It was fashionable at that time, and no one expected that the excavation of the imperial tomb would be branded as "disaster" decades later. Or expected, but unable to stop it.
What happened to the excavation scheme of 1955?
Above _ Mingding Mausoleum is the tomb of Zhu Yijun (Wanli), the 13th emperor of Ming Dynasty.
First, about the excavation of Dingling.
What was dug up in Dingling is actually no secret at all. The bulletin of Dingling Excavation was clearly published in Archaeological Newsletter 1958 07, but the Complete Report of Dingling Excavation was not published in a book until 1990.
However, if you plan to dig Changling, how can you dig Dingling?
The answer is simple, but I can't find it.
Many people's impression of tomb raiding comes from popular tomb raiding novels. A grave robber or gold-touching captain can find the specific location of the ancient tomb and dig a hole in it with a compass and a formula.
Indeed, digging a hole can really get into the mausoleum. This is called "stealing a hole". It is conceivable whether this method will cause damage to cultural relics. In order to protect cultural relics, archaeologists need to find the entrance to the mausoleum accurately.
A large group of people have been busy for months, but they can't find the entrance to Changling. Angry Wu Han wants to "uncover the top".
However, some bricks in the corner of Dingling fell off unexpectedly, which allowed archaeologists to find the entrance. This just turned to dig Dingling.
Archaeological excavation of Mingding Mausoleum
Second, what did Dingling dig up?
In fact, there is no serious principled error in the excavation of Dingling itself. Dingling is regarded as a pity for four reasons.
First, many unearthed silk fabrics were badly preserved and suffered heavy losses due to technical limitations and experience problems. At that time, many silk fabrics were framed and preserved. Shen Congwen, an expert in this field, came to see the cloth, only to find that all the fabrics were negative and left angrily. Only one sentence is left: "To make such an irresponsible explanation is either out of ignorance or deliberate deception!" .
The second is that the wooden coffin of the Empress Dowager was abandoned, thrown into the ravine at will, and taken away by the villagers as a good golden nanmu.
Third, during the movement, three unearthed remains of Empress Dowager Cixi were burned.
Finally, the progress of material arrangement was delayed again and again, and the original materials were lost.
Silk unearthed from Ming Dingling Mausoleum
But we can't just look at these four points and say that the excavation of Dingling is a complete "disaster". The excavation of Dingling first clarified the structure of Dingling Gong Xuan, including brick tunnel, stone tunnel, King Kong wall, tunnel voucher, front hall, nave, back hall, left wing shop and right wing hall, with pictures and words, accurate structural description and detailed records.
Secondly, it is clear about the burial style of the Empress, including the funerary objects, burial style and coffin of the Empress Dowager, Empress Dowager and Emperor Wanli.
Moreover, a large number of cultural relics have been unearthed, including various crown clothes, gold and silver wares, jade articles, funeral supplies, porcelain, lacquerware, bronze mirrors, weapons and so on.
The golden wing crown unearthed here is a national treasure at present, and it is the only imperial golden crown unearthed so far. In addition, four jumping rocks were unearthed, namely "Twelve Dragons and Nine Jumping Rocks", "Nine Jumping Rocks in Kowloon", "Six Jumping Rocks in dragon three" and "Three Dragons and Two Jumping Rocks". Everything is exquisite and unusual. None of these cultural relics were sealed after the study. Dingling Museum opened in 1959, and many cultural relics unearthed in Dingling are stored in this museum. For decades, this museum has been open to the outside world, which has increased the knowledge and broadened the horizons of countless people.
I think it is problematic to simply regard Dingling as a disaster.
Shangyi Mountain Crown is a gold woven crown unearthed in Dingling, also known as Jinyi Mountain Crown.
Above _ The newly unearthed golden wing crown in Dingling.
What is the real archaeological disaster? I spent money to dig the site, but once I didn't report it, I didn't keep the first-hand information well, and I got some specimens and put them in the museum.
From this perspective, the excavation of Dingling is at least not a slogan-style archaeology, nor is it a so-called archaeological destructive excavation, but actually a grave robbery. This is far from being a disaster.
But it is far from success, especially as an archaeologist.
What were archaeologists doing in the 1950s?
From 65438 to 0949, Pei Wenzhong, Jia Lanpo, Liu Xianting and other archaeological predecessors excavated Zhoukoudian site in Beijing, which was an important beginning of ancient human research.
During the period of 1950, the Institute of Archaeology of China Academy of Sciences was located in Liu Lige and Guwei Village. This archaeological excavation in Huixian established the basic methods and modes of field archaeology. The Huixian Excavation Report published a few years later became the first archaeological report in China, and two samples were identified.
195 1 year, Su, Shi Xingbang, Wang Bohong and others studied the prehistoric and Shang and Zhou sites in An, and divided the Guanzhong area into Yangshao culture, Longshan culture and Wednesday culture.
65438-0952, the first undergraduate major in archaeology in China was officially opened in Peking University.
Above _ It is quite unscientific to deal with cultural relics during the excavation of Ming Dingling Mausoleum.
This year, four training courses for archaeologists were held in Beijing, with a total of 369 students before and after the four courses, which is known as the "Huangpu Phase IV" in archaeology. At that time, nearly 400 students who taught almost all history teachers in mainland China were assigned tasks immediately after the lecture. Today, the result is Lei Lei.
What's the hurry?
Because the archaeological power in China was so scarce at that time, there were too many subjects to study and too many things to do. Archaeology has just started in China, and there is nothing. This is a crucial moment to lay the foundation for a towering building.
Above _ Jinyu wine glasses unearthed in Dingling
At that time, there were many investigations and excavations. I'm afraid to give an example casually. Whether it is academic value or academic significance, it is much more important than excavating Dingling.
The excavation reports of that era are almost regarded as classics now, not because the archaeologists in the 1950s were the best, but because they set an example for future generations and became the benchmark for future researchers in the absence of anything.
At that time, there were too many gaps and too many sites to be excavated, especially Luoyang, which is a key area with rapid development and a famous historical city, and needs the support of the whole country, otherwise, we will sit idly by and watch the tragedy of cultural relics being destroyed.
In this case, is it a good choice to deploy a large number of manpower to explore Dingling?
What will happen if the ruins of the capital city of Han and Tang Dynasties, the ruins of the Yuan Dynasty and the ruins of the Yuan Dynasty are not excavated immediately?
Jade Belt of Emperor Wanli Unearthed in Dingling Above
Third, why didn't there be a grave robbery after Dingling?
After Dingling, why haven't you dug a large imperial tomb today?
Some people say that because the lessons of Dingling are shocking, too many cultural relics have not been well protected. Others say that it is because the "above" has given a dead order, and excavation is not allowed for the time being.
Actually, there are both. Most importantly, archaeologists of that era were not so interested in excavating the imperial tombs themselves.
Mr. Xia Nai wrote an article called Comrade Wu Han, a historian I know, in which he mentioned his views on Dingling excavation:
"Comrade Zheng Zhenduo opposed this matter, thinking that the archaeological work was very busy at that time, and these urgent tasks (designated mausoleum excavation) could be postponed. I also lobbied for Comrade Zheng, knowing that Comrade Wu Han was the initiator of this move, and personally advised him not to rush into this excavation work. "
In the eyes of real archaeologists, the excavation of Dingling is actually an urgent matter, and it is more like a political activity than an academic activity.
Above _ Xia Nai (nà i) (1910-1985), inscription, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, archaeologist and social activist.
After the excavation of Dingling, all localities were in full swing, clamoring for the opening of the imperial tomb everywhere. who the hell are all these people？ I only know that there is no Xia Lao or Zheng Lao among these people.
The excavation of Dingling is indeed a tragedy. Its tragedy lies in the fact that the reputation of China archaeologists was seriously damaged by later accusations.
There is indeed a snowstorm in Dingling, and the biting snow blows like a knife to the hearts of real archaeologists.
References:
1 archaeological news of Dingling excavation
2 "Ming Dingling Literature Excavation" Wang Qian
3 "Dingling Snow" Shi Yang, Yuenan
The text was created by the team of History University Hall, and the pictures originated from the Internet and belonged to the original author.