Wu Jinding, also spelled Yuming, was born in 1901 in Wangezhuang, Anqiu County, Shandong Province. He graduated from Qilu University in Shandong Province in his early years, and was admitted to the Tsinghua Institute of Chinese Studies in 1926 to study anthropology. From March 1928 to October 1929, Wu Jinding returned to Qilu University as a teaching assistant and began to conduct archaeological surveys in Shandong. During this period, the Longshan culture was discovered in Chengziya, Longshan Town, which laid the foundation for the large-scale excavation of Longshan culture by the archaeological team of the "Institute of History" in the future. In 1930, Wu Jinding served in the archaeological team of the "Institute of History and Language", and successively participated in the excavation of famous historical sites such as Yin Ruins in Anyang, Henan, Chengziya in Zhangqiu, Shandong, and Hougang in Anyang. In 1933, Wu Jinding entered the University of London Research Institute to study for a doctorate in archaeology, and then did archaeological excavations in Palestine with the British Egyptian archaeology titan Petri.
▲Wu Jinding
When Wu Jinding returned to China in 1938, he immediately threw himself into the fields. From November 15, 1938 to June 1940, the "Institute of History and Language", the Preparatory Office of the "China Academy of Museums" and the China Construction Society jointly established an expedition to the Cang'er Monuments. Under the auspices of Wu Jinding, Wang Jiechen, Zeng Zhaoen and others worked together to engage in archaeology in Dali and the Erhai area, and wrote the "Archaeological Report of Cang'erJing in Yunnan". Archaeological excavations in Cang'erjing, Yunnan, remain a model for prehistoric archaeology in southwest China to this day. At the beginning of the following year, the Preparatory Office of the "Institute of History and Language", the "Institute of Chinese Museums" and the Construction Society jointly formed a delegation of chuankang monuments to carry out archaeological work in Sichuan and Xikang.
▲In 1941, the Chuankang Historical Sites Expedition Group took a group photo at Shuzoan-an in Johor Bahru
Wu Jinding drew up a detailed plan for the inspection. He divided Sichuan into six workspaces. From January to February 1941, the expedition first conducted an investigation in the first district and found the Nanxi Burial Ground, jiujia village cliff tomb, Shuangtou River, Jiuzhou City and other sites. From March to April, the delegation traveled up the Min River to the Chengdu Plain in the second district. The burial site of Baozishan and the ruins of the old county town were found in Xinjin; the burial site of Caijiashan and Shuangjiang was found in Pengshan; the ruins of the ancient city of Wenjiang were found; the burial site of Qingyang Palace was found in Chengdu; and the ruins of the ancient city of Mazhen were found in Pi County. It can be said that Wu Jinding has become one of the few first-class archaeologists in China at that time through years of study of Western theoretical methods and Chinese field archaeology practice.
Liang Siyong once praised: "Mr. Wu Yuming can be regarded as an orthodox school of field archaeology, focusing on field archaeology and despising the research in the old paper pile." At the beginning of 1943, Wu Jinding, known as the "first field archaeology", joined the Qintai finishing work group non-stop, which was not only the luck of the Yongling archaeological work team, but also the luck of Chinese archaeology.
On March 2, the excavation and collation of the second phase of Yongling officially began. Wu Jinding adopted the "internal and external disclosure" method, that is, the working group was divided into two teams, one team was presided over by himself, excavating the outer sealing soil on the south side of the tomb to explore the exterior and closure of the tomb door; the other team, presided over by Feng Hanji, continued to clean the underground palace from the opening opened during the first excavation on the north side of the tomb to understand its internal structure. Through the exploration ditch on the south side of the sealed soil, Wu Jinding found that there was no tomb passage and other ancillary buildings in front of the underground palace, only a stone wall was stacked under the first ticket arch of the underground palace to close the tomb door, and there was a brick wall outside the stone wall, and there were three brick building remnants outside the brick wall. In September, the cultural relics were transferred to the Sichuan Museum for collation, with a view to publishing archaeological reports.
During the second phase of excavation, Yongling was like a star, and it was always hotly discussed. During the excavations, the number of site visits reached 20, mainly from the political, journalistic and academic circles. Later, reports were made on the progress of the Yongling excavations. In 1947, the Sichuan Museum exhibited the cultural relics excavated in the second phase of excavation in the Mingyuan Building of the Imperial City of Ba, which lasted for a week. In the period of war and people's hearts, the exhibition not only gave the people a vivid lesson in national education, but also greatly inspired the patriotic confidence of the people.
▲"Excavation Report of the Tomb of the Former King of Shu"
As the War of Resistance Against Japan became more and more tragic, the country had reached the point of survival. Wu Jinding, who had achieved brilliant academic results, indignantly abandoned literature and martial arts, and the preparation of the Yongling archaeological report was forced to shelve. He joined the Military Commission and went to the U.S. Air Force Second Guest House in Xinjin, Sichuan Province, as a director to serve the War of Resistance. Until September 18, 1948, when Wu Jinding died of illness in Jinan at the age of 48, he was no longer able to engage in the archaeology career he loved most.
This scholar was like a meteor, passing away at the height of his life. After nearly twenty years, in 1964, Feng Hanji rearranged the excavation materials of Wang Jian's tomb and published the "Report on the Excavation of the Tomb of the Former Shu King" in the world, which completed the legacy of Wu Jinding's archaeological cause. The report not only comprehensively and systematically describes the burial environment and the architectural structure of the tomb, but also pays attention to archaeological research work, and conducts in-depth analysis and research on the twenty-four leju, the twelve luxes and the seated statue of Wang Jian, which has become one of the classic works of the archaeological excavation report.
Edit: South Beauvan
Proofreader: Wang Yang Li Shengli
Producer: Mao Shengwen
Review: Zhao Qiuyue
Source: "Jinshui Huajian"