China News Service, Taipei, March 29th: Looking for traces of Li Ji in Taiwan on the 45th anniversary of his death
China News Service reporter Yang Chengchen
This year marks the 45th anniversary of the death of the outstanding anthropologist and archaeologist Li Ji. The last time Zang Zhenhua saw Li Ji was at the end of July 1979. Before going to Harvard University to study for a PhD in Anthropology, I went to the National Taiwan University Teachers’ Dormitory on Wenzhou Street in Taipei to say goodbye to my teachers. Before leaving, Li Ji warned, "Go early and come back early." In early August, Zang Zhenhua, who had just arrived in the United States, learned of the teacher’s death at Yenching Academy.
Since 1928, Li Ji and his colleagues have led 15 excavations of the Yin Ruins, pushing Chinese archeology onto a scientific path. 96 years later, next to the ruins of the Yinxu capital city in Anyang, Henan, a brand-new archaeological museum with a full sense of technology welcomed its first batch of visitors in February.
Photos of Li Chi among the books on display at the Historical Relics Exhibition Hall of the Institute of History and Linguistics, Academia Sinica, Taiwan. Photo by Yang Chengchen
Zang Zhenhua followed his teacher's instructions and returned to Taiwan to teach after graduating with his doctorate. He is now the director of the Institute of Anthropology at Tsinghua University in Taiwan and a researcher at the Academia Sinica in Taiwan. His academic interaction with his teacher Li Ji continued. Recently, reporters from China News Service's "East-West Question" visited many places in Taipei under the guidance of Professor Zang, looking for traces of Li Ji.
Li Ji “has not disappeared”
Li Jizhi, courtesy name Jizhi, was born in Zhongxiang, Hubei Province in 1896. He went to the United States to study at the age of 22. He was the first Chinese to study for a doctorate in anthropology in the United States. In 1923, he returned to China to teach at Nankai University. In 1926, he led the excavation of the archaeological site in Xiyin Village, Shanxi. In the early 20th century, archaeological work in China was monopolized by Western geologists and missionaries. The Xiyin Village archeology was the first excavation project led by Chinese. Li Ji was therefore praised by academic circles as the "Father of Modern Chinese Archeology".
Two years later, the excavation of the Yin Ruins led by Li Ji, director of the archaeological group of the Institute of History and Philology of Academia Sinica, and Dong Zuobin, an oracle bone writer, shocked the world. This discovery transformed the Yin and Shang culture from historical legends into well-documented and trustworthy history. Since then, Li Ji's name has been closely linked with Yin Xu.
In 1948, Li Ji was elected as the first academician of Academia Sinica and moved to Taiwan at the end of the same year. At the Institute of History and Philology of Taiwan's "Academia Sinica" in Nangang, Taipei, Li Chi's figure "has not disappeared" to this day.
Recently, reporters visited many places in Taipei to look for traces of Li Ji. The picture shows the cultural relics excavated from the Yin Ruins on display in the Historical Relics Exhibition Hall of the Institute of History and Philology of the Academia Sinica in Taiwan. This is known as one of the "most worth visiting exhibitions" in Taiwan. Photo by Yang Chengchen
The exhibitions in the institute's historical relics exhibition hall are known as one of the "most worth visiting exhibitions" in Taiwan. The Yin Ruins Cultural Exhibition Area on the first floor stores almost all the cultural relics that the Institute of History and Philology spent nine years and 15 excavations in total, accounting for 70% of the total inventory of the exhibition hall. From bronzes, stone jades, chariots and horses to oracle bone inscriptions, this research museum presents a panoramic view of the civilization of the Shang Dynasty. Hu Shi, the former president of Taiwan’s Academia Sinica, once said that many foreigners “see these 3,000-year-old Yin Ruins stone carvings and realize that they were still children at that time.”
After arriving in Taiwan, Li Chi took over as the director of the Institute of History and Language of the Academia Sinica in Taiwan in 1955. Whether it is the introduction to the Yin Ruins exhibition or the books for visitors to browse, you can frequently read about Li Ji's contribution to the Institute of History and Philology and the protection of Yin Ruins cultural relics.
The Taiwan Archaeological Museum opposite the Historical Relics Exhibition Hall has two buildings. The former building was built in 1958 and is one of the oldest buildings in Academia Sinica. In 1979, the institute renamed it "Li Ji Memorial Hall" to commemorate Li Ji's contribution to archeology.
Recently, reporters visited many places in Taipei to look for traces of Li Ji. The picture shows the "Li Chi Memorial Hall" located in the "Academia Sinica" in Taiwan. Photo by Yang Chengchen
In the early days when the Institute of History and Language moved to Taiwan, the cultural relics and books that came with the institute were temporarily shelved. Before the exhibition hall was opened, these bronzes, stone carvings and oracle bone inscriptions were placed in the "Li Ji Memorial Hall". Until the opening of the exhibition hall in 2002, the cultural relics were open to the public.
Lost the intoxicating fields?
Since leaving the mainland, Li Ji's academic reputation in Taiwan has grown. In 1949, he founded the Department of Archeology and Anthropology at National Taiwan University and served as its director, making it his mission to train professional archaeologists. In the early 1970s, Zang Zhenhua, who was studying in the Department of Archeology and Anthropology at National Taiwan University, was serving in a student organization. When he first met Li Ji, he invited the department director to give a speech.
"Of course I was frightened when I came into contact with such a big figure that I admired so much." Zang Zhenhua recalled that the title of Li Ji's speech at that time was "The Origin of Chinese Civilization." "But after I went there, I was really 'warm when I saw him.' What I saw was a kind old man. On the night of the speech, he came to school to meet his classmates with a very gentle attitude, even laughing and joking. Everyone's impression Completely changed."
After graduating from his undergraduate degree, Zang Zhenhua continued to study at graduate school at National Taiwan University, and took the "Special Research on Yin Ruins" class taught by Li Ji in his second year. Zang Zhenhua considers himself very lucky. On the one hand, he was able to listen to Li Ji’s teachings in person when he was sick in his later years. “At the end of the course, we had to write a reading report, so he called us to his home on Wenzhou Street. Everyone lined up and entered one after another. room, he carefully commented on each person's report and proposed modifications." On the other hand, because my girlfriend at the time and now my wife served as Li Ji's assistant, "This made me more familiar with Mr. Li."
In 1982, the Department of Archeology and Anthropology of National Taiwan University was renamed the Department of Anthropology under the leadership of Li Guangzhou, the adopted son of Li Ji and an archaeologist at the time, and was renamed the Department of Anthropology, which it still uses today. The Department of Anthropology Museum is located next to National Taiwan University's Coconut Grove Avenue. On the walls of the museum are photos of teachers and students of the first graduating class of the department. Li Ji and his most famous students Zhang Guangzhi, Li Yiyuan, Song Wenxun, and Chen Qilu are among them.
Recently, reporters visited many places in Taipei to look for traces of Li Ji. The picture shows the Anthropology Museum located next to National Taiwan University's Coconut Grove Avenue. Photo by Yang Chengchen
Some Taiwanese scholars believe that this former "master" of archeology has lost his beloved field after coming to Taiwan, which is sad. But Zang Zhenhua doesn’t think so. “Although there are fewer and fewer scholars who really know Li Ji, the younger generation can recognize his contribution to archaeological research. It can be said that without him, there would be no current scale of archeology.”
Zang Zhenhua, who once served as deputy director of the Institute of History and Language of the Academia Sinica in Taiwan, told a reporter from China News Service that during the mainland period, Li Chi was the enlightener and leader of modern Chinese archaeology. He combined the concepts of anthropological fieldwork and modern archaeological methods. Take it to the Yin Ruins for excavation. "But the real research and arrangement of cultural relics was done in Taiwan, including the study of Yin Ruins pottery, the publication of special issues on ancient artifacts, and the study of advocating Taiwan's reconstruction of ancient Chinese history. These results and methods are also inspiring to mainland archaeologists."
The history of Chinese civilization is constantly pushed forward by archaeologists from both sides of the Taiwan Strait
Zang Zhenhua wrote in his article "Li Ji and the Excavation of Yin Ruins: A Perspective and Reflection on Academic History" that Li Ji became an outstanding archaeological scholar because of the combination of "accidental" and "inevitable" factors.
The so-called "accidental opportunity", Zang Zhenhua believes that Li Ji went to the United States to study psychology in his early years, and later changed to sociology. After receiving a doctorate in anthropology and returning to China, he devoted himself to the research of Chinese anthropology, but "by chance" he was invited to enter the field of archeology. Led the excavation of Xiyin Village.
"It is inevitable that it stems from his purity and his insistence on caring about the fate of the country and personal characteristics of historical research." Zang Zhenhua said that the main purpose of Western scholars coming to China for archeology is to search for cultural relics. "Mr. Li believes that you can cooperate with me. , but the things cannot be shipped to the United States, we are just doing pure research."
Li Ji has been engaged in archaeological research all his life. He never collects antiques and regards this as the creed of archaeologists. "This is basic ethics and one of his most important influences on future generations."
After Li Ji's death, Zhang Guangzhi, Li Guangzhou and others inherited his legacy and continued to engage in archaeological research in Taiwan. In mainland China, Liang Siyong, a friend of Li Ji and one of the hosts of the Yin Ruins excavations, and Xia Nai, an archaeologist and student of Li Ji, have never forgotten this old friend. In 1959, with their mediation, Li Ji and his wife met briefly with their son Li Guangmo, who had stayed in mainland China, in Zhuhai, Guangdong.
In recent years, archeology has become a hot topic in mainland China, and people’s attention to Sanxingdui, Liangzhu ruins, and the tomb of King Wen of South Vietnam has increased sharply. A number of programs and documentaries focusing on archeology and cultural relics have made many archaeologists well-known to the public. Tang Jigen, the former director of the Anyang Work Station of the Institute of Archeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, is one of them.
The drone photo shows a bird's-eye view of the archaeological excavation of the Shang Wang Tomb and surrounding remains at Yin Ruins in Anyang, Henan. (Information map provided by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage)
Zang Zhenhua and Tang Jigen have known each other for many years. Tang once wrote an article "The Yin Ruins Complex of Scholars on Both Sides of the Taiwan Strait", detailing the cooperation between academic circles on both sides of the Taiwan Strait on the archeology of the Yin Ruins, and mentioned his contact with Zang Zhenhua in many places. From the beginning of 1990, Zang Zhenhua began to travel between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait and visited the Yin Ruins excavation site many times. He recalled that for a period of time, scholars from both sides of the Taiwan Strait visited each other very closely. At one point, Zang Zhenhua discovered that the probability of seeing Li Ji's name was higher in mainland China than in Taiwan.
"When commemorating the 80th anniversary of the excavation of the Yin Ruins, I was invited to the mainland. Mainland scholars also came to Taiwan to see cultural relics and visit archaeological sites. Later, the two sides hoped to continue academic exchanges by sharing historical materials." Zang Zhenhua said that Mr. Zhang Guangzhi has always emphasized that " To do archeology in Taiwan, you must go to Fujian." Archaeologists in Taiwan also hope to have more opportunities to travel to the mainland.
In 1943, Li Ji wrote "A Brief Introduction to Ancient Stone Tools" in Lizhuang, Sichuan. He judged in the article: China's prehistoric cultural archaeologists have a bright future, and advancing the starting point of culture will inevitably enhance the national self-confidence of the Chinese people a hundred times. "These words are completely far-sighted." Zang Zhenhua believes that as cultural relics continue to be unearthed and archaeological methods continue to be updated, people have a deeper understanding of the formation of ancient civilizations. There is no doubt that the history of Chinese civilization is constantly pushed forward by contemporary archaeologists on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
Recently, reporters visited many places in Taipei to look for traces of Li Ji. In 1979, Li Ji died of illness in Wenzhou Street, Taipei. Today, Wenzhou Street, Roosevelt Road, and Tingzhou Road are well-known second-hand bookstore gathering areas. Photo by Yang Chengchen
On August 1, 1979, Li Ji died of illness in Wenzhou Street, Taipei. The apartment where he lived back then has long been returned to National Taiwan University, but no trace of it can be found according to the map. It is said that Li Ji's collection of books and correspondence manuscripts were scattered to bookstalls after Li Guangzhou's death.
The area around Wenzhou Street, Roosevelt Road, and Tingzhou Road, centered around National Taiwan University and National Taiwan Normal University, is a well-known second-hand bookstore and bookstall gathering area in Taipei. Although the prosperity of paper book publishing has faded, resulting in the decline of traditional bookstores, "Wen Luo Ting" is still a good place for Taiwanese literati to find rare and ancient books.
The reporter came to the well-known second-hand bookstore "Jiuxiangju". The staff member Chen Xueqi took out from his hand a yellowed and wrinkled scholarship paper "An Examination of Ritual Instruments". The author is Zeng Yongyi, a well-known Taiwanese opera and folklore scholar. He wrote on the cover: Mr. Jizhi taught the truth, and his student Zeng Yongyi respectfully presented it.
Recently, reporters visited many places in Taipei to look for traces of Li Ji. In the well-known second-hand bookstore "Jiuxiangju" located in "Wenluoding", the staff showed reporters a paper with Li Ji's name on the cover. Photo by Yang Chengchen
Chen Xueqi deduced that this should be "passed down" from Li Ji's family. "I remember seeing Li Ji's manuscript in a bookstore." The man has passed away, and it is difficult to find traces of Li Ji's life in the Wenzhou Street area, but his collection of books and calligraphy are still left around for later generations to find and recall. (over)