Profile Ma YONGYING Born in July 1965 in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province. Researcher of Shaanxi Institute of Archaeology and leader of Hanling archaeological team. Since 1995, he has been engaged in the archaeological research of the imperial tombs of the Western Han Dynasty for a long time. He has participated in the archaeological work of 11 imperial tombs of the Western Han Dynasty, such as the Changling Mausoleum of the emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty. Now he is in charge of the archaeological excavation project of the mausoleum of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty. The location of the mausoleum of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty was determined as the tomb of Yuanjiang village, Bailuyuan, Xi'an, Shaanxi, rather than the Phoenix mouth recorded in historical data. This achievement has solved the eternal mystery of the location of the mausoleum of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, and also attracted much attention to the archaeological project of the Han mausoleum. As the leader of the Han mausoleum archaeological team, Ma YONGYING has been busy like a top these two days. While completing the daily archaeological work, he has to face the sudden concerns of all parties. "I didn't expect to receive so much attention this time. All you see is our highlight moment." "Our job is to supplement history by exploring the earth." In Ma YONGYING's view, this is the significance of archaeological work, just like the big stone with inscription standing in the yard of the baling archaeological team - "kowtow to fill the history". How was Jiangcun tomb discovered? What is the significance of this discovery? On December 15, the reporter of Beijing News talked with Ma YONGYING about the past of baling. Uncover secrets Test the 55 year relay of the ancients and let baling come into the world Beijing News: what may be the reason for the site selection of Emperor Wen's mausoleum in Bailuyuan? Ma YONGYING: Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty has passed away. We can't tell us the exact answer. Everything can only be based on reasonable speculation. Jiao Nanfeng, a teacher of Shaanxi Institute of archaeology, and I have co authored the study on the site selection of imperial tombs in the Western Han Dynasty, which systematically analyzed that the site selection of imperial tombs in the Western Han Dynasty was affected by many factors, such as traditional burial customs, Feng Shui thought, political situation and the emperor's personal likes and dislikes. In our opinion, the site selection of imperial tombs in the Han Dynasty was Bailuyuan, There are three main reasons: one is to solve the funeral etiquette problem of her mother, Empress Dowager Bo; Second, political needs, in order to guard the traffic arteries and defend the eastern princes; The third is the influence of Emperor Wen's personal emotional factors. Due to various reasons, he may not want to be buried next to his father. Beijing News: how was Jiangcun tomb discovered? Ma YONGYING: first of all, we consulted a large number of documents about baling and found that the records about baling in Fenghuang mouth may not be accurate. In addition, many archaeological works have been carried out before. In 1966 and 1975, Mr. Wang Xueli of Shaanxi Provincial Cultural Relics Management Committee rescued and excavated the burial pits of baling and Nanling (Empress Dowager's Mausoleum); in the 1980s, Mr. Liu Qingzhu and Mr. Li Yufang conducted a comprehensive archaeological investigation and survey of Baling and Nanling. In 2006, Xi'an Institute of cultural relics protection and Archaeology conducted rescue exploration and trial excavation in the baling mausoleum area, and found the Jiangcun tomb and its accompanying pit, which provided important clues for determining the specific location of the baling mausoleum. At that time, we can only infer that this is a high-level tomb, but we can't confirm who the owner is. From 2011 to 2013, according to the archaeological work plan of the imperial mausoleum site of the Western Han Dynasty, Jiao Nanfeng, a researcher of Shaanxi Institute of archaeology, led a team to carry out a large-scale archaeological investigation and exploration in the baling and Nanling mausoleum areas, and roughly explored the distribution range and shape layout of the remains of the two mausoleum areas. In 2017, key evidence emerged. We found a larger range of cemetery wall remains around empress Dou's Mausoleum and empress Dou's mausoleum in Jiangcun, which shows that Jiangcun's Mausoleum and empress Dou's Mausoleum are in a large cemetery. The emperor and Empress of the Western Han Dynasty were buried together in the same tomb and different caves, and the same large cemetery reflected the same tomb. Beijing News: what is the significance of these archaeological discoveries? Ma YONGYING: it is determined that Jiangcun tomb is the mausoleum of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, which has four layers of important significance. First, it has important academic significance. Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty opened the "rule of literature and scenery". At that time, it was the transitional period of the transformation of the Western Han Dynasty. The national governance system and political thought were changing, which would inevitably be reflected in the imperial mausoleum system. The determination of the location of the imperial mausoleum and the mastery of the shape of the mausoleum made up for the key links in the development and evolution of the imperial mausoleum of the Western Han Dynasty, which is of great significance to the archaeological study of the imperial mausoleum system of the Western Han Dynasty. Second, it is helpful to study the development and evolution of the political system in the Western Han Dynasty. The dual Mausoleum of Ba mausoleum, the middle of the imperial mausoleum, and the layout of the outer Tibetan pit symbolizing the official office around the imperial mausoleum were the earliest in the Western Han Dynasty, indicating the initial establishment of the political concept of the Western Han Dynasty, which was dominated by the emperor and centralized. Third, from the perspective of cultural relics protection, the real Ba mausoleum is found, which is conducive to the subsequent protection of the site itself. Fourth, many gold and silver wares with animal images were unearthed in Nanling, including bears, wolves, leopards and so on. These gold and silver wares have a typical grassland cultural style, reflecting the exchange between the Central Plains culture and grassland culture, which may also be related to the experience that Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty was granted the acting king. follow-up "The main Tomb of Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty will not be excavated for the time being" Beijing News: what are the next plans of the archaeological team? Ma YONGYING: first, continue to finish the unfinished archaeological excavation work. In addition, the collation and research of archaeological data should also speed up the progress. Another very important task is to assist the local government in issuing the protection plan of baling and Nanling as soon as possible, so as to effectively protect this precious cultural heritage. Beijing News: will the main Tomb of Emperor Wen continue to be excavated? Ma YONGYING: No. There are two reasons. First, the national cultural relics policy stipulates that tombs at the level of emperor and queen cannot be excavated at will; Second, the protection of cultural relics needs to be further improved, and there may be a large number of fragile and weak objects in these tombs, such as lacquerware, wood and silk products. At present, there is no effective protection technology. Therefore, we leave this wealth to future generations and continue to explore it until the technology is mature and their research needs are met. Beijing News: how to view the concern caused by the archaeological achievements? Ma YONGYING: to tell you the truth, I didn't expect such a high degree of attention. Now, people are more and more concerned about traditional culture, and the quality of citizens is getting higher and higher. From the perspective of cultural relics protection, we also need such attention if we want more social forces to participate in cultural relics protection. Beijing News: what are your wishes for the future? Ma YONGYING: I hope to promote the construction of a site museum here to protect and display the excavation achievements of baling and Nanling, and let more people know the excellent traditional Chinese culture. During the rescue excavation in Nanling, we found the stolen cave without much hope. Unexpectedly, when I dug down, I saw a dense number of painted pottery figurines. I was so excited that I felt like winning the jackpot. Whenever we find something to gain, we will feel a sense of achievement—— Ma YONGYING (outlook new era)