Page 37 - The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology: Celebrated Discoveries from the People’s Republic of China

archaeologists were scarce and superficial if they occurred at all. Except for a brief period when
China and its archaeologists were in the Soviet orbit during the 19508, they were isolated from
developed nations in the West. All progress depended upon Xia Nai and archaeologists of his
generation, as well as the younger generation of archaeologists.
In 1952, Peking (Beijing) University established the Archaeological Specialization or Divi-
sion (called the Department of Archaeology since 1983) under the Department of History, built
upon the foundation established as early as 1922 under the leadership of Ma Heng (1881-1955),
an epigrapher. Ma and his colleagues organized archaeological surveys and excavations during
the 19205 and 19305, but as his expertise was not field work, systematic and professional field
training was not offered until 1952. 65
As the training of an archaeologist takes at least four years, formal university programs
could not satisfy the immediate demand for more archaeologists in the field. Trained archaeol-
ogists were needed for rescue excavations engendered by the nationwide large-scale construc-
tion of railways, roads, irrigation works, canals, reservoirs, factories, and buildings. Accordingly,
the Institute of Archaeology, Peking (Beijing) University, and the State Bureau of Cultural

Relics jointly organized a series of accelerated courses — two months in the classroom and two
months of fieldwork— and from 1952 to 1955 aspiring archaeologists were trained in this way.
During the four years of short-term training courses, 341 students were selected from all over
66
China. They returned to their original locations or provinces after graduation. Many served as
core archaeologists and leaders of provincial and local institutions until their retirement. These
archaeologists were nicknamed "Huangpu classes," a reference to the Huangpu (Whampoa)
Military Academy (1923 -1930) located at Huangpu, Guangzhou City. During the early twentieth
century, most senior school-trained generals were educated at this school and later served in
the armies of the Nationalist and Communist parties of China. 67
American-style anthropology, encompassing archaeology, physical anthropology, cultural
anthropology, art history, and linguistics, was not encouraged until 1980. Until then, archaeol-
ogy and ethnology were regarded as separate disciplines and taught in different university de-
68
partments; Chinese academic officials considered archaeology an essential constituent of the
science of history rather than the science of anthropology. 69
Eventually an efficient network for administration and research was established in China.
In addition to the State Bureau of Cultural Relics and the Institute of Archaeology, another
national archaeological research agency, the Institute of Vertebrate Palaeontology and
Palaeoanthropology, was established under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It became re-
sponsible for palaeolithic archaeology. Archaeological teams in the provinces, autonomous
regions, and special municipalities (hereafter collectively called "provinces") were formed in

affiliation with either a provincial museum, cultural bureau, or cultural relics administrative
commission. Departments of cultural relics, organized under the provincial cultural bureaus,
were established in many cities and prefectures.When it was revealed that cultural relics had

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