At 20:13 on April 14, 2024, Mr. Yan Wenming, a famous archaeologist and senior professor of philosophy and social sciences at Peking University, passed away in Beijing at the age of 92. Mr. Yan Wenming is the founder of the Neolithic archaeological discipline system in China, the leader of the development of Chinese archaeology, the thinker of Chinese archaeology and cultural heritage protection, and an outstanding archaeological educator, and a banner of Chinese archaeology.
Many people may not know that Mr. Yan Wenming has also made important contributions to the archaeology of Shandong, especially the archaeology of Jiaodong, and has had a great impact. The New Yellow River reporter recently interviewed Wang Xiping, the former director of the Yantai Museum, and asked him to tell Mr. Yan Wenming's Jiaodong archaeological past.
Mr. Yan Wenming
Go to Beijing to seek the support of archaeological expertsWang Xiping recalled that the acquaintance and interaction with Mr. Yan Wenming was due to the introduction of the famous archaeologist Mr. Su Bingqi, which was also related to the archaeological situation in Yantai at that time (in addition to the current Yantai jurisdiction, including the county-level Weihai City, Rongcheng, Wendeng, Rushan, and Laixi counties).
Wang Xiping said that in August 1978, after inspecting the cultural relics in Yantai, Huangxian (now Longkou), Penglai, Changdao and other places, Mr. Su Bingqi made an important speech on the archaeological work of cultural relics in Yantai with the Yantai Regional Museum and cultural relics cadres of 17 counties and cities on August 22 and 23. He pointed out that the primitive culture in Yantai has its own origin and characteristics, and the Bronze Age was not a backward area, and proposed that the focus of future work should be around the two major topics of "the origin and development of culture in Yantai and the ancient Shang and Zhou dynasties in Yantai". Mr. Su's speech not only pointed out the direction for the cultural relics and archaeological work in Yantai, but also improved the understanding of cultural relics and archaeological work among cultural relics cadres. However, at that time, the local cultural relics department was very weak in terms of professionals, professional technology, and funds, and it was difficult to carry out systematic archaeological excavation and research work. ”
Therefore, just after the Spring Festival in 1979, the Yantai Regional Cultural Relics Group sent Wang Xiping, Li Buqing, Li Jingzhang, and Wu Yuxi to Beijing to ask for Mr. Su Bingqi's support with the specimens collected from Baishi Village in Yantai City, Hekou in Rongcheng County, Liujiagou in Penglai County, Qiujiazhuang in Fushan County, and Clam Pile in Muping County. Wang Xiping said, "After we came to Mr. Su's house to explain our intentions, Mr. Su was very happy. He told us that when Mr. Yan Wenming of Peking University came to visit him during the Spring Festival, he had already talked to Yan Wenming about the situation in Yantai and Changdao, saying that it was a bridge connecting Shandong and Northeast China, and it was also a gateway to North Korea and Japan, and that archaeological work was promising, and that some work could be done, and he humorously said that fishing requires bait to catch fish. It means that the geographical location of Yantai is important, the archaeological work of cultural relics is important, and the Beijing Conference will do the work. Then we took the specimen to Peking University to find Mr. Yan Wenming and invited him to Yantai to help do some work, and Mr. Yan Wenming happily agreed to go and see it first. Since then, Peking University has kicked off the prelude to archaeological investigation, excavation and research in the Yantai area. ”
In March 2009, Wang Xiping (right) visited Mr. Yan Wenming's home and asked him to identify the stone tools unearthed in Jiaodong.
Excavation of the Beizhuang siteWang Xiping said that in August 1979, Mr. Yan Wenming invited Mr. Han Rong from the Shandong team of the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences to come to Yantai together. Accompanied by Li Buqing of the Yantai Regional Cultural Relics Group, from 11 to 23 July, dozens of primitive cultural sites such as Penglai, Fushan, Cheping, Rongcheng, Weihai, and Yantai were investigated, and it was agreed that the Department of Archaeology of Peking University, the Shandong team of the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and the Yantai Regional Cultural Relics Management Group would cooperate to begin excavating the ruins of Qiujiazhuang and Zhaogezhuang in Fushan in September. The excavation was presided over by Mr. Yan Wenming, and the personnel were composed of Zhao Chaohong and Li Pingsheng of Peking University and the whole class of 76 students majoring in archaeology, Han Rong of the Shandong team of the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Li Qianting, Wu Yuxi, Wang Xiping of the Yantai Regional Cultural Relics Group, and cultural relics cadres from various counties and cities. After more than two months of hard work, we have completed the field excavation work and achieved gratifying results: the excavation of the Qiujiazhuang site, the first phase of the Qiujiazhuang culture earlier than the lower culture of Bauhinia Mountain was discovered for the first time in the Jiaodong area, and the excavation of the Zhaogezhuang site has solved the problem of naming the Yueshi culture. At the same time, local cultural relics cadres have also been tempered in practice, and their professional level has been greatly improved. ”
In order to find out the situation of prehistoric culture in Jiaodong area and continue the archaeological work in Jiaodong area, Mr. Yan Wenming presided over two large-scale archaeological investigations in late November 1979 and mid-November 1980 after the excavation of Qiujiazhuang and Zhaogezhuang sites was completed. Later, the most important excavation of the Beizhuang site was confirmed in the archaeological investigation.
Wang Xiping introduced that in January 1980, when Song Chengjun, a cultural relics cadre of Changdao County, conducted a place name survey on Daheishan Island, Zhang Zhenbang, a villager of Beizhuang, provided information about the Beizhuang site. The site is located on the east coast of Daheishan Island and the northeast of Beizhuang Village, close to the commune office, "On December 6, 1980, Mr. Yan Wenming led Peking University graduate students Tong Weihua, An Jiayao, Yang Qun, advanced student Yan Jinjun, Han Rong, Shandong team of the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Li Buqing, Li Qianting, Yantai District Cultural Management Association, Wang Xiping, as well as Song Chengjun, a cultural relics cadre of Changdao County, and a group of 10 people, arrived at Daheishan Island by boat at noon, and after getting off the boat, they braved the biting cold wind and snowflakes to investigate the site, and did not find much, only collected a small stone axe, so everyone was still a little disappointed. In the evening, we stayed at a simple guest house in the commune station. On the morning of the 7th, after having dinner in the canteen of the commune, I followed Mr. Yan Wenming to the western and northern cliffs of the commune's office to inspect it. These are the two cliffs left over from the construction of the commune's houses, which are 4 to 5 meters high and have a thick layer of primitive culture. Mr. Yan Wenming found three semi-crypt-like foundations of primitive societies in the western half of the North Cliff and called me over to take a look. To be honest, when I saw these ruins on the cliff, I couldn't make out the foundation. It was only after Mr. Yan's on-site advice that I was able to identify. This is the first discovery in the Jiaodong area. I happily ran back to the station and called in the rest of the staff to clean up the cliff profile, take measurements, maps, collect specimens, and document this important discovery. ”
After the ruins of the original village of Beizhuang were determined, Mr. Yan Wenming agreed with the Yantai Cultural Relics Department to carry out a comprehensive excavation of the Beizhuang ruins from the second year. Since then, the excavations in 1981 were presided over by Professor Zhao Chaohong of Peking University, and the excavations from 1982 to 1984 and 1987 were presided over by Professor Zhang Jiangkai of Peking University. Every time he excavates, Mr. Yan Wenming goes to the construction site from time to time to give guidance. The people who participated in the excavation were mainly some undergraduate and graduate students from 77th to 79th and 85th grades of Peking University, and more than 10 cultural relics cadres from Yantai and various counties and cities also participated in the excavation. Five times before and after, a total excavation area of more than 4,000 square meters, found more than 90 housing sites, more than 130 ash pits, more than 60 tombs, 6 pig burial pits, unearthed more than 3,000 pieces of stone tools, pottery, bone tools, mussels.
The excavation site of the Beizhuang site on Long Island in 1983
Wang Xiping said that these discoveries are major discoveries of Neolithic archaeology in the mainland, "and their value is mainly reflected in the following aspects: First, the first discovery of Beizhuang Phase I culture, Beizhuang Phase II culture, Longshan culture, The stratigraphic relationship of Yueshi culture is superimposed in sequence, which provides a scientific basis for the establishment of the prehistoric cultural development sequence in Jiaodong area;Second, the second is the discovery of the second phase of Beizhuang culture, which fills the gap in the development sequence of prehistoric culture in Jiaodong area;Third, the discovery of more than 90 house sites, including the first phase of Qiujiazhuang culture and the first phase of Bauhinia Mountain culture (the age is equivalent to the first phase of Beizhuang culture), is important for the study of the settlement layout, morphology, and Fourth, the site of the first phase of the Beizhuang culture and the cemetery of the second phase of the Beizhuang culture have been discovered, which provide valuable information for the study of the burial customs and spiritual beliefs of the people at that time; fifth, a large number of millet husks have been found in the red clay blocks of the first phase of the Beizhuang culture, which provides a basis for discussing the social and economic forms at that time; and the sixth is that a large number of production tools, living utensils and ornaments of different periods have been unearthed, which provide rich information for understanding the relationship between Changdao and the prehistoric culture of the Jiaodong Peninsula and the Liaodong Peninsula and the maritime communication. ”
In short, the excavation of the Beizhuang site has comprehensively revealed the social organization structure, economic form, and people's spiritual beliefs in the primitive society period five or six thousand years ago. So far, Wang Xiping said, this is the only site in the Jiaodong region that has preserved so many important cultural relics in its entirety, and it is also relatively rare in Shandong. Therefore, the site of Beizhuang was identified as a "key cultural relics protection unit in Shandong Province" in 1992 and a "national key cultural relics protection unit" in 1996.
Find strong evidence for the spread of rice "North Road Baton Theory".Wang Xiping introduced that another important achievement of Mr. Yan Wenming in the archaeological excavation in Jiaodong is to find strong evidence of the "North Road Relay Theory" for rice propagation.
In the "Generational Preface" written for "Jiaodong Archaeology", Mr. Yan Wenming once wrote in detail about this process - "In the autumn of 1981, the Shandong Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology sent an archaeological team headed by Zheng Xiaomei, who has rich experience in field archaeology and is very familiar with Jiaodong archaeology, to cooperate with the archaeological practice team of Peking University to excavate a large area of the Yangjiaquan site in Qixia and discover a number of relics of Dawenkou culture and Longshan culture. One of the most noteworthy is the coexistence of rice, millet and millet in the red clays of the Longshan culture layer. Yangjiaquan is located at about 37 degrees 20 minutes north latitude, which is the highest latitude of prehistoric cultivated rice distribution in the world. As a result of this discovery, the route of rice farming to Japan was first clarified. In the past, there were so-called North Road Theory, Middle Road Theory and South Road Theory, the latter two theory is actually unlikely, and the former theory lacks evidence. The discovery of Yangjiaquan proves that the North Road theory is justified. As mentioned above, during the long period from the Dawenkou culture to the Yueshi culture, the prehistoric culture of the Shandong Peninsula was unilaterally transmitted to the Liaodong Peninsula, and the influence of the prehistoric culture of the Liaodong Peninsula on the Korean Peninsula is also obvious. Therefore, I put forward a theory that the past is spread from the Shandong Peninsula through the Liaodong Peninsula and the Korean Peninsula to Kyushu in Japan. Abbreviated as the North Road Relay Baton, this theory was later confirmed by the discovery of rice remains at the Dazuizi site in Dalian and the Nanjing site near Pyongyang, North Korea. In the pottery of the late period of the Dawenkou culture in the first phase of Yangjiaquan, there is a kind of ding, that is, a basket is made in the belly of the ding, so as to put the grate to steam rice. The discovery of Yangjiaquan shows that Jiaodong has a certain cultural relationship with Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and rice farming may have spread from the Yangtze River basin to Jiaodong through this cultural transmission route. ”
Establish the development sequence of prehistoric culture in Jiaodong areaWang Xiping believes that Mr. Yan Wenming's contribution to the archaeology of Jiaodong, in addition to presiding over the excavation of Qiujiazhuang ruins, Zhaogezhuang ruins, Beizhuang ruins, Yangjiaquan ruins, Zhishui ruins, Pearly Gate ruins, Nanhuangzhuang ruins, etc., and naming the Yueshi culture and Pearly Gate culture, is also to establish a prehistoric cultural development sequence for the Jiaodong area. Wang Xiping said, "Between 1979 and 1987, Mr. Yan Wenming not only conducted archaeological investigations and excavations in Jiaodong, but also participated in and planned two important academic seminars, which made great contributions to the establishment of the prehistoric cultural sequence in Jiaodong. ”
Mr. Yan Wenming's "Preface" for "Jiaodong Archaeology" wrote: "In August 1982, the Shandong Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and the Shandong Provincial Archaeological Society hosted an academic symposium on prehistoric archaeology in Shandong. In order to let everyone understand the progress of Jiaodong archaeology, the conference site was specially selected in the easternmost Shidao of Rongcheng County. At this meeting, based on the results of archaeological research in the past few years, I systematically expounded the primitive culture of Jiaodong, and initially put forward a genealogical insight on cultural development. That is, the earliest is the first phase of Baishi Village, followed by the first phase of Qiujiazhuang, the first phase of Bauhinia Mountain, the first phase of Yujiadian, the first phase of Yangjiaquan, the first phase of Longshan culture, the Yueshi culture, the remains of the Pearl Gate and the cemetery of Nanxie Mountain. The ages of the latter three correspond to the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties in the Central Plains, respectively, but the cultural outlook is very different. So I think they should be the culture of Dongyi. The Neolithic culture before the Yueshi culture should be the prehistoric culture of the ancestors of Dongyi. At the meeting, I particularly emphasized that the study of prehistoric archaeology in Jiaodong and even in the entire Shandong and northern Jiangsu regions cannot but involve the issue of the Dongyi culture, which played a major role in the formation of the ancient culture of the mainland. According to historical records and physical remains, the study of the origin, distribution, content and characteristics of Dongyi culture, as well as its relationship with the cultures of various ethnic groups such as China, should become one of the major topics of archaeology in mainland China. ”
From May 16 to 20, 1987, the "Jiaodong Archaeological Symposium" was held in Yantai and Changdao County. In addition to the main personnel who directly participated in Jiaodong archaeology, the participants also included Mr. Su Bingqi, an advocate of Jiaodong archaeology, and Li Yangsong, Zhang Zhongpei, Zheng Xiaomei, Gao Guangren, Zhang Xuehai, Li Boqian, Guo Dashun and Cai Fengshu, who were concerned about Jiaodong archaeology. Mr. Yan Wenming's "Preface" for Jiaodong Archaeology wrote: "In order to prepare for this meeting, we have displayed all the physical materials of archaeological excavations since 1979 according to location and unit, and Zhang Jiangkai and Wang Xiping have made a comprehensive introduction. I hope that everyone will be able to exchange views, point out problems, and make suggestions in depth when they fully understand the archaeological work in the past few years. Because it is in the form of on-site discussions, everyone is more relaxed and easy-going, and they can say whatever comes to mind, and the exchange of opinions is more sufficient. ...... After several years of work, the cultural genealogy of the Neolithic and Bronze Ages in Jiaodong has been basically established. ...... Jiaodong has various ties with neighboring areas and is an important place around the Bohai Sea. In a small way, it is the meeting place of several cultural regions in Haidai, the Central Plains, the north and south of Yanshan, and the eastern part of Liaodong, and in a large sense, it is the gateway of China to the Korean Peninsula and Japan, so it is necessary to study it in a planned and organized manner. ”
In 1987, Yan Wenming introduced the pottery unearthed from the Shanbeizhuang site to Su Bingqi and Zheng Xiaomei.
Let "East Banpo" become a cultural highlight in ShandongWang Xiping believes that many of Mr. Yan Wenming's practices and ideas have had a profound impact on the archaeology of Jiaodong, such as the Beizhuang site on Changdao. Maybe many people don't know the Beizhuang site, in fact it is very important, we all know that the Xi'an Banpo site is an important relic of the Yangshao culture in the Neolithic Age in the mainland, and it is introduced in textbooks and related books. As another important Neolithic relic in the mainland, the Beizhuang site is known as the "East Banpo", which shows its importance.
Wang Xiping, a witness and participant in the discovery and excavation of the Beizhuang site, still remembers some of the circumstances at that time, "During the excavation of the Beizhuang site, we have always attached great importance to the protection of important relics. From the first excavation in 1981, consideration was given to the effective protection and future use of the excavated site. Mr. Yan Wenming learned the lesson of the Xi'an Banpo Ruins Museum due to the change of indoor heating and cold and the damage to the foundation of the house to varying degrees, and decided not to use the previous method of directly backfilling with soil or building a simple shed after the excavation, but to adopt the method of covering the site with sand first, and then backfilling it with soil. The advantages of this method are, firstly, that the site is still well buried in the ground, and that the foundation of the house will not be damaged due to the change of climate and warmth, and secondly, when the protection conditions are ripe to build the site museum, the site can be smoothly cleared out and displayed. The important tombs excavated and cleaned up were reinforced, and transported back to the museum for indoor protection and display. ”
In 2000, the Beizhuang Ruins Museum was inscribed by Mr. Yan Wenming. Due to the financial and technical constraints at that time, it was not possible to clear out the houses of the primitive society for display, but only restored several houses on the ground above the original sites. "Although it is not a real site museum, it still plays a very positive role in people's understanding of the ruins of the original village of Beizhuang. Wang Xiping said, "Now the establishment of the Changdao Marine Ecological Civilization Comprehensive Pilot Zone has brought opportunities for the development of cultural tourism on Long Island." It is expected that while actively striving for the Beizhuang site to be included in the national site protection project, the improvement of the construction of the Beizhuang site museum will be included in the key project, so as to build it into a domestic first-class and internationally renowned site museum, and make it a brilliant cultural highlight of the Changdao Marine Ecological Civilization Comprehensive Pilot Zone. ”
Yan Wenming wrote an inscription for the journal "Haidai Archaeology".
Wang Xiping said that after the completion of the archaeological excavation of the Beizhuang site, although the excavation report writing staff was intermittent, but never stopped, "In 1993 and 2009, I went to Peking University twice to revise the manuscript I undertook, and in 2007, the Yantai Museum sent Zhu Guolin to Peking University to donate maps." In 2004, when Shan Jixiang, then director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, and Gu Yucai, deputy director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, came to Yantai to inspect cultural relics, I, as the director of the Yantai Museum, reported the situation to them in detail and won state funding for the publication of the excavation report. In 2012, Mr. Zhang Jiangkai completed the first draft of the excavation report, and in recent years, Mr. Yan Wenming arranged for Mr. Zhao Hui of Peking University to revise and improve the excavation report. It is believed that it will not be long before the excavation report will be officially published and the information of this important discovery will be released to the world. ”
Wang Xiping regretted that "Changdao Archaeology" (the main content of which is the archaeological excavation report of Beizhuang site) was not published before Yan Wenming's death, "but it is gratifying that "Jiaodong Archaeology" and "Jiaodong Archaeological Research Anthology" have been published, and both books were completed under the guidance of Mr. Yan Wenming. ”
Reporter: Qian Huanqing Editor: Xu Zheng Proofreader: Gao Xin