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The Xia Dynasty Travel Episode IX The Erlitou Site in Yanshi: A 'Dynasty' in a Small Village
Source：dahe.cn
Published：2021-09-27 22:07
The Xia Dynasty Travel Episode IX
The Erlitou Site in Yanshi: A 'Dynasty' in a Small Village
追寻夏的轨迹⑨丨偃师二里头遗址：小村落里的“王朝气象”
In recent years, the most eye-catching ancient site in Central China's Henan province is undoubtedly the Erlitou Site in Yanshi of the province's Luoyang city, because it is closely related to the Xia Dynasty (2070 BC-1600 BC) which is a clout itself online.
这几年河南最引人关注的古遗址无疑是二里头遗址，因为与夏代有关，夏代在网络上也是自带流量的一个话题。
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On September 6, we came to the Erlitou Site again. What impressed us deeply are the newly-opened Erlitou Site Museum of the Xia Capital, the Archaeological Park of the Erlitou Site, and the cultural square in front of the Erlitou Workstation of the Institute of Archaeology, CASS.
以前曾多次到二里头采访，9月6日，循着“夏的轨迹”再次来寻，感觉大不相同，二里头夏都遗址博物馆开馆了、二里头遗址考古公园开园了，中国社会科学院考古研究所二里头工作站门前修建了文化广场。
On the outside wall of a local villager's home writes a slogan "The Origin of Huaxia (Huaxia being a historical concept representing the Chinese nation and civilization) & The Earliest China".
二里头村一户村民家的围墙上写着大红的标语：华夏之源头，最早的中国。
The reason why the villagers of the Erlitou village have such a cultural confidence is because of an ancient site uncovered in the south of the village and the archaeologists' efforts over the past 60 years.
给予二里头村民文化自豪与底气的是村南的那片遗址和考古工作者60多年的辛苦与努力。
The major discoveries at the Erlitou Site. [Photo provided to Henan Daily App]
On the wall of the archaeological team's office hangs an old picture which depicts a man who has climbed to the top of a pole erected in an empty field, just like an aerialist. In fact, he was taking pictures for the site. His action looks quite dangerous, doesn't it?
在考古队的办公室墙上，记者看到了一张老照片，一片空旷的土地上，树立着一个高杆，一个人像玩高空杂技一样爬到了高杆的顶端，看着令人胆战心惊，那是考古工作者在给遗址拍照。
The results of the efforts and sweat of archaeologists are displayed at the the Erlitou Site Museum of the Xia Capital, which is becoming an internet-famous site.
考古工作者的心血和汗水在渐成网红打卡地的二里头夏都遗址博物馆里得到了体现与褒奖。
What is the most important discovery at Erlitou village?
二里头最重要的发现是什么？
What is the most important discovery at the Erlitou Site?
二里头遗址最重要的发现是什么？
Turquoise-inlaid Dragon-shaped Bronze Object. [Photo provided to Henan Daily App]
Is it the exquisite and vivid Turquoise-inlaid Dragon-shaped Bronze Object?
有人说，是制作精巧、形象生动的绿松石龙形器。
Is it the tall, slender and beautiful Bronze Jue (爵, an ancient wine vessel) Decorated with Nipples?
有人说，是挺拔修长、造型秀美的乳钉纹铜爵。
Is it the elaborate and exquisite Turquoise-inlaid Bronze Plaque?
有人说，是工艺高超、制作精美的镶嵌绿松石铜牌饰。
These cultural relics are of great significance and are treasures carefully made by the ancient people living at the area of Erlitou.
这些文物都非常重要，都是二里头先民精心创制的瑰宝、重器。
However, for Zhao Haitao, who heads the archaeological team, the crisscross roads in the central area of the Erlitou Site are of the highest value and importance to the study on the Erlitou Site as the capital city of the Xia Dynasty. The layers of hard loess on the roads have become the archaeologists' favorite because of their value of proof.
但是，在二里头考古队现任队长赵海涛的心中，二里头遗址中心区的主干道路网络，对于解读二里头遗址的王都内涵最为重要，价值也最大。那一层层长期踩踏而形成的坚硬的黄土，成为考古学者的最爱。因为这些道路，显示出了二里头的王都格局、王朝气象。
According to Zhao, there are at least 4 roads (2 vertical roads and 2 horizontal ones) in the central area of the Erlitou Site, each 10-20 meters in width. The crisscross roads divide the ancient capital city into many square and regular grids with different functions, forming a multigrid layout.
赵海涛说，我们发现在二里头遗址中心区至少存在两纵、两横4条道路，每条道路宽10－20米。它们纵横交错，呈方正、规整的“井”字形，构成了二里头都城功能分区的重要界限，形成多网格式宏大格局。
Then what is the specific design inside of it?
那么这是一种怎样的布局呢？
During the excavation, 3 important areas were uncovered, namely the palace area, the ritual area and the state-run workshop area, said Zhao. These areas are located along the site's central axis from north to south with the palace area at the center. Near the central axis and to its east and west also discovered the living and burial sites of aristocrats. So the Erlitou Site has an orderly multigrid layout with the palace area at the center surrounded by other functional areas based on their importance. The regular areas are furthest from the central area. Such a neat and orderly layout not only shows a strict social hierarchy and ruling order, but conforms to the capital city's planning principle put forward by Chinese philosopher Guan Zhong (723 BC-645 BC) -- "Found a state at the center of the world, build the palace buildings at the center of the state and set up the imperial court at the center of the palace buildings". The grand capital city with the large complex rammed-earth palace buildings reflects a clear imperial city system at that time.
赵海涛说，在考古发掘中，我们发现了宫殿区、祭祀区和官营作坊区这三个最重要的区域。通过“井”字形的道路，我们可以很清楚看到：上述三个区域自北向南依次排列在遗址的中轴区域，宫殿区位居中心，中轴区域及其东西两侧，还有贵族的居住和墓葬区。二里头遗址内部形成了以宫殿区为核心，祭祀区、官营作坊区、贵族居住和墓葬区等高级别功能区拱卫其外，一般居住活动区布列外围的向心式分布格局，布局清晰有序。这样的严整、有序的布局显示出严格的社会等级和统治秩序，也完全符合《管子》中所说，“择天下之中而立国，择国之中而立宫，择宫之中而立庙”的都城规划原则，宏大的宫城和复杂的大型夯土宫殿建筑显示清晰的宫城、宫室制度。
The layout of the Erlitou Site. [Photo provided to Henan Daily App]
This kind of layout sounds familiar, doesn't it? It is like the central axis of Beijing during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties with the Forbidden City, the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Temple of Heaven and the Temple of Earth located on it. Prior to the discovery of the Erlitou Site, no similar remains had been found. So it has been considered as the ancestor of such a kind of layout. Besides, the Erlitou Site has many groundbreaking findings with many "oldests" in China, such as the country's earliest main stem network, imperial city, central axis, rammed-earth building complex with multiple yards, high-level sacrificial remains, official handicraft workshop area, bronze-casting workshop, turquoise-processing facility, and a horde of ritual bronze vessels and weapons. All of them are core elements of Erlitou, the capital city.
赵海涛说，这样的布局是不是有似曾相识的感觉？就像明清北京城的中轴线，紫禁城、太和殿、天坛、地坛依次排列，它们代表着明清北京城的有序规划和气势雄浑的布局。在二里头遗址发现之前，还没有发现这种都城规划布局和类似的遗迹，而之后这成为沿用下来的中国都城布局祖型。二里头遗址有很多开创性的成就，有很多“中国最早”。中国最早的城市主干道路网络、宫城、中轴对称和多进院落的夯土建筑群、高等级祭祀遗迹、最早的官营手工业作坊区、铸铜作坊、绿松石器加工作坊和青铜礼器、兵器群。这些都是二里头都城的核心要素。
Standing at the No. 1 foundation for palace buildings in the Archaeological Park of the Erlitou Site, Zhao introduced the site's planning and layout to us. It is generally believed that the Erlitou Site is the oldest large capital city during the Bronze Age (at least 4,000 years ago) in East Asia so far uncovered, a key to the exploration of the Xia and Shang (1600 BC-1046 BC) dynasties. The Erlitou Culture (around 1635 BC-1565 BC) represented by the Erlitou Site is the oldest "core culture" in China and East Asia. Featured by its groundbreaking layout, broadness and large-scale cultural radiation, Erlitou became the oldest sovereign state and established itself as the core and leader of the overall process of Chinese civilization. It was like a dynasty, not only because of the Erlitou Site itself, but the overall distribution of the Erlitou Culture. Among 400 settlements of the Erlitou Culture, the 300-square-meter Erlitou was their capital with regional center settlements covering an area from hundreds of thousands to more than one million square meters, secondary center settlements from about 100 thousand to 300 thousand square meters and numerous smaller settlements, forming a pyramidal hierarchical structure and a spatial distribution pattern.
站在二里头遗址考古公园的一号宫殿建筑基址前，赵海涛如数家珍般为记者介绍二里头遗址的规划和布局。他说，学界普遍认为二里头遗址是迄今所知东亚地区青铜时代最早的大型都城、探索夏商王朝的关键性遗址，以二里头遗址为代表的二里头文化，是中国乃至东亚地区最早的“核心文化”、最早的广域王权国家、“中华文明总进程的核心与引领者”。史无前例的都邑规划性、庞大化与大范围的文化辐射构成其最重要的特征。二里头遗址的王朝气象不仅体现在二里头遗址本身，也体现在二里头文化分布区的整体聚落形态上。二里头文化的400余处聚落中，以300万平方米的二里头为都邑，有数十万至百余万平方米的区域性中心聚落、10万至30万平方米左右的次级中心聚落及众多更小的聚落，形成金字塔式的聚落等级结构和众星捧月式的聚落空间分布格局。
The Erlitou Site and Zhenxun (斟鄩), a capital city of the middle and late Xia Dynasty
二里头遗址与夏都斟鄩
After Zhao's introduction, it dawned on us that the sites of the Erlitou Culture that we had visited in the west of Zhengzhou, such as the Wangjinglou Site, the Dongzhao Site, the Dashigu Site, the Shaochai Site, etc., are all located to the east of the Erlitou Site, forming a fan shape. What caused it?
听了赵海涛的介绍，记者想起这一路走来，在郑州西部地区走访的二里头文化时期遗址望京楼、东赵、大师姑、稍柴等，他们都位于二里头的东方，呈扇形拱卫着二里头。为什么这样分布呢？
During the Erlitou Culture, centered around Erlitou, a large settlement group featured by clear layout, strict hierarchical system and multiple rivers was formed in the hinterland of the Central Plains, said Zhao. Covering the whole area of the Central Plains, it probably even occupied an area which the political entity of the early Erlitou state could effectively control, showing that a well-developed governance system had been formed at that time. Many scholars pointed out that the Erlitou Site was the location of Zhenxun, a capital city of the middle and late Xia Dynasty, while the large number of city sites and settlements to its east were established to defend invaders of the later Shang Dynasty. Although the Xia Dynasty was finally replaced by the Shang Dynasty, it had a profound influence on the civilization of the Shang Dynasty and the Zhou Dynasty (1046 BC-256 BC). The Erlitou Culture is the main and direct source of the Erligang Culture, which has a direct and significant impact on the latter's ritual culture, political structure and control area. In other words, Erlitou's social integration and system construction during the Erlitou Culture were institutionalized through the expansion and enfeoffment in the Shang and Zhou dynasties, thus laying a foundation for ancient "China".
赵海涛说，二里头文化时期，中原腹地形成了以二里头为中心，布局网络清晰，等级结构分明，且由河流水系有效连接的包括整个中原范围的庞大聚落群，很可能已经构成了二里头早期国家政治实体所能够有效控制的地域范围，充分显示了二里头王国具有发达的控制网络和统治文明。很多学者认为，二里头遗址就是夏代中晚期都城斟鄩，二里头以东的诸多城址、聚落就是为了防范来自东方的劲敌商人。夏代虽然最后被商代替，但夏文化对商周文明产生了深远影响。二里头文化是郑州的二里岗文化的主要、直接的源头，对后者的礼制文化的内涵与王朝社会政治结构乃至控制区域产生了直接和重大的影响。可以说，二里头文化时期以二里头文化为核心的社会整合与制度建设，通过商周王朝扩展与分封达到制度化，奠定了古代“中国”的基础。
The major discoveries at the Erlitou Site. [Photo provided to Henan Daily App]
According to Zhao, since 2019, excavation has been carried out in the southwest of the No. 1 foundation for palace buildings with many discoveries. For example, the east-west roads were found to stretch further to the west with the remains of walls discovered on the roadsides, indicating a broader grid layout. On the roads discovered the east-west ruts of two-wheeled vehicles with a width of 1 meter. Near the roads also found the waste pits of bone-processing workshops.
赵海涛介绍说，从2019年以来，一直在1号宫殿基址西南侧进行着考古发掘工作，收获很大。发现原来的东西向大道还在不断向西延伸，而且道路两侧发现了有墙的迹象，也就是说不仅有井字形，还可能有更大的网格布局。在大道上，还发现了双轮车辙，东西向，宽度可达一米。在这附近，还发现了骨器作坊的废料堆积坑。
The excavation at the Erlitou Site is still in progress, and more discoveries are expected to be made.
二里头遗址的考古工作还在有条不紊进行，相信还会不断有新的发现。（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/丁岚）
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Editor：Zhao Hanqing