China News Service, Yinchuan, February 27th: How can the ancient Huo Kingdom, whose historical records have been lost, re-enter history?
——Exclusive interview with Ma Qiang, deputy director of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology
China News Service reporter Yang Di
As the site of Huoguo's capital that has been lost in historical records, the Western Zhou city site in Yaoheyuan lasted from the early Western Zhou Dynasty to the early Spring and Autumn Period.
How was the mysterious "Huo Guo" discovered after disappearing for thousands of years?
What kind of relationship does it show between the Zhou Dynasty and the northwest border areas?
What kind of evidence does it provide for the feudal system in the Western Zhou Dynasty?
Recently, China News Service's "East-West Question" conducted an exclusive interview with Ma Qiang, deputy director and researcher of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, to explain.
The interview transcript is summarized as follows:
Reporter from China News Service: How were the Western Zhou City Sites in Yaohe Plateau discovered and excavated? How was it determined to be the site of the capital city of the Western Zhou Dynasty that was lost in historical records?
Ma Qiang:
The Yaohe Plateau site is located in the north of Yaohe Village, Xinji Township, Pengyang County, Guyuan City, Ningxia. It is located in the upper reaches of the Jingshui River Basin at the eastern foot of Liupan Mountain (Longshan). It is located at the source of its tributary, the Red River, at the Li'er River, Xiaohe, and Dahe. The triangular platform is cut by the confluence on the ground.
Aerial photography of the Yaoheyuan site excavation area.
Photo courtesy of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology
In April 2017, the Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region discovered a large number of pottery sherds from the Western Zhou Dynasty during the "Regional Systematic Archaeological Survey of the Red River Basin" and immediately submitted it to the State Administration of Cultural Heritage for approval to carry out special investigations, archaeological exploration and rescue. Archaeological excavations.
Beginning in May 2017, archaeological exploration work at the Western Zhou Dynasty City Site in Yaohe Plain has continued.
After archaeological exploration and excavation, it was confirmed that the city site covers an area of more than 920,000 square meters and has a complete layout. The era extended to the early Spring and Autumn Period. High-level tomb areas, horse pits, chariot and horse pits, sacrificial pits, walls, and copper casting workshops were discovered and cleaned up. , roads, ash pits and other relics, exploration found moats, large building foundations, roads, water networks, pottery kilns and other relics, and unearthed pottery, primitive porcelain, bronze ware, pottery molds, jade ware, lacquered wood ware, bones, horns, teeth and clams Utensils and other relics.
During the Western Zhou Dynasty, only high-level tombs with tomb passages could be used after the death of people at the level of princes and monarchs, such as the A-shaped tombs in Yaohe Plain (that is, there is a tomb passage).
In addition, the discovery of remains such as walls, moats, copper casting workshops, and large rammed earth building foundations also prove that the site was the site of a feudal capital city.
At the same time, archaeologists interpreted the unearthed oracle bone inscriptions and confirmed that the country of the city site was "Huoguo", which was the capital of a Western Zhou vassal state that was not recorded in historical records.
Pottery pots unearthed from the Yaoheyuan site.
Photo courtesy of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology
China News Service reporter: What kind of relationship does the Yaoheyuan City Site with rich cultural connotations show between the Zhou Dynasty and the northwest frontier area?
Ma Qiang:
The site of the Western Zhou Dynasty City in Yaohe Plateau is located on the east side of Liupan Mountain (Longshan). It is in the intersection of farming and animal husbandry in the north, and it is an area where Huarong attacks were integrated in history.
Judging from the current archaeological discoveries, at least five types of people lived in the Western Zhou city site in Yaohe Plateau, including Zhou people, Yin survivors, Rong people, Siwa people, and northern people.
In fact, the discovery of the Western Zhou city site in Yaoheyuan has filled in the Western Zhou Dynasty’s model of control and management in the northwest region.
The Western Zhou city site in Yaohe Plain has clear military attributes. It is like a military bridgehead, helping the Zhou royal family control the entire Longdong region.
At the same time, the Western Zhou city site in Yaoheyuan also reflects the strategy of the Western Zhou Dynasty in the process of managing the northwest.
There are signs of population integration and ethnic hybridization in the Western Zhou city site in Yaoheyuan. It also has superb bronze casting technology and a network for exchange and acquisition of luxury goods such as ivory, porcelain, jade, and turquoise.
All this shows that the farming people and nomadic people living here tolerate and communicate with each other to a certain extent.
An ivory cup with an animal face pattern unearthed from the Yaoheyuan site.
Photo courtesy of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology
Reporter from China News Service: What kind of evidence does the Western Zhou Dynasty city represented by the Yaohe Plains provide for the feudal system of the Western Zhou Dynasty?
Ma Qiang:
Due to the lack of relevant historical records, before the discovery of the Western Zhou city site in Yaohe Plateau, academic circles were not clear about the Western Zhou Dynasty’s control and operation in the northwest region. Some even believed that the Western Zhou Dynasty did not enfeoff vassal states in the northwest border areas, and the western Zhou Dynasty did not enfeoff the vassal states. The territory was basically occupied by the Xirong people in a broad sense. The Zhou Dynasty was actually "out of control" in the western territory.
However, the discovery of the Western Zhou City Site in Yaohe Plateau strongly proves the Western Zhou Dynasty’s control over the northwest border areas.
The city site has a settlement form with complex functional structure, high-level tombs with tomb passages, and copper-casting workshops mastering high-skill craftsmanship. Bronze, jade, porcelain, ivory, and special cultural products represented by oracle bone inscriptions were unearthed.
These discoveries illustrate that the Western Zhou Dynasty's management of the western territories was the same as that of the eastern region, adopting the model of "confessing princes and vassaling the royal family".
In fact, the ruins of the Western Zhou city in Yaohe Plain survived into the early Spring and Autumn Period and throughout the history of the Western Zhou Dynasty. This further proves that the Zhou people had strong control over the western territory throughout the Western Zhou Dynasty.
Oracle bone inscriptions unearthed from the Yaoheyuan site.
Photo courtesy of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology
Reporter from China News Service: The Western Zhou City Site in Yaoheyuan has been rated as one of the "Five Most Northwest". What research value does it have? Why is it said that the Yaoheyuan City Site of the Western Zhou Dynasty fills the gap in the historical research of the Western Zhou Dynasty?
Ma Qiang:
As one of the major Shang and Zhou archaeological discoveries in recent years, the archeology of the Yaoheyuan site was rated as one of the "Top Ten New Archaeological Discoveries in the Country in 2017". The jury experts rated it as the northwestmost city site of an early Western Zhou Dynasty feudal state, the northwestmost The "Five Most Northwest" evaluations include the tombs of princes in the early Western Zhou Dynasty, the northwestmost oracle bone inscriptions discovery site, the northwestmost primitive porcelain discovery site, and the northwestmost copper casting workshop ruins.
It is said that the Yaoheyuan City Site of the Western Zhou Dynasty has filled the gap in the historical research of the Western Zhou Dynasty to a certain extent. There are three main reasons:
First, among the Western Zhou city sites that have been discovered so far, the Western Zhou city site in Yaoheyuan is relatively well-preserved, with rich connotations and "all five internal organs". It can be regarded as the epitome of the feudal capital during the heyday of the Western Zhou Dynasty.
Through the archaeological research on the Western Zhou city site in Yaoheyuan, we can understand the layout of the Western Zhou feudal capital city site, the tomb system and other information, which can serve as a reference for subsequent archaeological research.
Zhi Gai unearthed from Yaoheyuan site.
Photo courtesy of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology
Secondly, the Western Zhou City Site of Yaoheyuan is located in the northwestmost frontier fortress of the Western Zhou Dynasty. The material culture left behind by the mixed residences of different groups found there provides insights into the political structure of the Western Zhou Dynasty and the relationship between the Western Zhou Dynasty and the northwest border areas. The precious new information also provides a new perspective for studying the archaeological chronology and complex social processes in the Longdong region.
Third, the discovery of the Western Zhou city site in Yaohe Plateau has filled the gap in the study of the history of the Western Zhou Dynasty, especially the study of the history of the western Zhou Dynasty territory.
The discovery of the city site corrects the view that "the Western Zhou Dynasty did not have vassal states in the western territories", proves the Western Zhou Dynasty's control and management of the western territories, and promotes in-depth research on Shang and Zhou archeology.
Interviewee profile:
Ma Qiang, Ph.D. in Archeology from Nanjing University, postdoctoral fellow in Archeology from Northwest University, deputy director and researcher at the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology, focusing on Shang and Zhou archeology and northern bronze culture research.
The archaeological project of the Yaoheyuan site that he presided over won awards such as "Top Ten New Archaeological Discoveries in the Country in 2017", "Second Prize in Field Archeology", and "New Archaeological Discoveries in China in 2020".
He has presided over and completed 1 National Social Science Fund project, participated in 1 major National Social Science Fund project, and published relevant academic articles in core journals such as Acta Archeologica Sinica, Archeology, and Cultural Relics.