Wang Yi: Chengdu Was an International Metropolitan in Han and Tang Dynasty

Release Time: 2017-10-24

    When the coffin was opened, the cultural relics were awakened from their long sleep and the histories of this city with them were unveiled. Maybe this was to restore the history or to create the history.

    Are 920 bamboo slips of medicine of the Western Han Dynasty the lost classic slips of traditional Chinese medicine written by the school of Bian Que? Can the four unprecedented jacquard models of tapestry from Sichuan prove that the Silk way starts from Chengdu in the south? Can the most complete image of the human meridian with lacquered coating that has been found so far reveal the origin of the meridian acupuncture of Chinese medicine…Recently, the great archaeological discoveries in the unveiled tomb of Laoguan Mountain attracted great attention of experts, scholars, and the media, becoming the most concerned thing in the field of archeology in China.

Wang Yi, Archeologist, head of Chengdu Museum and Jinsha Site Museum curator, participated in the discovery and sorting out and protection of the cultural relics. He said, Chengdu has remarkable historic and cultural resources. The Sanxingdui Ruins, Jinsha Site and Baodun Site have shocked the whole world. But the latest archeological discovery—the tomb of Laoguan Mountain in Han Dynasty again astounded people. As the research on the cultural relics deepened, many questions and doubts were answered. Then, how can we redefine Chengdu, a city with long and rich cultures. It’s worth anticipating.

I almost missed Laoguan Mountain

    Wang Yi made a decision to dig one year ago. He said it was hard to make that decision because on the one hand, it was the set days for construction of the urban development and huge investment, and on the other hand, he was not certain about the value of the discovery. What to do? “If I hesitates and comprisesd then, I just missed the tomb of Laoguan Mountain.”

    One day in the middle July, 2012. Chengdu was in its rainy season. Workers were busy on the construction site of Chengdu Tianhui Town Laoguan Mountain. When they built the sewer line, a plank loosened suddenly.  Then there was water flowing though the loophole. It flew for a day. The next day the constructor reported this to the department of cultural relics. “There was a lot of water before the outer coffin was opened.” Based on his archaeological experience, Wang YI knew there would be discoveries so he ran to the construction site. He, along with the archaeological team of Chengdu, after investigating, considered it would be the outer coffin in Western Han.

    What’s next? To keep digging or pluging the hole? To continue meant that the construction had to stop. But it was complicated underground with pipeline and gutterway interwoven. And it’s hard to be safe. More importantly, no one knew whether the relics were valuable or not. So maybe it was not proper to put into manpower and material resources. It was hard to decide.  

    Then, we can handle the tomb by convention—do not excavate and fill the hole. But in that way, it was still problematic. Indeed, no excavation has little influence on the tomb itself; however, the planned metro line had to be changed. Once the line was changed, the construction period would be longer and the extra expenditure would be very high. So in front of Wang Yi, there was a paradox between the excavation and protection of the cultural relics and the urban development. Suddenly, it came to a deadlock.

    The opportunity awaited people who were ready. The pictures that were taken in the ancient tomb and some simple objects encouraged Wang Yi to dig out. He wrote a letter to the vice mayor, illustrating the great discovery and the expected significant discoveries. Soon, his propose was approved by the mayor, and he also instructed the metro company to support Wang Yi.

    “I was positive about the tomb, but I did not know what there would have.” However, no matter what he had to continue his work—to evacuate the Laoguan Mountain tomb, which lasted for a year. Luckily, a plan that did not change the original route of the metro line and also could guarantee the evacuation work go on smoothly was worked out. “There were a lot of unexpected difficulties in the evacuation, but compared with the value of the cultural relics, they were worth it.” Wang Yi Said.