On March 15, the Institute of Archeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences issued an obituary. Mr. Zheng Zhenxiang, a researcher at the Institute of Archeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and a famous archaeologist, died in Beijing on March 14, 2024 due to illness at the age of 95. The obituary of
stated that Mr. Zheng Zhenxiang was the first generation of archaeologists trained in New China and an outstanding representative of Chinese archaeologists. Mr. Zheng Zhenxiang lived an upright and honest life. She is rooted in the field, down-to-earth and rigorous, and has devoted herself to research and achieved outstanding results. Her death is a great loss to the Chinese archaeological community.
On the afternoon of March 15, relevant staff of the Institute of Archeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences told the Dahe Daily·Yu Video "See" reporter that in compliance with Mr. Zheng Zhenxiang's last wish, the funeral would be simple and there would be no farewells. "Only the family members and two leaders of our institute will represent everyone." Go."
The female archaeologist who awakened "Fuhao"
In public perception, Zheng Zhenxiang's name is more closely associated with another extraordinary woman 3,000 years ago - Fuhao.
In 1976, on a high hill in the northwest corner of Xiaotun Village on the south side of Huanhe River in Anyang, Henan Province, Zheng Zhenxiang, then the archaeological team leader of the Yin Ruins, discovered and presided over the excavation of the Fuhao Tomb. A large Yin Shang tomb that had been sleeping for more than 3,000 years finally reappeared in the world. .
Fu Hao, this mysterious woman who was active in the first half of the 12th century BC and was deeply favored by King Wu Ding of Shang Dynasty. She combined the roles of queen, general, priest and other roles. With Zheng Zhenxiang’s identification, she reappeared in the world. This woman who only existed in The legendary woman recorded in oracle bones has finally been confirmed by archeology, becoming the first well-documented female military commander in Chinese history.
Many reports have restored the excavation process of Fuhao's tomb: At that time, a high hilly land in Xiaotun Village was included in the scope of "leveling construction sites". In order to prevent the Yin Ruins ruins from being damaged, Zheng Zhenxiang led the archaeological team to drill with probe rods. Traces of rammed earth construction were found. However, a month and a half later, it seemed that there were no other remains except the house foundation. Some experts advised her to stop there, because according to traditional experience, there are usually only house foundations in the palace area.
However, in the face of everyone’s doubts, Zheng Zhenxiang did not waver. Later, she recalled the situation in an interview with the media, "At that time, I remembered a sentence - I would rather work hard than suffer. I told everyone, let's just do it. If we keep working, there will always be a result. No A bottomless pit."
A miracle happened. Under the guidance of Zheng Zhenxiang, an old technician dug down the shovel and brought up a shovelful of loess from a depth of 8 meters. It actually contained bright red patent leather and an emerald green... Jade pendant.
A treasure of Shang Dynasty society is thus opened. This is the only complete royal tomb of the Shang Dynasty in the Yin Ruins. 1,928 funerary objects were unearthed, exceeding the total number of artifacts unearthed in the Yin Ruins in the past. It is known as the "Little Encyclopedia of the Yin Ruins".
Some media commented that this discovery is "the most influential and fruitful archaeological discovery among all the Yin Ruins archaeological discoveries since the founding of New China; it is also the only one that has been excavated that is completely preserved and can be connected with the oracle bone inscriptions to determine the identity of the tomb owner and the age of the tomb." The royal tombs of the Shang Dynasty are of epoch-making significance in the fields of Chinese archaeology and Yin and Shang history."
On October 13, 2018, at the 90th anniversary meeting of the scientific excavation of the Yin Ruins, the Institute of Archeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Henan Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau jointly presented the Representatives of archaeologists who participated in the excavation and protection of the Yin Ruins and made outstanding contributions were awarded commemorative medals and certificates of "meritorious figures" in the archaeological excavation of the Yin Ruins. There are 6 winners in total, with Zheng Zhenxiang ranking first.
Due to health reasons, 89-year-old Zheng Zhenxiang was unable to attend, and her student Tang Jigan accepted the award on her behalf. Tang Jigen, who completed a postgraduate course with Mr. Zheng in the early 1990s and obtained a master's degree, has long served as chief researcher of the Institute of Archeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and captain of the Anyang Yinxu archaeological team.
In his opinion, Zheng Zhenxiang became the excavator of Fuhao's tomb not only by fate, but also by persistence. In a short article written by Tang Jigen in 2021, he mentioned the difficult living conditions of Zheng Zhenxiang and the archaeological team members.In his early years, he went to Mr. Zheng's dormitory for consultation in the middle of winter, and described the furnishings in detail: "the slightly dry quilt stacked on the easy wooden bed", and "the heavy and mottled desk, the red lacquer has become The piece fell off and there were candle remnants stuck to the table, telling me that my husband had read with a candle last night."
"The Tomb of a Good Woman in the Yin Ruins" published in 1980 was completed under difficult conditions." Tang Jigen wrote in his article.
Zheng Zhenxiang (left) at the excavation site
Academic success cannot be achieved in one or two days
On March 15, another recipient of the "Meritorious Figure" commemorative medal for the Yin Ruins archaeological excavation, Meng Xianwu, the former captain of the Anyang City Cultural Relics Task Force, was interviewed by Dahe News· During the interview, a reporter from Yu Video's "Seeing" was also deeply impressed by the primitive conditions of the Anyang archaeological team's station in the early years. "At that time, the workstation was located in an open space in the west of Xiaotun Village. There were a dozen tile-roofed houses in a row, and the specimen room was on the west side. It occupies half of the house. To the east is the archaeological team's studio and dormitory. The conditions of the workstation were very poor at that time. They had to eat well water, light kerosene lamps, and there was no heating in winter."
In the 1980s, Meng Xianwu was involved in excavations at the post office. The project worked with Zheng Zhenxiang for a period of time. "She is diligent in her work and works hard in academics. She is a teacher with a very high academic level. She has made great achievements in her work. The chronology of Fuhao's tomb in Yinxu is She did it."
In his impression, Mr. Zheng was not tall and thin, but he was very energetic. "Especially when I asked questions, she became interested and talked nonstop. Absolutely. Mr. Zheng likes to read and study. He especially likes to express his own opinions on some academic viewpoints."
Meng Xianwu recalled to reporters that when he first started writing academic papers in the early 1980s, he asked Zheng Zhenxiang for advice on the article. "Mr. Zheng shook his head after reading the article and was not satisfied. She said, Xiao Meng, don't think about it," he said. It’s too big. Academics are quite profound and cannot be achieved in a day or two. I suggest you go to the front line of archaeological excavations, write briefings, and then write reports. As time goes by and you accumulate more data, you can write Article."
"I was particularly impressed that time, and I followed this path later." Meng Xianwu said.
In 2002, the Anyang City Cultural Relics Team first discovered the foundation of a Shang Dynasty courtyard-style rammed earth building in the north of Xujiaqiao Village. Meng Xianwu invited Zheng Zhenxiang to the construction site, "Teacher Zheng didn't say anything after reading it. He just said that he would look at the information and think about it, and then let me take time to discuss it with her. Later, after I went there, her words gave me a lot of thought. Great encouragement. She said that this excavation of the courtyard is the first discovery of the Yin Ruins, which is very remarkable."
In Meng Xianwu's memories, Zheng Zhenxiang always had an encouraging and affirmative attitude towards the students' work, and he also had an attitude of encouragement and affirmation in life. A kind elder.
After Zheng Zhenxiang left the archaeological front line. Once, Meng Xianwu came to Beijing for a visit and was warmly received by Zheng Zhenxiang, "Teacher Zheng asked me not to leave at night and invited me to dinner. Not only did she go by herself, but she also asked Mr. Chen Zhida to go, and the old couple also went. At that time, I was looking for him nearby We went to a small restaurant, and Mr. Zheng threw the menu to me and told me to order whatever I wanted today. Later, I ordered a few dishes and Mr. Zheng paid the bill."
The last time Meng Xianwu saw Zheng Zhenxiang was in 1978. Before, he visited Zheng Zhenxiang's home. Mr. Zheng gave him a book and said, "Xiao Meng, I don't need this book anymore. I'll give it to you. You have also written several good articles." Meng Xianwu replied, "I It’s not in vain.”
After that, until Mr. Zheng’s death, the two never met again.
Zheng Zhenxiang was interviewed by a reporter from CCTV (Source: CCTV)
"I like business culture"
In fact, Zheng Zhenxiang's academic achievements are far more than a good woman's tomb. When he was about to retire in 1989, a team led by Zheng Zhenxiang also discovered the foundation of the ancestral temple built by Shang Wang Wuding for his father Xiaoyi in the east of Xiaotun Village in Anyang. It was later rated as one of the top ten archaeological sites in the country during the Seventh Five-Year Plan period. One of the discoveries.
In 1959, Zheng Zhenxiang graduated from Peking University with a major in archeology. That year he went to Luoyang as the captain of the archaeological team, and in 1962 he went to the Anyang Archaeological Team of the Institute of Archeology as the deputy captain. Since then, she has retired and been re-employed. It was not until 2002 that her husband became ill and became unable to move, and this stubborn female archaeologist left the field of archeology.
After all, she stayed in Anyang for 40 years. In
's obituary, Zheng Zhenxiang's achievements were briefly recorded: He participated in the excavation of sites such as Luoyang Shaogou, Zhengzhou Erligang, Hanhenan County, field surveys in Yuanqu and Pinglu areas in southern Shanxi, and also participated in Yunnan Province An ethnographic survey of eastern Yunnan. While serving as the leader of the Luoyang working team, he participated in the excavation of Luoyang Wangwan and other sites, and organized and compiled the "Luoyang Excavation Report". After
became the captain of the Anyang working team, he presided over and participated in the excavation of Dasikong Village, the Miaopu Beidi copper casting site, Fuhao's tomb, palaces and temple buildings and other remains. After presiding over the excavation of the Dasikong Village site in Anyang in 1962, Mr. Zheng Zhenxiang for the first time used the stratigraphic relationship between the residences and tomb remains of the Yin and Shang Dynasties, combined with the differences in unearthed artifacts, to establish the periodization framework of the Yin Ruins culture. The Fuhao Tomb excavated by Mr. Zheng Zhenxiang is the only fully preserved Shang Dynasty royal tomb in the Yin Ruins. The excavation of the building foundations of Group D in the palace and ancestral temple area is an important supplement to the architectural layout of the Xiaotun palace area. Mr. Zheng Zhenxiang has made outstanding contributions to the archeology of the Yin Ruins and the protection of the Yin Ruins. He presided over or participated in the compilation of "The Tomb of Fuhao in the Yin Ruins", "Yin Ruins Jade", "Yin Ruins Bronze", "Discovery and Research of the Yin Ruins", and "The Architectural Remains of Xiaotun in the Yin Ruins in Anyang" "Anyang Xiaotun" and other important works.
In January 2022, in a column broadcast by CCTV, 92-year-old Zheng Zhenxiang was interviewed by reporters in a residence where she had lived for nearly 30 years and had never changed the furniture.
This was the last time the old man appeared in public. In the
camera, Zheng Zhenxiang still speaks clearly. She introduces the newspapers she subscribes to reporters and talks about the books she has been reading recently, "Now I mainly read books and don't write many articles. I mainly read Wang Guowei's books. His books have a lot of content." They are all about the Shang Dynasty, the Xia Dynasty, and the Zhou Dynasty."
When a reporter asked why he chose Wang Guowei's book to read, the old man replied: "I like to read about the Shang Dynasty and Shang culture." (According to Dahe newspaper)
