Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, October 22 Title: Exploring the Roots of Civilization and Building a Solid Foundation of Self-Confidence -- A Tribute to the Century-Old Quest of Chinese Archaeology
Xinhua News Agency reporters Shi Yucen, Wang Peng, and Xu Zhuang
A hundred years of exploration to explore the roots of civilization, a hundred years of hardship to consolidate the foundation of self-confidence.
"In the past 100 years, several generations of archaeologists have made unremitting efforts to make a series of major archaeological discoveries, showing the origin, development context, brilliant achievements and major contributions to world civilization of Chinese civilization" - General Secretary Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the yangshao cultural discovery and the birth of modern Chinese archaeology, which made archaeologists across the country feel inspired.
A hundred years is like an arrow. Generation after generation of archaeologists have stooped to the fields and calloused feet, with solid archaeological data, deeply engraved cultural self-confidence on the cornerstone of forging the blood of the nation, so that the long-standing inheritance is no longer a yellowed memory in the history books, so that the ancient civilization shows its brilliant style on the world stage.
The blue wisps of the road explore the roots of the context
Henan Shichi, Yangshao Village.
In the late autumn sun, at the site of the fourth archaeological excavation at the Yangshao Village site, Li Shiwei, a "post-80s" archaeologist, is leading his team to continue the excavation work.
Time goes back a hundred years, the same late autumn, this ordinary Central Plains village was broken for generations of tranquility ——
The Swedish geologist Anderson, who was then an adviser to the Chinese government's mining administration, together with the young Chinese geologist Yuan Fuli and others, spent 36 days with the permission of the Chinese government, unearthed a large number of exquisite pottery and stone tools at 17 excavation sites, and also found precious relics such as bone and mussels.
Since then, China has had its first archaeological culture, the Yangshao culture. The argument of "Chinese Stoneless Culture" was completely overturned, and the door of science was slowly opened to Chinese archaeologists.
"What is China?" "Why China?" The inquiry of their own bloodline and foundation has haunted the hearts of the Chinese people and echoed in the ears of archaeologists for a hundred years.
Culture is there, the country exists. Li Ji, Liang Siyong, Pei Wenzhong, Xia Nai... Young Chinese scholars studying abroad have returned to China one after another to apply the world's advanced archaeological knowledge to the practice of Chinese archaeology.
Following Yangshao, the site of Xiyin Village in Xia County, Shanxi Province unearthed half a specimen of artificially cut silkworm cocoons, Henan Yin Ruins found a large number of architectural sites and cultural relics represented by oracle bones and bronzes, and the complete "Beijinger" skull appeared in the Stone of Beijing Zhoukoudian Ruins... In the 1920s, major archaeological discoveries on the land of China climaxed.
In the past hundred years, the mountains and rivers have changed the human world dramatically; this group of people has not changed their original intentions and has not stopped walking-
They made unremitting searches between mountains and rivers: the ruins of Banpo in Shaanxi, the Han tomb in Mancheng, Hebei, the tomb of Marquis Yi of Hubei, the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of the Mausoleum of the First Emperor of Qin in Shaanxi, the tomb of Mawangdui Han in Hunan... The historical and cultural heritage scattered everywhere in the land of Shenzhou bear witness to the glory of the ancient nation and remember the silent struggle of archaeologists.
They returned to their homeland with major arguments: Chinese is a continuous evolution of the mainland, China is the origin of the world's millet and rice agriculture, Chinese civilization has a history of more than 5,000 years, Xia and Shang dynasties founded a dynastic civilization, and the Qin and Han dynasties began the historical process of unifying multi-ethnic countries...
They use time and space to deduce civilization: based on a large number of solid archaeological data, archaeologist Su Bingqi explained the origin of Chinese civilization with "the theory of stars in the sky"; archaeologist Yan Wenming described the prehistoric cultural pattern with "heavy petal flowers", believing that "the entire Chinese Neolithic culture is like a huge heavy petal flower".
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"The practice of archaeology over the past 100 years has not only completely reconstructed the prehistory of China, but also greatly enriched and perfected the history of China since the existence of documents." Chen Xingcan, director of the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said.
Forge ahead and write a new chapter in the exploration of civilization
In the southeastern foothills of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, next to the Pinghe River, a secondary tributary of the Jinsha River, the ruins of Daocheng Piluo in Sichuan province are buried with secrets.
Multiple sections of human activity, ashel hand axes, thin-bladed axes... In September 2021, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage reported important archaeological discoveries at the Pilo site. Experts believe that this has completely resolved the controversy over whether There is a real Ashel technical system in China and East Asia, and the academic argument that "the early human culture in the East lagged behind the West" is pure prejudice.
Wars, plagues, floods... For thousands of years, all kinds of tribulations have forged a strong and indomitable Chinese nation. Ancestors lived and multiplied in this hot land. They engraved the fiery practice of production and life into history and accumulated it into civilization. Archaeologists in the new era, with their hands brushing away the dust of the years, reveal the cornerstone of the cultural self-confidence of the sons and daughters of China.
We have asked, when and where did the proud river of civilization begin?
The "Chinese Civilization Exploration Project" empirically proves the civilization of more than 5,000 years of Chinese land and the overall characteristics of Chinese civilization of "pluralism, inclusiveness and continuous continuation" with archaeological data. Those moving stories that have dissipated in the long river of history, we can glimpse the past through archaeology.
We are exploring, the long road that civilization has traveled, what unsolved mysteries are waiting to be revealed?
The "Archaeology of China" major project is committed to analyzing the motives, constituent elements and development laws of the formation of the pattern of pluralistic and integrated Chinese civilization, and further dispelling the fog of early Chinese civilization. Zhejiang Jingtou Mountain Ruins, Shanxi Tao Temple Ruins, Henan Lushan Immortal Cave Ruins... The face of ancient China has been described more and more clearly in archaeological excavations.
According to statistics, since the Eighteenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China, China has implemented more than 7,000 archaeological excavation projects. The rapid development of science and technology has made archaeological work plug in the "wings" of take-off.
Advancing towards the deep sea -
In April 2018, the "Exploration No. 1" research vessel carried the manned deep-sea submersible "Deep Sea Warrior" and underwater archaeologists to the waters of the Xisha North Reef to conduct China's first deep-sea archaeological survey. They dived down to a depth of more than a thousand meters in the waves of the South China Sea, searching for the imprint of civilization.
Climbing to the plateau -
In the Baishiya Cave in the northeast of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China's scientific and technological and archaeological forces have joined forces to explore ancient life with sediment DNA analysis technology. Through a handful of dirt, we can "decode" the information of the life of ancient humans tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years ago.
Quest for the unknown ——
In March 2021, the archaeological excavation of the Sanxingdui site attracted national attention. In addition to "national treasures" such as gold masks, there are also archaeological "excavation modules" filled with various types of equipment. Where do they come from? What do they live for? Why did they die? ...... The mysteries surrounding Sanxingdui, advanced technology, and cutting-edge power are all thrown into this "ancient" research.
Only by figuring out "where it came from" can we clarify "where to go".
The long-standing, broad and profound Chinese civilization and the rising cultural self-confidence have made the sons and daughters of China feel an incomparably strong inner determination and forward momentum in their hearts.
The Golden Age demonstrated the infinite power of civilization
On the evening of July 25, 2021, the eyes of the world were focused on Fujian, China.
The good news came from the deliberation site of the 44th World Heritage Conference, "Quanzhou: World Marine Trade Center of Song and Yuan China" officially became the 56th World Heritage Site in China.
At the site of the Weilin kiln, the layers of ancient porcelain pieces on the hillside can glimpse the huge scale of production; the Xiacaopu iron smelting site has witnessed the vigorous development of the iron smelting handicraft industry in Quanzhou, Song Dynasty; Luoyang Bridge, the "Song Dynasty Super Project" shows the smooth flow of transportation in that year; the Cao'an Mani Guangfo, the world marine trade center's strong cultural tolerance jumped on the paper... The 22 heritage sites outline to the world the grand scene of "merchants of all countries in the sound of rising seas", and silently witness the archaeological excavations and historical research carried out by archaeologists on important sites.
Archaeology is the foundation of cultural relics protection and research work, and it is also the premise for displaying and carrying forward the power of civilization.
Yo yo deer singing, rice ears gradually yellowing, Liangzhu Ancient City Ruins Park, people look at the light of China's 5,000 years of civilization.
"I'm not an expert on Liangzhu research, I'm an admirer of it." Lord Colin Renfreud, a member of the British Academy of Social Sciences and a professor at cambridge university who has visited the ruins of Liangzhu Ancient City three times, once lamented this.
In his eyes, China's Neolithic era is "far undervalued", and the complexity and class system of the ancient ruins of Liangzhu have reached the standard of "state". "It is a top priority for the study of human civilization." He said.
The youth and painstaking efforts of 4 generations of archaeologists here have been fully recognized by the international community - in July 2019, the ruins of Liangzhu Ancient City were included in the World Heritage List.
From empirically demonstrating more than 5,000 years of civilization history to highlighting the cultural arrogance of openness and inclusiveness, Liangzhu and Quanzhou perfectly interpret what is "Chinese style" from the inside out.
Standing on the stage of a new era, the original high-cold archaeology is no longer limited to a flood of still water in the world.
In distant Honduras, Li Xinwei, a researcher at the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, led a joint archaeological team from China and Hongduan to the hinterland of the Mayan civilization.
"In the process of research, we found that in fact, we know very little about other civilizations in the world and can only rely on foreign research results. When the time comes to change, it is necessary for us to go deep into the hinterland of other civilizations in the world and obtain first-hand information on archaeological research. Li Xinwei said.
According to statistics, during the "13th Five-Year Plan" period, China carried out 36 joint archaeological projects abroad, involving 21 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas, and established partnerships with more than 30 foreign scientific research institutions, museums, universities and foundations. Sino-foreign joint archaeology has become an important means to explore the context of civilization.
"Over the past century, modern Chinese archaeology has made irreplaceable contributions to safeguarding the Chinese context, promoting the splendid Chinese civilization, and strengthening cultural self-confidence." Chinese archaeology in the new era will surely usher in an unprecedented golden age in history. Li Qun, vice minister of culture and tourism and director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, said.
This is the era of writing glorious dreams, this is the era that is destined to be promising.
An ancient nation is striding forward on the journey towards rejuvenation, and archaeologists who provide "more basic, deeper and more lasting strength" for the sons and daughters of China are continuing to struggle on the road of exploring the unknown and revealing their origins.
Ahead, there are more wonderful stories of civilization; in the future, archaeology with Chinese characteristics, Chinese style, and Chinese style will eventually write a magnificent chapter.