In the early Spring and Autumn Period, there is a record of "Jindao Xixing" in the inscription of Zeng Bohua. **National Museum**.
Jin Dao Xi Xing (háng)" refers to the passage of long-distance transportation of copper (gold) and tin from the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River to the Central Plains during the Shang and Zhou dynasties. However, according to the records of "Zuo Chuan" and "Shangshu", as early as the Xia Dynasty, the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River began to pay tribute to the Central Plains for copper ore. During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, southeast Hubei, northern Jiangxi, southern Anhui and northern Hunan were the main sources of copper and tin minerals, transporting copper and tin resources to Gyeonggi (now Shaanxi and Henan) of the Shang and Zhou dynasties, which lasted for more than 1,500 years.
Through archaeological excavation, document collation, lead isotope analysis and other comprehensive research methods, the transportation route of "Jindao Xixing" has basically reached a consensus, and it is believed that there are two main transportation roads: one is the route between the Jiang and Han rivers, along the east of the Han River and the Suizao Corridor, through the Nanyang Basin, to Luoyang or Xi'an, or from the southeast of Hubei through the Tongbai Mountain to the Dabie Mountain "Yiyang Sanguan" and other passes, through Xinyang to Luoyang; The other is the route between the Yangtze River and the Huai River, along the southern Anhui area, north across the Yangtze River, through the Jianghuai River and the middle and upper reaches of the Huai River, to Luoyang and the Central Plains. "Jindao Tin Xing" outlines the grand historical picture of the production and circulation of copper and tin resources in the Shang and Zhou dynasties, and is inextricably linked with the rise of early countries, the flow of population, and the rise and fall of dynasties.
The road to cultural accumulation.
There are a large number of copper mines and tin mine sites along the "Jindao Tin Line", the scope is large, the cultural layer is thick, and the cultural connotation is rich. For example, more than 2,000 pieces of cultural relics including the "Four Sheep Fangzun" have been unearthed in the Ningxiang Bronze Group at the Tanheli site in Ningxiang, Hunan, which is a national key cultural relics protection unit; The ancient copper mine site of Tongling, Ruichang, Jiangxi Province is about 3,300 years old, and was rated as one of the top ten new discoveries of Chinese archaeology in 1991. Hubei Daye Tonglushan Ancient Copper Mine Site is one of the most well-preserved, earliest mining time, highest smelting level and largest ancient copper mine site in China. A large number of bronzes have been unearthed from the site of Panlong City in Wuhan, Hubei Province, which is considered to be the center of the early bronze civilization in the Yangtze River Basin.
Located in Hubei, Yejiashan Cemetery, Guojiamiao Tombs, Jingshan Sujialong Tombs, Zaoshulin Cemetery, Yidigang Tombs, Drum Pier Ancient Tombs and other Zeng State ruins, unearthed thousands of bronzes (sets). Among them, the bell unearthed from the tomb of Marquis Yi is the most complete and largest set of bronze bells found so far. Nearly 6,000 words of bronze inscriptions were found in the Zaoshulin cemetery, which is the largest number of archaeological unearthed gold inscriptions in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty so far, among which the discovery of inscriptions such as "Yu" and "Xia" provides new materials for the study of the origin of Chinese civilization. The site of Xiongjia Tomb in Jingzhou is a high-level large-scale cemetery of Chu State in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, the scale of the main mound, the prominent identity of the tomb owner, the luxury of the lineup of chariots and horses, the spaciousness of the sacrificial scene, and the completeness of the layout system are very rare, and it is praised by the archaeological community as "there are terracotta warriors and horses in the north, and there are Xiongjia mounds in the south". The ruins of Chibi Dahuzui are the largest and most well-preserved Western Zhou city sites found south of the Yangtze River. In addition, there are also ruins of the Shang and Zhou dynasties such as the ruins of Jinluojia and Guo Yuanzui in Hubei, and cultural relics and relics such as bronzes and cast copper pedestals have been found.
These relics are of great significance for the study of the social process of the pre-Qin period, the ancient casting process, and the formation and development of the Chinese ritual and music civilization promoted by bronzes.
The road to ethnic integration.
Promote the flow of resources. During the Western Zhou Dynasty, the Baiyue people in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River mastered the technology of copper ore smelting, and the important vassal states of the Zhou royal family to the Jianghan region, Zeng Guo (also known as Suiguo), mainly obtained copper materials through **, war, etc., and transported it to the core area of the Zhou Dynasty through the northern route of the Suizao Corridor or Fanyang (now Xincai, Henan). In the middle of the Spring and Autumn Period, after the rise of the Chu State, the Nanling-type lead material accompanied by tin was imported into the Central Plains through the Jianghan Plain.
Promote the exchange of smelting and casting technology. "Jindao Tin Xing" promoted the exchange of early metallurgical technology and bronze casting technology between the Central Plains and the south. During the Yin Shang period, the southward movement of the copper mining and smelting center promoted the improvement of copper, tin and lead mining and smelting technology in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, as well as the metallurgical technology exchange with the Huaihe River Basin. Zeng Guo invented the lost-wax investment casting process, and also adopted the mud casting, sub-casting and welding technologies in the Central Plains bronze casting process. The state of Chu borrowed Wu Yue's bronze sword casting technology to create a more sophisticated Chu sword.
Promote close exchanges among various ethnic groups. The tombs and bronzes unearthed along the "Jindao Xixing" have witnessed the close exchanges of the Zhuxia, Jingchu, Baiyue and Huaiyi ethnic groups. The merchants, the Zhou people and their sub-feudal Hanyang Zhuji and other Chinese ethnic groups, together with the Jingchu, Baiyue (Yangyue), Huaiyi and other ethnic groups in the south, participated in the development, production and circulation of copper and tin resources, as well as the production and exchange of bronze artifacts along the "Jindao Tin Xing". In order to ensure the smooth flow of the "Golden Road and Tin Travel", the power of the merchants and Zhou people continued to expand to the south of the Yangtze River and the Huai River, and the Shang king Wuding's southern expedition and the establishment of Panlong City (now Wuhan, Hubei), the southern expedition of the Zhou Zhao king, and the division of more than ten vassal states such as Zeng, Tang and Cai in the Han River and Huai River valleys all strongly guaranteed the smooth passage of this passage.
Promote the integration of civilizations. The "Jindao Xixing" influenced the cultural exchanges between regions, the layout of cities and transportation, and made the bronze civilization in the Central Plains continue to spread southward to Jianghan, Jingchu, Wuyue and other regions, and jointly cast the bronze civilization. The bronzes unearthed from Fanchang, Nanling, Tongling, Wuhu, Xuancheng, Shexian, Dongzhi and other places in southern Anhui, as well as the Wucheng site in Jiangxi, were obviously influenced by the Yin Shang and Western Zhou cultures. The common types of bronzes in the Zhou Dynasty are found in the bronzes unearthed in the Zeng Kingdom. For example, among the bronzes unearthed from the Sujialong cemetery in Beijing, there are two sets of ritual utensils of Zhou culture and Chu culture and the inscription of Zeng Chu marriage. Between the states of Wu, Yue, Chu, Zeng and the Central Plains, there were a large number of exchanges and gifts of bronze weapons and ritual weapons. The flow of copper-tin resources and bronze artifacts jointly promoted the formation of the bronze civilization circle covering the Yellow River basin and the Yangtze River basin.
The Road to Heritage Conservation.
In 2008, the 16th General Assembly of ICOMOS adopted the Charter of Cultural Routes, and "Cultural Routes" were officially included in the scope of the World Heritage List as a new large-scale heritage type, becoming a new area of World Heritage protection. The cultural heritage of the cultural route has the characteristics of holistic, scientific and dynamic. Excavating the heritage resources of the "Jindao Xixing" cultural route is conducive to enriching the content of China's heritage and profoundly explaining the continuity, innovation, unity, inclusiveness and peace of Chinese civilization.
Overall excavation, system development, and declaration of the "Golden Road Tin Xing" cultural route heritage. The provinces along the "Jindao Xixing" can unite to package the Daye Tonglushan Ancient Copper Mine Site, Ruichang Tongling Ancient Copper Mine Site, Jiangxi Wucheng, Hubei Panlong City and other urban ruins, as well as Yinxu, Zeng Hou Yi Tomb, Xingan Oceania Tomb and other overall packaging, establish a number of museums, heritage parks or educational practice bases, apply for the "Jindao Xixing" cultural route heritage, and include it in the construction of the Yangtze River National Cultural Park project, and strive to be included in the preliminary list of world cultural heritage.
Scientific interpretation, professional research, and excavation of the historical value of "Jindao Tin Xing". Set up scientific research topics around the research of "Jindao Xixing", organize experts and scholars in related fields to jointly tackle key problems, launch a number of "Jindao Xixing" series of treatises, build a scientific research platform of "Jindao Xixing", build a national bronze civilization archaeological digital resource center, and enrich the historical data system, discourse system and theoretical system formed by the Chinese national community.
Activation and utilization, dynamic development, enrich the value of the times of "Jindao Tin Xing". With the representative figures, events, cultural relics and landscapes of various ethnic groups in the "Jindao Xixing" as materials, a series of theme exhibitions will be held, digital maps will be drawn, special tourism routes and theme IPs will be launched, and cultural, film and television and cultural and creative products will be created, so as to tell the historical memory of the Chinese national community in the Bronze Civilization Age in an experiential, immersive and digital way. The revitalization and utilization will be deeply integrated into the new urbanization construction, rural revitalization, the construction of the common spiritual home of the Chinese nation, the creation of all-for-one tourism and the creation of national unity and progress along the line, and through a series of projects such as cultural heritage exhibitions and cultural heritage demonstration tourism routes, the "Jindao Xixing" cultural route will become a road to prosperity and happiness for the people of all ethnic groups along the line. (ENDS).
Author's Affiliation:School of Ethnology and Sociology, South-Central University for Nationalities).
Author: Li Ran, Gong Qiao, Hu Fei.
*: China National Daily.