"Do not break the Loulan and never return" "Loulan Archaeological Survey and Excavation Report" was published at the beginning and end of the publication

"Don't break the loulan and never pay it back"

The desert is lonely and the sun is setting. At one time, when people talked about Lou lan, they probably had such a scene in their minds. Chinese civilization for thousands of years, the record of Loulan, since the Han Dynasty, the history of endless books, it appears in the Tang poems of "do not break the Loulan and never return", appear in the Song Ci that "to cut down the three-foot sword of Loulan", but it has become more and more a myth. Because since Wei jin, Lou Lan has been difficult to find.

It was not until the beginning of the 20th century that the Swedish explorer Sven Hedin stumbled upon the ancient city of Loulan in the archaeology of western China, which disappeared from people's vision for more than a thousand years, and only returned again and became the international focus. In the 1930s, Chinese Huang Wenbi entered the Loulan area, but he was unable to set foot in the ancient city due to the flood of Lop Nur; until half a century later, Mr. Hou Can had the privilege of going deep into Loulan and finally became one of the first Chinese archaeologists to reach the ancient city of Loulan. Recently, the "Loulan Archaeological Survey and Excavation Report" compiled by Mr. Hou Can was published 36 years after it was written. Now that the gentleman is gone, let us follow his report and go to Loulan.

Walked into Lou Lan

In the texts that can be examined, Loulan was once an oasis kingdom on the Silk Road that ran through the east and west, and was one of the famous Thirty-Six Kingdoms in the Western Regions. But after the Wei and Jin Dynasties, it was really just a myth, a legend.

In 1900, Sven Hedin and his party stumbled upon the ancient city of Loulan while inspecting the Rob Wasteland, breaking the silence that lasted for more than a thousand years 16 kilometers southeast of the Peacock River. Sven Hedin, who had a high nose, smelled the bustle of the place. So, after some careful preparation, Sven Hedin returned to Loulan the following year.

In Loulan, Sven Hedin could not but say that he was smiling happily, he was unrestrained, measuring length and width, picking up copper coins, and although he did not know one of the words on the simple paper, he knew that it recorded Gu Loulan's past. Coins, stonework, silk fabrics, simple paper documents, Sven Hedin returned with a full load.

Not to be outdone by the Englishman Stein and the Japanese Tachibana Ruichao, they took away the treasure they could find from Loulan.

It was not until the 1930s that huang Wenbi, Chinese, had the opportunity to enter the Loulan area, and his "Archaeological Record of Robnur" recorded the ruins of Tuyuan in the area of the Kingdom of Loulan, but he had not yet penetrated into the ancient city of Loulan. At this time, internationally, the storytellers of the ancient city of Loulan, or Sven Hedin and Stein, Chinese did not have their own voice.

In 1979, Mr. Hou Can of the Institute of Archaeology of the Xinjiang Academy of Social Sciences was expected to break this situation. At the end of November and the beginning of December of that year, he braved the severe cold and drove southeast by car along the north bank of the Peacock River. After that, he hiked across the dry peacock riverbed and then crossed the rugged Yadan landform to reach Loulan. This trip is only for the archaeological search of Loulan in the coming year.

That year, shortly after China's reform and opening up, China and Japan jointly filmed the "Silk Road" TV series, in which the deserted section from Dunhuang to Yanqi via Loulan was filmed by the Chinese side alone. CCTV invited the Institute of Archaeology of the Xinjiang Academy of Social Sciences to cooperate and form an archaeological team to enter the Loulan area to carry out investigation and excavation work.

The god of luck favored Hou Can, who was born in the archaeology class. In November 1979 in Xinjiang, the weather was cold and frozen, and the material and traffic conditions were quite difficult. But the sensitive professional habits made Hou Can understand that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He and his party were not afraid of these difficulties and cherished this trip to Loulan.

On March 27, 1980, Hou Can, along with colleagues tursun, Lü Guoen, and Xing Kaiding of the Xinjiang Archaeological Institute, as well as Herdsman Binbai of Heshuo County, plus more than 20 people provided by the 89,800 Unit of the People's Liberation Army responsible for supply, transportation, camel management, and labor, were directly stationed in Loulan from the route they had inspected the previous year. On 22 April, after completing its mission, the brigade withdrew from Loulan.

Count the floor orchids

Sima Qian's "Biography of The Chronicle of Dawan" compiled on the basis of Zhang Qian's report records: "Loulan, Gushi, Yi youchengguo, Linyanze. "Obviously, Lou Lan was already a city country at that time. In 400 AD, the high monk Fa Xian traveled west, passing through Loulan, and he recorded in the Book of the Buddha's Kingdom that this place was "no birds on the top, no beasts on the bottom, looking at the extremes, and where you want to attain the degree, you don't know what to do." Only the dead bones of the dead are used as the standard ears."

The ancient history of the past has no place to examine; after the Eastern Han Dynasty, the history books will no longer have a word and a half of Lou Lan. Lou Lan, since then, has been hidden in history and has become a mysterious realm.

Where is Lou Lan? What happened? What kind of life did people live at that time? In order to find out, Hou Can and his party "met" with the ancients in the Peacock River to find the historical moments of Loulan.

89 ° 55 ′ 22 "east longitude, 40 ° 29 ′ 55 "N latitude, hou Can and his party who walked into the Loulan ruins, a very important task is to re-examine the specific location of the ancient city of Loulan: the southern part of the delta in the lower reaches of the Peacock River, the northwest of Lop Nur, 220 kilometers southwest of Ruoqiang County, 340 kilometers northwest of Korla City, 16 kilometers north of the nearest point of the Peacock River, and 28 kilometers east of Lop Nur Bank. In the previously published works of Sven Hedin on Loulan, it was also recorded that the latitude and longitude measured by them when they went deep into Loulan, and Hou Can's measurements this time corrected many previous errors.

Water is the basis for human survival, so the archaeological team paid great attention to the problem of water use by the ancients during the investigation and excavation process. "An ancient waterway runs from the northwest corner of the city through the ruins of the three houses to the southeast corner of the city, basically diagonally through the city." Hou Can found at the scene that due to the long-term flow of water, there were still many small snail shells on the folded belt of the waterway. And this waterway, Hou Can judged, was artificially excavated to supply the water of the residents in the city at that time. In 1900, Sven Hedin and later Stein did not say a word about the city's ancient waterways.

The attentive Hou Can and his party also found many peach cores in the ancient city and its suburban house ruins. Peaches prefer a warm and moist environment, and the discovery of peach cores shows that the natural conditions in the Guloulan area are very suitable for the growth of peach trees. "This discovery is also of unprecedented significance." Wang Shouchun, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences who entered Loulan archaeology with Hou Can, said that in the monographs of Westerners who have visited Loulan in the past, these contents have also not been recorded.

At the Gutai Cemetery, Hou Can and his party excavated a surviving tomb, unearthing remarkable painted lacquerware, five-baht copper coins, and many precious silk wool cotton fabrics. Inscriptions such as "Longevity and Longevity of Dayi Descendants", "Changle Mingguang" and "Yongchang" clearly present the typical characteristics of the Two Han Dynasties. The unearthed silk wool fabrics are rare specimens for studying the weaving technology at that time, and also show the important role of Loulan on the ancient Silk Road.

Hou Can and his party also found during the trial excavation in the ancient city ruins area that a large number of cultural relics unearthed should mainly belong to the Wei and Jin dynasties. Based on numerous pottery, wood, lacquerware, iron, copper coins, glass, silk wool and linen fabrics, sea shells, sea mussels, and various ornaments, gold and silver rings, Loulan was indeed a relay city for economic and cultural exchanges between the East and the West in ancient times. "The most reliable basis for us to determine these cultural relics and the ancient city system is the large number of Chinese wooden paper documents unearthed in the city, especially those with absolute dating." According to Hou Can's statistics, they excavated a total of 65 simple paper documents that time, including 63 wooden documents, 2 paper documents, and 4 documents with chronological years, from the second year of the First Tai Dynasty (266 years) to the fifth year of the First Tai Dynasty (269 years). Hou Can concluded based on the interpretation that during the reign of Sima Yan of the Western Jin Dynasty, active construction was carried out on Loulan, and the final form of the ancient city of Loulan should have been completed in that period.

Heartbreak Lou Lan

After returning from Loulan in April 1980, Hou Can and his party drew drawings, sorted out the data of the data, and found expert appraisals to find expert appraisals.

More than 20 days of archaeological investigation and excavation, more than 2,000 days of collation and research. Finally, in 1987, "Keeping the clouds open to see the moon", the archaeological report of Mr. Hou Can and his party came to a successful end, and he carefully sent the original manuscript of the "Loulan Archaeological Survey and Excavation Report" to the publishing house in Beijing.

Not long after, the Xinjiang Archaeological Research Institute, where Mr. Hou Can worked, received a letter from the publishing house. He believed, "Waiting for the flowers to blossom sometimes." The registered letter dated November 9, 1987 with the official seal of the editorial board of the publishing house, made Mr. Hou Can overjoyed. "The report corrects some of the mistakes of the predecessors and provides some valuable new information and arguments, which will help to understand the history of Loulan more clearly." Professional publishers gave full affirmation to the report and stressed that it has been included in next year's publishing plan.

When Working in Xinjiang, Professor Meng Xianshi of Chinese Min University listened to Mr. Hou Can's affirmation of the importance of Loulan archaeology more than once. "Archaeology in Xinjiang is very important for China, and Loulan is the focus of international attention. The era of Sven Hedin and Stein has passed, and the archaeological research of Loulan should listen to the voice of China. As the author of Lou Lan's first archaeological report, Mr. Hou Can is full of confidence. Meng Xianshi is happy for Mr. Hou Can, and he is also happy for China.

Not long after, Mr. Hou Can received a letter from the publishing house again. With just a few words, he poured a basin of cold water on Mr. Hou Can. The letter of March 28, 1988, still stamped with the official seal of the publishing house, has a clear meaning of the rejection: "It is understood that the Cultural Relics Monthly will publish a set of briefings on the investigation and excavation of Loulan in the seventh issue of this year, and the briefing includes the main contents of the existing "Loulan Archaeological Survey and Excavation Report". At present, our company is short of paper, and there are many difficulties in publishing, in view of the above situation, the special issue of the Loulan report that was originally planned to be published cannot be borne. Therefore, only the original manuscript of the report can be returned (a separate letter), please check it and pray for more forgiveness. ”

Meng Xianshi revealed that archaeological work first publishes briefings and then reports, which is the practice of the archaeological industry. "It is often the case that only archaeological briefings are published, while archaeological reports remain unmoved for decades. Mr. Hou Can's work was so rapid, and the briefing and report were completed almost at the same time, which can be regarded as a miracle in the archaeological community. ”

On July 29 of that year, in the seventh issue of the monthly magazine "Cultural Relics", Mr. Hou Can's three briefing articles, "Briefing on the Investigation and Trial Excavation of the Ancient City Site of Loulan", "Briefing on the Excavation of the Ancient Tombs on the Outskirts of Loulan", and "Examination of the Newly Discovered Wooden Paper Documents in Loulan", were listed in the first group of the journal, which was very eye-catching.

Love Lou Lan

Lou Lan is to Mr. Hou Can, it is a haunting dream, a twilight thought. Entering Loulan twice in 1979 and 1980, for him who graduated from the Archaeology Department of the History Department of Sichuan University, it can be described as jumping out of the "paper talk", as if the soldiers themselves were on the battlefield.

On those two occasions, Hou Can, as the leader of the west team of the Loulan Archaeological Team, was responsible for the archaeological investigation and key excavations of the ruins of the ancient city of Loulan and its surrounding tombs. Returning from LouLan, he devoted most of his rest of his life to the study of wooden paper documents and other related issues found in and around Loulan's three rooms.

From 1981 to 1986, Hou Can combined his archaeological experience in Loulan with the investigation and research of Sven Hedin, Stein, Huang Wenbi and others since 1900, and successively published special research papers such as "On the Development and Decay of Loulan City", "Millet, Barley and Precious Wheat Flowers Unearthed in Loulan", "Ancient City in the Desert - Archaeological Record of Loulan" and other special research papers and introductions to the archaeological process.

Although the "Loulan Archaeological Survey and Excavation Report" compiled in 1987 could not be published smoothly as scheduled, Mr. Hou Can did not slacken off and stagnated. He is well aware of the importance of archaeology in Xinjiang, and even more aware of the importance of Loulan archaeology to the archaeological cause of new China. In the years that followed, he still loved Lou Lan. In November 1999, Hou Can painstakingly edited the "Integration of Simple Paper Documents in Loulan HanWen" was published. The Emperor's 400,000-word, illustrated and illustrated Three Giant Scrolls comb through the Simplified Chinese paper documents excavated by Sven Hedin, Stein, Tang Ruichao and Hou Can at the Loulan site over the past century. Hundreds of wooden paper documents jumped on top of them in all aspects of politics, military, economy, reclamation, culture, transportation and social life at that time.

Zhang Li, who was still studying at Xinjiang Normal University in the late 1990s, still vividly remembers that she has been with Mr. Hou Can in those years, helping him translate and organize important chapters, picture titles and related annotations in the works of Sven Hedin, Stein, Bergman and others. "Possessing as much research material as possible is a feature of Mr. Li's academic research path." Zhang Li said that because there are many countries and scholars involved in Loulan research, Mr. Hou Can asked international and domestic academic friends to find and copy relevant materials in many ways, and also asked academic friends and students to translate, diligently pursued, and finally possessed more comprehensive research materials, laying a solid foundation for Loulan research.

From 1996 to 2004, Mr. Hou Can also published a series of research papers such as "Eldick Discovers the Identification of Guloulan City", "Loulan Three Sayings Are Correct and False", "The Discovery of Loulan and Its Correct Name", "Pompeii He Nengbi Loulan", "Loulan Discovery and Entanglement - Loulan Discovery Centennial Festival", "Loulan Unearthed Zhang Jiqi Documents and Li Bai Documents Revisited" and many other research papers.

In fact, around 1999, Mr. Hou Can had been considering writing a research monograph on Lou Lan, but for various reasons it had not been completed. This also became the most regrettable thing before his death. Zhang Li, who is already a professor at Shaanxi Normal University, recently found a document bag neatly containing "Outline for the Writing of "The Discovery of Loulan" and "Outline of writing of "Loulan Research and Exploration" when sorting out the academic materials left by Mr. Hou Can. "The two writing plans with intrinsic connections can not only reflect Mr. Hou Can's academic context of Lou Lan's research, but also reflect his academic spirit - a leisurely and pure heart, And Lou Lan has not yet fallen in love."

Dream Lou Lan

In the spring of 2016, Meng Xianshi received a phone call from Mr. Hou Can, who inquired about the publication of the book "Historical and Archaeological Research in the Western Regions". On the other end of the phone, Mr. Wang's tone was gentle but hid extreme anxiety; on the handset, although Meng Xianshi was not sure of the publication of the monograph, he still tried his best to give Mr. Wang an affirmative answer. Well, this was their last call.

In October 2016, more than a month after Mr. Hou Can's death, Teacher Wu Meilin called to inform. I was holding the phone in my hand, and I didn't know what to say, as if I couldn't even say anything comforting. Meng Xianshi's emotions were filled with remorse, and he regretted that Mr. Hou Can could not wait for the completion of the "Western Regions History and Archaeological Research".

In the book "Historical and Archaeological Research in the Western Regions" published in October 2019, readers read an article written by Meng Xianshi in memory of Mr. Hou Can. Mr. Hou Can's wife, Ms. Wu Meilin, also saw this affectionate preface and gave Meng Xianshi a phone call. Teacher Wu's phone call excited me for several days. That's what the world should look like. Originally, after the publication of the book "History and Archaeological Research in the Western Regions", Wu Meilin was awakened when she saw the article "Remembering Mr. Hou Can" written by Meng Xianshi in the book. She searched all corners of the family and finally found the original manuscript of the "Loulan Archaeological Survey and Excavation Report" in a sealed kraft paper pocket. "Professor Zhu Yuqi of Peking University was more excited than I was to learn that the original manuscript of the report was still there. On December 17, 2019, the wind and rain were mixed, and the two of us drove to Shanghai and solemnly received Mr. Hou Can's posthumous manuscript "Loulan Archaeological Survey and Excavation Report" from Teacher Wu Meilin. ”

Meng Xianshi and Zhu Yuqi, who got the manuscript, were surprised to find that the manuscript they got was a neat handwritten manuscript by Teacher Wu Meilin, with Mr. Hou Can's additions and changes, and the time was fixed in March 1987. "Obviously, the manuscript we got was a revised draft that was returned from the publishing house, and it was mostly in Chinese and English, and the articles of Stein and others were also annotated." Meng Xianshi could not imagine that while there was no hope of publication, and on the other hand, it was constantly revising, what kind of thoughts Mr. Hou Can had at that time.

On an afternoon in the spring of 2022, the warm sun shone on the peach red and willow green inside and outside the Jingyuan Second Courtyard of Peking University, and dozens of experts and scholars from Peking University, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Chinese Min University, including Wang Shouchun, Rong Xinjiang, Meng Xianshi, Zhu Yuqi, Shen Ruiwen and Zhang Li, gathered together to wish that the "Loulan Archaeological Survey and Excavation Report" was published in the spring 36 years later.

In Meng Xianshi's view, this seems to be a fate after reincarnation, with a double milestone significance. On the one hand, the Loulan Archaeological Survey and Excavation Report was funded and published by Xinjiang Normal University, where Mr. Hou Can taught in his later years; on the other hand, Mr. Huang Wenbi, who twice went deep into the Lop Nur area in the 1930s, was the first Chinese scholar to engage in archaeological work in this desert. The publication of the Loulan Archaeological Survey and Excavation Report is another new milestone in the archaeology of Chinese scholars following Huang Wenbi's Lop Nur Road into the core area of the Loulan site. ”

(Reporter Liu Bin)