China News Service, Urumqi, March 11, Title: Wang Binghua: Well-known academic pioneer of Xinjiang archaeology in New China
Author Ma Xiaodong Gou Jipeng Zhu Jingchao
When I first met Mr. Wang Binghua, he had white hair, a clean gray suit, and a hearty laugh.
At the age of 25, he went to Xinjiang for archeology alone. He worked on the front line for 40 years and pioneered the archaeological cause in Xinjiang, New China. He traveled all over the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains and achieved many pioneering results, which are well-known at home and abroad.
Forty years of searching for pearls in the vast ocean
In 1935, Wang Binghua was born in a family of intellectuals in a water town in the south of the Yangtze River. He graduated from the Department of History of Peking University in 1960, majoring in archeology, and was assigned to the Institute of Archeology of the Xinjiang Branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (the predecessor of the Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region). Since then, he has been closely associated with Xinjiang archeology. Forge an indissoluble bond.
It was an era of "peacocks flying northwest". Talents in various fields supported Xinjiang's construction from all directions with full enthusiasm.
Wang Binghua said that the reason why he came to Xinjiang without hesitation was because there were still many blank spots in the archeology of Xinjiang at that time. The development of many studies relied on information published abroad, and he hoped to contribute to the archaeological cause of the motherland.
From 1927 to 1930, Chinese archaeologist Huang Wenbi participated in the Sino-Swiss Northwest Scientific Expedition and went to Xinjiang to conduct archaeological surveys and excavations, becoming a pioneer in Xinjiang archeology.
However, after Huang Wenbi, the development of archeology in Xinjiang, China, slowed down.
It was not until the founding of New China that Xinjiang archeology got back on track.
Wang Binghua has a simple wish.
"During my work, I must go to all the places that Western scholars have visited and see the sites they mentioned, so that I can have a more specific understanding of their works, otherwise I will have no say." Wang Binghua said, Fortunately he did all of this.
He bluntly said that archeology in Xinjiang is indeed too hard and tiring and requires a certain amount of dedication.
At that time, funds were scarce and transportation was inconvenient. Sometimes it took several days to buy a bus ticket. Where there were no cars, we had to ride horses, donkey carts, tractors, or walk.
At the end of 1979, Wang Binghua surveyed the Gumugou Cemetery.
Photo provided by interviewee
Wang Binghua has been on the frontline of archeology in Xinjiang for 40 years. He traveled to the Ili River Basin, the oasis around the Tarim Basin, the Lop Nur area, the hinterland of the Tianshan Mountains, the Pamir Plateau, etc., and visited Turpan, Niya, Loulan, Gumugou, Alagou, Hami Five He has made outstanding achievements in the field of archeology and research in places such as Fort and Wusun in the Ili River Basin.
Thanks to the efforts of Wang Binghua and his colleagues, Xinjiang archeology has gradually established a relatively complete and systematic academic structure.
Loulan meets Xiaohedun again
Loulan was once a transportation fortress at the beginning of the opening of the Silk Road in the Han Dynasty.
After the 4th century, with the changes in the Silk Road, Loulan disappeared deep into the desert.
In 1979, China and Japan cooperated in the filming of the large-scale documentary "Silk Road". The news that the film crew visited the "Loulan Beauty" caused a sensation. Wang Binghua led the team into the Kongque River Valley northwest of Lop Nur for inspection.
In 1989, Wang Binghua investigated the former site of the Western Region Changshi Mansion in the ancient city of Loulan.
Photo provided by interviewee
Wang Binghua accompanied Ikuo Hirayama and his wife in the ancient city of Loulan.
Photo provided by interviewee
"I led a team to find the cemetery to carry out excavations. There were two tasks. One was to pinpoint the location of Loulan's former site, and the other was to find an early cemetery. It would be best to find well-preserved ancient corpses." He said.
That archaeological excavation broke the simple understanding that the cultural relics in the Lop Nur area were linked to Loulan in the Han Dynasty, and proved that humans had left traces in Lop Nur much earlier.
The rediscovery of Loulan is undoubtedly one of the most important achievements in the archaeological history of Xinjiang.
In 2005, Wang Binghua and Feng Qiyong observed an early cultural relic in the ancient city of Loulan.
Photo provided by interviewee
Another wish of Wang Binghua is to find the Lop Nur Creek Cemetery.
In 1960, the newly established Institute of Archeology of the Xinjiang Branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences actually had only two staff members, including Wang Binghua.
Among the materials collected in the museum at that time was Warlock Bergman's "Archaeology of Xinjiang".
These materials became Wang Binghua’s materials for understanding Xinjiang archeology and learning English.
When he read "Xiaohe Cemetery No. 5", the word "Xiaohe" was deeply imprinted in the depths of his mind.
At the end of 2000, Wang Binghua entered Xiaohe Cemetery.
Photo provided by interviewee
"I had a wish at that time that I must visit with colleagues who are interested in studying ancient Xinjiang civilization the archaeological sites that Western scholars had focused on when Chinese scholars were unable to carry out the work in the early 1930s. Bergman was involved in the plan. A small river to cross." Wang Binghua said.
This seemingly simple wish was difficult to realize before the 1980s.
Restrictions from all parties have delayed the exploration of the "Xiaohe Cemetery".
In 2000, Wang Binghua retired, but his dream of finding the "little river" still existed.
Later, by chance, his longed-for trip to the "Little River" finally came true.
At the end of 2000, Wang Binghua led a team into Xiaohe Cemetery.
Photo provided by interviewee
The inspection started on December 6, 2000 and was completed on December 20 of the same year.
It was winter, and the temperature in the desert was as low as -20°C. After four days of trekking, on the morning of the fifth day, Chinese archaeologists finally set foot on the "Xiaohe Cemetery". The ancient tombs that had stood in the Lop Nur Desert for nearly four thousand years were finally revealed. appeared before the eyes of Chinese archaeologists.
"Although we have gone through many hardships, our long-cherished wish has really come true. With the careful design and practical planning of some fellow travelers and I, we walked directly from the foot of Kuruktag Mountain to the Peacock Valley, walking and 'cameling' one after another. Went into the Luobu Nur Desert and stepped on the sand hills of the 'Xiaohe' ancient tomb!"
Niya reappears at Jingjue Tomb
Wang Binghua said that Niya archeology and exquisite civilization are one of the hot spots in the world. The harsh environmental changes on this land and the history and culture of diverse races and civilizations are of great practical significance.
The ruins of Niya, where Jingjue’s homeland is located, are located on the lower reaches of the Niya River in Minfeng County, Xinjiang.
In the past, Minfeng County was not accessible by plane. Before the opening of the Taklimakan Desert Highway, people who wanted to go to Niya had to go to Hotan first and then travel hundreds of kilometers.
The camp where China and Japan cooperated in Niya archeology in 1996.
Photo provided by interviewee
Despite this, as the Chinese academic leader of the Sino-Japanese Niya archaeological team, Wang Binghua has led the team into the Niya desert six times since 1991, designing, planning, arranging and deploying the work, and was personally responsible for its implementation.
At this point, the weather-beaten wrinkles on the octogenarian Wang Binghua's forehead seemed to instantly relax: "I have to talk about the 'Jingjue Wang Tomb'..."
At the end of 1995, by chance, Wang Binghua and several colleagues set foot on the Niya Desert again and discovered traces of a cemetery.
As the excavation work progressed, the "corners" of King Jingjue's tomb were exposed, and a large number of exquisite silk brocades that had never been seen before were discovered. The most famous of them is one of the greatest discoveries in Chinese archaeology in the 20th century - by Han Dynasty brocade armbands trimmed with white silk.
In 2014, Wang Binghua accompanied Chinese and foreign scholars to inspect the Niya site.
Photo provided by interviewee
The brocade contains eight Chinese characters in seal script: "Five stars come out of the east and benefit China."
As soon as this tapestry came out, it immediately caused a sensation at home and abroad.
Wang Binghua told reporters that these exquisite silk brocades not only show the great success of the Chinese Han Dynasty in governing the Western Regions, but also reflect the Jingjue Kingdom's extensive absorption of Han culture.
"In that era, the Jingjue Kingdom was the center of exchanges between many oasis kingdoms in Central Asia and the Han Dynasty. In this grand undertaking, the Jingjue Kingdom gained a dazzling aura and was clearly at the center of the stage." Professor Wang Binghua said.
Wang Binghua at the ruins of Jingjue Ancient City.
Photo provided by interviewee
This is the heart that connects Europe and Asia
"Xinjiang is an important gateway for us to understand the exchanges between ancient China and the vast Eurasian world." Wang Binghua said that the significance of Xinjiang archeology is not limited to Xinjiang. Xinjiang's location on the ancient Eurasian continent determined its history, Cultural development is by no means an isolated point.
In Wang Binghua’s 40 years of archaeological experience in Xinjiang, “Xinjiang Archeology and Western Region Civilization” seems to be a topic that always revolves around.
He said that in the process of ancient China's exchanges with South Asia, Southwest Asia, Persia, South Siberia and other vast areas, Xinjiang, as the main channel and core zone, had irreplaceable importance.
Wang Binghua introduced the situation of the ancient city of Loulan to Professor Qigong and Professor Jia Lanpo.
Photo provided by interviewee
Zhang Qian of the Western Han Dynasty cleared the Western Regions and opened the Silk Road. Exchanges and collisions between Eastern and Western civilizations became increasingly frequent.
But in Wang Binghua’s view, this kind of exchange between Eastern and Western civilizations should have existed earlier.
The transportation routes in the Western Regions recorded in ancient Chinese classics mainly travel along the north and south roads of the Tarim Basin. According to Wang Binghua’s field archaeological investigations over the years, from the Bronze Age to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the roads that passed through the inner canyons of the Tianshan Mountains were all roads in the ancient Western Regions. The passage for people to travel from east to west is also an important route on the Silk Road.
During the construction of the railway between Turpan and Korla in 1976, many cultural relics were discovered along the way. After learning the news, Wang Binghua went to investigate, ate and lived with the workers building the road, and engaged in archaeological excavations in Alagou for nearly three years.
He cleaned more than a hundred tombs of Cypriot nobles from the early Bronze Age, late to the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, found a large number of gold vessels and other cultural relics, and began to realize that ancient humans in Xinjiang used the ancient roads in the Tianshan Canyon to communicate.
During this archaeological period, Wang Binghua followed the Alagou and traveled east-west and north-south in the Tianshan Canyon many times, conducting on-site inspections of the transportation routes and archaeological remains in the Tianshan Canyon.
In this regard, he proposed the concept of the "Tianshan Canyon Ancient Road", which means that the Tianshan Mountains are by no means a closed existence. The Tianshan Valley Ancient Road was a communication bridge between Xinjiang and western Central Asia in ancient times, and was also one of the convergence points for exchanges between Eastern and Western civilizations.
In the "Ili Grassland Culture - Searching for the Historical Trajectory of Nomads" exhibited at the Gansu Provincial Museum, the grassland rock painting culture attracts visitors.
Ili is an inevitable place on the northern route of the Prairie Silk Road, where Eastern and Western cultures meet.
Photo by Yang Yanmin
He said that the archaeological remains of Alagou are of universal significance for understanding the "Ancient Road in Tianshan Canyon".
The Tianshan Mountains are widely distributed with glaciers, canyons, grasslands, and basins, and are natural passages for nomadic peoples to travel.
The gold and silverware from Boma tombs discovered in the Ili River Basin, the "Golden Tomb" in Alagou, and the rock paintings of fertility worship at Kangjia Shimenzi in Hutubi County all point to the fact that Eurasian civilizations have communicated here long ago. .
"These discoveries can also be found in documents from the Tang Dynasty and Ming Dynasty unearthed in Turpan. These archaeological evidences allow us to re-understand the geographical space of the Western Regions, and the Silk Road can also travel through the Tianshan Mountains." Wang Binghua said.
He said that the development process of ancient Eurasia actually influenced and supported each other. If you understand this truth, you can have a more open mind to treat the world.
(over)
Interviewee profile:
Wang Binghua, born in 1935 in Nantong, Jiangsu Province, is a famous archaeologist.
He graduated from the History Department of Peking University in 1960, majoring in archeology. In July of the same year, he entered the Institute of Archeology of the Xinjiang Branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Awarded researcher in 1987.
In 1989, he was appointed director of Xinjiang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology.
He has twice won the honorary title of "Expert with Outstanding Contributions" in Xinjiang, and has enjoyed special government allowances from the State Council since 1992.
He has worked on the frontline of Xinjiang archeology for 40 years and has conducted in-depth research on Xinjiang desert archeology and ancient ethnic archeology. He has profound academic attainments and is well-known at home and abroad.
His major works include more than 20 books such as "Ancient Civilization in Turpan" and "Archaeological Research on the Silk Road". He is the editor-in-chief of a series of books such as "New Gains in Xinjiang Cultural Relics and Archeology".