A Glimpse of Ancient Capital Ruins in Luoyang①|(zhì)Discover "Earliest China" at Erlitou Ruins

走進(jìn)洛陽(yáng)大遺址①|(zhì)來(lái)洛陽(yáng)，探尋“最早的中國(guó)”

(相關(guān)資料圖)

Editor"s note:Luoyang city in Central China"s Henan province is an important birthplace of Chinese civilization, serving as a capital for more than 1,500 years in Chinese history. Along the Luohe River on the Yiluo Plain, a core area of Luoyang Basin, are located 5 ancient city ruins, namely Yanshi Shang Dynasty Capital Ruins, Erlitou Ruins, Capital Ruins of Dynasties of Eastern Han, Former Wei, Western Jin and Later Wei, Capital Ruins from Sui to Tang Dynasties, and Capital Ruins of Eastern Zhou Dynasty. Such a dense distribution of capital ruins is rarely seen in the world. At present, Luoyang is accelerating protection of major ruins and construction of "Five Major Capital Ruins Museum Cluster". Starting on April 29, we are launching 5 bilingual video stories about the ruins mentioned above under the theme of"A Glimpse of Ancient Capital Ruins in Luoyang"to help you know more about Luoyang, Henan and China. Here is the first story of the series:Discover "Earliest China" at Erlitou Ruins.

編者按：作為華夏文明的重要發(fā)源地，洛陽(yáng)擁有1500多年建都史。在洛陽(yáng)盆地腹心的伊洛平原上，沿洛河一線從東到西排列著偃師商城遺址、二里頭遺址、漢魏洛陽(yáng)城遺址、隋唐洛陽(yáng)城遺址和東周王城遺址“五大都城遺址”，如此密集的都城分布舉世罕見(jiàn)。目前，洛陽(yáng)正加快推進(jìn)大遺址保護(hù)和“五大都城遺址博物館群”建設(shè)。4月29日起，大河網(wǎng)推出“走進(jìn)洛陽(yáng)大遺址”5期雙語(yǔ)特別報(bào)道，聚焦洛陽(yáng)“五大都城遺址”，以雙語(yǔ)短視頻的形式，向外講好古都洛陽(yáng)故事，讓更多外國(guó)友人在行走河南中了解歷史、讀懂中國(guó)。今日推出第1期：《來(lái)洛陽(yáng)，探尋“最早的中國(guó)”》。

Click on the video

The Erlitou site, first discovered in 1959, is located near Erlitou village of Luoyang"s Yanshi district and dates back to some 3,500 to 3,800 years ago. The hypothesis that the Erlitou site was in factZhenxun, the last capital of the Xia Dynasty, has become a mainstream in China"s archaeological circle. Both the Xia-Shang-Zhou Chronology Project and the Project for Tracing Chinese Civilization Origins regard it as a core site. It was suggested that about 200 years after the founding of the Xia Dynasty, King Taikang built his capital in Erlitou of Yanshi, the largest of its kind nationwide at that time. The Erlitou site has been characterized by many breakthroughs: for example, as a capital built in the Central Plains with the palaces in the center, a layout around the central axis ("Center" is a symbol for kingship in traditional Chinese culture), bronze wares made by the mold-casting technique and a formation of ritualistic and music system, all indicating it as "the earliest central kingdom in a vast territory in East Asia". According to a news briefing on Erlitou archaeological discoveries held on May 28, 2018, the Erlitou culture, represented by the Erlitou site, was the core and vanguard in the overall development of Chinese civilization.

二里頭遺址位于洛陽(yáng)偃師二里頭村附近，約距今3800-3500年。遺址于1959年發(fā)現(xiàn)，經(jīng)考證為夏都斟鄩所在地。二里頭遺址是夏商周斷代工程和中華文明探源工程研究的關(guān)鍵性遺址，夏王朝建立后，經(jīng)過(guò)約200年的發(fā)展，在河南偃師二里頭建造了同時(shí)期全國(guó)范圍內(nèi)規(guī)模最大的都邑，形成擇中建都的都城選址，形成擇中立宮和中軸線的宮室布局理念，形成以范鑄法鑄造青銅器的工藝技術(shù)，形成以青銅器和玉禮器以及鈴和磬等構(gòu)成的禮樂(lè)制度，形成了王朝氣象，是東亞大陸最早的廣域王權(quán)國(guó)家。2018年5月28日舉行的中華文明探源工程成果發(fā)布會(huì)上指出“以二里頭遺址為代表的二里頭文化，是中華文明總進(jìn)程的核心與引領(lǐng)者?！?/p>

A dragon-shaped artifact made of turquoise. [Photo provided to dahe.cn]

Since its first excavation in 1959, over 60 years have passed; so far, the Erlitou site has been identified as China"s earliest imperial city with the earliest urban road network, palace complex, bronze ritual vessels and state-owned workshops. The Erlitou site covers a total area of 3 million square meters, but only less than 2 percent has been excavated. More puzzles are waiting to be uncovered.

二里頭遺址自1959年開(kāi)始發(fā)掘，至今已歷經(jīng)六十多年的歲月，發(fā)現(xiàn)有目前所知中國(guó)最早的宮城、最早的城市干道網(wǎng)、最早的宮殿建筑群、最早的青銅禮器群，以及最早的官營(yíng)作坊區(qū)等。二里頭遺址總面積300萬(wàn)平方米，目前已發(fā)掘面積不足2%，更多的考古發(fā)現(xiàn)等待著探索。（編譯/趙漢青 楊佳欣 視頻/何蒙賀 審校/李雪）