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The Xia Dynasty Travel Episode VIII The Shaochai Site: Uncover Secrets of the Xia Dynasty under the Ordinary Field
Source：dahe.cn
Published：2021-09-26 17:03
The Xia Dynasty Travel Episode VIII
The Shaochai Site: Uncover Secrets of the Xia Dynasty under the Ordinary Field
追寻夏的轨迹⑧丨巩义稍柴遗址：在村庄底下探寻夏的密码
On the early morning of September 4, we drove west from Zhengzhou city of Henan province to Shaochai village of Zhitian town, Gongyi city, to continue our exploration of the Xia Dynasty (2070 BC-1600 BC).
循着的“夏的轨迹”，9月4日一大早，记者一行从郑州驱车一路向西，到了巩义市芝田镇稍柴村。
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Archaeologists from the Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology of Henan Province were busy conducting archaeological investigations here.
河南省文物考古研究院的考古人员正在这里进行考古钻探、调查工作。
Different from other villages which are named after the family name of the local residents or after the location of the village, "Shaochai" (稍柴) sounds unfashionable but has many secrets.
和常见的以姓氏以方位命名的村庄不同，稍柴虽然有点土气，却透着别样的气息。
An aerial view of the Shaochai Site. [Photo provided to Henan Daily App]
As for the origin of "Shaochai" (稍柴), there is no agreement. Some said that the village's name is probably related to the construction of royal mausoleums of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127) since there are 3 royal mausoleums in Zhitian town. At that time, firewood was used locally to make building materials for the mausoleums, so the village might be called "Shaochai" (烧柴, to burn firewood) at first. Due to the same pronunciation, "烧柴" was miswritten as "稍柴" later. Others suggested that during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), there were many kilns for firing tri-colored glazed pottery wares and white porcelains in Gongyi city, so the village's name is probably related to their production techniques, or porcelain firing in other words.
询之村人，大家说法并不一致，有人说可能与北宋时期建设宋陵在当地用柴火烧制陵寝建筑材料有关，当时可能叫“烧柴村”，因为同音，后来讹写为“稍柴”，芝田境内有宋陵三座。也有人说，唐代巩义一带烧制唐三彩、白瓷的窑口很多，稍柴可能与烧唐三彩有关。
Despite the prosperous Tang and Song dynasties, our visit was to explore the Xia Dynasty and its people.
唐宋虽然辉煌，我们此行的目的却是更古老的夏代和夏人。
Many historical documents record that Henan's western part was a main area for the people of the Xia Dynasty, including Shih Chi, the historical record written by Sima Qian during the Western Han Dynasty (202 BC to AD 8). Since Zhenxun (斟鄩), a capital city of the Xia Dynasty, was located between the Yihe River and the Luohe River, Gongyi therefore became one of the main areas of the people at that time.
史书中记载夏人在今河南豫西地区活动甚多。《竹书纪年》中载“帝太康即位，居斟鄩，畋于洛表；羿入居斟鄩；……”《括地志》曰：“故鄩城在洛州巩县西南五十八里。”《汲冢古文》载：“太康居斟鄩，羿亦居之，桀又居之。”《史记》载：“自洛汭延至伊汭，有夏之居。”此外《汲冢周书》《施郡志》《前汉书》《汉志》《水经注》《河南府志》《巩县志》等多有记载。夏都斟鄩位于伊洛之间，巩义地区即成为史书记载中夏人的主要活动地域之一。
The Shaochai Site. [Photo provided to Henan Daily App]
Under the guidance of Li Yipi from the Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology of Henan Province, who heads the excavations at the Shaochai Site, we found two stone tablets by the site, one of which inscribed with "provincial key cultural relics" was set up in the 1980s, while the other with "national key cultural relics" in 2013. On the back of the tablets is a brief introduction to the site.
在河南省文物考古研究院稍柴遗址发掘领队李一丕的指点下，我们在遗址的路边看到了两块“稍柴遗址”保护碑，一块是省级文物保护单位，立于20世纪80年代，一块是2013年立的全国重点文物保护单位碑。保护碑背面，书写着稍柴遗址的简介。
Historical documents say that Zhenxun was a capital city of the Xia Dynasty. Around Shaochai village, there are many places that probably have some relationship with Zhenxun, such as Xunxi (鄩溪), Shangxun (上鄩) and Xiaxun (下鄩). The family name of Xun (寻) also originated from here. Besides, the name of the Wuluo River is also worth studying. As the saying goes, the rivers in China always flow eastwards into the sea, but the Wuluo River flows northwestwards. There are many sites of the Xia and Shang (1600 BC-1046 BC) dynasties on both sides of the Yiluo River near the Shaochai Site.
文献记载中说夏都斟鄩。稍柴村附近和斟鄩有关的地名不少，有鄩溪、有上鄩、下鄩，这里是寻姓的起源地之一。坞罗河的名字来源也是值得研究的，人们常说“水往东流”，坞罗河的水是向西北流淌。稍柴遗址附近的伊洛河两岸分布着不少夏商时期的遗址。
With such evidence, archaeologists discovered the Shaochai Site.
也正是有这些线索，考古工作者经过调查发现了稍柴遗址。
A pottery pot discovered at the Shaochai Site. [Photo provided to Henan Daily App]
According to Li, the Shaochai Site is located in Shaochai village (1.5 kilometers east of Xiaozidian viallge) with the Yiluo River to its north. The Wuluo River flows into the Yiluo River from the southeast of the site. That is to say, the site is located on the tableland where the Wuluo River meets the Yiluo River. In 1959, the Cultural Relics Work Team of the Bureau of Culture of Henan Province (today's Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology of Henan Province) discovered such a site while searching for the remains of the Xia Dynasty. According to the investigation at that time, the site is about 2,000 meters long from east to west and 500 meters wide from north to south, with a total area of about 1 million square meters. The accumulation of remains is thin in the south while thickens gradually in the north with a depth of more than 3 meters (4 meters at the thickest point).
李一丕介绍说，稍柴遗址位于小訾殿村东1.5公里处的稍柴村，北面紧临伊洛河，坞罗河从遗址东南向西北流入伊洛河，遗址即在坞罗河与伊洛河交汇的台地上。1959年，河南省文化局文物工作队(今河南省文物考古研究院前身)在调查夏文化遗址时，发现这处古文化遗址。依据当时的调查工作情况看，该遗址东西长约2000米，南北宽约500米，总面积约100万平方米。文化层堆积为南面薄，向北逐渐增厚，一般在3米以上，最厚处可达4米。
According to Li, in 1960 and 1963, the site was excavated twice. Although only 690 square meters was excavated, a large number of relics of the Erlitou Culture (around 1735 BC-1530 BC), the Erligang Culture (around 1600 BC-1400 BC), etc., were discovered. The remains are mainly of the Erlitou Culture (covering three stages), including house foundations, ash pits and tombs. More than 500 pieces of pottery wares, stone tools, bone implements and clam artifacts were unearthed. The discovery of large bones used in sacrificial rituals and proto-porcelains indicates that the settlement at the Shaochai area during the Erlitou Culture and the Erligang Culture not only was of higher rank, but also occupied an important position. Therefore, the site is not only significant for China's Xia-Shang-Zhou Chronology Project and the Project for Tracing Chinese Civilization Origins, but also indispensable for the study of the Xia Dynasty.
李一丕说，1960年、1963年曾对稍柴遗址进行过两次发掘，虽然只发掘690平方米，但发现的遗迹数量较多。遗址包含有二里头文化、二里岗文化等时期遗存，文化内涵十分丰富。以二里头文化遗存为主，核心堆积是二里头文化一期、二期、三期的堆积，已经发现的遗迹类型主要有房基、灰坑和墓葬等，出土陶、石、骨、蚌等各类遗物500余件。尤其是大型卜骨和原始瓷的发现表明稍柴聚落在伊洛河下游地区二里头文化时期和二里岗文化时期的聚落群中等级较高且占有重要地位，被列为夏商周断代工程与中华文明探源工程的重要研究对象和我国夏文化研究的重点遗址之一。
Currently the focus is to make a thorough investigation, said Li. Partially because of the high temperatures and heavy rains lately, the investigation has been progressing slowly. Besides, the site is covered by the village with residential buildings and asphalt roads everywhere, which has caused some troubles, too. Fortunately, the investigation has made a lot of discoveries, one of which is the finding of a large trench with a length of several hundred meters at the edge of the distribution area of the relics of the Xia and Shang dynasties in the north of the village. Since the site's northern part was destroyed by the Yiluo River, its exact length remains unclear, but it is clear that the site was a high-level settlement in the Xia and Shang dynasties.
李一丕说，目前的重点工作是对遗址进行全方位的勘探，前一段的考古钻探工作进行得很辛苦，不仅是天热、雨多，更因为遗址被现代村庄覆盖，到处是民居和硬化的道路，在硬化道路上钻探还得先使用工程水钻机把水泥路面打个窟窿，再用探铲进行钻探。好在经过钻探收获颇丰，首次在村北部夏商遗存分布区的边缘发现了长达数百米的大型围沟，因为遗址北部被伊洛河冲毁，围沟的具体长度尚不清楚，围沟的性质目前还不能确定，但也足以证明这里是夏商时期一处等级较高的聚落。
A pottery ware discovered at the Shaochai Site. [Photo provided to Henan Daily App]
As for the relations between the Shaochai Site and the Erlitou Site in Yanshi of Luoyang city, Li said that the Shaochai Site is located between Yanshi and Zhengzhou, which is close to the Erlitou Site and not far from the Wangjinglou Site, the Dongzhao Site and the Dashigu Site in Zhengzhou. The Erlitou Site is generally believed to be a capital city of the late Xia Dynasty. The Shaochai Site, dubbed as the eastbound channel of the Luoyang basin, is an important gateway linking the ancient Luoyang basin with other places. The place where the site (of a higher rank) is located was not only a main area of the people of the Xia Dynasty recorded in the documents, but also a core area of the distribution of the sites of the Xia Dynasty. Therefore, the Shaochai Site is of great value for the study of the Xia Dynasty.
谈到稍柴遗址和偃师二里头遗址的关系，李一丕说，稍柴遗址距离偃师二里头遗址很近，距离郑州西部望京楼夏代城址、东赵夏代城址、大师古夏代城址也不远，恰好在偃师、郑州二者之间。学界普遍认为二里头遗址是夏代晚期都城，稍柴遗址地处洛阳盆地东向与外界交往的交通要道之所在。稍柴遗址等级较高，地处文献记载的夏人的主要活动区域和考古学上夏文化分布的核心地带，位置异常重要，对于夏文化的探索和研究具有十分重要的价值和地位。
According to Li, the Yiluo River basin where the Shaochai Site is located is rich in ancient cultures with numerous sites of the Yangshao Culture and the Erlitou Culture densely distributed. The following work is to extend the field of investigation, define the site's scope and its functional layout, explore the site's relations with the surrounding sites and reexamine its value with a broader vision to make a contribution to the origin of nations and civilizations as well as the study of the Xia Dynasty.
李一丕透露说，稍柴遗址所处的伊洛河流域古文化发达，历年调查表明，伊洛河流域仰韶至二里头文化时期遗址众多，分布密集。下一步的工作重点将是扩大钻探调查范围，理清稍柴遗址本身的范围和功能布局，探寻稍柴遗址与周边遗址的关系，在更大的空间和时间坐标中思考稍柴遗址的价值和地位，为夏文化探索、国家起源、文明起源研究做出贡献。（中文来源/河南日报客户端 记者/张体义 胡春娜 翻译/赵汉青 视频/实习生王君艺 审校/白玉杰）
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Editor：Zhao Hanqing