special discoveries to dialogue with the ancients and let civilization continue.
Source: Magazine of All Walks of Life, Issue 1, 2022
Author: Li Zhujiao