Sun Chengkuo, who lives in Yangmazhuang Village, Chaoyang Street, Hedong District, is an amateur archaeologist. From his home to the Qingfengling ruins, it only takes seven or eight minutes to ride. In 1989, 17-year-old Sun Chengkuo picked up a stone tool while working in the fields, and since then, he has formed an indissoluble relationship with archaeology. Over the past 33 years, he has donated many artifacts he found to the museum. In 2015, Sun Chengkuo was hired as a volunteer conservator at the Qingfengling site. For the hobby of amateur archaeology, Sun Chengkuo admitted that he would always be obsessed.
Fragments of bird-beaked pottery that Sun Chengkuo picked up at the Qingfengling site.
Cultural relics have been donated to the museum several times
"These stone chisels, pottery spinning wheels, dingzu, mane feet, antlers, and pottery pieces I picked up at the Qingfengling site and donated them to the museum today, which is the best home for the excavated cultural relics." On February 21, Sun Chengkuo came to the Dongyi Cultural Museum again and donated more than 20 cultural relics.
The cultural relics donated this time were picked up by Sun Chengkuo from July 2021 to the present at the Qingfengling site. Among the donated artifacts are fine stone tools dating back about 20,000 years, as well as neolithic tools dating back about 6,000 years. "Among the more than 20 artifacts, there is a fine stone tool made of crystal and a pottery spinning wheel, and I picked up these two types of stone tools for the first time." For the donated cultural relics, Sun Chengkuo is like several family treasures, these stones that have been turned over from the farmland in the eyes of the villagers are cultural relics in his eyes and are priceless treasures.
Speaking of Sun Chengkuo, Song Yanquan, a resident expert at the Dongyi Cultural Museum, said bluntly that they have been old friends for decades. From the beginning of the construction of the Dongyi Cultural Museum, Sun Chengkuo has donated cultural relics picked up from the Qingfengling site, and since then, as long as valuable cultural relics and specimens are found, Sun Chengkuo will donate them to the museum free of charge.
Qingfengling ruins are located in the north of Wang and Zhengtianzhuang Village, Chonggou Town, Hedong District, southeast of Liu Tianzhuang, and north of Yangmazhuang, which was scientifically excavated in 1984. The site is distributed from below the topsoil layer to 4.6 meters above the ground. The site is also rich in neolithic, Shang zhou and later cultural relics.
"Stone tools with relatively good stones such as crystal and agate are relatively rare in archaeological excavations, especially crystals. This time, the fine stone tool donated by Sun Chengkuo of crystal material is a stone core stone tool, with good light transmission, very beautiful, reflecting the great wisdom of the ancients, and can be called the fine quality of fine stone tools. Song Yanquan said that in the Dongyi Culture Museum, there is a special exhibition cabinet of fine stone tools, and the fine stone relics donated by Sun Chengkuo have enriched this display cabinet, providing physical materials for the study of prehistoric culture and Dongyi culture in Linyi area.
Sun Chengkuo has donated to the museum many times the cultural relics he picked up at the Qingfengling site, of which he was most impressed 4 times. "The first donation of cultural relics was in 1991, when the stone tools collected were donated to the Linyi Museum. The second and third time the cultural relics were donated to the Municipal Cultural Relics Bureau, and finally collected by the Yinqueshan Han Tomb Bamboo Jane Museum; the fourth time was when the Dongyi Cultural Museum was just built and did not open, the cultural relics were donated to the Dongyi Cultural Museum. Sun Chengkuo said that in addition, as long as he finds cultural relics, he will send them to the Dongyi Cultural Museum, basically every once in a while.
Because of a stone and archaeology
Sun Chengkuo's love of amateur archaeology stemmed from a chance discovery in 1989. That spring, 17-year-old Sun Chengkuo went to the fields with his parents to do farm work. While ploughing the land, Sun Chengkuo stumbled upon a stone that looked like a shovel.
"The first time I saw that stone, I felt very familiar, like I had seen it somewhere." Sun Chengkuo said that after holding the stone for half a day, he suddenly remembered that the picture in the history textbook he had studied was very similar to the stone he had picked up.
After returning home, Sun Chengkuo couldn't wait to find the history textbook and compare the stones he picked up with the pictures in the textbook. "Like the pictures in books, is this something used by primitive people?" How could there be something in our place that was used by primitive people? My mind was full of questions. Sun Chengkuo said that the 17-year-old did not know the Qingfengling ruins, and did not know that the primitive people on the land cultivated by his ancestors also lived here.
"Ever since I picked up the first stone tool, I've been going around where I picked up the stone tool whenever I have time. The number of times I went was more, and more and more stone tool fragments and pottery pieces were picked up. Sun Chengkuo said that the more things he picked up, the greater the doubts in his heart, and he wanted to find someone who understood and asked.
In 1991, Sun Chengkuo carried the stone tools and debris he picked up, rode a bicycle, inquired all the way to the Linyi City Museum. "At that time, I thought that since the stones I picked up were probably cultural relics, going to the museum would definitely solve the doubts in my heart." After explaining my intentions, the museum staff received me. Sun Chengkuo recalled that the staff told him that the place where the stone tools were picked up was the Qingfengling ruins, which were the ruins of primitive people.
"At that time, I learned that the place where I often worked in the fields was the Qingfengling Ruins, and primitive people also lived here. Seeing the stone tools I took, the staff said that it was good and good, saying that I, a person who did not understand archaeology, could find so many cultural relics, which was very good. Sun Chengkuo said that at that time, the staff told him that if it was convenient, he would have time to go around often.
This sentence, Sun Chengkuo listened to his heart. Since then, as soon as he has time, he will go around the Qingfengling ruins and pick up "stones", which is more than 30 years.
A fine stone tool made of crystal that Sun Chengkuo picked up at the Qingfengling site. At present, it has been donated to dongyi culture museum.
A hobby lasted for 33 years
As an adult, Sun Chengkuo worked in a shopping mall in Linyi City and had a two-hour break every day at noon. "The shopping mall where I work is not far from the bookstore, and after lunch I will go to the bookstore to read books, and then go back to work when the time is up." Sun Chengkuo said, "Chinese Archaeology" and "Archaeological Reader"... He drew archaeological knowledge from the book, gained a new understanding of archaeology and cultural relics, and became more fascinated.
In addition, Sun Chengkuo also used his spare time to listen to archaeology lectures and enrich his archaeological knowledge. "The main feature of the Fine Stone Age is the small stone tools, which are the transition stage from the Paleolithic to the Neolithic, and it is also a very important stage. At first, I only knew about the Neolithic Age, and in an expert lecture held at the Dongyi Cultural Museum, I learned about the Fine Stone Age. Sun Chengkuo said that after knowing the existence of the Fine Stone Age, he paid attention to it every time he went to the Qingfengling site.
"The relics of the Fine Stone Age have really been found by you, which is great." Kung Fu pays off. In 2009, Sun Chengkuo picked up stones with fine stone age characteristics at the Qingfengling site.
What supports Sun Chengkuo's amateur archaeology for 33 years? "It's purely a hobby, and I don't have any hobbies other than work. Turning a hundred times is not necessarily enough to pick up two or three stone tools, and once a new artifact is discovered, there will be an indescribable sense of joy. Sun Chengkuo said that going around the Qingfengling ruins in his free time is like eating and sleeping, naturally.
"Primitive people 20,000 years ago, without today's high-tech tools, it was very difficult for them to make a stone tool. These stone tools are tools used by primitive people, and finding a new stone tool is like shaking hands with primitive people once. As a volunteer protector of the Qingfengling site, I will always stick to it. Sun Chengkuo admitted that for the cultural relics he found, he would send them to the museum at the first time to better protect the cultural relics. When more and more people visit the museum, learning about this history is also a kind of cultural inheritance.
Now, when you visit the Linyi City Museum, the Yinqueshan Han Tomb Bamboo Jane Museum, and the Dongyi Culture Museum, it is very likely that Sun Chengkuo picked up and donated the stone tools you see.
Linbao Rong Media reporter Guo Hengxue