Riding the wind of rebirth

However, Chi Xueli was so happy that she forgot to do the Lingshan stretching exercises. In the end, Zhou Zhi and Mai Xiaomiao persevered.

Chi Xueli thought that soaking in the hot spring could achieve the same effect, so she took her team there early the next morning, preparing to enjoy herself under the pretext of shooting footage.

Zhou Zhi was not so lucky. He had to hurry and carefully pack away the things he brought back yesterday, and then rush to the airport with Mai Xiaomiao.

Because there were too many items, it would definitely not be possible to check them in as carry-on luggage. Fortunately, Zhouzhi now has a considerable influence in the autonomous prefecture, and Zhou Liuniang Group itself has a fixed air cargo channel. After knowing the importance of this batch of cultural relics, Li Yutang approved the special handling of the matter.

That afternoon, the cultural relics were transported to the Shu University Museum.

Research on the history and culture of southwestern ethnic minorities is Shu University's strong point, and its talent pool is even stronger than that of the Shu Provincial Museum. The size of the Shu University Museum's outdoor exhibition area and the number of cultural relics may be smaller than those of the Shu Provincial Museum, but the conditions in the snow protection area, research area, and restoration area are better than those of the Shu Provincial Museum.

Many times, the Shu Provincial Museum cooperates with Shu University under the banner of "joint research" and "joint restoration", but in fact they just want to take advantage of good equipment.

Masters Jiang Tianxi and Danzeng did not give in for nothing. After receiving Zhou Zhi's call, they organized the department's elite forces to wait here. They also contacted the Shu Provincial Museum, the Shu Provincial Department of Culture, the Ethnic and Religious Affairs Bureau and other relevant units for a joint appraisal.

A lot of results came out that evening. A piece of straw paper that Zhou Zhi brought back was identified as the original version of "Wuding Luo Wuyi's Book of Fortune and Omens", which led to a major event in the Republic of China period.

“So the original copy of the ‘Wuding Luowuyi Divination Book’ is actually the earliest starting point for our country to study Yi classics from an academic perspective?” Zhou Zhi felt a little unbelievable. How could he get this book just by reaching out?

"Yes." The person in charge of explaining was a scholar who was studying minority historical documents in the History Department. He was an Yi himself and his name was Kong Ziding. Zhou Zhi couldn't tell whether this name was a Sinicized name or the original Yi name. Kong Ziding's admiration for Zhou Zhi was beyond words, because Zhou Zhi had gone deep into the Yi area to collect information, save documents, and publish books, making considerable contributions to the culture of Kong Ziding's own nation.

In the Provincial Department of Culture and the Autonomous Prefecture Cultural Bureau, "The Origin of the Yi Nationality in Liangshan" is highly valued, because various families based on family branches are still active in the Liangshan area, and there is even a phenomenon of "enemies not marrying each other". This book can help to sort out the complex relationships between these family branches, which is beneficial to the stability of the local society and the development of various social work.

However, in Kong Ziding's eyes, another book, "Illustrated Catalogue of Yi Scripts on Inscriptions and Bronze", is more important. Zhou Zhi did not treat different ethnic groups differently, but based on factual evidence, he believed that Yi script appeared earlier than Chinese characters. Some engraved characters on pottery and tortoise shells from cultural sites such as Jiahu and Liangzhu are similar to ancient Yi script and even modern script. Some engraved characters form a complete series, and their meanings can even be interpreted. For example, the Yi oracle bone script with the inscription "Heavenly Thunder" interpreted by Guo Moruo was included one by one in "Illustrated Catalogue of Yi Scripts on Inscriptions and Bronze", and written about it.

However, Zhou Zhi also expressed his attitude in the article, that is, the current evidence is not sufficient. Therefore, although hundreds of carvings that are identical or similar to Yi characters have been discovered scattered across the country, there is still a lack of the most powerful direct evidence to prove that these carvings are absolutely equivalent to Yi characters.

Therefore, we can only add a hypothetical premise to the conclusion: if these carvings are ancient Yi characters, then the history of the appearance of characters on the Chinese land will be traced back to more than 8,000 years ago, and ancient Yi characters will take the title of the oldest characters in the world.

Even if it requires a hypothetical premise to limit it, this is enough for Kong Ziding to admire and even respect Zhou Zhi. Although he is forty years younger than himself, he dares to think and act.

Of course, the most important thing is the huge economic strength behind him that supports him to do so.

As for the question of whether all these investments were earned by Zhou Zhi himself, Kong Ziding had never even thought about it. How could it be possible? "Speaking of which, Senior Ding Wenjiang should be of the same kind as Elbow. Two generations of scholars have achieved the continuation of manuscripts in this way." Kong Ziding said, "I think this is God's will."

Although everyone is engaged in historical research under the guidance of dialectical historical materialism, the history department has monks like Master Lian Danzeng, so when Kong Ziding, an Yi scholar, occasionally engages in some fatalistic superstition, no one can say anything.

"In the early years of the Republic of China, the area with the richest Yi language books was Chuxiong Prefecture in Yunnan Province," Kong Ziding said. "However, the collection and modern translation and publication of Yi language books began with Han scholars."

"In the third year of the Republic of China, Ding Wenjiang, a famous geologist in my country, was traveling from Yunnan to Sichuan. When he passed through Huanzhou Village in Wuding County, the wife of the local chieftain, Na Lanfang, gave him a book in Yi language called "The Book of Fortune and Omen".

"This book is a handwritten copy. The handwriting is special. It was first written on straw paper with cinnabar, and then covered with a layer of black ink."

"This book was brought to Qianzhong by Ding Wenjiang and translated by Luo Wenbi, a Yi scripture teacher in Dading County, and named "Wuding Luo Wuyi Fortune Telling Book". It was later included in the "Cuanwen Congke" published by the Commercial Press in 1936."

"This is the first sutra translated using the modern Yi language's special four-pillar translation method."

"Thirty years later, another scholar, Mr. Ma Xueliang, was commissioned by the Institute of History and Philology of the Academia Sinica to investigate the Yi language and writing in the Wuding Yi area of ​​Yunnan, and lived in the Maolianna Yi Tusi Yamen. On the evening of the 18th day of the first lunar month, a Bimo meeting was held in the Tusi Yamen with more than 20 Bimos from several nearby counties and hundreds of people. After that, he collected, translated and sorted out Yi books in the Tusi Yamen, and also conducted research on Yi customs. When he returned to Kunming on the first day of December of the same year, he took away more than 2,100 Yi books and Yi books from the Tusi Yamen."

"Later, these materials became the first-hand materials for Mr. Ma Xueliang's research on Yi literature, and he published many works, which were successively published in the periodicals such as "Bianzheng Gonglun", "Southwest Frontier" and "Bianjiang Congwen" published in the Republic of China."

"It's a pity that due to factors such as war and turmoil, this batch of precious historical materials has disappeared."

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

"Among them is the 'Wuding Luowuyi Book of Fortune and Misfortune' and 52 wood carvings of the 'Sutra of Encouraging Good Deeds'."

"The Sutra of Encouraging Good Deeds?" Zhou Zhi's mind was stirred: "It seems to be in the Illustrated Record of Inscriptions on Yi Inscriptions? There is a broken stele found in the ruins of the old city of Muoge. How about taking a look at it?"

"No need to look for it." Kong Ziding said, "Your 'Illustrated Catalogue of Yi Inscriptions' is now an important reference book for us. Although there are some minor differences in the wording of the 'Sutra of Encouragement to Good Deeds' from the ruins of the old city of Muoge and the two engravings you brought this time, the content is undoubtedly the same scripture."

"The content of this book is completely consistent with the book of fortune and misfortune collected in the 1936 Commercial Press's Cuanwen Congke. Even the format of copying it twice with cinnabar and black ink is exactly the same as the description left by Mr. Ding Wenjiang. Therefore, we conclude that it is the original manuscript that Mr. Na gave to Mr. Ding."

"Combining the two pieces of evidence, we are now somewhat hopeful that the more than 2,000 Yi books collected by Mr. Ma Xueliang are in the Bimo Cave!" (End of this chapter)