The plant remains of the Quxia site in the east of Yuncheng Ji. The Information Office of the Shanxi Provincial Government held a press conference on February 28 to announce the important archaeological discoveries in Shanxi in 2022, including the discovery of the Quxia period site in the eastern part of Yunchengji and the Shang Dynasty cemetery in the western Wubi site in Jiangxian, which gave the academic community a new understanding of the value of Xia and Shang culture. What is the relationship between the Xia culture of the Dongqu Site and the Erlitou culture in Henan Province? What is the significance of the aristocratic cemetery in the copper smelting site? Wang Xiaoyi, president of the Shanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology, explained the cultural value of the two sites. M16 tomb at the Xiwubi site in Jiangxian County, Yuncheng. Wang Xiaoyi, a figure from the Shanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology, said that the definition of Xia culture can be divided into broad and narrow sense. The narrow sense of Xia culture refers specifically to "the culture of the Xia nationality during the Xia Dynasty", that is, only the culture created by the Xia nationality is the Xia culture, represented by the Erlitou culture in Henan Province. In a broad sense, Xia culture refers to the clans that are allied with or annexed to the Xia nation under the rule or control of the Xia Dynasty. "In addition to the Xia nationality, the culture created by the ethnic groups under the rule of the Xia Dynasty is also the Xia culture. The Dongqu site belongs to this category, which is also called the Dongxia Feng culture in the academic circles." When referring to the Dongxia Feng culture, we have to mention the relationship between the Shanxi Xia culture and the Henan Xia culture. Wang Xiaoyi believes that southern Shanxi and western Henan have always been the key areas to explore the Xia culture. The discovery of the Dongqu site has enriched the connotation of the Dongxiafeng culture. Perhaps the Dongxiafeng culture is a local indigenous force allied with the Xia nationality during the Xia Dynasty, belonging to the Xia culture of Shanxi. The Xiwubi Site in Jiangxian County, Yuncheng is famous for its smelting remains, and has won the title of "2019 National Top Ten New Archaeological Discoveries". In 2022, archaeologists found another Shang Dynasty cemetery in the concentrated distribution area of Xia and Shang copper smelting relics at the Xiwubi site, which increased the complexity of its cultural factors. Panorama of the Shang Dynasty cemetery at the Xiwubi site in Jiangxian County, Yuncheng. According to Wang Xiaoyi, a picture from the Shanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology, archaeologists found three types of funerary objects in the Western Wu Tomb, including local ones, those from the center of the Shang Dynasty, and those from the northern bronze culture distribution area. This shows that in addition to the local people, there are also people from the Shang Dynasty and the northern bronze culture distribution area. The main function of the Western Wu Wall in the Xia and Shang Dynasties was to smelt copper. The purpose of people from the Shang Dynasty and the northern bronze culture distribution area came to the Western Wu Wall should be to obtain copper resources. "During the Xia and Shang Dynasties, copper was the strategic resource supporting the lifeline of the country. The large tomb M16 found in the Western Wu Wall is the largest and most abundant noble tomb in the early Shang Dynasty in China. The discovery of this tomb shows that the Shang Dynasty attached great importance to the copper resources in southern Shanxi, and it can be determined that the Western Wu Wall is the central settlement of the Shang Dynasty in southern Shanxi." Wang Xiaoyi said. (End) Ruins of the Quxia period in the east of Yunchengji. The location map of the Quxia site in the east of Yunchengji is provided by the Shanxi Provincial Archaeological Research Institute. Photo provided by Shanxi Provincial Archaeological Research Institute (Outlook New Era Network)