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The Xia Dynasty Travel Episode VII The Yuzhuang Site: Unveiling the Noble Life 4,000 Years Ago
Source：dahe.cn
Published：2021-09-24 16:50
The Xia Dynasty Travel Episode VII
The Yuzhuang Site: Unveiling the Noble Life 4,000 Years Ago
追寻夏的轨迹⑦丨叶县余庄遗址：探寻4000年前的“贵族气息”
"Therefore, in ancient times, the wise ruler would set up a clear hierarchical system, including nobles, high-ranking officials, low-ranking officials and ordinary people." 2,000 years ago, Jia Yi, a famous political commentator and litterateur of the Western Han Dynasty (202 BC to 8 AD), put forward the idea of "hierarchy" for the first time in China. But in fact, it is still unknowable when "hierarchy" came out in the East, because when the surplus fruits of labor appeared in primitive society, the concept of "hierarchy" naturally emerged.
“故古者圣王制为列等，内有公卿大夫士，外有公侯伯子男……等级分明。”2000多年前，西汉著名的政论家、文学家贾谊在其所著的《新书》中，在中国第一次提出了“阶级”之说。但实际上，阶级在东方何时出现，已无从可考，毕竟，当原始社会里有了剩余劳动成果之后，就自然出现了阶级的概念。
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In early autumn, at the workshops in Yuzhuang village of Pingdingshan city, Central China's Henan province, the rumble of machinery showed us a busy and bustling scene. On September 2, we arrived at the Yuzhuang Site where archaeologists were busy working in an orderly way. In modern civilization, the primitive life of our ancestors 4,000 years ago is gradually being unveiled.
初秋的叶县余庄村，明亮厂房里，隆隆的机器声预示着一派繁忙景象。9月2日，记者到余庄遗址发掘现场，考古人员在紧张有序地忙碌着。现代文明相伴下，4000年前先民们生活的点点滴滴，正逐步向世人揭开。
In December 2019, because of the construction of the standardized factory of Yexian county, the Consultant and Service Center for the Protection of Cultural Relics of Pingdingshan City explored the land acquired and discovered many cultural layers piled up. The land was then identified as a site of the Longshan Culture (around 2500 BC-2000 BC).
2019年12月，为配合叶县标准化厂房的建设，平顶山市文物保护工程咨询服务中心在对标准化厂房所征地块进行文物勘探时，发现表土层下存在大量文化层堆积，确定为一处早期遗址，后经确认，该遗址是一处龙山文化遗址。
A tomb unearthed at the Yuzhuang Site. [Photo provided to Henan Daily App]
To protect the cultural relics of the Yuzhuang Site and make clear its cultural implications, with the approval of the National Cultural Heritage Administration, an archaeological team composed of members from the Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology of Henan Province and the Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism of Yexian County excavated the site and achieved important findings.
为保护余庄遗址地下文化遗存，明确遗址的文化内涵，经国家文物局批准，2020年8月至12月，河南省文物考古研究院与叶县文化广电和旅游局联合组成考古队对该遗址进行发掘，并取得了重要的成果。
On October 7, 2020, Yu Hongqiang, a technician from the Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology of Henan Province, started working as usual. He might not expect that in this tomb numbered M10, he would unveil the life of a nobleman who lived 4,000 years ago.
2020年10月7日这天，省文物考古研究院的技术员郁红强像往常一样开始发掘工作，他可能没想到，在这座标号M10墓葬中，他将揭开一位4000年前贵族生活的神秘面纱。
A drinking vessel unearthed at the Yuzhuang Site. [Photo provided to Henan Daily App]
"Many ancient Chinese people believed in an afterlife, so many of their funerary objects are those used in daily life," said Wu Weihua, an associate research fellow from the Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology of Henan Province. The M10 is a tomb of the Longshan Culture with the most abundant burial objects, the highest grade and the most definite ritual system. The burial objects are mainly vessels for food and liquor with different and specific types, such as pot and plate, indicating that while most people of the tribe were still struggling for food, these early nobles had already enjoyed a lavish lifestyle.
“古人很早就有了视死如生的传统，因此他们的陪葬品，很多都与平常的生活息息相关。”负责本次发掘工作的省考古研究院副研究员吴伟华介绍说。在M10这座迄今河南境内已发现的随葬器物最丰富、等级规格最高、礼制色彩最明确的龙山文化墓葬中，陪葬品主要分为食器、酒器两大类，壶、罐、盘、高柄杯等类别明确。这说明，当部落绝大多数成员还在为填饱肚子而努力时，这批早期的贵族们已经过上了食不厌精、脍不厌细的饮宴生活。
Cultural exchanges between the Yuzhuang Site and other places also existed. Cultural relics, such as the red pottery cup, pottery sculptures, painted gu ("觚", a kind of drinking vessel)-shaped pot, plain-top gui ("鬶", a kind of cooking vessel) and jade, unearthed at the Yuzhuang Site with the lavish burial custom were influenced by the Shijiahe Culture in South China which is about 6000 years old, while the egg-shell pottery wares and the black pottery cup handle by the Longshan Culture in East China's Shandong province.
余庄遗址与其它区域存在文化交流现象。遗址中出土的红陶杯、陶塑、彩绘觚形壶、平口鬶、玉器以及厚葬的习俗，是受到了南方石家河文化的影响所致；出土的蛋壳陶、黑陶杯柄应该是来源于山东龙山文化。
A drinking vessel unearthed at the Yuzhuang Site. [Photo provided to Henan Daily App]
Many tombs of the Longshan Culture are distributed in the Yuzhuang Site. The densely-distributed area is about 200 meters long from north to south and 70 meters wide from east to west, covering about 14,000 square meters. Nearly 40 tombs were excavated, including the large tombs distributed in groups with a fixed number of pottery vessels, reflecting the serious social stratification in the Central Plains during the Longshan Culture with a relatively mature and standardized ritual system taken shape.
据介绍，遗址内还分布着其他较多龙山文化墓葬，集中分布区域南北长约200米，东西宽70米，面积约14000平方米。考古发掘清理近40座墓葬，其中有成组分布的大型墓葬，每座墓均随葬有成组的陶礼器，且各类器物具有固定的数量搭配关系，反映出在龙山时期中原地区社会分化严重，已经形成了比较成熟、规范的礼制。
Jointly undertaken by the Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology of Henan Province and the relevant local departments, a new round of excavation is underway at the Yuzhuang Site now, which is likely to bring us more surprises.
目前，河南省文物考古研究院联合地方正在对余庄遗址进行进一步发掘，很有可能有着更大的惊喜等着考古工作者们去发现。（中文来源/河南日报客户端 记者/李悦 黄晖 翻译/赵汉青 视频/实习生王君艺 审校/陈行洁）
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Editor：Zhao Hanqing