Chuanguan News reporter Cheng Bo Provided by Chengdu Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology
Protagonist Business Card:
He Kunyu was a former member of the United Front Work Committee of the General Branch of the Chengdu Municipal Cultural Relics and Archaeology Task Force of the Communist Party of China and the director of the Baodun Site Workstation. He is an outstanding business backbone and young talents of Chengdu Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, who has long adhered to the front line of field archaeological excavation work, and has participated in or presided over the excavation of important sites such as Chengdu Jinsha, Maoxian Yingpanshan, Chengdu Jiangnanguan Street Tang song neighborhood, Xinjin Baodun, Guizhou Gui'an New District Zhaoguo Cave and so on. The Tang and Song Dynasty Neighborhood sites of Jiangnanguan Street, which participated in the excavation, were awarded the "2008 National Top Ten Archaeological New Discoveries", and the Guizhou Zhaoguo Cave Site co-chaired by the excavation was awarded the "2020 National Top Ten Archaeological New Discoveries". On December 29, 2021, he Kunyu, 41, died of illness.
Ho Kun Yu
On December 27, 2021, He Kunyu, who was in a hospital bed, watched TV in a strong spirit. In the CCTV documentary "Shu Shoubing", his long-time partner and deputy director of the Baodun Site Workstation of the Chengdu Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, is telling the history of how the ancients who flourished in the ancient city of Baodun in the Chengdu Plain more than 4,000 years ago fought against the flood.
He Kunyu is a research librarian of The Chengdu Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and the director of the Baodun Site Workstation of the Chengdu Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology. Baodun is the place where he has been struggling for more than 10 years. Borrowing the TV to "cross" the ruins, He Kunyu was full of relief. Two days later, He Kunyu, who was seriously ill, left this world forever with his deep attachment to the treasure pier and archaeology.
He left, with a love for the archaeological cause, with regret for the unfinished business, with the attachment to relatives and colleagues, into the blue sky, into the archaeological field, his life is forever fixed at the age of 41.
He Kunyu is conducting archaeological excavations.
Rooted in the front line, politely refuse promotion:
"Counting how old his eldest daughter is, how many years has he held on to the treasure pier?"
He Kunyu, who had just entered the field of archaeology, was lucky. After graduating from Sichuan University in 2003 majoring in Archaeology and Museum, he entered the Chengdu Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology. Six years later, at a young age, he became the head of the large-scale archaeological excavation site at the Baodun site.
Located in Xinjin District, Chengdu, the ruins of Baodun Ancient City enjoy the reputation of "the root of Tianfu". The prehistoric city sites of the Chengdu Plain discovered in the 1990s, represented by the Baodun site, are also considered to be the source of the bronze culture of Sanxingdui. Baodun Ancient City was awarded the top ten new archaeological discoveries in China in 1996. In 2009, due to the promotion of the "Chinese Civilization Exploration Project", Baodun, which had been silent for more than 10 years, was excavated again.
Xu Long, a driver at the Chengdu Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, participated in the archaeological work. According to his recollection, the winter in Baodun was very cold in those years, and in the early morning the fields were always thick with fog, and a layer of whitehead cream was condensed on the wheat seedlings. When He Kunyu couldn't stand the cold, he would take the drill in the hands of the workers and drill for a while to warm up his body.
In small talk with the locals, the high mounds near the ruins of baodun ancient city that were called "you ganzi", "stone dungzi" and "dog dung" by the locals attracted the attention of He Kunyu.
The archaeologist's intuition led him to these places to try out and see. At this excavation, He Kunyu was surprised to find that these high mounds were actually rammed walls in the Baodun culture period. These remains, now known as the "Outer City Wall of Baodun Ancient City Ruins", directly expanded the area of Baodun Ancient City from 600,000 square meters to 2.76 million square meters, and Baodun Ancient City also became one of the four ancient cities in China in the late Neolithic Period.
The outer city wall of Baodun Ancient City.
"The discovery of the outer city wall of the Baodun Ancient City Site is a milestone achievement in the study of Baodun culture and an important basis for the study of Sanxingdui culture." Speaking of He Kunyu's discovery in 2009, the relevant person in charge of the Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau commented on it.
However, for a long time after the outer city wall attracted widespread attention, the archaeological work of Baodun gradually faded from public view, and although new results were released every few years, there were relatively few shocking results like the outer city wall.
At this time, an opportunity to leave the line of Baodun was placed in front of He Kunyu. In 2018, chengdu museums need a deputy director in charge of academic research, and He Kunyu, who has both front-line experience in archaeology and scientific research achievements, is the best candidate. However, after a short thought, He Kunyu politely declined the invitation. He wanted to stay in his favorite place, Baodun.
"Baodun is an important part of his career, and he has a great love for archaeology and fields. He chose to stay at the time, and it had to do with the way he did things. He is a person who has done things from beginning to end, and he definitely wants to write out the archaeological report of Baodun and complete his mission to Baodun. Tang Miao said.
In 2012, He Kunyu was at the site of an archaeological excavation at the site of Baodun Ancient City.
In those years in Baodun, He Kunyu only did one thing - reading materials day and night, writing reports, and fully studying archaeological findings. Tang Miao has been carrying out Baodun archaeological excavation work with He Kunyu since 2015, "At that time, we shared a house in Xinjin County, and at the end of each day, he went back to sleep upside down, and slept until after 9 p.m., and then he got up to start academic research." He liked to move a small bench, work on the coffee table in the living room, always work late at night, sleep for a few hours, and then get up at 5 a.m. the next morning to start researching, and his papers were written day and night. ”
In the 18 years of dedication to archaeology, He Kunyu has always maintained a passion for archaeology. Chengdu Jinsha, Maoxian Yingpanshan, Chengdu Jiangnanguan Street Tang song neighborhood, Xinjin Baodun, Guizhou Gui'an New District Zhaoguodong... His figure has appeared at many archaeological excavation sites in the southwest region, constantly creating new archaeological achievements. In contrast, he has very little time to spend with his family.
Zuo Zhiqiang, an associate researcher at the Chengdu Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, now remembers that in the year of restarting the excavation of the ancient ruins of Baodun, He Kunyu's eldest daughter had just been born, and He Kunyu excavated during the day and discussed at night, often for ten days and a half months. Once Zuo Zhiqiang and He Kunyu went home together, "His wife came downstairs with her eldest daughter to pick him up, and the child turned his head to the side and ignored him." Zuo Zhiqiang said, "Counting how old his eldest daughter is, how many years he has been holding on to Baodun." ”
Selfless dedication to cultivate new talents:
"I felt like he was a big tree behind me."
In the impression of teachers, friends and colleagues, He Kunyu is not only obsessed with archaeology, but also a person who truly integrates dedication into work and life.
Chang Huaiying, deputy director of the Xia Shang Zhou Archaeological Research Office of the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, still remembers that when He Kunyu went to Peking University to study for a master's degree, he took the initiative to copy a lot of archaeological reports for Sichuan University, "At that time, I was working part-time as a librarian in the data room of the Archaeology Department of the College of History and Culture of Sichuan University. ”
At that time, He Kunyu found that Peking University had a wealth of archaeological materials, so the two people had the idea of copying and sending back the materials that Peking University had but not had in Sichuan University through copying, and helping the data room of the Archaeological Department of Sichuan University to complete the data. At that time, Kun Yu did not live in Peking University for a long time because he was studying on the job, but he still tried to find a way to lend books and periodicals, find a Hunan compatriot who opened a copy shop to help copy it, and then send it back to Sichuan University to me. This went on and off for more than a year, and when I went to Peking University to study, he handed me the baton and introduced me to the owner of the copy shop he knew to continue copying. ”
He Kunyu at the site of an archaeological excavation.
What impressed Chang Huaiying was the experience of the two of them buying books in Beijing Liuli Factory in the spring of 2005. "A few bookstores came down, we brought the purchase money are used up, he found the bank to withdraw money, and then helped me take a taxi to transport the whole 17 boxes of books to the Chaoyangmen large parcel business hall, help me fill out the list, pack and send it back to Chengdu." Back at Peking University in the evening, we were all tired. He said, it is worth it, and the dolls behind will not shout that they have not read the book. Chang Huaiying said, "Kun Yu does these things without a penny of remuneration, and even the leaders of the department do not know." In doing so, Kun Yu is a natural manifestation of his heart for his alma mater. ”
He Kunyu's helpfulness is also reflected in the excavation process of the Zhaoguo Cave site. Zhang Xinglong, deputy director of the Guizhou Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, recalled that in March 2016, he went to Zhaoguozhai in Gui'an New District with He Kunyu and Zhu Mei to investigate the cave site, and listened to his fellow villagers talk about a "cow cave" on the mountain, when the spring grass grew, they used machetes to cut a road to find this cave. "The next day, we went again with Professor Lu Hongliang of Sichuan University, sorted out the cave, carefully inspected the section of the pit in the cave, and concluded that the cave had excavation value." He Kunyu proposed an archaeological excavation plan with multidisciplinary joint participation of animal archaeology, plant archaeology, environmental archaeology and space archaeology. ”
What particularly impressed Zhang Xinglong was that when he first entered the Zhaoguo Cave and saw the accumulation in the cave, He Kunyu said to him: "'Xinglong, this hole is too good, or you should dig it yourself.'" Of course, I can't agree, but through this matter, I feel that He Kunyu is really a person who is very concerned about others. ”
He Kunyu is especially willing to give newcomers a chance. Tang Miao is still very grateful to He Kunyu, because it was through He Kunyu's proposal that Tang Miao, who had just arrived at the Chengdu Cultural Relics and Archaeology Task Force (Chengdu Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology), was able to participate in the excavation of the ruins of Baodun Ancient City. "He's willing to develop new people, and as long as I get results, he's happy." Since 2017, he has stepped back and told me to let it go, and he has given me guidance. There are experts to visit, but also let me come forward to explain, my current expression ability, that is, exercised at that time. I felt like he was a big tree behind me. ”
After He Kunyu's death, his teachers and colleagues all regretted the loss of such a partner, "Kun Yu is gone, his heart and mind still can't put it down, or his doctoral thesis is published, the Baodun report is sorted out, and whether the stratigraphic division of the Guizhou cave excavation area is well unified." This is his regret, but it is also the embodiment of his responsibility. With the seriousness and meticulousness of his work, the academic information he left behind must be sorted out by later colleagues to help him complete, and there will certainly be no regrets. ”
In the courtyard of the archaeological workstation of the Baodun site in Chengdu, He Kunyu's colleagues planted a camphor tree in his honor.
In January, in the courtyard of the Archaeological Workstation at the Baodun Site in Chengdu, where He Kunyu devoted the most efforts to protecting, colleagues planted a camphor tree more than 2 meters high, and buried an archaeological hand shovel under the tree. In this way, everyone commemorates the archaeologist who died early.
In late spring, small trees sprout new shoots.
"He let us make our own stone tools to slaughter the sheep"
He Kunyu is passionate about archaeology and is also good at creating fun from boring daily archaeological work.
Huang Ming, a librarian at the Chengdu Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, participated in the archaeological excavation of the Zhaoguo Cave site in Guizhou with He Kunyu. According to his recollection, when the Zhaoguo cave site was first excavated, the conditions were very difficult, the local dishes were fried with bad peppers, the team members were not used to eating, the toilet was a dry toilet, and there was no place to take a bath. The advantage is that in the early morning after the rain, mushrooms often appear on the mountain, and porcini mushrooms are everywhere.
Therefore, He Kunyu led everyone to dig up spring shoots, pick mushrooms, break tsubaki buds, and dig bracken in the mountains after work; catch lobsters and catch fish in the river; "He Kunyu will try to improve everyone's food every three or five minutes on the construction site, and later bought hot pot ingredients from Chengdu and ate fake vegetables on the construction site." ”
In Baodun, He Kunyu also continues to bring fun to his friends around him. Wu Peng, who once went to Baodun to participate in field internships, remembers that in the winter of 2013, he and 22 undergraduate students from Sichuan University came to Baodun, and He Kunyu was their internship instructor. On the day of the winter solstice, half a sheep was bought back on the construction site, "He let us make stone tools to slaughter the sheep, this work is too difficult!" I usually practice stone tools, picking gravel on the river beach, falling, pounding, grinding... If you can make a sharper edge, you can use it as a knife. ”
The students worked together to make stone tools, and finally ate the lamb in their mouths, grilled, boiled soup, cooked... After work, 23 students spent an incredibly happy winter solstice festival on the construction site. Wu Peng felt that this kind of edutainment and education allowed students to feel the process of making and using tools by people in primitive society, and also left a beautiful meal that they would still be impressed by many years later.
"He Kunyu has a strong comprehensive coordination ability, is good at handling all aspects of the relationship, good at adjusting the atmosphere, and arranges everyone's life colorful and full of fun." Yang Yingdong, an associate researcher at the Chengdu Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology who participated in the night party at the Baodun site, commented on He Kunyu, who was the leader of the archaeological team.