The Chinese civilization has a long history, is extensive and profound, and is the rich nourishment for the continuous growth and development of the Chinese nation.

Archaeology is a dialogue with the ancients. The unearthed cultural relics not only contain rich historical information, but also continue and carry the crystallization of the national spiritual homeland.

In recent years, archaeology has gradually torn down the mysterious veil of the past. By actively looking for the connection point with popular culture, it displays the root and soul of traditional Chinese culture from multiple angles, multiple layers and multiple directions.

In order to analyze the germinal mechanism and propagation law of the "archaeological fever", and to explore effective methods for the steady and long-term development of Chinese archaeology, Wang Wei, member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, director of the Department of History, and chairman of the Chinese Archaeological Society, accepted an exclusive interview with Guangming.com.

  The Beauty of Civilization Seeing the East | Knowing the past and learning from the present, exploring excellent traditional cultural genes with archaeology

  Guangming.com: In the past, archaeology was a relatively unpopular major. Most people learned about it through some film and television dramas, variety shows, and literary works, but in the process, the public also had some misunderstandings about archaeology.

So what exactly does archaeology study?

  Wang Wei: Archaeology is a human science that is most closely related to the natural sciences. Through the combination of unearthed physical data and historical documents, it studies the material life, spiritual life and social life of ancient people.

We can see the shadow of natural science in the basic methods of archaeology: archaeological stratigraphy divides the cultural layer, which is imported from geology; archaeological typology distinguishes different artifacts, which is imported from biology.

Through field investigations, people today have unearthed the life and cultural relics of people in the past, which may be tombs, residences, cave temples, etc., to restore ancient life scenes and reproduce the richness of ancient civilizations.

Through various natural science and technology of scientific and technological archaeology, it is possible to study the origin of jade articles, the composition of bronze articles, and the isotopes contained in the human body, and to understand people's eating habits and migration process at that time.

Therefore, archaeology is not only the study of the distant past, but also its value lies in learning from the past to the present, which is closely related to the public.

People today study the origin of the nation and the development of civilization through archaeology, and gain enlightenment from the exchange of civilizations and the construction of a community with a shared future for the people, and explore the root and soul of Chinese culture.

  In the process of archaeological socialization, the public will be influenced by some film and television dramas, variety shows, and literary works, and compare archaeology with tomb robbing.

In fact, archaeology and tomb robbery are distinct, one is scientific research and the other is illegal.

For tombs, the cultural relics themselves carry limited information, but there is a lot of information in the tomb shape, burial method, and relic placement method.

Once the tombs were excavated by tomb robbers, they were all devastated. Even if the stolen cultural relics could be recovered as much as possible, a large amount of information in the tombs would have been destroyed, causing irreparable losses to the Chinese civilization exploration project.

As a serious science, archaeology should not only study the life of ancient people, but also protect the heritage of Chinese civilization, and resolutely fight against illegal and criminal acts such as tomb robbery.

  The Beauty of Civilization Seeing the East | Knowing the past and learning from the present, exploring excellent traditional cultural genes with archaeology

  Guangming.com: "China Archaeology Conference", "If National Treasures Talk", "National Treasures" and other cultural relics programs have attracted countless fans. "Archaeological Blind Box" has become popular all over the country, and Sanxingdui has become the "top class" in the domestic archaeological field.

In your opinion, what triggered the public's enthusiasm and interest in archaeology?

How to make the "archaeology fever" continue?

  Wang Wei: With the development of my country's economy and the improvement of living standards, people's material needs have been basically met, and there is room to improve their spiritual needs.

Archaeology is a novel and imaginative subject. Through live broadcasts such as "Sanxingdui" and variety shows including "China Archaeology Conference" and "National Treasure", people are paying more and more attention to and feel the beauty of cultural relics, the beauty of Chinese civilization On this basis, the "archaeological fever" has been set off again and again.

  To make the "archaeology fever" continue, the popularization and socialization of archaeology should be deepened.

Archaeologists reproduce the complete picture of the site in their minds through field excavation, but this cannot be directly conveyed to the public.

The emergence of digital technology, 5G technology, and even the concept of the metaverse has broken the barriers between the professionalism and popularization of archaeology, allowing people to see the original appearance and construction process of the ruins in virtual scenes, and experience the living habits and religious beliefs of the ancients. It really brings the relationship between archaeology and the public closer.

In the digital interactive space of "Sanxingdui Fantasy Journey", people can go to the temple to watch the scene of offering sacrifices to the gods of the ancient Shu Kingdom, and also go to the residential houses to check the structure and decoration of the houses.

  In addition, with the increasing enthusiasm of the public for archaeology, and the importance of archaeological work at all levels of government, the future of archaeology is bright.

Cultural and tourism departments and archaeological institutions can try to rely on rich historical and cultural resources and mature digital technology to build a Chinese civilization IP theme park, so that the audience can understand the rich connotation, development history and brilliant achievements of Chinese civilization through immersive experience. and contribution to the world.

I suggest that the first step is to start with each site, connecting the dots into a line, connecting the lines into a plane, and forming a trend of "stars start a prairie fire".

  The Beauty of Civilization Seeing the East | Knowing the past and learning from the present, exploring excellent traditional cultural genes with archaeology

  Guangming.com: General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized in the 39th collective study of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee that cultural relics and cultural heritage carry the genes and blood of the Chinese nation, and are non-renewable and irreplaceable resources of excellent Chinese civilization.

In your opinion, how to deepen the research on Chinese excellent traditional culture from the perspective of archaeology?

Education to guide the masses, especially young people, to better understand and identify with Chinese civilization?

  Wang Wei: Relics and cultural relics embody the excellent culture and civilization achievements of the Chinese nation, and archaeology can make them visible and tangible to the public.

To deeply interpret the connotation, development and changes of the excellent traditional Chinese culture, and to excavate its enlightenment to the development of modern society, it requires the concerted efforts of archaeology, other social sciences, and natural sciences.

This is a new task and a new goal for all disciplines.

  An important purpose of making cultural relics and cultural heritage "live" is to make young people aware of the splendor and endlessness of Chinese civilization, and to enhance the ambition, backbone and confidence of the majority of young people.

The results of the source exploration project should not only enter the textbooks, but also make concerted efforts in media publicity and literary and artistic creation, so that our Chinese civilization and excellent traditional culture will be more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

This has far-reaching significance for realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

  (Guangming.com reporter Liu Bingya and intern reporter Yu Siqi interviewed and sorted out)