On October 10, the opening ceremony of the Field Archaeology Practice Teaching Base in Xia County, Yuncheng, Shanxi Province, Jilin University was held.
Song Xinchao, Zhang Fuming, Wang Wei, Yan Yalin, Ding Jigang, Liu Runmin, Liang Qingyan, Wang Yun and Zhang Xi, Feng Zhengyu, Zhu Yonggang participated in the ceremony. The opening ceremony was presided over by Wang Lifeng.
Song Xinchao congratulated the open of the base in his speech on behalf of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage. He pointed out that President Xi Jinping attach great importance to archaeology and heritage conservation work. On September 28, the Political Bureau held the 23rd collective study on the topic of China's latest archaeological discoveries and their significance. President Xi Jinping delivered an important speech while presiding over the study, which encouraged the majority of archaeologists. Song Xinchao gave full affirmation to Jilin University's long-standing support for the construction of archaeological disciplines and the training and delivery of a large number of archaeological talents for the country. He said that the confluence of the Fen, Wei and Yiluo rivers in Xia County is the hinterland of Chinese culture, and the establishment of a field archaeology teaching base in this area is of great practical and scientific significance. He put forward four hopes for future work. The first is to insist on teaching as the first priority, to fight the battle of field archaeology, to make a more refined, standardized and scientific practice plan, and to carry out practical teaching activities with the frontier development of archaeology. The second is to adhere to academic orientation, make full use of bases, and plant experimental fields for archaeological research. Thirdly, adhere to cooperation and strive to create a national and international exchange platform for archaeology. Fourthly, insist on serving the society, widely organize scholars and archaeologists to conduct research and study, and provide popular science education for the public, so as to lay a solid social foundation for national archaeology.
Zhang Xi, President of Jilin University, welcomed and thanked all the leaders and experts in his speech. He briefly reviewed the outstanding achievements of archaeology major in Jilin University since its establishment, especially in the "double first-class" construction process in recent years, and pointed out that Jilin University has a long history of archaeological research in Shanxi. In order to better promote the construction of "world-class academic disciplines", Jilin University actively supports the School of Archaeology to focus on the major theme of "Comprehensive Research on the Origins and Early Development of Chinese Civilization", which is located in the important region of ancient Chinese civilization. In April of this year, as soon as the Covid-19 epidemic was under effective control, the School of Archaeology of Jilin University was stationed in Xia County, and after much hard work, it built a practical teaching base that is both simple and practical and can basically meet the needs of modern field archaeology teaching and research.
Zhang Xi pointed out that archaeology requires people with love and affection, and only with love can one be tireless. Jilin University has always had a group of archaeologists with a passion for archaeology, and they have trained a group of students with a passion for archaeology, which has been passed on from one generation to the next. Zhang Xi hopes that the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, Shanxi Province and Yuncheng City will continue to support the construction and improvement of Jilin University's archaeological base, and build it into an open teaching and research base for the whole country.
In his speech, Wang Wei, an alumnus of Jilin University's archaeology program, class of 1977, was excited and delighted with the opening of the base in Xia County. He recalled fondly the experience of going to Wei County, Hebei Province for archaeological practice more than 30 years ago when he was a student, and spoke highly of the infrastructure construction and modernization of the base, "This is currently the best university field archaeological practice base in China. "
Gao Xing, a researcher at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and an adjunct professor at Jilin University, mentioned in his speech that Xia County, Yuncheng, Shanxi Province, is the place where the Chinese first organized their own archaeological excavations, backed by a number of important archaeological sites, with a deep cultural and historical heritage and rich resources, and the location of the Jilin University archaeological teaching base is appropriate. "The rapid completion of the base is a declaration from Jilin University archaeologists and the archaeological community in China: contemporary archaeologists will not only excavate sites and tombs, we will also build field archaeological bases with full facilities and comfortable conditions, build world-class archaeological disciplines, and build incubators and solid runways for the academic dreams of archaeologists, especially young scholars."
Lei Xingshan, dean of the School of Archaeology and Culture at Peking University, said in his speech that the Xiaxian base at Jilin University, with its rich teaching resources, complete facilities and advanced management, is a benchmark and model for field archaeology practice bases in universities across the country, and an active exploration by the Jilin University archaeology department to cultivate and strengthen the archaeology team and to bring forth successive generations of archaeologists and talents.
Wang Zhifeng congratulated the base on its opening and expressed his strong support for the teaching and practice of the base, and further deepened the cooperation and communication with Jilin University, making joint contributions to the archaeological and heritage conservation and economic and social development of southern Shanxi region.
At the ceremony, Professor Zhao Binfu, Dean of the School of Archaeology, Jilin University, presented letters of appointment to Zhu Yanping, Researcher of the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Li Ji, Director of the Institute of Archaeology, Palace Museum, Qiao Liang, Researcher of the Chinese Academy of Cultural Heritage, and Ma Sheng, Researcher of the Institute of Archaeology, Shanxi Province, as external instructors of field archaeology.
Before the ceremony, the leaders and guests visited the Shicun site in Xia County, Shanxi Province, and visited the practice teaching base. where Jilin University teachers and students are currently involved in excavations.
It is understood that the Jilin University Shanxi Yuncheng Xiaxian field archaeology practice teaching base is located in Lu-in Village, Xiaxian Peijie Town, Yuncheng City, Shanxi Province, and has been selected by the School of Archaeology since 2019 and started construction, covering an area of more than 0.8 million square meters. The base is equipped with a display room for cultural relics, a room for the finishing and restoration of cultural relics, a virtual simulation teaching laboratory, a library of cultural relics, a teacher's apartment, a student's apartment and an office area, which can accommodate more than a hundred teachers and students working and living there at the same time. The base is equipped with advanced equipment such as virtual simulation experimental equipment, total station, real-time differential positioning measuring instrument and other advanced equipment, as well as media systems, which can meet the needs of field archaeology teaching and students' practice, and provide a strong support and good platform for the construction of archaeological disciplines and communication among universities.
