The mountains are dyed green, and the water is spring. On the April day of the world, all things in the land of Lixian are competing.
The stars are moving, and the millennium is instantaneous. As a river of history and humanity, the water of the Western Han Dynasty has nourished generations of ancestors and people, and the children and grandchildren of future generations, and has given birth to a brilliant and rewarding regional culture.
In 2004, along the Western Han River vein of Lixian County, Longnan, a journey of "seeking Qin" was started. In the past 20 years, the project team of "Early Qin Culture and Xirong Culture Archaeology" has been diligently exploring the origin of Chinese civilization in the "hometown of the Qin people".
Not long ago, the Sijiaoping site in Lixian County, Gansu Province was selected as one of the top ten new archaeological discoveries in the country in 2023, which is also the seventh project in Gansu Province to be selected as one of the "Top Ten New Archaeological Discoveries in the Country" of the year.
Standing at the top of Sigezi Mountain at an altitude of 1,867 meters, walking into the Sijiaoping site of Lixian County, it is a thousand years of thought. Simple and exquisite moire tiles, rope pattern cylinder tiles, back grain floor tiles, hollow bricks, plain floor tiles...... Archaeological relics and archaeological stories make people feel as if they are listening to the dialogue between history, the present, and the future.
Looking into the distance from the ruins on the top of the mountain, there are the ruins of Dabaozi Mountain on one side and the ruins of Xishan on the other, and the four corners of the flat are located in the center. Three points and one line, echoing each other from afar, constructs the three major blocks of Qin cultural sites in Lixian County.
The area around Lixian County was called "Xitui" during the Shang and Zhou dynasties, which was the birthplace of early Qin culture and the location of the earliest capital of the Qin State. In the 90s of the 20th century, Dabaozi Mountain in Lixian County was famous for the discovery of the Qin Cemetery. The excavation of the Sijiaoping site in Lixian County is a continuation of the early Qin culture project, which not only enriches the research of early Qin culture in Gansu Province, but also supplements the chain of ancient Chinese sacrificial building system, which is of great significance for the study of the early sacrificial system, building system and craftsmanship in mainland China.
The four corners of the square ping, the Qin culture. Here, the history of Daqin is represented......
Top view of the Sijiaoping ruins. (Photo courtesy of Gansu Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology)
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Qingming rain, the road to the Sigezi Mountain is not easy to walk. Fortunately, the winding dirt road was smoothed, and the car went all the way up, almost to the top of the mountain, where a white board house stood at the intersection. The two old men sheltered from the rain under the eaves, and when they saw the visitor, the old man got up to inquire.
Zhang Suige, 63, is one of the "supernumerary" members of the archaeological team at the Sijiaoping site. His work is not difficult, stationed at the Sijiaoping site, not allowing non-archaeological staff to enter the site, and will be found during the daily patrol of the situation and problems, timely communication with the archaeological team leader; his work is not simple, all year round, day and night, on the top of the Sigezi mountain with the silent cultural relics as a companion, when the heavy snow closes the mountain, but also to overcome the difficulties of electricity, water inconvenience, etc.
"In the summer of 2020, I went up the mountain to cooperate with the archaeological team to protect the site. Stationed here with me, there is also my fellow countryman Sun Mansheng. We have witnessed the archaeological excavation of the Sijiaoping site progressing day by day, and the Sijiaoping site has finally shown its 'true appearance'. Hearing that the Sijiaoping site was selected as one of the top ten new archaeological discoveries in the country in 2023, Zhang Suige and Sun Mansheng were so happy that their eyes were full of tears, "The 'baby' that has been guarded for many years has been seen by more people." I'm proud to be a part of it. ”
Having heard, witnessed and participated in the conservation of the site for several years, Zhang Suige has become a "soil expert". Under his leadership, the reporters climbed to the highest point of the mountain, and a square and angular platform jumped in front of them. "The altitude here is 1,867 meters, 2.5 kilometers northeast of Lixian County, and the top of the mountain is artificially treated as a large platform, with a total area of about 28,000 square meters. Brother Zhang Suige said.
"After exploration, it was found that the platform is surrounded by rammed earth walls, and there are a large number of rammed earth building foundations inside. Zhao Juan, an associate researcher of the Lixian County Museum and a member of the archaeological team of the Sijiaoping site, said that the architectural layout of the first courtyard has been basically outlined, and the architectural form and structure of the site have a clear understanding.
The spring rain continues, along the periphery rammed earth wall slowly look slowly, moire tiles, back grain floor tiles, hollow bricks, drainage components and so on are neatly arranged and spread, a thousand years at a glance. "The summit tends to be in the shape of a sharp angle, but the top of the four-grid mountain is flat and open. At first, we went up the mountain with questions to solve, collected building materials such as slabs and tiles, tube tiles, and tiles, and found the rammed earth wall on the west side. Zhao Juan said, "We initially judged the site to be the site of Sijiaoping City, and the time was about the Zhou Dynasty." After that, preliminary archaeological exploration was carried out, which provided important information and clues for us to further understand the overall picture of the small military city sites of the Warring States and Qin, the construction of military facilities of the Qin people during the Warring States period, and the relationship between Qin and Rong. ”
Later, with the advancement of various archaeological excavations, the Sijiaoping site was defined as a large-scale ceremonial architectural site of the Qin Dynasty, which reflected another form of Qin sacrificial architecture in addition to the temple building and the sacrificial building. The building complex as a whole presents a typical central symmetrical pattern, which is different from the architectural space of daily life, with a strong ceremonial nature, and the scale and high level are rare, and it is speculated that it is likely to be a sacrificial place prepared for the first emperor's western tour. Its architectural pattern profoundly influenced the sacrificial architectural style of Deyang Temple, Wang Mangjiu Temple and even the Temple of Heaven and the Temple of Earth in the Han Dynasty.
"The Sijiaoping site is the materialized carrier of the national sacrificial reform and the historical process of China's 'great unification', which embodies the style and spirit of the early stage of the formation of a unified country in ancient China. Hou Hongwei, deputy research librarian of the Gansu Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and leader of the archaeological team of the Sijiaoping site, introduced that the Sijiaoping site is a landmark building for the transformation from the kingdom to the empire stage after the unification of Qin, and has extraordinary historical value.
"The relics unearthed at the Sijiaoping site are mainly building components. Careful observation shows that the structure of this building complex is regular, the hierarchy is clear, and the order is orderly, with a large rammed earth platform as the core, and the whole presents an obvious central symmetrical pattern. At present, the part we have excavated is mainly composed of a square rammed earth platform in the middle, four groups of outbuildings facing each other on the four sides of the earth platform, and four corners of the ruler-shaped outbuildings. Hou Hongwei said, "Combined with the size of the Qin Dynasty weights and measures standard, the building size of the Sijiaoping site is completely in line with the provisions of the Qin ruler, and it is the setting of the whole ruler." At the beginning of the construction of the Sijiaoping site, a very rigorous plan was made. ”
Looking at the whole picture of the ruins, it is surprising that in the center of the rammed earth platform foundation at the core, there is an open-air semi-crypt space, similar to the reservoir dug in the center of the patio of some ancient houses on the mainland. Its floor is paved with square plain floor tiles, and ceramic water pipes are buried under the floor tiles, which extend to the north under the rammed earth and are connected to the drainage facilities in the northern part of the foundation. The four walls are attached to the wall bricks and fixed with iron nails, and the "beautiful seams" are also treated with special materials between the brick joints.
"Today, we have excavated less than half of the area of the building remains, and there are still many unsolved mysteries in the four corners. Hou Hongwei said that at present, the archaeological team has taken a series of measures to protect the site and its surrounding environment, and the temporary protection greenhouse project is about to enter the construction stage; a five-year plan for archaeological excavation of the site has been formulated, which will show the whole picture of the Qin Dynasty sacrificial and ceremonial buildings through comprehensive excavation.
Since the early Qin culture archaeology research project was launched in 2004, Hou Hongwei has been working in the front line of archaeology in Lixian County for 20 years. In the past 20 years, Hou Hongwei has spent most of his time at the archaeological site every year, and he and his colleagues have overcome more than 1,000 days of wind and sun, wind and food, and the archaeological excavation work carried out in Lixian County is "getting better".
Talking about the selection of the Sijiaoping site in Lixian County as one of the top ten new archaeological discoveries in the country in 2023, Hou Hongwei was full of emotion: "In order to let the dusty civilization see the light of day again and rejuvenate the sleeping culture, generation after generation of archaeologists have bowed down to the field, calloused their hands and feet, and endured loneliness, which is not easy, but it is worth it." He said that Zhao Huacheng, a professor at Peking University who has passed away and the leader of the project team of "Early Qin Culture and Xirong Culture Archaeology", as well as Wang Gang, then director of the Lixian Museum, and Pei Jianlong, the executive leader of the archaeological team of Sijiaoping site, have made great contributions, and a group of new generation archaeologists who continue to struggle are indispensable.
The moire tile unearthed from the Sijiaoping site in Lixian County. New Gansu Gansu Daily reporter Feng Lekai
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Standing on the square flat land of about 28,000 square meters on the top of the four-grid mountain, in an instant, the "round sky" has become a concrete feeling for the visitor.
There is a story in the Sijiaoping ruins, so that Qin Shi Huang has traces to follow in the western tour of the sacrifice; "facing the loess and facing the sky with his back to the sky" discovers the historical details with a shovel, and the excavation of the Sijiaoping ruins also has a story.
Tracing the discovery of the Sijiaoping site began with a fieldwork conducted by Wang Gang, then director of the Lixian County Museum, in 2009. At that time, when Wang Gang picked up the fragments of cultural relics of the moire tile from the top of Sigezi Mountain, out of the sensitivity of the cultural and museum workers, he realized that the nature and significance of these cultural relics could not be underestimated, so he immediately reported this discovery to the joint archaeological team of the early Qin culture at that time.
"Military Lookout and Defense Sites in the Qin and Han Dynasties" - The early Qin culture joint archaeological team gave a preliminary judgment based on the geographical location of Sijiaoping.
In 2012, archaeological experts from the Gansu Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology decided to go up to Sijiaoping again to investigate and conduct preliminary exploration of the site.
And this time, before they reached the top of the mountain, they had an unexpected joy. At the top of the mountain, someone found two exposed walls, and in an instant, everyone's nerves tensed.
"These two walls are located in the southeast and southwest corners, respectively. Zhao Juan, a local, has studied this city wall quite a lot. She said that even though the plane size of the city wall is small, the city wall and the building foundation site are all rammed, and the rammed layer is thicker, which is consistent with the shape and ramming method of the city site in the Warring States and Qin periods in the northwest region. Preliminarily, this is an early city site from the Warring States period to the Qin Dynasty.
After this discovery, the archaeological story of the Sijiaoping site came to an end. Archaeologists have devoted a lot of effort to the archaeological investigation, excavation and research of Qin culture at the Dabaozi Mountain site and the Xishan site.
In order to more systematically and comprehensively excavate the Qin culture in Lixian County, in 2019, experts and scholars from the Gansu Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology proposed to "look back". As a result, everyone's eyes once again gathered on the Sijiaoping ruins at the center of the Dabaozi Mountain site and the Xishan site.
Not long after, a new phase of archaeological excavation of the Sijiaoping site began. The spacious and flat ground of the Sijiaoping site is lined with more and more Luoyang shovel detection holes.
"Based on the soil samples brought out by the Luoyang shovel, we can judge the nature of the underground site. Pei Jianlong, deputy director of the third department of the Gansu Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and executive leader of the archaeological team of the Sijiaoping site, explained that there is a clear difference between the composition of soil samples from underground tombs and ancient residential sites, and the soil samples collected in 2019 carry the components of rammed earth. At the same time, the results of the exploration showed that the symmetrical nature of the underground site necessitated systematic excavation.
At this point, the comprehensive exploration and key excavation of the Sijiaoping site were officially put on the agenda.
From 2020 to the present, the Gansu Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, together with the Department of Cultural Relics and Museology of Fudan University and the School of Archaeology and Museums of Peking University, has set up an archaeological team to carry out excavation and research work on the site. With the deepening of the archaeological work step by step, the archaeological team has displayed the latest archaeological results year after year, and the mystery behind the site has been "decoded" little by little and has become clear and clear.
In 2020, the archaeological team mainly excavated around the rammed earth platform and semi-crypt space in the center of the site, and unearthed a large number of building components. Scrape again, look for more, every shovel is full of surprises - about 700 square meters of Sijiaoping ruins were excavated that year. At this time, the archaeological team came to an important conclusion: the Sijiaoping site was built after the unification of Qin.
Pei Jianlong said that although there are no written records unearthed at the Sijiaoping site, the cultural relics themselves are "silent language". Through the typological comparison of the unearthed cultural relics, the members of the archaeological team found that the cultural relics at the Sijiaoping site are almost the same as those from the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang.
In 2021, the archaeological team uncovered the entire western part of the rammed earth platform in the center and excavated the west and southwest corner of the site - at that time, about 2,000 square meters of the Sijiaoping site had been excavated. At this time, the archaeological team was able to clarify the architectural pattern of the central rammed earth platform and have a preliminary understanding of the pattern of the surrounding ancillary buildings: this is a regular central axis symmetrical site centered on a square rammed earth platform, which is basically consistent with the exploration results in 2019.
At the same time, the archaeological team found that there are stepped buildings on the west side of the rammed earth platform in the center, and there are complete drainage facilities inside the site. "Based on its symmetrical shape, we speculate that there will be stepped buildings in other parts of the site. Pei Jianlong said that all the buildings are surrounded by the central earth platform, and the middle of the center earth platform has a semi-crypt space, which has the functions of water storage, drainage, waterproofing and even water control, reflecting the importance of the Qin people to water, which may find relevant examples for the "Qin people are still watery".
In 2022, the archaeological team continued to excavate the outer ruins of Sijiaoping, exposing and excavating the northwest corner of the site, the second building in the west, and the first building in the north - about 800 square meters were excavated at the Sijiaoping site that year. At this time, all the steps on all four sides of the rammed earth platform in the center were excavated, and a torii-style building was found between the first and second districts of the west. The members of the archaeological team gradually realized that the architectural pattern of the Sijiaoping site was far more complex than they imagined.
Finally, the archaeological excavation of the Sijiaoping site ushered in a critical moment. "Three years have passed, and we have outlined the overall architectural distribution of the site. From the previous judgment of the central axis symmetry pattern, it is further clear that this is a central symmetrical pattern with the central rammed earth platform as the core. Pei Jianlong added, "The site is at a high altitude, inconvenient to get water, and no living utensils have been unearthed, so it can be inferred from these three aspects that this building was by no means a living residence at that time, and the special architectural form also shows a strong ceremonial nature." ”
Such an architectural pattern is very similar to the large-scale ceremonial architectural pattern of the later period, such as the Temple of Heaven and the Temple of Earth. Huang Qingyan, a doctor from Peking University who participated in the excavation of the Sijiaoping site in the autumn of the same year, said.
In 2023, the Sijiaoping site was included in the "Archaeological China" major project by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, and the archaeological team focused on excavating the eastern half of the rammed earth platform and the southeast corner of the ancillary buildings of the center, and fully exposed the central rammed earth platform - at that time, the Sijiaoping site had excavated a total of about 4,000 square meters. At this time, the archaeological team focused on architectural research and restoration work.
According to the Qin Dynasty weights and measures standards, the size of the building shape is calculated, and it is clear that the central rammed earth platform is a flat square building with a side length of about 120 feet (i.e. 12 zhang) of Qin feet, the width of the steps on the four sides is about 10 feet, and the surrounding ancillary buildings are also full feet and feet, which proves that the site was carefully designed at the beginning of construction; from the study of the accumulation of tiles and the degree of damage, it is concluded that the roof of the central building is at least two floors, with two eaves, and the internal water drainage function of the building is complete, which is in line with the high-grade building.
"The Sijiaoping site was 'flattened' by flattening the round or pointed mountain, which should have been a national project for the Qin Empire to mobilize national strength at that time in terms of engineering quantity. Pei Jianlong said that such a rare site, sorting out the truth of its formation has become the new work goal of the archaeological team in 2024.
At the end of March 2024, the final evaluation of the top ten new archaeological discoveries in China in 2023 was held in Beijing. At the beginning of April, less than a week after the end of the final evaluation meeting, Pei Jianlong returned to the Sijiaoping site in Lixian County to decompose and arrange the next stage of work.
"The warmth of spring and the melting of permafrost indicate that we can start a new phase of archaeological excavation. Pei Jianlong said that the archaeological team will continue to "dissect" the wall of the rammed earth platform of the site, and explore how the site is flattened, the foundation is laid, and then the whole process of ramming the foundation and building the platform.
The excavation and cleaning site of the Sijiaoping site. (Photo courtesy of Gansu Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology)
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When the rain is misty, the clouds and trees are vast, and an imitation of the Qin and Han style buildings is more majestic and simple. This is located in the Gansu Qin Culture Museum located in Qinren Square, Dongxin South Road, Chengguan Town, Lixian County, Longnan City, and is now a national 4A-level tourist attraction, with a collection of 7,889 pieces / sets of various cultural relics and more than 10,000 ancient books, including nearly 150 national first-class cultural relics.
Walking through the huge square, climbing the stairs, entering the Gansu Qin Culture Museum, the wind of Qin culture is blowing in your face.
"In the foyer, there is a rather artistic seal script 'Qin' character. The element of "bird" in the word "Qin" is very conspicuous, because for the Qin people, the bird is their totem. This is reflected in many of the utensils and ornaments that we will see next. ”
"The whole museum is composed of exhibition areas such as 'Shepherd Horses Hanging West, Pingwei Zhou Room', 'Xiangwen Meritorious Service, Ritual and Music Civilization', 'Chariots and Horses Raising Might, East into Guanzhong' and the sand table of Dabaozi Mountain Ruins. Lixian is the birthplace of Qin people and Qin culture, and the business development of Qin people in Lixian is the beginning of the Qin Empire and occupies a pivotal position in the entire Qin history. With rich and unique cultural relics resources, the museum strives to form an archaeological research and display center for early Qin culture. ”
"Qin bronze chimes, pan pattern car models, gold ornaments, Lieding columns...... Through each piece of cultural relics in the museum, the magnificent historical context of the Qin people is revealed more clearly. For example, the Qin Zi Gong Bell arranged from large to small in the display cabinet in the Lile exhibition area was unearthed in the world-famous Qin Gong Tomb in Dabaozi Mountain. The excavation of this group of bells provides extremely valuable materials for the study of the ritual music system, sacrificial system, and bronze casting process of the early Qin people. In 2006, the Dabaozi Mountain site was rated as one of the top ten new archaeological discoveries in the country that year, which is closely related to it. ”
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Zhao Jianniu, a museum librarian of the Gansu Qin Culture Museum, has been engaged in cultural and museum work for more than 10 years, and introduced the early Qin cultural relics resources in Lixian County: "In addition to the Sijiaoping ruins, there are 38 early Qin cultural sites such as Dabaozishan ruins and Xishan ruins found in Lixian County, which together form three relatively independent and interrelated large ruins group. ”
Zhao Jianniu said that the Sijiaoping site was selected as one of the top ten new archaeological discoveries in the country in 2023, which is another selected project in Longnan after the Dabaozi Mountain site in Li County. ”
According to historical records, Qin Shi Huang made a western tour in the following year after the unification of the whole country before his eastern tour, and the area he visited was Qin's Beidi County and Longxi County. Lixian County belongs to Qin Longxi County, where there are early Qin people's capital and Xiangong cemetery.
Later, the archaeological results of the project team of "Early Qin Culture and Xirong Culture Archaeology" in the upper reaches of the Western Han River confirmed that there are rich sites and relics in Lixian County, such as Dadiwan Phase I Culture, Yangshao Culture, Qijia Culture, Changshan Lower Culture, Case Board Phase III Culture, Zhouqin Culture and Siwa Culture.
Here, there is a long cultural context and thousands of weather. To this day, it has been inherited and sung endlessly.
Gansu Province is an important birthplace of Chinese civilization, a key area for the formation and development of Chinese civilization, and an important stage for the exchange and integration of Eastern and Western civilizations. Its unique and diverse cultural resources provide a broad space for archaeological work, and also establish the special status of Gansu Province in the history of Chinese archaeology.
In recent years, Gansu Province has steadily promoted the Chinese civilization exploration project and the major project of "Archaeological China", forming a number of weighty archaeological achievements.
The archaeological research of the Denisovans at the Baishiya cave site in Xiahe has pushed the history of human beings on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to 190,000 years ago; the painted pottery unearthed in Dadiwan in Qin'an County proves the first dawn of civilization on the land of Longyuan 8,000 years ago; the large palace-like buildings at the Nanzuo site in Qingyang show that the Longdong region had entered the early stage of state or civilization at that time; the tombs of the Tuyuhun royal family in the Tianzhu Tang Dynasty witnessed the historical process of the Tuyuhun people's integration into the Chinese nation; and the Sijiaoping site in Lixian County marked the transformation of Qin from the kingdom to the imperial stage......
"Over the years, we have joined forces with a number of units to actively carry out archaeological excavations and research. His research focuses on the origin and diffusion of human beings, the origin and spread of civilization, the origin and development of nations, and the exchange and integration of ethnic groups. The research period ranges from the Paleolithic, Neolithic, and Bronze Ages to the Song and Yuan dynasties, and runs through the activities of ancient people in Gansu Province. The research area basically covers the whole territory of Gansu Province. Chen Guoke, secretary of the general party branch and director of the Gansu Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, said.
Today, Gansu Province has Dunhuang Hanhang Quanzhi Ruins, Lixian Dabaozi Mountain Ruins, Zhangjiachuan Majiayuan Warring States Cemetery Excavation Project, Lintan Chenqi Mogou Qijia Cultural Cemetery Archaeological Excavation Project, Dunhuang Dry Gorge Jade Mine Site Archaeological Excavation Project, Wuwei Tuyuhun Royal Tomb Group Archaeological Excavation Project, Lixian Sijiaoping Site and other 7 archaeological projects have been selected as the top ten new archaeological discoveries in the country.
"Only by visiting the ancient and exploring the source in the strata of the open source of civilization can we extend the historical axis, enhance the credibility of history, enrich the historical connotation, and activate the historical scene. Chen Guoke said that at present and in the future, the Gansu Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology should continue to advance the archaeological excavation of the Sijiaoping site on the basis of the special investigation of the early sacrificial sites, and cultivate new academic growth points for the next step of research.
"At the same time, we will intensify research and interpretation, focusing on the collation of Zhou Qinrong's archaeological data, publishing relevant archaeological reports, increasing the activation and utilization of cultural relics, through public open experience activities such as 'entering archaeological sites' and 'entering archaeological institutes', digital immersive experience activities such as 'archaeology into the campus' and 'archaeology into the community', as well as exhibition and exchange activities such as the exhibition of the latest archaeological achievements, so that more archaeological achievements can benefit the people and provide strong support for enhancing cultural self-confidence." Chen Guoke said that the most important thing is to let the archaeological cause have successors and talents.
"We plan to rely on the project to integrate the research team with multidisciplinary cooperation as an opportunity, continuously strengthen the construction of the archaeological talent team, build an influential 'Longjun' team in the country, better build a new pattern of regional archaeology, establish a research base for Qin culture in Gansu, and gradually form a highland for Qin culture research. Chen Guoke said.
Qin came out of Longyuan, and Longyuan looked for Qin. Over the past 20 years, three generations of archaeologists have gathered from all over the country to inquire about Qin civilization, explore Qin history, and study Qin culture in this thick soil. (Text/New Gansu Gansu Daily reporter Su Jiaying, Wang Yuyu)
(Source: Gansu Daily)