Chinanews.com, Beijing, May 18 (Liu Yue) Friends, have you seen China's earliest "leave slip"?
"The epidemic is going to study" - "Is the disease serious this time?" Will I be able to go to school? ”
This "leave note" is not from a modern desk, but was unearthed in Yinxu and is now stored in the new Yinxu Museum, which is a divination record of a "prince" during the Yin Shang period. Unexpectedly, after 3,000 years, students would have to find teachers when they asked for leave, and princes 3,000 years ago had to "communicate with ghosts and gods" when they asked for leave. It can be seen that as a "prince", you can't skip school without reason.
Today's people don't see the ancient times and the moon, but this month once looked like the ancients. Today is International Museum Day. The theme of this year's Museum Day is "Museums Committed to Education and Research", and this ancient proverb just opens a window for us to look back at ancient Chinese civilization.
In Anyang, Henan, the new museum of Yinxu Museum exhibits oracle bone fragments. Photo by China News Service reporter Kan Li
Son, who is it?
If the people of the Shang Dynasty 3,000 years ago also played Weibo, then "divination" would definitely be "in the headlines" every day.
From sacrifices to gifts, businessmen always like to predict good fortune and misfortune. According to the oracle bone divination, once, the Shang king Wuding used tortoise shell for divination and predicted that a disaster would befall within ten days. Soon after, the eastern and western frontiers of the Shang Dynasty were invaded by foreign enemies.
Speaking of the Shang Dynasty, we have to mention Yinxu - this site that has been remembered by history, is the first capital of the late Shang Dynasty in Chinese history with accurate documentation, archaeological excavations and oracle bone inscriptions. With the passage of time, the glorious Yin Shang civilization was buried deep under the loess, and it was not until the 80s and 90s of the 20th century that it was rediscovered under the excavation of archaeologists.
In October 1991, the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences conducted in-depth archaeological excavations on the cellar in Zhuangdong of Yinxu Garden, and unearthed the 1583 version of tortoise shells and animal bones. Among them, the 689 version is engraved with more than 2,250 divination records of the Shang King Wuding period. There is a key word that appears frequently in these records - "sub".
Son, who is it?
"This batch of oracle bones is different from the past. In the past, it was the divination record of the Shang king, and the main body of the divination of these oracle bones was a person named 'Zi'. Dr. Yu Chenglong, Cultural Heritage and Cultural Relics Protection and Archaeological Research Commissioner of Anyang Municipal Bureau of Cultural Relics, told reporters that after years of research, most scholars in the industry agree that the "son" is the son of the Shang king Wuding and the woman, that is, the "filial piety" in the ancient classics, and the "little king" in the Shang Dynasty oracle bone inscription.
Yu Chenglong is quite familiar with this "little king". It can be said that they are a pair of old friends who have never met each other - Yu Jackie Chan has been deeply involved in the research of oracle bones for many years, and the accumulation and achievements of dozens of years in the spring and autumn have gradually outlined the vague image of "prince" in his heart.
"He's driving today, and he's going to tell a diviner, 'Is this horse on the right or left?' When he goes hunting, he asks, 'Do I bring two bows or three?' In Jackie Chan's eyes, "Zi" is a vivid young man. He was sensitive, studious, and hardworking, and after entering the "university", he studied the six arts, and learned at least six kinds of dance.
In the divination, the "son" personally presided over the sacrifice, paid attention to agricultural production, led the army to the expedition, and organized field hunting. Once, he used 105 cows for sacrifice at a time, which shows his strong economic strength and supreme aristocratic bloodline. Not only that, but he also has his own divination agency, in modern parlance, a proper "rich and handsome".
Shang "Autumn is not dead" engraved Bu Jia. Source: Yinxu Museum's official website
Yu Chenglong introduced that the prince is a benevolent person, "'son' is particularly filial, Wu Ding wants to travel, he makes a strategy for Wu Ding; Wu Ding has a nightmare, he is very worried about his father's body." "No matter if Tian Hunt goes on an expedition, as long as Wu Ding sends him there, he will never flinch, like an excellent heir who cultivates both inside and outside.
"He has 'benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and faith', and has the good character of a scholar, which is a model of elite education in ancient China." Speaking of this, Yu Chengchan was a little emotional, "During the research process, I burst into tears twice. ”
"Why are you crying? I feel very sorry for such an outstanding prince who died young. ”
The prince of the Shang Dynasty also had to "take a driver's license"?
This heartache and regret is presented to the public in another special way.
In 2023, the new Yinxu Museum will enter the planning period. As China's first panoramic museum of Shang civilization, all walks of life have high hopes for it. At that time, Yu Jackie Chan thought: What kind of exhibition is worthy of such a national key museum?
When it comes to Yinxu, it is inevitable to talk about oracle bones. He thought of the oracle bones unearthed in Zhuangdongdi of Yinxu Garden with "Zi" as the main body of divination - as one of the three major discoveries of oracle bone inscriptions in Chinese history, they have never been publicly exhibited, and once they are published, they are very likely to cause a sensation.
But the content is there, where is the skeleton? Throughout the past oracle bone exhibitions in China, the focus is mostly on "artifacts". Yu Jackie Chan threw out a bold idea: can it present the daily life of a prince of the Shang Dynasty in the form of a "diary"?
Oracle bone fragments on display in the new Yinxu Museum. Photo by China News Service reporter Kan Li
"In the new era, the concept of curation must change. I'm going to take a different path. After more than a year of planning and research, Jackie Chan and his team successfully implemented the concept of "Diary of a Prince". In February this year, the new Yinxu Museum on the bank of the Huan River in Anyang, Henan Province was shockingly opened, and "Who is the Son - Yinxu Garden Zhuang Dongdi Oracle Bone Special Exhibition" exploded out of the circle.
Step by step in the exhibition hall, the life trajectory of the "son" is full of "Son": the "Oriental is white" and the golden lay-out not only highlights the prince's noble origin, but also implies the sentimentality of his early death; The wavy layout of "flowing water and falling flowers" is a metaphor for its gentleman's cultivation like jade, gentle and handsome; The 110 pieces of oracle bones engraved by the Shang Dynasty are a series of the prince's short life - history, as far as the eye can see.
"Turning the traditional exhibition of artifacts into a vivid figure exhibition is the first of its kind in the mainland cultural and museum circles." Yu Chengchan said proudly. Not only that, in order to attract more young people, he also deliberately used a modern context to carry out many innovative interpretations. One day, the little prince fell ill, and he didn't dare to skip school for no reason, so he predicted whether he could go to school or not. "It's equivalent to a 3,000-year-old leave slip, and this explanation is very popular."
"One of the items in the prince's class schedule is driving. At that time, whether it was field hunting or war, it was necessary to drive, that is, the 'royal' of the six arts of the gentleman. He used a more vivid analogy: learning to drive is similar to taking a driver's license in modern times. The prince also cannot violate the "rules of the road".
As soon as the concepts of "The Little Prince's Driver's License Test" and "Leave Slip 3,000 Years Ago" were launched, netizens talked about it, and even some tourists made a special trip to check in: "What a lovely ancient", "The Little Prince's class schedule is fuller than mine", "Shang Dynasty people have their own leave slips"...... Some netizens ridiculed: "Did the prince succeed in asking for leave in the end?" ”
The jury is still out on whether "sick leave" will be approved. What Jackie Chan can do is strike while the iron is hot, and then find a new way after "The Prince's Diary", and turn to tell the love story of Shang Wang Wuding and his wife.
The "good woman" copper bucket on display in the new museum of Yinxu Museum in Anyang, Henan. Photo by China News Service reporter Kan Li
According to Yu Chenglong, among the Shang Dynasty oracle bone inscriptions found so far, there are as many as 250 divination records held by Wuding for women: When will the women return? Is there danger on the way to a woman's well? How about life?
When the woman was sick and dying, Wuding couldn't accept the imminent death of his lover, and divined over and over again, praying to the gods to bless the woman with good health, "This is a man's love for a woman, which is particularly obvious." Their love comes from ancient times, so Yu Jackie Chan defined these divination words as "China's earliest love letters".
In Jackie Chan's view, innovative interpretation of ancient cultural relics is the key to popularizing history and culture to the public. He firmly believes that, despite the passage of time, the past and the present are connected: "Human emotions are eternal, and technological advances have only enriched the way people express their feelings." ”
"Mankind has gone through agricultural civilization and industrial civilization, and now it has entered the computer age." Yu Jackie Chan quoted Bacon's famous saying, "Reading history makes people wise." Looking at history in the several waves of the times, we can summarize the law of human development. ”
"That's what history is really about." (ENDS)