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The Magical Luoyang Spade

Source:dahe.cn Published:2020-08-27 16:06

The Magical Luoyang Spade

洛阳铲:一把神奇的铲子

 

ZHENGZHOU, Aug. 26 (Xinhua News Agency) -- A spade is thrust into the ground, and what it brings out, not only the soil, but also the history deeply buried underground. It is the Luoyang Spade, a traditional tube-shaped tool widely used by Chinese archaeologists. Today, Luoyang Spade also enjoys great popularity in all walks of life.

新华社郑州8月26日电 旋入土下知千年,正邪两面世人评。一把铲子插入地下,带出来的,不仅仅是泥土,是让深藏于地下的历史真迹重现天日。这,就是中国人考古勘探的独门神器——洛阳铲,而如今,洛阳铲在各行各业大显神通。


Luoyang Spades of different sizes. [Photo by Chang Shifeng/For Luoyang Daily]


At a small workshop in Xiaoli village, north of Luoyang, we met Sun Kaiqiang, an intangible heritage inheritor of Luoyang Spade forging art. He was hammering intently at a semi-cylindrical iron object, now and then squinting one eye to observe its radian.

在洛阳城北小李村一处不起眼的作坊内,记者见到了洛阳铲锻造技艺非遗传承人孙凯强。只见他手拿铁锤,聚精会神地敲打着一件半圆柱形铁器,不时眯起一只眼,观察铁器的弧度。

 

This is the most critical step in forging Luoyang Spade. “If the spade’s radian is too big, it will not be easy to bring out the soil. On the contrary, if its radian is too small, the soil will be stuck inside the tube.” Sun said that precise radian adjustment is entirely made by ancestral craft, without drawings and parameters, so a qualified Luoyang Spade always needs four to five hundred hammerings.

这是洛阳铲锻造过程中最关键的步骤。“弧度太大带不出土,弧度太小,土夹在里面,不易倒土。”孙凯强说,打造弧度全凭祖传手艺,没有图纸也没有参数,样子都在心里头,一把铲得敲打四五百锤才能成型。


The abandoned spade heads. [Photo by Chang Shifeng/For Luoyang Daily]


In 2015, the forging techniques of Luoyang Spade was included in the List of Representative Intangible Cultural Heritages of Henan Province. It has been handed down for 100 years by Sun’s family. Sun is 30 years old now, obsessed with this forging techniques. When he was a child, he followed his grandfather to practise this craft in a blacksmith’s shop.

洛阳铲锻造技艺2015年入选河南省省级非遗代表性项目名录。作为这项技艺的传承者,孙氏家族脉脉相传,至今百年。今年30岁的孙凯强,自幼跟着爷爷在铁匠铺里敲敲打打,对技艺很是痴迷。

 

“I must make the spade delicate every time.” Sun said a Luoyang Spade has to go through nearly 20 processes, such as forging, trimming, sharpening, firing, molding and quenching. A small mistake destroys all the processes.

“要做就得给它做精致。”孙凯强说,一把洛阳铲要经过锻打、剪边、磨刃、烧制、成型、淬火等近二十道工序,每道工序环环相扣,一步出错下面都会受到影响。

 

Luoyang Spade is about 3 meters in length with a rope at the top of the rod. With the help of it, one can easily dug a deep hole of ten to twenty meters. After pulling the spade out of the ground, it will bring out a tube of soil. By distinguishing the structure, color, density and contents of the soil, archaeologists can determine soil quality and judge whether there are any ancient tombs underground.

连铲带杆3米左右,杆顶穿以绳索,单人操作可打出一二十米深的探孔,提起后,铲头的内面还会带出一筒土壤。通过对土壤的结构、颜色、密度和包含物的辨别,可以判断出土质以及地下有无古墓葬等情况。

 

“The Luoyang Spade helped unearth many important historical sites like Luoyang City in Sui and Tang dynasties and the Ancient Cities in Han and Wei dynasties.” According to Shi Jiazhen, head of Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology of Luoyang, Luoyang Spade is famous not only in domestic archaeology sector, but also in the foreign countries. In the early 1970s, they gifted a beautifully-crafted Luoyang Spade to their Albania counterparts when Chinese archaeology delegation visited Albania.

“隋唐洛阳城、汉魏故城等重要遗址都是用洛阳铲探明的。”洛阳市文物考古研究院院长史家珍介绍,洛阳铲不仅在中国考古界普及。20世纪70年代初,中国考古代表团访问阿尔巴尼亚时,赠送的礼物就是一把打造精致的洛阳铲。


A supersized Luoyang Spade. [Photo by Chang Shifeng/For Luoyang Daily]

 

Today, after painstaking practice and development by several generations, Luoyang Spade has developed from the original specifications to more than ten kinds of shapes and sizes, and has been introduced to all walks of life for road slope protection and reinforcement, perfusion pile foundation, oil exploration, etc.

如今,经过数代人的潜心实践和研制,洛阳铲的铲头已由最初的一种规格,发展到十余种形状大小不同的铲头,使用范围也从考古勘探,扩展到道路护坡加固、建筑桩基灌注、石油勘探等各行各业。

 

“More than 300 Luoyang Spades we made were used in the Anyang section of the central route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project.” Sun said Luoyang Spade can be used in many places unsuitable for large-scale mechanical operations since it is easy to operate and less damaging.

“南水北调中线工程仅安阳段工地就使用了300余把我们做的洛阳铲。”孙凯强说,洛阳铲操作方便、破坏性小,在一些不便于大规模机械作业的工地,都能派上用场。

 

Despite short supply, Sun’s family still faces difficulties in passing down their techniques. The factory recruits workers all year round, but many of them could not bear hardships and chose to leave.

尽管生产的洛阳铲一直供不应求,孙家同样面临着技艺传承难的问题。厂子常年招工,不少人干了一段时间,因为吃不了苦选择了离开。

 

“The production of Luoyang Spade is complex, dirty and tired. Especially in summer, the temperature in the workshop is forty to fifty degrees Celsius, and the temperature by the electric stove can reach seventy to eighty degrees Celsius.” According to Sun, he does not expect to make a fortune by producing Luoyang Spade.

“洛阳铲制作工序复杂,抡锤打铁又脏又累,特别是夏天,车间温度有四五十摄氏度,电炉旁能达到七八十摄氏度。”在孙凯强心里,也没指望靠洛阳铲发家致富。

 

“I spent most of my life hammering on Luoyang Spade, and it was only when I was hammering that I felt most at ease.” Sun wishes that more and more people know Luoyang Spade, and the Spade makes more and more contributions to our modern society.

“我生活中大部分时间都在敲敲打打,也只有在打铁的时候,心里是最踏实的。”孙凯强说,现在,他最大的心愿是能让更多人了解洛阳铲,让老祖宗留下的宝贝造福现代社会。(中文来源/新华社 翻译/赵汉青 审校/李文竞)


Editor:Zhao Hanqing