Dream chasers
The author is Qi Dongfang (Professor, School of Archaeology, Peking University).
People, in order to persevere, in countless days and nights, do something that interests themselves, without paying attention but after a thousand years, maybe it is accidental, maybe it is inevitable. This is the first emotion that came out of me after seeing the manuscript of "Investigation and Research of Zhuangbao Temples in Weixian County since the Ming and Qing Dynasties".
It requires an obsession that borders on madness, hardship and perseverance are not a problem, and the answer in words is always an understatement - like! I can't say why I like it, and I don't have a precise answer, I just do it.
The three authors of this book, acquaintances of mine, are crazy obsessives. I knew Shang Heng a little earlier, I remember that more than 20 years ago, the Department of Archaeology of Shanxi University was going to investigate the Great Wall, and I told Professor Wang Yintian of Shanxi University that I wanted to participate. He told me that there is a first-year student in our school, named Shang Heng, who likes to climb the Great Wall and is from Beijing. During the summer vacation of that year, Shang Heng came to my house with a computer. I showed him a lot of the Great Wall I've climbed. Then, he turned on the computer and showed me the Great Wall he had climbed, and I was amazed, it was a lot of **, how could he have been to so many places at such a young age! And some places are very steep. He told me that he started climbing the Great Wall with his grandfather when he was a teenager in junior high school, and later climbed the Great Wall with his fellow travelers. Now he is in college and studying archaeology.
In 2007, Shang Heng was in Wei County.
After graduating with a master's degree, Shang Heng went to work at the Beijing Institute of Cultural Relics (now the Beijing Institute of Archaeology), where climbing the Great Wall is still his hobby. However, with the deepening of his understanding of the Great Wall, he also paid attention to the military forts and civilian forts near the Great Wall. Graduating from the college class is different, he is very professional in recording, taking pictures, and drawing.
The motivation to like and love is incredible. I remember one year during the Spring Festival, people are at home for the New Year, we made an appointment to go to Wei County to investigate, I didn't expect the first day of the Lunar New Year, the place to eat and live are closed, the wind is very strong, the day is very cold, fortunately, my big bag is always equipped with outdoor hiking stoves, gas tanks, two people found a wild shelter to eat a pack of instant noodles, was very happy, happy their own stupid, their own Han, although they said that they suffered themselves, but the pain and happiness.
In 2011, Shang Heng and Qi Dongfang were in Wei County.
From left to right: Cheng Changjin, Shang Heng, Guan Qi.
It was that time that I knew that he often went to Wei County, and he seemed to have a clear plan, and there were two people with him, Cheng Changjin and Guan Qi. Cheng Changjin is a macho man, he climbed the mountain too hard outdoors back then, he had a knee problem, and he ran to Wei County instead, and he was ridiculed as a "disabled person", but he was still very fierce. Guan Qi looks very ladylike, but she is actually a ruthless person and a female man, and she is never ambiguous when she climbs over the wall. The three people have different majors and walk in three parallel lines, but they have similar interests and get together. This collision and docking converged into a force and resonated, like forming a small band, running towards poetry and distance in happiness.
The three of them acted in unison, no longer playing fantasia and chasing fantasies, their purpose was clearer, their ideals were greater, and they had to go to every village in Wei County to conduct carpet investigation and records. People who know a little about Wei County will know that there are dense ancient castles and countless important monuments, which is not an easy task, and it is not enough to have passion, just rely on the "sweeping" of the three of them? But I understand what it means to pursue.
Pursuit will burst into fire-like enthusiasm, and the great thing about life is perseverance. And just like that, month after month, year after year.
I don't think that the reason for them to do this is noble sentiment and grand ambition, but out of a simple belief and passion, they want to record the current situation of the historical relics on the ground in Wei County, so that the memory can be continued, and the history will live forever. I have seen with my own eyes their mental and physical devotion, their reverence for their traditional culture, their anger at the destruction of monuments, and their rejoicing at new discoveries.
Now, they have finally completed the difficult plan, a monograph composed of millions of words, nearly 2,000 line drawings, rubbings, and ** images is presented, which is embarrassing and admirable. Why is it so difficult to complete, but it is amazing? This big book is not a work requirement, not a national project, without any funding, it is purely voluntary and took more than ten years to complete!
What's the point of writing this book with so much effort and so much time? This reminds me of traditional Chinese local history. In China, there have long been "Shangshu Yugong" and "Classic of Mountains and Seas", which are said to be the originators of local historical records. Later, Yuan Kang, an auditor of the Eastern Han Dynasty, wrote "Yue Jue Ji", and Jin Changxuan wrote "Huayang National Chronicles". Why did the ancients do this? As early as in "Zhou Li, Diguan, and Recitation", the reason was given: "Take charge of the Taoist chronicles, and observe things with edicts." That is to say, it is necessary to tell people about the long-term things that have been seen, and to provide the monarch and magistrates with reference materials for the administration of the government. The compilation of historical records changed after the Sui and Tang dynasties, mainly with pictures, called "Tujing" or "Tuji", that is, the combination of pictures and texts. In the Tang Dynasty, there was "Yuanhe County Atlas", and later because of the death of the figure, it was renamed "Yuanhe County Chronicle", and there was "Shazhou Atlas" of the Tang Dynasty in the Dunhuang volume. The tradition of compiling historical records in subsequent generations has never ceased.
Those who govern the world take history as a mirror, and those who govern the county and the country take the chronicles as a mirror", and the historical records are not only regarded as "official books", but also the books of "people's" lives. Historically, there have been many books burned, but Fang Zhi did not burn or did not dare to burn them, so in the vast historical documents, local chronicles in various places accounted for about 10%.
Why do you want to talk about Fang Zhi? Because this book seems to be classified as "Fang Zhi", because although the authors are rich in learning and rigorous science, but they specialize in different arts, they initially started with interest and like, and there is no need to follow the tradition of Fang Zhi to do it, and write about the Zhuangbao Temple, and these are the relics that can be seen and touched today, which makes this work unique.
Shang Heng photographing stone carvings.
Historically, many of the chronicles have been lost, and every once in a while, they are generally rebuilt and renewed, and most of the content is copied from the previous generations, and the cultivators rarely go to all the field investigations. And most of this book is original, and what is recorded is found step by step. In addition, now various localities are also compiling chronicles, and it is not subtle to say that many of them have a strong propaganda color, and there are many empty words. Of course, the compilation of the ancients also has three major functions: "governance, education, and history". However, the ancients compiled chronicles as "those who do not have examined do not write, those who are useless and pan-purpose do not write, and those who interpret immortals and nonsense do not write", respecting the objective principle of "three nos". This book is an objective, detailed, and accurate record, and there is no problem in "preserving history," and it also has the function of "governing and educating." It is extremely valuable as a historical material, a local yearbook, a local textbook, or a travel guide. What is valuable is that in addition to the text, it is equipped with a large number of measured maps and accurate coordinates, which is a "living map". If you take this book to Wei County, you may find that some ancient buildings have been rebuilt or no longer exist, but you will be glad that the records in the book will make you nostalgic.
It should be pointed out that the measured map in the book must go all over the site, and it must be taken one by one, you can imagine that there are countless castles and temples in the huge Wei County, which is a big project and it is not easy to come by.
I've been to Wei County with them a few times.
I remember one time it was winter, the weather was surprisingly cold, and my fingers were almost frozen even with thick gloves, and I shivered as they took advantage of the sun's afterglow to take pictures and surveys quickly, so that I could rush home in the middle of the night and go to work as usual the next day.
I remember once in a seriously damaged old castle, Cheng Changjin pointed to a broken wall and said that there must be the ruins of an old temple, I will be suspicious, and take a closer look at it, and ask the reason, he explained that there are Zhenwu temples in the north of the Qing Castle, it seems that they really know and understand very deeply, and they have entered the realm, and the investigation has found the "navigation mark", and then formed the "Wei County Investigation Model". Let me, the "old archaeologist", have to admire.
I still remember that in an ancient theater that has long been used to stack firewood and grass, under their guidance, I saw some ink books and graffiti in the late Qing Dynasty, and even a certain opera troupe staged a repertoire, showing the vivid original folk life of the year.
The trio continued to conduct field trips in Wei County, which was the period of rapid development of Wei County, and they witnessed the construction of highways connecting villages and villages, the renovation of old villages, the renovation of houses, and the heating up of tourism. There were also some castles, temples and theaters that were restored, but at the same time they caused a certain amount of damage. In a sense, there are quite a few monuments in this book, which can never be written about again.
Shang Heng and Cheng Changjin are shooting murals.
It should be said that this is a long and painstaking book, but the process is full of feelings, perseverance, joy and stories. Behind the book, there are stories from enthusiastic old people, villagers who provide clues and lead the way, innkeepers, and vendors selling dried tofu. There are also confused and puzzled eyes, and even pick up a camera to take pictures, carefully inquire about the "things" in the village, and are regarded as "enemy agents", and accept the local ** interrogation and questioning ......
I still want to emphasize that this book, which took more than ten years, was completely completed by the authors at their own expense during the holidays, and the chassis of Cheng Changjin's first private car was broken several times. Later, when the SUV was changed, on a narrow road with bushes on one side and a straight cliff on the other, in order not to destroy the car and kill people, I leaned hard to the right side of the road on the way into the village, but the bushes on the side of the road broke all the right side doors of the car, and when I returned, I broke all the left doors. Shang Heng's car has not been overhauled several times.
Shang Heng's notebook left over the years.
No book is perfect, after the end of this book, I always feel a little regretful, I really hope they will publish another one, the experience in the investigation, the details of the work story, funny ** announced, that is also a masterpiece that shows contemporary folk customs, social changes and human nature.
Outside the trio of Shang Heng, Cheng Changjin and Guan Qi, there are often different people who go to play together, belonging to the "soy sauce maker", such as me. According to the rules, the participants' meals, accommodation, tolls, and fuel money have to be paid out of their own pockets. Finally, I want to say that more than 10 years ago I didn't think they were tall, but now I feel like they are.
About the Author
Qi Dongfang. He is a well-known archaeologist, professor and doctoral supervisor of the School of Archaeology and Museums of Peking University, engaged in the teaching and scientific research of Han and Tang Dynasty archaeology, and his research involves the tomb system, the Silk Road, the history of the Tugu Hun remnant, as well as gold and silver ware, horse harness, glassware, terracotta figurines and other fields. He is the author of "Into the Sea of Death", "Awakening the Sleeping Kingdom", "I am at the Archaeological Site", "Collision and Blending: Archaeological Discoveries and Foreign Cultures", "Walking between the Han and Tang Dynasties", etc.
* |Qi Dongfang.
Typography |Xiao Xie.
Design |Yin Lisa.