In1899,inXiaoTunVillageofAnyangCity,HenanProvince,villagersfoundmanytortoise(龟)shellsandbonescarvedwithlettersandsymbols,whichunveiled(显露)totheworldYinXu,anancientcitywithalonghistoryandsplendidculture.Sincethenthisplacehasbecomeofgreatinteresttoworldwidearcheologists,becausethoseinscriptionshaveprovedtobetheearliestwrittencharactersofhumanbeings,theOracles.
About3,300yearsago,oneemperoroftheShangDynasty(16th-11thcenturyBC)movedhiscapitalcitytoYin,whichistoday’sAnyangcity,andsincethenYinhasbeenthecapitalcityformorethan250years.TodayYinXuhasprovedtobetheearliestremainsofanancientcapitalcityinwrittenrecord.Coveringagrandareaof24squarekilometers(morethan9squaremiles),YinXuhadapalacesdistrict,civilresidencesdistrict,tombsdistrictandworkshopsdistrict,dividedintotwopartsbytheHengriverinthecity.Thisrationallayoutclearlyshowspeopleapowerfulcountryandawell-equippedancientcity.
Thelarge-scaleexcavationinYinXuhasbeencontinuedsincethelastcentury.Besidesthe150,000piecesoforacles,abundantbronzewarehasbeenexcavated,andamongthem,SimuwuDing,a4-leggedbronzecookingvessel(器皿)isthebiggestandheaviestbronzewareeverfoundworldwide.Apartfromoraclesandbronzeware,peoplehavealsoexcavatedmuchpotterywareandjade.Theexcavationisstillinprogressandgreatdiscoveriescomeforthfromtimetotime.Likeafamousarcheologisthassaid,inYinXutherearemoretreasurestobefound.
BecauseofitsgreatvalueinnotonlythehistoricalrelicsofChineseculturebutalsothehumancivilizationofthewholeworld,YinXutoppedthe100GreatestArcheologicalDiscoveriesofChinainthelastcenturyanditwaslistedintheWorldCulturalandNaturalHeritageListofUnitedNationsEducational,ScientificandCulturalOrganization(UNESCO).YinXuisrevealingitsbeautytotheworld.
MuseumonYinRuins
OK,everybody.Soonwe’llgettotheMuseumonYinRuins,thebestmuseumforthestudyoftheYinShangCulture.NowpleaselistentomeandI’dliketotakethisopportunitytogiveyouabriefintroductiononit.
Asyouknow,Chinaisoneoftheearliestcountriestodiscovercharacters.Asearlyas4,000yearsago,peopleusedbonesortortoiseshellstorecordeventsoftheirsociallife.Itistheearliestwrittenformoflanguageintheworld.Todaywecallthemtheoracleboneinscriptions,whichwerefirstdiscoveredintheYinRuins.
SpeakoftheYinRuins,itisatXiaotunVillageofAnyangCity.Inancienttimes,XiaotunwascalledYinanditwasthecapitaloftheShangDynasty.SotheperiodwasalsocalledYinShang.AftertheYinhadbeenoverthrown,thecitydeclinedandtheremainsofitwaslatercalledtheYinRuins.
TheYinRuinsisfamousforthreethings,i.e.theoracleinscriptions,thebronzewaresandtheancientcapitaloftheShangDynasty.
SincethefoundingofnewChina,theYinRuinshadbeenlistedasthefirstgroupofculturalrelicsundernationalprotection.Inordertopreserveitsculture,thegovernmentbuilt“GardenoftheYinRuins”onthesite.Todaythegardenisdividedintoseveralsectionswithancientobjectsondisplay.
Next,let’scometothemainhallwheretheoracleinscriptionsareexhibited.I’lltalksomethingmoreabouttheoracleboneinscriptions.TheoracleboneinscriptionswerefirstdiscoveredduringtheyearsofEmperorGuangXu,intheQingDynasty.Then15importantarchaeologicalexcavationswerecarriedoutwithin10years,andmorethan16,000piecesofbonesandshellswerefound.ButintheShangDynasty,theywereusedasdivinations(预言),whenpeoplewereverysuperstitious.Theinscriptionscoverawiderangeoffields,suchassacrifice,wars,stateaffairs,weather,hunting,etc.Today,theyprovideimportantinformationforthestudyoftheShangDynasty.Andthestudyoftheoracleboneinscriptionshasbecomeanewsubjectandisgettingmorepopularamongpeople.
Apartfromtheoracleboneinscriptions,bronzewaresareanotherimportantpartoftheculturalrelicsdiscoveredfromtheRuins,whichshowthatthetechnologyofbronzecastingreacheditspeakintheShangDynasty.Thebronzewaresincludevessels,weapons,chariotsandsoon.Ofalltheunearthedwares,“SimuwuDing”isthelargestbronzewareintheworld.Itiselegantinappearanceandintricatelycarvedinpatterns,showingthepeakofbronzecastingtechnologyintheShangDynasty.
Finallywecometothesideoftheimperialpalacesandtombs.ThesiteoftheimperialpalacesliesonthenorthoftheXiaotunvillage,tothesouthbankofHengheriver.In1976nearthesitethetheimperialpalacesarchaeologistsfoundthetombofthefirstwomangeneralinChinesehistory.
TombofFuHao.FuHaowasEmperorWuDing’swife,bothintelligentandcourageous.ShehadbravelyledtheYinarmyfightinginmanywarsandmadegreatcontributionstotheprotectingofthecountry.Afterherdeath,WuDingbuiltalargetombnearthepalacetohonorhermerits.Buriedtogetherwithherweremanyslavesandwarprisonersaswellas1,928sacrificialobjects.TombofFuHaoistheonlywell-preservedtombunearthedsofarintheYinRains.ThelargenumbersofsacrificialobjectsarevaluableculturalrelicsinthetreasurehouseofChineseart.
Moreover,therearesomeotherpreciousancientarticlesdisplayedinthemuseum,peoplewhoareinterestedintheYinShangCulturewillgainalotfromourvisiting.
Well,OK.Somuchfortheintroduction.Hereweare,theYinRuins.Pleasegetreadyyourstuffandthendismountthebus.We’llbeginourterrificvisiting.I’msureyou’llenjoyasplendidexperiencehere.Haveagoodtime.Thankyou.