Page 29 - The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology: Celebrated Discoveries from the People’s Republic of China

(American, 1870-1946), chief palaeontologist of the Survey and editor of Paleontologia Sinica;
Johan Gunnar Andersson (Swedish, 1874-1960) who was hired by the Chinese government to
survey coal and iron resources; Davidson Black (Canadian, 1884-1934) and J. Franz Weidenre-
ich (German, 1873-1948), respectively professor of anatomy and director of the Cenozoic Labo-
ratory at Peking Union Medical College (founded by the Rockefeller Foundation); and Pierre
Teilhard de Chardin (French, 1881-1955), a Jesuit priest, theologist, and palaeontologist who
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also practiced archaeology. Under Ding's leadership, the Survey expanded its work of locating
ore to include several palaeontological and prehistoric archaeological projects. The projects
initiated and arranged by the Survey and its members not only transmitted new knowledge and
educated a generation of Chinese scientists and surveyors in related fields but also contributed
to the birth of Chinese archaeology.
The earliest expeditions and the later, more rigorous geological and palaeontological sur-
veys all centered on northern China. Whereas the early expeditions had favored relics of histor-

ical periods and especially Buddhist art, interest in prehistoric archaeology grew steadily, and
almost all were associated with the Survey. In this era, the work was undertaken by foreigners
or by Chinese nationals who had been educated abroad and had returned to China. Most of
the resulting reports were published at the highest standard of the time and remain essential
references for today's readers, though the excavation techniques often seem primitive to
modern eyes.
During the 19105, Chinese institutions of higher learning such as Peking University cre-
ated departments of geology whose curricula introduced students to fieldwork. That textual
scholars came to appreciate fully the value of archaeological materials is evident in studies by
Luo Zhenyu (1866-1940) and Wang Guowei (1877-1927) of Han dynasty wooden slips and
Shang dynasty oracle-bone inscriptions. In 1908, upon learning that oracle bones had been
discovered in Anyang, Henan province, Luo sent his brother to collect the bones. Luo identified
Xiaotun, Anyang, as Yinxu, the Late Shang capital (c. thirteenth-eleventh century BCE), and
linked oracle bones to the religious and ritual practices of the Shang royals. In 1915, Luo per-
sonally went to Anyang to investigate the site first-hand; he recovered oracle bones, as well as
other objects. Later, Wang Guowei used oracle-bone inscriptions to verify historical documents

regarding the genealogy and history of the Shang dynasty and demonstrated that the "Yin ben
ji" of the Records of the Historian (Shi ji, c. 104-86 BCE) was for the most part accurate. 25 Luo and
Wang not only inherited the traditional textual research of the Qian Jia School (School of the
period of the Emperors Qianlong and Jiaqing, 1796-1820), but also made great contributions
toward the development ofjin shi xue as a major branch of Chinese archaeology. The ground-
work for the formation of field archaeology in China was firmly in place. 26

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