■ Reading prompts
At the end of November 2023, Yin Zixian could no longer walk.
The Zhang Bei man who rode a 28 bicycle to visit the capital of Yuan Zhongdu and the capital of Yuan Shangdu was trapped in bed by illness, and he struggled repeatedly, trying to sort out the information at hand.
Until his death on December 7, 2023, Yin Zixian's life is inseparable from Zhangbei, he is the first person to discover the ruins of Yuanzhongdu, presided over the compilation of the first county chronicle of Zhangbei County after the founding of New China, and wrote a large number of articles on the history and culture of Zhangbei area.
All his life, he has been looking for the roots of his hometown.
Character business cards
Yin Zixian, a native of Guyuan County, Hebei Province, was born in December 1948 and died on December 7, 2023 at the age of 75. After graduating from Zhangjiakou No. 1 High School in June 1968, he returned to his hometown to work as a farmer. After the college entrance examination system was restored in 1977, he was admitted to the Chinese teacher class of Hebei Normal University. In March 1980, he was assigned to Zhangbei No. 1 Middle School as a Chinese teacher.
On February 22, 1982, he published an article for the first time identifying Baichengzi in Zhangbei County as the site of Yuanzhongdu, and was also known as the first person to discover the ruins of Yuanzhongdu. In June 1986, he was selected and transferred to the Compilation Office of Zhangbei County Chronicles as the editor-in-chief, and presided over the compilation of the first Zhangbei County Chronicles of New China. In May 2017, he presided over the compilation of a large-scale local literary and historical monograph, "Zhangbei Plateau Historical and Cultural Research Papers" (four volumes). At the same time, he also wrote more than 30 papers and investigation reports such as "Zhangbei Plateau Name Examination", "Bashang Animal Husbandry Strategy", "Yuan Dynasty Chahan Naoer Palace and Ming'an Yi Former Site Examination", etc., and made outstanding contributions to the summary and research of local history and culture.
and people whose history is more true
On April 10, the ruins of Yuanzhongdu in Zhangbei County. The grass on the dam had not yet turned green, and the cumulus clouds were pressing down on the sky. The ruins at your feet are slightly above the horizon, silently hidden in the vastness. However, the boundaries of the outer city, the imperial city, and the palace city have been clearly outlined after the archaeologists cleaned up.
In this area, also known as Baichengzi, the "Zhangbei County Chronicles" compiled in the 23rd year of the Republic of China (1934), the Zhangbei County part of the "Chahar Provincial General Chronicles" compiled in the 24th year of the Republic of China (1935), and the "Historical Data of the Four Counties of Bashang" compiled at the end of the 70s of the 20th century, have all identified this as the site of Beiyangcheng - the livestock trading market of the Liao Dynasty. In the early 80s of the 20th century, the Zhangbei County Cultural Protection Institute also set up a "North Yangcheng Ruins" monument here according to the above.
Yin Zixian and Bai Chengzi's first intersection was in the mid-70s of the 20th century. In order to make a living, he went to work in the cement factory in Zhangbei County, and heard the legend of Baichengzi in the mouth of the villagers in Mantouying.
In 1980, as the first batch of graduates after the resumption of the college entrance examination for Chinese teachers at Hebei Normal University, Yin Zixian was assigned to teach Chinese at Zhangbei No. 1 Middle School.
Li Dianguang, vice president of the Zhangjiakou History and Culture Research Association, wrote an article to commemorate Yin Zixian after his death, which wrote: "As a teacher at Zhangbei No. 1 Middle School at the time, out of his love for history and culture, he used his summer vacation to ride a bicycle to Baichengzi for investigation. ”
It is no longer possible to know that Yin Zixian picked up Nanmu chips and colored glazed tiles on the "North Yangcheng Ruins", and was surprised and confused when he found the fragments of the mantle's head. The appearance of these items indicates that the buildings here are of a high level, but how could such a high-level building be associated with a livestock market?
When he went to Baichengzi to investigate, the stele of the Beiyangcheng site was erected on the central large earthen platform. He is a man who is more honest with history. Li Dianguang said.
Zhang Chunchang, director of the Han and Tang Dynasty Archaeological Research Department of the Hebei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, still remembers the impression of coming here in early 1998 - when the ruins of Yuanzhongdu had been recognized by experts and scholars. When he led the archaeological team of the Yuanzhongdu ruins to arrive here in the evening, as far as the eye could see, the main hall was only a mound, and the wall of the city that was later confirmed to be the palace city was only a one-meter-high ridge.
"There are almost no traces on the surface of the earth, which are connected with the ruins of Yuanzhongdu. Zhang Chunchang said that it is very difficult for professionals to question the old historical records and put forward new ideas.
Yin Zixian, a non-professional, overcame this difficulty.
On February 22, 1982, the "Zhangjiakou Daily" published the article "Baichengzi in the Central Capital of the Yuan Dynasty" written by Yin Zixian. He based on the "Chronicles of the Three Halls of Koubei" in "Shacheng, "Yitong Zhi": Thirty miles north of Jiuxinghe City, built in the Yuan Dynasty. "Northern Zhenglu": that is, the capital of Yuanzhong...... Press: The name of the native of this city is inserted into the city of Hanbal Harsun...... The record of "the old site still exists", combined with the fact that "Inserting Han Balhasun" is the meaning of "white city" in Mongolian, it is concluded that Baichengzi is actually the site of the capital of the Yuan Dynasty.
In the bedroom where Mr. Yin Zi lived in the past, there was a yellowed magazine bound book on the shelf, and the article was neatly cut out and pasted in it.
The article of just a few hundred words has the mutual corroboration of historical materials and the records of the author's field investigation. In the more than two years before the publication, Yin Zixian went to Baichengzi many times to investigate.
The ruins of Yuanzhongdu are 15 kilometers away from Zhangbei County. He once told his student Wu Jinling about falling into a snow ditch on the road and digging out a bicycle with a shovel, and also told Li Dianguang about digging evidence on the ruins, and at the end of the day, he was excited to find traces of the inner and outer cities, corner towers, and more white marble and glazed tile fragments.
Yin Zixian's son, Yin Kewei, recalls that when the family lived in the dormitory of Zhangbei No. 1 Middle School, there were only two bungalows. My father had too many books to fit in, so he asked a distant uncle to make a bookcase that was stuffed to the brim. When he came back from outside, he sat in front of the bookcase and quietly flipped through the materials, often forgetting to play the cigarette ash for a long time.
Yin Zixian has always been a more serious person.
In June 2022, Yin Zixian was invited by the local media to do a program explaining the history of Yuanzhongdu, and he arrived as scheduled. Few people noticed that he was wearing a medical wristband on his occasionally outstretched left wrist while he was still hospitalized for chemotherapy.
After each chemotherapy, his spirit improved slightly, and Yin Zixian urged Wu Jinling to take him to visit the nearby Heichengzi ruins, Datucheng ancient city ruins and other places. In a set of photos taken by Wu Jinling, the thin Yin Zixian asks the old people in the villages near the ruins about various information. "In order to save time, lunch was saved. Wu Jinling recalls that they walked over and over again on the remaining city walls and bricks and tiles near the ruins, "and he wanted to know where they came from, what they were used for, and why they were what they are now." ”
A person who is serious about learning
On April 10, Longteng Community, Zhangbei County. After Yin Zixian's death, the room he stayed in remained almost the same. A copy of "Mongolian Records of the Qing Season" is spread out on the table, with a lot of homemade bookmarks with written words in it, and when you open it, many pages are marked with red pens.
Mr. Yin Zi was consulting historical materials at home. Courtesy of Yin Kewei
In the bookcase against the wall, there are academic journals such as "Journal of Hebei Normal College", "Journal of Zhangjiakou Normal College", "Knowledge of Geographical Names" and "Qing Historical Materials" published in the 80s of the 20th century, as well as monographs such as "Chahar Right-wing Rear Banner".
Yin Kewei said that in the last 20 days of his life, his father could no longer get out of bed. He struggled to dictate and asked Yin Kewei to type and sort out some information, and after sorting it out, he also asked to print it out and check it again.
Yin Kewei didn't understand, these books and materials were so important? Even in Yin Zixian's will, there was a special arrangement for the books on the shelves.
In his decades of dealings with Yin Zixian, Temolle knew too well how much Yin Zixian had paid to get a piece of information.
In the 80s of the 20th century, Yin Zixian went to the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Library to search for historical materials, and the library's reference research room has 200,000 ancient books bound in line and tens of thousands of local documents related to Inner Mongolia. As a staff member of the museum, Temolle received Yin Zixian many times, was moved by his perseverance and perseverance in learning, and became friends with him.
Temolle recalled that Yin Zixian was very diligent in consulting and copying materials, and when in doubt, he asked the staff for advice. "At that time, people from all over the country were cultivating their aspirations, and there were many people who came to our museum to check materials, and I was particularly impressed by him. He was a serious scholar. ”
One day in 2019, Yin Zixian called Temolle and asked him to help copy the "Detailed Report on the Investigation of the Four Banners and Two Groups of Chahar's Left Wing". This report is the only one, which records the mountains, rivers, houses, minerals, livestock and other conditions of the four banners of the left wing of Chahar in the second year of the Republic of China (1913), cattle and sheep, horses and other places, which is very valuable for understanding and studying the situation of the area at that time.
"I'm very strange, he has already copied it several times and brought it back, why do he still need it?" After inquiring, Temoler learned that Yin Zixian's "Collected Works on the History and Culture of the Zhangbei Plateau" included this report, but he was worried that there would be errors in the transcription, and he needed to use the original proofreading.
This made Temoller very moved, and immediately scanned it and sent it to Yin Zixian, "Many people get unique materials, and they will collect them for their own use." However, he publishes and shares with everyone to promote the advancement of research. ”
It is not the first time that Yin Zixian has made the information so hard to get it public.
Li Dianguang said that many of the articles in the internal journal "Research Dynamics" edited by the Zhangbei County History and Culture Research Association were collected by Yin Zixian through personal connections, "After each issue was published, he gave them to me, and also to the history and culture lovers in the surrounding banner counties for everyone to study or cite." Even if it is his own collection, if you borrow or copy it, he will give it as long as he opens his mouth. ”
A person who expands the depth of local literature and history
The Yuanzhongdu Museum in Zhangbei County displays national first- and second-class cultural relics such as the "Sixty-six Magic Square", and also displays an article called "Baichengzi Said", the author is Yin Zixian.
This article was created in 1987, Yin Zixian used historical materials to demonstrate where Baichengzi was mistaken for "North Yangcheng Ruins", where the North Yangcheng Ruins are, and why Baichengzi is the site of Yuanzhongdu, and the word "field investigation" appears in two places.
Yin Kewei remembers his father's "field trip" like this: on weekends or during winter and summer vacations, Yin Zixian pushed his bicycle and left. On one side of the rear frame was a cloth bag containing my mother's dry food pickles and an old kettle.
Ten and a half days and a month later, Yin Zixian returned home unkempt, and the contents of the cloth bag had changed. It turns into a pile of colorful bricks and tiles. The tattered in the eyes of the children will be carefully put into the mahogany cabinet in the cool room by Yin Zixian, and the road lock will be added to the outside.
"If you know how Yin Zixian got these treasures, you can understand why he did this. Li Dianguang said.
After the publication of "Baichengzi, the Central Capital of the Yuan Dynasty", Yin Zixian also wanted to find out the establishment and evolution of the capital city of the Yuan Dynasty.
Mr. Yin Zi introduced the situation to tourists at the ruins of Yuanzhongdu. Courtesy of Yin Kewei
In the summer of 1983, he decided to go to the site of the Yuan Shangdu site to investigate, and the means of transportation was still bicycle.
The ruins of Yuanshangdu are located in Shangdu Town, Zhenglanqi, Xilin Gol League, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, more than 200 kilometers away from Zhangbei County. The long journey and the road conditions at that time made Yin Zixian's thighs worn out, and his buttocks did not dare to get off the seat.
"It was a bad time and he had a lot of difficulties. But I didn't dare to say it when I came back, and my family didn't support it. Wu Jinling said.
In Li Dianguang's view, there is only one belief that supports Yin Zixian to complete this arduous and long investigation: the site of Yuanzhongdu is confirmed to be in Zhangbei County, which is a great event.
The Yuanzhongdu Museum exhibits a black-and-white photograph of Yin Zixian. Yin Zixian sat in front of the bookcase, holding a cigarette in his left hand, his face was bright and his smile was bright. Yin Kewei recalled that this photo was taken in 1997.
That year, experts and scholars at the national and provincial levels unanimously determined that Baichengzi was the site of the capital of Yuanzhong.
In 1998, archaeological excavations began at the site of Yuanzhongdu.
In 2000, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage rated it as one of the "Top Ten New Archaeological Discoveries in China in 1999".
Nowadays, Zhangbei County has Zhongdu Airport and Zhongdu Community, Zhongdu hot pot and Zhongdu vegetables, this great event, with the efforts of many people, has landed.
On April 10, Liu Yihai, director of the Zhangbei County Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism Bureau, brought a stack of books. He spread out a book on the table, "Zhangbei Plateau Historical and Cultural Research Extract", "Zhangbei County Chronicles", "Guyuan Historical Overview", etc., some Yin Zixian editor-in-chief, and some he provided research articles. In addition to discovering the ruins of Yuanzhongdu, Mr. Yin also left this wealth to the local area. Liu Yihai said.
These materials, whether it is artistic creation or tourism development, as well as the setting of local cultural and tourism integration scenes, are of great significance. Liu Yihai is recently reading "The Historical and Cultural Research of the Zhangbei Plateau", which includes the clothing, food, architectural characteristics, and business contacts of the Zhangbei region, which can provide an important reference for the local cultural and tourism departments. "Mr. Yin has expanded the depth of literature and history in this area. Liu Yihai said.
The area is very extensive. Including Zhangbei, Guyuan, Kangbao, Shangyi and other counties in Hebei Province, as well as Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, including Yellow Banner, Taifusi Banner, Chayouhou Banner, Duolun County, Shangdu County and other banner counties. Yin Zixian walked through these places, and combined with the investigation, he successively published "Zhangbei Plateau Name Examination", "Bashang Animal Husbandry Strategy", "Yuan Dynasty Chahan Naoer Palace and Ming Anyi Former Site Identification", "Yuan Dynasty Heigu Road Exploration" and other papers and investigation reports, and also edited and published nearly one million words of "Research Dynamics".
After Yan Zhenwen took over as the president of the Zhangbei County History and Culture Research Association, he thought of the "Research Dynamics" that had been suspended due to Yin Zixian's serious illness. He said: "To resume publishing as soon as possible, our task is to continue to research and find the roots of our hometown. (Hebei Daily reporter Bai Yun)
■ Reporter's notes
Walk into Yuanzhongdu
If you haven't been to the ruins of Yuanzhongdu, Yuanzhongdu is just a literal ruin.
Only by standing on the ruins of the central capital of the Yuan Dynasty, blowing the wind of Zhangbei, stepping on the soil on the dam, caressing the earthen city wall, and seeing the ancient capital of this grand scale, can we realize the "Zhongdu Order" left by Xu Zhuoyun in the capital of the Yuan: 700 years of sand burial, the famous capital is unearthed today.
The main hall of Miyagi, the remnants are three meters high, and there are replicas of the pillar foundation stones, each with a large grinding plate. It is conceivable that the towering pillars are placed on the foundation stones of the pillars, supporting the majestic hall, and the roof is placed with embossed dragon pattern glazed dripping, showing the royal majesty.
As far as the eye can see, the corner tower in the southwest corner of Miyagi has been restored by modern technology - the bottom is a three-level reduction system from east to north, connecting the west and south city walls. On behalf of the high level of the building, the "Spine Beast Xingshi" looked solemn and once squatted on the roof.
The dusty cultural relics trace the elegance of this ancient capital: the head of the round carved dragon, the diameter of the eyes is 10 centimeters, and the dozens of heads along the platform are all with different expressions.
The treasure of the town hall is six or six magic squares, which are pressed under the foundation of the temple, implying that evil spirits are warded off and disaster prevention. However, with the fire of the Red Turban Army, it has become a true witness of "the rise and fall of archaeologists with a shovel, and the vicissitudes of life with a brush".
If you have been to the ruins of Yuanzhongdu, Yuanzhongdu is not just what you see now.
You must know that the pillar foundation stone of the Yuan Dynasty Tianzi Palace, once pulled away by the villagers and built into the wall base, the thick city bricks were built into the courtyard wall by the villagers, and the broken head was once half-hidden in the barren grass and soil, and the ruins have been "all in the past, the grassland is full of eyes, and the green is the same".
Yin Zixian, a middle school teacher, has to be so stubborn and enthusiastic that he can find his roots in this rafter and tile, and the spark will eventually burn the prairie fire.
On April 10, Li Dan, a young docent of the Yuanzhongdu Museum, took tourists to visit the exhibits one by one. She may not have noticed in her explanation that in 1997, the ruins of Yuanzhongdu were recognized by domestic experts and scholars, and she happened to be born that year. (Text/Hebei Daily reporter Bai Yun)