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Beijing, 18 May (Xinhua) -- On 18 May, Xinhua Daily Telegraph published a report entitled "More than 600 years before the Terracotta Warriors of Qin Shi Huang, the tomb of marquis Quwo Jinhou, who was buried with real cars and horses, was shocked!" report.
"If you haven't been to the Jinguo Museum, you can't count you in Shanxi." Located in the area of Qucun Town, Quwo County, Shanxi Province, the tomb of the National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit Jinhou is backed by mountains and water, and the momentum is magnificent.
In 1992 and 1993, it was twice selected as one of the "Top Ten Archaeological Discoveries in China" and was listed as one of the "100 Great Archaeological Discoveries of the 20th Century in China". The archaeology of the Tomb of the Marquis of Jinhou is a major achievement of China's Shangzhou archaeology in the 20th century, and the relevant data provide a crucial "chronological ruler" for China's Xia-Shang-Zhou Dynasty Project.
On the occasion of the "5.18" International Museum Day, the reporter approached the Tomb of the Marquis of Jinhou and its witnesses to "reveal" the archaeological past of the Tomb of the Marquis of Jin.
"Surfaced" by tomb robbery
After 1949, China's archaeology opened a new page. Archaeological work is in full swing everywhere, and the archaeology of the Jin culture has also been put on the important agenda.
In 1962, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage organized personnel to carry out the "Archaeological Congress Battle" in the Houma area of Southern Jin. In the winter of that year, taking advantage of the gap between the "battles", archaeologists found the Qucun-Tianma site at the junction of Quwo and Yicheng counties in southern Jinnan. In 1963, the site was excavated for the first time.
"In 1979, Zou Heng, a well-known archaeologist who was constructing the archaeological framework of the Xia-Shang-Zhou period, set his sights on jinnan and led a team to start a large-scale archaeological excavation activity with the theme of exploring the Jin culture at the Qucun-Tianma site." Ji Kunzhang, a researcher at the Shanxi Provincial Archaeological Research Institute, said.
According to reports, the total area of the Qucun-Tianma site is about 11 square kilometers, from 1979 to the end of the 1990s, archaeologists have carried out several large-scale excavations here, and found the tombs of Jin nobles in the Western Zhou Dynasty.
Ji Kunzhang said that archaeologists had previously speculated that the area around the Qucun-Tianma site was the area of the early Capital of the Jin Dynasty, but at that time, no strong evidence had been found to prove this.
At the end of the 1980s, a wave of tomb robbery arose across the country, and the Qucun-Tianma ruins were also affected.
"The Jinhou Cemetery, located in the middle of the Qucun-Tianma site, is the quintessential part of the entire site, with an east-west length of about 150 meters and a north-south width of about 130 meters." Ji Kunzhang said that with the theft of the cemetery, the tranquility that had been silent for nearly 3,000 years was broken.
In 1992, with the consent of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, the Qucun Archaeological Team, jointly composed of the Department of Archaeology of Peking University and the Institute of Archaeology of Shanxi Province, was responsible for the rescue excavation of the Jinhou cemetery.
From 1992 to 2000, archaeologists carried out many large-scale excavations in the Jinhou cemetery, and found and excavated a total of 9 groups of 19 tombs and funeral car and horse pits of the early Jin Dynasty, as well as a number of precious cultural relics that caused a sensation at home and abroad. From the father of the first generation of Marquis Xie of Jin in the early Western Zhou Dynasty to the Marquis Wen of Jin in the early Spring and Autumn Period, the tombs of 9 generations of Marquis and his wife have been basically completely exposed.
"The Tomb of the Marquis of Jin is the burial place of the early Kings of the Jin Dynasty, which has obvious cultural signs and determines the approximate scope for the search for the capital of the early Jin Dynasty. At present, a total of 6 Jin monarchs have been found in the Jin Marquis Cemetery, and a large number of bronzes and large jade objects have been excavated, which is a precious material for studying the lineage of the Jin Marquis. Ji Kunzhang said.
Panorama of Jinguo Museum. (File photo)
The "Tomb of the Marquis of Jin" was first confirmed
On an afternoon of November 21, 1992, Sun Qingwei, an excavator from the Department of Archaeology of Peking University and currently an assistant to the president of Peking University, rode back to the archaeological team from the excavation site of the Jinhou cemetery.
As soon as he entered the gate of the archaeological team's compound, Lao Yuan happily shouted in his throat, "Mr. Zou, Mr. Zou, there are important discoveries!" You can see the inscription on the bronze vessel unearthed from Tomb No. 8 that I wrote about, as if there is a 'Hou' character! ”
Hearing this, everyone was overjoyed. Xi Weimin, the current deputy director of the Jinguo Museum, was a county museum staff who cooperated with the excavation, and he had just finished his night shift the day before, and he was taking a nap in the dormitory on the first floor of the north building of the Qucun Archaeological Team, when he heard the shouting outside the window, he was drowsy and immediately rushed out of the dormitory. I saw that Sun Qingwei had drawn several inscriptions on a piece of paper, and he was very happy and was asking his teacher, Mr. Zou Heng, to see it.
"On the night of August 31, 1992, a corner of the southeast corner between the coffins of this tomb was stolen, but some key things are still there." Xi Weimin said.
According to the inscription on the bronze vessel excavated from Tomb No. 8, archaeologists confirmed that the tomb was the tomb of the Marquis of Jinxian. It was also this time that the tomb of the Marquis of Jin was the first time that a bronze vessel with the name of the Marquis of Jin was found.
Around 2000, the last group of tombs in the Jinhou cemetery was discovered. Tao Xiangming, who is currently the chairman of the Jinguo Museum Trade Union, told reporters: "According to the location of the criminal suspect identified by the public security arraignment, we rushed to the scene and confirmed that there was a large A-shaped tomb with a tomb path. ”
Because the tombs in the Western Zhou Dynasty were all in pairs, and the burial system was juxtaposed with different caves, the staff judged that there should be a large tomb not far away, so they explored and searched for it about 5 meters away from the east and west of this tomb, and sure enough, another large tomb was found on the east side of the identification point. At that time, it was initially revealed that the tomb chamber on the east side was 14.5 meters deep, and it was later confirmed that it was the deepest tomb in the tombs of the Ninth Dynasty Jin Marquis and his wife.
Sun Yonghe, then director of the Quwo County Cultural Relics Bureau, immediately reported this situation to Mr. Li Boqian, the leader of the Department of Archaeology of Peking University, and later confirmed by the joint excavation and excavation of bronze inscriptions by the Institute of Archaeology and Literature of Peking University and the Institute of Archaeology of Shanxi Province, that this group of tombs was the tomb of the father and wife of the first monarch of the Jin Dynasty, marquis Xie of Jin.
At this point, on the jinhou cemetery, the earliest group of tombs has finally "fallen out of the water".
A stunning pit of carriages and horses
Each of the 9 groups of tombs of the Marquis of Jin is buried with a carriage and horse pit, located on the east side of each group of tombs.
Among them, the Funeral Car horse pit of the Marquis of Jinxian is the largest known area of the Marquis of Jin,000, and it is also the largest known chema pit of the Western Zhou Dynasty in the country.
Standing in front of the pit, the reporter saw that the car and horse pit were divided into two parts: the horse pit and the pit, the horse pit was in the east, the pit was in the west, and there were raw soil partition beams in the middle of the two pits. The ancient "fragrant car BMW" lives next to each other, the position is spectacular, and even the ribs on the horse's body are clearly visible.
Archaeologists believe that the horses in the pit are not neatly arranged, but in a struggle, and there are arrows and arrows on the horses. "It can be inferred that the horse was first picked down and then shot in the pit."
In 1997, a joint archaeological team composed of the Department of Archaeology of Peking University and the Institute of Archaeology of Shanxi Province excavated the pit and cleared a large number of buried horses, and at least 105 were identified. Ji Kunzhang, a researcher at the Shanxi Provincial Archaeological Research Institute, said: "The burial date of the No. 1 Chema Pit of the Jin Marquis Tomb is 812 BC, more than 600 years before the Terracotta Warriors of Qin Shi Huang. ”
Since then, due to various reasons, the excavation of Chema Pit has been suspended for a while.
"Around 2006, the excavation of Chema Pit was restarted." According to Ji Kunzhang, the person in charge of the excavation archaeology project, the main object of this excavation is the western car pit, and there are 48 cars found, which can be determined as the largest and largest car and horse pit found in the Shang and Zhou Dynasties in the country.
The reporter learned that only this one car and horse pit has unearthed ceremonial cars, chariots, heavy trucks and daily vehicles, which basically includes a full set of vehicle systems in the Western Zhou Dynasty, which shows the top productivity level at that time.
The tomb of the Marquis of Jin is painted with "ceremonial car". Xinhua Daily Telegraph reporter Liu Xiangxiao photographed
Among the excavated vehicles, archaeologists also found bronze weapons, such as go, spears, arrows and so on. In addition, there are also rare "armored vehicles" with bronze armor pieces protecting the car in the pit, which shows the important position of military operations in social life at that time. The "ceremonial car" is surrounded by black, red and green painted with the theme of phoenix birds, and the degree of preservation is relatively rare, highlighting the luxury of aristocratic life in the Western Zhou Dynasty.
In addition to the Chema Pit, the Jinhou Cemetery has also unearthed a large number of precious cultural relics, with a number of more than 12,000 pieces. These include the priceless Shu Fangding, a symbol of power status and status, and the Jinhou Shuzhong bell, which is not cast in a simultaneous measurement but with a harmonious and standard rhythm. There are also various jade pendants composed of various jade hengs and jade huangs, and the craftsmanship is amazing. The bird statue excavated from the tomb of The Father of the Marquis Xie of Jin, with a rare phoenix looking back as the main shape, is known as the "treasure of the town hall" of the Shanxi Museum.
The tomb of the Marquis of Jin unearthed bronze bird statues, which is now the "treasure of the town hall" of the Shanxi Museum. (File photo)
The key "chronology"
The reappearance of the tombs of the Marquis of Jin has amazed people at home and abroad. So, why is it called the crucial "chronological ruler" of China's Xia Shang Zhou Dynasty Project?
Sima Qian recorded in the "Chronicle of History" that Shu Yu, the son of King Wu and the brother of King Cheng, went to the ancient Tang Kingdom, and historically called "Shu Yu" as "Tang Shu Yu", and Shu Yu's son Xie Father changed Tang to Jin after inheriting his father's throne, and Xie Father became the first generation of Jin Marquis, opening the history of the Jin State, which continued for 38 generations for more than 600 years.
However, before the excavation of the tomb of the Marquis of Jin, it was not possible to confirm whether such a written expression coincided with the real history.
It is gratifying that the discovery and excavation of the tomb of the Marquis of Jin has finally confirmed the above record.
"In 1996, China launched the Xia Shang Zhou Dynasty Project, and the archaeological data related to the tomb of the Marquis of Jin made the vertical chronology of the Jin Dynasty clear, which played a major role in supporting the chronicle of the kings of the Western Zhou Dynasty. In particular, the examination of the monarch and the owner of the tomb of the Jin Dynasty played a major role in the presumptive dating of the kings of the Western Zhou Dynasty. Sun Hua, a professor at Peking University's School of Archaeology and Archaeology, said.
He believes that the Western Zhou Period to the Spring and Autumn Period was a period of formation, perfection and fixation of traditional Chinese civilization. The Jin Dynasty was the first of the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period, and it dominated for 150 years. As a major power that dominated the Central Plains at that time, the Jin culture with Quwo as its source penetrated into all levels and had a profound impact on future generations.
To this day, the archaeological excavation and research of the Tomb of the Marquis of Jin is far from over.
"The location of the palaces and the structure of the capital city of the Jin Dynasty are still a mystery, and the horizontal urban layout and palaces have not yet been found." Sun Hua said that the next step of archaeological work still has a long way to go.