Chapter 70 Bao Si (Postscript) Weishui Tomb
In the autumn of 2023, at an archaeological site on the south bank of the Wei River, the soil in the exploration area had just been cleared to the cultural layer of the late Western Zhou Dynasty when the brush of young archaeologist Chen Xi struck an unusually hard object.
A piece of rotten wood covered with loess, with faint traces of light blue on its surface, is particularly eye-catching among the gray-brown soil.
"Professor Zhang, please come quickly!" She held her breath and carefully brushed away the loose dust. "This wood looks like it's been artificially processed. The grain is so regular, and the blue marks don't look natural."
Professor Zhang, who is over 60 years old, came over on crutches. Under the magnifying glass, the cut surface of the rotten wood was smooth, and the blue marks were distributed in dots with a warm luster.
"We've explored this layer before, and only found the tombs of civilians. I didn't expect it to contain the remains of nobles." His eyes were serious. "Continue to clean it up. Be careful to protect the surrounding area and don't damage the artifacts."
As the exploration area expanded, a Western Zhou tomb with high regulations gradually emerged.
The tomb chamber is rectangular, with the passage facing the Wei River. A lacquered coffin is placed in the center, and bronze ritual vessels, jade dragon pendants, pottery tripods and other burial objects are scattered around it, as well as several bundles of carbonized bamboo slips.
What shocked Chen Xi the most was that in the camphorwood box on the left side of the coffin, there were dozens of pear wood movable type neatly stacked. Although they had been carbonized, one could still clearly see the seal characters such as "poetry", "agriculture" and "farming" engraved on them. The engravings were evenly deep and the font style was unified, which showed that they were practical tools that had been used for a long time.
"Professor Zhang! Movable type!" Chen Xi's voice trembled. "This is nearly two thousand years earlier than Bi Sheng's movable type from the Northern Song Dynasty. How could the Western Zhou Dynasty have such a sophisticated printing technology?"
Professor Zhang took the movable type and rubbed the carbonized edge with his fingertips, feeling the delicate carving. "Look at the curvature of the strokes. Only a skilled craftsman could have created that. The tomb owner must have been someone special. Perhaps the tomb was related to royal texts or handicrafts."
When the archaeologists used special tools to open the coffin, the scene was silent.
The remains of the tomb owner had decayed into powder, but on his chest was a complete piece of black ice jade, with a faint blue halo on the jade body and the three characters "Weiyang Hou" engraved on the jade surface. The characters were vigorous and in line with the style of aristocratic inscriptions in the late Western Zhou Dynasty.
"Marquis of Weiyang!" Professor Zhang adjusted his glasses excitedly. "The History of the Western Zhou Dynasty records that after King Ping of Zhou moved east, he appointed a meritorious official as 'Marquis of Weiyang' and stationed him in the Wei River basin. I never expected to actually find his tomb. This Xuanbing jade is pure and has a halo, which is rare even in Western Zhou royal tombs. It shows how high this marquis' status was."
What is even more surprising is that there is a piece of silk cloth on the inside of the coffin. Although it has turned yellow and brittle, it reveals clear handwriting under the infrared scanner.
It was a brief biography, written in the official script of the late Western Zhou Dynasty: "I was granted the title of Weiyang and assisted in the administration of Haojing. I made paper to pass on classics and invented movable type to benefit the people. I traveled extensively, teaching farming techniques and helping the people settle down. I lived out my life in my fiefdom, accompanied by a friend, guarding the Huaiyuan Courtyard. I have lived a life that is worthy of my life."
"A friend?" Chen Xi frowned, pointing at the writing on the silk cloth. "But the tomb is a single burial, and the burial objects are all for a single person. Who is this 'friend'? If there are close relatives in the tombs of Western Zhou nobles, even if they are not buried together, their belongings will be buried as a commemoration. How could there be no trace at all?"
She continued reading, and at the end of the silk cloth, there was another line of small words: "The locust trees are blooming by the Wei River. Will you return? This promise will never change."
"'Jun' is a respectful title," Professor Zhang pondered. "It seems this friend was of high status, but the Western Zhou dynasty had strict social classes. If he were a noble, he would have left clues in historical records or tombs. The identity of this 'friend' is likely a difficult mystery to solve."
Just then, the team member in charge of cleaning the bronze tripod suddenly shouted, "Teacher Chen, Professor Zhang! There's a roll of paper inside the tripod! It's in excellent condition, and it even has pictures printed on it!"
Chen Xi and Professor Zhang immediately gathered around and saw a roll of silk dyed with cinnabar and wrapped in paper, lying quietly in the bronze tripod.
After unfolding, the paper was printed with the contents of "Records of the Western Zhou Dynasty", which recorded the customs and farming techniques of various countries, as well as simple illustrations of chariots and plowshares. The printing was clear and the ink color was even.
The most special thing is that there is a line of small annotations next to each illustration. The handwriting is completely different from the engraving style on the movable type. The strokes are slender and the turns are soft, but it accurately marks "fifteen chariot spokes are the most stable" and "a plowshare angle of thirty degrees saves effort", which shows that the author is extremely familiar with the technology.
"Look here!" Chen Xi pointed to the annotation next to the Weishui map. "'This map has been revised three times to achieve its accuracy'—who revised it? If it was the tomb owner himself, there's no need to specifically mark it. But if it was someone else, could it be that 'friend'?"
As the archaeological work deepened, more clues surfaced.
There are many irregular light blue marks on the walls of the tomb, distributed around the coffin, like marks left by long-term human activities.
There were two different kinds of food residues in the pottery bowl buried with the deceased, one was corn and the other was wheat cake, which were obviously traces of the two people eating together. The piece of black ice jade would cast a faint light and shadow under the sunlight, and the outline sometimes looked like a person standing, sometimes like a person writing at a desk, but it was always vague and unclear, and the specific shape could not be grasped.
"I have a guess," Chen Xi said softly, observing the halo of the black ice jade. "This 'friend' might not be a noble, or even a 'scholar' in the traditional sense. Look at the blue marks and the precise mastery of his technique. He doesn't look like a common craftsman or official of the Western Zhou Dynasty. Perhaps he was a reclusive skilled craftsman who didn't want to reveal his identity, so he left no trace in the tomb."
Professor Zhang nodded, his eyes filled with emotion. "No matter who this friend was, the life of Marquis Weiyang was legendary enough. The papermaking and movable type printing she invented were nearly a thousand years earlier than recorded in history, yet somehow they were never passed down. Perhaps it was due to war, or perhaps the technology was too advanced, and they were eventually buried on the banks of the Wei River."
After the archaeological work was completed, the cultural relics were sent to the museum.
Xuanbing Jade is housed in a specially designed display case. As visitors approach, the jade's blue halo brightens, and the light and shadow cast by it become clearer, as if responding to something. "Records of the Western Zhou Dynasty" has become the museum's most valuable treasure. Visitors peruse the annotations on the pages, constantly wondering about the identity of the "mysterious friend"—a reclusive craftsman? Or a wandering scholar?
Chen Xi stood in front of the display case, looking at the three characters "Marquis Weiyang" engraved on the black ice jade, and said softly, "Marquis Weiyang, we have finally seen your skills and your story. The agreement you made with that friend will be remembered forever."
The setting sun shines through the museum's windows onto the black ice jade. The blue halo and golden sunlight interweave, like a warm picture.
It seems as if in the distant Western Zhou Dynasty, under the locust tree on the bank of the Wei River, there was a woman in marquis's clothes, standing side by side with a blurry friend, watching the afterglow of the sunset, waiting for the locust flowers to bloom again.
And this companionship spanning thousands of years, this unspoken promise, has become a gentle mystery in the long river of history with the discovery of this tomb, and will remain in the hearts of the people forever and be told repeatedly.
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