In March 1926, Li Ji, who had traveled all the way south from Taiyuan, saw such a scene in Xiyin Village, Xia County, Yuncheng, Shanxi: "Suddenly a large place full of prehistoric pottery pieces appeared in front of him... They collected 86 pieces, 14 of which were colored. Six months later, on October 15, 1926, this gentleman, who was later revered as the "father of Chinese archaeology", dug up the first archaeological shovel ever presided over by Chinese scholars in this Xiyin village.

In 1926, although Li Ji was only 30 years old, he was already in charge of anthropology and archaeology courses at the Tsinghua Institute of Chinese Studies, and was called the "Five Great Mentors" for more than a year with Wang Guowei, Liang Qichao, Chen Yinke, and Zhao Yuanren. On the day of the New Year's Day of this year, Li Ji left Beijing for Shanxi, inspected the kiln houses in Jiexiu, conducted physical investigations on the residents, went to Mianshan to inspect the Buddhist temple, and went to Linfen to inspect Yaodu... It was not until two days after the discovery of the site of Xiyin Village that Li Ji concluded the investigation, which lasted nearly two months.
From left: Dong Zuobin, Li Ji, Fu Sinian and Liang Siyong during archaeology in 1931
In his son's eyes, Li Ji was quite stubborn and always walked straight. "He doesn't know where to turn, sometimes." After Li Ji's death, people recalled: "He was a person who was feared by his superiors, colleagues, juniors, and students, but he gave the greatest help to those who sincerely studied." In fact, it is not only "afraid", in the eyes of some people, this person is simply hateful. Taiwanese celebrity Li Ao once wrote an article calling Li Ji "the last charming scholar." Li Ji was convicted of being a "scholar" for his stubbornness, but Rao was as mean as Li Ao and never denied his "charming" side.
Li Ji's influence on Chinese archaeology is enduring and multifaceted. The excavations of Yin Ruins, which he presided over from 1928 to 1937, shaped the rudiments of the academic system of Chinese archaeology. From the 1950s to the 1980s, the main leaders of mainland and Taiwanese archaeology, such as Xia Nai, Yin Da, Gao Goxun, Shi Zhangru, Yin Huanzhang and Zhao Qingfang, were guided and trained by him and Liang Siyong, and participated in the excavation of Yin Ruins; His students in Taiwan, such as Zhang Guangzhi and Xu Zhuoyun, are also leading figures in Chinese archaeology and ancient Chinese history.
In addition, as the first archaeologist in China, his personal research orientation and achievements have had a profound impact. He insisted on first-hand material as a basis for argumentation, and argued that the classification of archaeological relics should be based on quantifiable tangible objects. At the same time, he interprets archaeological data from the perspective of cultural anthropology, and does not limit the research problems of Chinese archaeology with the geographical scope of China. Zhang Guangzhi, a famous archaeologist, once said: "As far as Chinese archaeology is concerned, we are still living in the era of Li Ji. ”
Group photo of the teachers in the "Tsinghua School Research Institute Classmates", from left to right: Li Ji, Wang Guowei, Liang Qichao, Zhao Yuanren
On August 1, 1979, Li Ji suddenly suffered a heart attack and left this world. Zhang Guangzhi once commented on his mentor Li Ji: "So far, in the vast land of Chinese archaeology, no one has surpassed him in terms of reaching the highest academic model. With his death, a giant disappeared..."