(Question from east to west) Yang Jun: Why did the tomb of the Haihunhou let Chinese and foreigners re-understand the Chinese civilization of the Han Dynasty?
China News Service, Nanchang, October 23. Title: Why did the tomb of the Haihunhou let China and foreigners re-understand the Chinese civilization of the Han Dynasty?
——Interview with Yang Jun, the leader of the archaeological team of the Tomb of Haihunhou of the Western Han Dynasty in Nanchang
China News Agency reporter Liu Zhankun and Li Yunhan
The Nanchang Han Dynasty Haihunhou Kingdom Site is the largest, best-preserved, most complete, and richest typical Han Dynasty capital settlement site of the Houhou Kingdom in the Han Dynasty.
Since archaeological excavations, more than 10,000 pieces (sets) of various precious cultural relics have been unearthed, showing the cultural features of the Han Dynasty in China from multiple levels and angles.
Can the excavation and research of the tomb of Haihunhou allow China and foreign countries to re-understand the Chinese civilization of the Han Dynasty?
What enlightenment does this bring to the study of Chinese civilization?
Yang Jun, a researcher at the Jiangxi Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and the leader of the archaeological team of the Tomb of Haiyunhou in Nanchang, answered the above questions in an exclusive interview with China News Service.
Data map: Exhibits in the Han Dynasty Haihunhou Kingdom Ruins Park in Nanchang.
Photo by Li Yunhan
The summary of the interview record is as follows:
China News Agency reporter: Can the excavation and research of the relics of the Haihun Hou Kingdom of the Han Dynasty in Nanchang allow China and foreign countries to re-understand the Chinese civilization of the Han Dynasty?
Yang Jun:
Many archaeologists have stated that Chinese civilization has gone through three stages: ancient country, kingdom, and empire.
Emperor Qin Shihuang unified China and established a unified multi-ethnic country, bringing Chinese civilization to the "empire age."
The Han Dynasty inherited the Qin system, and the first peak of Chinese civilization was in the Qin and Han dynasties.
There are many ways to study history, such as documents or objects. Archaeology is a study of using objects to study history.
A total of more than 10,000 pieces (sets) of cultural relics were unearthed from the tomb of Haihunhou, including the jade seal with the name "Liu He", horseshoe gold, lintoe gold, bamboo slips, wooden tablets, and Confucius screens. A series of important relics of the Haihun Hou State, including the city site of Zijin City, the cemetery of the Haihunhou cemetery, the cemetery of nobles and civilians, are the material carriers of the political, economic, ideological, artistic and cultural exchange history of the Han Dynasty.
The most glorious in the Qin and Han Dynasties is the "Qin Emperor Hanwu", namely Qin Shihuang and Han Wudi.
Looking at Qin Shihuang through archaeological relics, it must be the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Shihuang's Mausoleum, which reflects the style of Da Qin.
And looking at Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty through cultural relics, not much before the tomb of Haihunhou was excavated.
The Yang Mausoleum of Emperor Hanjing in Xi’an, Shaanxi, the Mawangdui Han Tomb in Changsha, Hunan, the Mancheng Han Tomb in Hebei, and the Tomb of the Nanyue King in Guangzhou. In the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, it showed the heroic style of the Han Dynasty.
The owner of the tomb of Haihunhou, Liu He, is the grandson of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. He was the first Haihunhou, the ninth emperor and the second king of Changyi in the history of the Western Han Dynasty.
Most of the cultural relics unearthed in the tomb are the wealth accumulated by Liu He and his father Liu Li during Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.
After Liu He's death, the Haiwu Hou State was abolished, and all the wealth with the mark of the prince was buried in his tomb.
The 480 pieces of horseshoe gold, lintoe gold, gold cakes, and gold plates unearthed from the tomb of Haihunhou, weighing 120 kilograms, are the most complete and concentrated batch of cultural relics in the archaeological history of Han tombs in China. The embodiment of "Duojin Dynasty".
Horseshoe gold and Linzhi gold are souvenirs made for the auspiciousness of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, such as Bailin and Tianma, and awarded to the princes and kings. Together with about 4 million pieces of five baht coins weighing more than 10 tons unearthed in the same tomb, they witness the prosperity of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Prosperous China.
Data map: Gold cakes unearthed from the Tomb of Haihunhou in the Western Han Dynasty.
Photo by Liu Zhankun
More than 5,200 bamboo slips, nearly a hundred wooden tablets, and Confucius screens were unearthed from the tomb of Liu He, the Hou of Haihun.
Bamboo slips cover a wide range of content, mainly Confucian classics, represented by the "Qi Analects" which has been lost for more than 1800 years.
Confucian classic bamboo slips and screens with the earliest portrait of Confucius are a testimony to the era of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty that "rejected a hundred schools of thought and respected Confucianism."
In addition, the one-horned sheep-shaped silver Danglu unearthed from the tomb of Haihunhou and other cultural relics with grassland and exotic styles are the embodiment of the Hanwu Emperor Zhang Qian’s mission to the Western Regions and the Silk Road for mutual learning between Chinese and Western cultures. .
The foreign fine gold craftsmanship such as horseshoe gold and linzhi gold on the beads and gong silk embodies the strong influence of Greek art in the Mediterranean world.
It can be said that the interest of China's ruling elites in the West began in the Western Han Dynasty.
Therefore, the excavation and research of the tomb of Haihunhou can give China and foreign countries a clearer and more comprehensive understanding of the civilization of the Han Dynasty.
Data map: Exhibits in the Han Dynasty Haihunhou Kingdom Ruins Park in Nanchang.
Photo by Li Yunhan
China News Agency reporter: What role did the discovery of the tomb of Haiyunhou play in the study of Chinese civilization?
Yang Jun:
There have been many civilizations in the world since ancient times, but the Chinese civilization is a civilization that has never broken.
The continuation of Chinese civilization is mainly guided by the concept of "family and country as one", "national identity", unification of characters, and philosophical thinking.
Some scholars believe that the rupture of civilization is the norm, and the unbroken civilization is the special case, and the Chinese civilization that has never ruptured should be an important source of Chinese cultural self-confidence.
Why has the Chinese civilization never broken?
First of all, Chinese culture has the cultural genes of "family and country as one" and "national identity", forming a sense of community of the Chinese nation.
A lot of archaeological evidence can prove the Chinese nation's identification with "family and country as one unit" from ancient times to the present.
For example, in Chinese history, Dongyi, Xirong, Beidi, and Nanban were finally unified, which is the identification of a country, which embodies the inclusiveness of the Chinese civilization "inclusive of all rivers, tolerance is great." The golden cakes and gold plates unearthed from the tomb of Haihunhou were used as the reserve gold for Liu He during his lifetime, which was related to the singular gold system in which the princes and princes presented gold to the emperor in August every year during the Western Han Dynasty.
Therefore, family and country feelings have become the outstanding historical and cultural tradition of the Chinese nation, and it is also the main reason why Chinese civilization has not broken.
The second is the unifying power of words.
Characters are the carrier of civilization. Chinese characters have a long history. From oracle bone inscriptions to inscriptions on bronzes to small seals in the Qin Shihuang period, the unification of characters laid the foundation for the inheritance of Chinese civilization.
The various Chinese characters on bamboo slips and wooden slips unearthed from the tomb of Liuhe of the Haiyun Marquis are in the same line as the oracle bone inscriptions, bronze inscriptions, and small seals, which are also the power to maintain the continuation of Chinese civilization.
Finally, the same philosophical thinking is also the reason why Chinese civilization does not break.
Beginning with Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty "deposing a hundred schools of thought and respecting Confucianism", Confucianism has become the philosophical thought of governing the country in all dynasties.
The "Confucian Screen" used by Liu He in the tomb of Haihunhou and a large number of classic bamboo slips of Confucianism are witnesses to the prevalence of Confucianism in the era of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.
In addition, Confucianism has a strong ability to radiate thought, which has a great influence on North Korea, South Korea, Japan and Southeast Asian countries. It has formed an Eastern civilization and cultural circle dominated by Confucianism, which is different from Western civilization dominated by Christianity.
Data map: Bronze ornaments in the Museum of the Relics of the Haihunhou Kingdom of the Han Dynasty in Nanchang.
Photo by Liu Zhankun
Reporter from China News Service: Some people say that culture knows no borders, and the appreciation and protection of historical and cultural heritage should be “no questions about the west”. In what areas do you think Nanchang’s relics of the Haihunhou Kingdom in the Han Dynasty can carry out international cooperation, and what role will this play in the "going global" of Chinese culture?
Yang Jun:
The excavation of the relics of the Haiwu Hou Kingdom is one of the best business cards for Chinese culture to go out. Of course, international cooperation in research and exhibition can be carried out.
For the research on the relics of the Haiyunhou Kingdom, domestic scholars have a domestic perspective, while foreign experts have a foreign perspective.
Overseas scholars may pay more attention to the manifestation of philosophical thoughts such as the large number of Confucian classics unearthed from the tomb of Haihunhou.
China and foreign countries have different concerns on the tomb of Haiyunhou, but there are many opportunities for cooperation.
When the tomb of Haihunhou was first excavated, it not only attracted great attention in China, but also had a great impact overseas. It can be said that there was a burst of "Haihunhou fever" at home and abroad.
Columbia University and Harvard University in the United States invited us to share the research results of the tomb of the Haihunhou. They expressed the hope that we can study together with Chinese scholars, and even hope that we can take part of the cultural relics to foreign exhibitions.
Later, led by the relevant departments of the Chinese and American governments, a special exhibition of Qin and Han civilizations was held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, USA.
Chimes, gold objects, etc. unearthed from the tomb of Haihunhou and the terracotta warriors and horses of Qin Shihuang's Mausoleum are exhibited in the United States. This is a manifestation of the Chinese civilization of the Qin and Han Dynasties moving towards the West and towards the world.
The Qin and Han civilizations can also allow the world to truly understand modern China.
Modern China developed from ancient China and is the continuation of Chinese civilization.
"Going out" of Chinese culture means telling Chinese stories well, so that the world can view modern China more objectively, correctly, rationally and completely.
(over)
About the interviewee:
Yang Jun, a researcher at the Jiangxi Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, has been engaged in field archaeological excavations and research for more than 30 years.
Participated in the Sino-U.S. cooperation in the excavation of the Wannianxianrendong-Diaotonghuan site; presided over the excavation of the Hutian kiln site A, B, C, I, J, K, L in Jingdezhen; presided over the tomb of the Haihunhou of the Western Han in Nanchang, the tomb of the Eastern Jin at the Nanchang Railway Station, and the German Excavations of the Anbei Song Dynasty fresco tomb and the site of Lidu's shochu workshop in the Yuan Dynasty.
Among them, the Lidu Shochu workshop site of the Yuan Dynasty won the top ten national archaeological discoveries in 2002, the six major archaeological discoveries of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and the third prize of field archaeology from the State Administration of Cultural Heritage. The tomb of the Haihunhou of the Western Han in Nanchang won the top ten national archaeological discoveries in 2015, Chinese society Six major archaeological discoveries of the Academy of Sciences, the second prize of the Chinese Archaeological Society's field archaeology, the first Chinese Archaeological Conference Archaeological Assets Protection Golden Award and the Fourth World Archaeological Forum Major Field Archaeological Discoveries Award, Nanchang Railway Station Dongjin Tomb and De'an Northern Song Dynasty Mural Tomb were selected Important archaeological discoveries by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage in 2006.
Published dozens of papers at home and abroad.