Liangzhu in the Eyes of an Archaeological Journalist: One Dig for Five Millennia (Liangzhu Civilization)

This book traces archaeological exploration and discoveries as early as 2012 and reveals Liangzhu culture by reviewing seven years of archaeological findings at the Liangzhu historical site, developments in archaeology history, the psychological journeys of archaeologists, as well as the collision of schools of thought. It also contains in-depth interviews with archaeological experts and other specialists, building a bridge between popular interest and academic interest, and showcases Liangzhu civilization and archaeology for professionals and the general public alike. Foreword 6 Liangzhu and Five Thousand Years of Chinese Civilization 6 Contents 10 1 Those Amazing Discoveries 13 1.1 The Village—Once Home of Liangzhu Ancestors 13 1.2 We Understand Less Than 20% of Liangzhu Culture 16 1.2.1 Yujiashan Settlements Influenced by Liangzhu Culture 17 1.2.2 Yujiashan Ruins—Sign of 5,000-Year-Old Chinese Civilization 18 1.3 Liangzhu Pictorial Symbols Stir Controversy 20 1.3.1 Large Numbers of Liangzhu Symbols Unearthed in Recent Years 20 1.3.2 Was It a Character, Earlier Than Oracle Bone Inscriptions? 21 1.3.3 Does This Symbol Stand for “Bird” or “Singing”? 21 1.4 Six Mysterious Symbols Displayed Vertically 23 1.4.1 Archaeologists Obsessed with Mysterious Symbols on Stone Artefacts 23 1.4.2 Mental Workers—Creators of Primitive Characters 24 1.5 Reading Pictorial Symbols—A “Vogue” in Liangzhu 25 1.6 Restoring a Working Day of Liangzhu Ancients 29 1.6.1 Base Rocks Moved from Suburban Dazhe Mountain 30 1.6.2 Immense Workload to Move Rocks to Construction Site 32 1.7 Life of Liangzhu Ancients in Water-Abundant Region 33 1.7.1 The Earliest Known Water Conservancy System in China 33 1.7.2 Liangzhu Ancients Lived by Water and Traveled by Boat 34 1.7.3 Setting the Style for Waterfront Towns South of Yangtze River 36 1.8 Liangzhu Ruins Discovered in Downtown Hangzhou 37 1.8.1 Jiru Ruins: New Evidence of Old Town Moving Toward South 37 1.8.2 Liangzhu Ancients Skillful in Building Houses 38 1.8.3 What Else We Don’t Know About the Liangzhu Culture? 39 1.9 The Pier—Exclusive Gateway for Liangzhu Palace Elites 40 1.9.1 Making “Sand Bags” for Consolidating River Banks 41 1.9.2 There Might Be More Than One Pier that Led to the Palace 42 1.10 The Wells of the Liangzhu People 43 1.11 Songze and Liangzhu: Linked Cultures with Varied Styles 45 1.11.1 Comparison of Pottery Designs 46 1.11.2 Comparison in Carving Patterns 47 1.11.3 Competition in Jade Ornaments 48 1.12 Treasures from the Tomb of Liangzhu King 49 1.13 Discovery of 11 Dams Rewrites China’s Water Conservancy History 52 1.13.1 How Were the Dams Discovered? 53 1.13.2 How to Build the Dams? 54 1.13.3 Authenticating the Water Conservancy System 56 1.13.4 The Dams Capable of Resisting Severe Floods 56 1.14 Major Archaeological Discovery in Hydraulic Science 57 1.14.1 Imitating Liangzhu for Flood Control, Yu the Great Succeeded and His Father Failed 58 1.14.2 Water Management Linked to Birth of Civilization 59 1.14.3 Liangzhu Set Settlement Patterns South of Yangtze River 60 1.15 Liangzhu Selected as Top 10 New Discoveries 61 1.16 Leave Fame and Merits Behind, as Duties Are Fulfilled 63 1.16.1 Liangzhu Prehistoric Society Brings Joy to Zhejiang 63 1.16.2 More Discoveries Expected for Liangzhu 64 1.17 The Ancient City—Home to Royalty, Craftsmen and Northerners Eating Millet 65 1.18 Mysterious Disappearance—Where Had the Liangzhu People Gone? 69 1.18.1 Liangzhu Culture “DNA” Hidden on Jade Plaques 70 1.18.2 Three Criteria for Naming Haochuan Culture 71 1.18.3 Haochuan—Major Destination for Liangzhu People 72 1.19 Brilliant Transformation of Liangzhu Museum 73 1.20 Six Keywords Explain Why Liangzhu is Sacred Place of Civilization 81 1.21 The First Visitor to Relaunched Liangzhu Museum 85 1.22 Identifying Needs for Jades by Ancient Customers 89 2 Those Enterprising Archaeologists 110 2.1 Shi Xingeng: Born in Liangzhu, Born for Liangzhu 110 2.1.1 Chang Shuhong Taught Him Painting 111 2.1.2 One or Two Black Pottery Shards 112 2.1.3 An Archaeological Report 114 2.2 Fifty-Seven Explorers and Guardians of Liangzhu 116 2.2.1 Fifty-Seven Archaeologists Discovered 5,000-Year-Old Civilization 117 2.2.2 Moving Forward Step by Step in Recovering History 117 2.2.3 Marriage of Couples with Long-Time Separation 118 2.3 Mou Yongkang: Persistent Practitioner of Field Archaeology 119 2.3.1 Archaeology Was More Than a Straightforward Job 121 2.3.2 Rescue Excavation on Hemudu Ruins 123 2.3.3 Conducting Research with Global Perspective 124 2.4 Like Grass in Desert, He Takes Root Deeply to Survive 125 2.5 Wang Mingda: A Man Comparing Virtue to Jade 129 2.5.1 Thermos Factory: Three Archaeology Magazines and One Reader 131 2.5.2 Excavation of Fanshan Ruins: We’ve Got It 133 2.5.3 Liangzhu Jades: A Perfect Combination of Material and Fine Craftsmanship 134 2.6 Narrative of Liangzhu by A Cheng 136 2.7 Liu Bin: Keeping Eyes on Stars and Feet on the Ground 142 2.8 He Draws Sacred Motif with Pen Thinner Than Hair 147 3 Applying for World Heritage Status 156 3.1 Liangzhu Discoveries Attest to 5,000-Year Chinese Civilization 156 3.2 No Imitations Could Excel Over the Motifs on Jade Cong 158 3.2.1 The Logo of Liangzhu Ancients—Originality in Big Eyes 159 3.2.2 “Cultural Creations” of Liangzhu Imitated by Later Generations 161 3.2.3 Ways of Restoring the Past: Innovation and Invention 162 3.3 Colin Renfrew Confident in Liangzhu Applying for World Heritage Status 163 3.4 Foreign Archaeologists Voice Support for Liangzhu 165 3.4.1 World Acknowledgment of Liangzhu as a Symbol of 5,000-Year History of Chinese Civilization 166 3.4.2 Research of Liangzhu Rewrites the World History 167 3.4.3 Liangzhu Ruins Are of World-Class Significance, Not Just for China 168 3.5 Ancient City Nominated for World Heritage Status 169 3.6 Designing Souvenirs for Modern Customers 173 3.7 Ten Years of Digging for Five Millennia 179