Master Archaeologist

Chapter 47

"Is the seal released?!"

"Sibo's seal? Official seal or private seal?"

"It should be a private seal, right?!"

Everyone who was about to tidy up and finish cleaning the coffin, saw Chen Han take out a seal from the coffin, and immediately surrounded them, scrambling to get a closer look at the seal.

For Han tombs, the seal is definitely the most important cultural relic, and it is a precious evidence that can determine the identity of the tomb owner.

Before, everyone was still regretting that they did not find the seal, and they planned to continue cleaning tomorrow.

Unexpectedly, Chen Han discovered this by accident.

Zhuang Yunpeng, who was closest to him, rushed up and took the seal from Chen Han's hand, and put it in front of his eyes for a closer look.

"Si Bo?"

"Remember that court ladies have the official name "Si Bo". The owner of this tomb is a woman? Impossible!"

Kong Jianwen, who was one step behind him, slapped him on the back of the head angrily.

"Si Bo is the female official system in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, this is the tomb of the Han Dynasty!"

"Have you read all the books into the dog's stomach?"

Secretary, the name of a female official in the palace.

Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty set her up as a court lady, one of the 24 divisions, a list of people in charge of the palace, and a gift from the lord.

In the Sui Dynasty, it was from the sixth rank, and in the Tang Dynasty, it was the sixth rank. After that, there was no change until the Ming Dynasty. It has always been one of the female officials in the emperor's harem.

However, this tomb is from the Western Han Dynasty!

How could there be an official position of Si Bo!
Kong Jianwen pointed at Zhuang Yunpeng angrily, and said with hatred: "Obviously, this is a private seal! The owner of this seal is named Si Bo!"

The scolded Zhuang Yunpeng was like the eggplant beaten by Shuang, wilting, and holding the seal with both hands, he sent it to Kong Jianwen, not daring to fart anymore.

He himself felt a little ashamed by the unscrupulous words just now.

How can you make such a low-level mistake!
Su Sa, Lin Ya and the others quickly shut up.

In fact, if Zhuang Yunpeng hadn't said it a step faster, when they saw Si Bo for the first time, they would also think of the official name.

There is no way, the word "Si" has too strong aura of officials and lords in ancient China.

Whether it is the sixth division of the court, the 24th division of the harem, or the divisions of the county government, they are all official positions.

Even in modern times, there are various departments in state institutions.

Who would associate "si" with the name in the first place?

But Kong Jianwen has no time to care about their thoughts.

He took the seal, carefully identified it, and said with satisfaction: "Well, this is a typical bronze private seal in the middle and late Western Han Dynasty, and it is still well preserved."

"Sibo's seal is engraved on the seal face. This "Sibo" must be the owner of the tomb."

"After I go back, I double check the local county annals and Hanshu to see if there is any record of the tomb owner's life."

Zhuang Yunpeng leaned forward very dog-leggedly, and asked flatteringly, "Teacher, how did you determine that this private seal is from the middle and late Western Han Dynasty?"

"How can we more accurately date the private seals of the Western Han Dynasty?"

Kong Jianwen glanced at Zhuang Yunpeng indifferently. Seeing that he was his student, he held back the desire to continue scolding, and turned his head to look at Chen Han who had found the seal.

"Xiao Chen, do you know how to date the Western Han dynasty privately?"

Chen Han, who was originally calm and breezy, scratched his head inexplicably, why did the fire still burn himself?
However, after obtaining the systematically increased knowledge of archaeology, Chen Han's knowledge has indeed expanded a lot, and this problem is not difficult for him.

"Teacher, to date private seals of the Western Han Dynasty, it is usually identified based on the style of the seal and the characteristics of the button."

"Generally, it can be divided into three periods."

"The early private printing style from Liu Bang Li Han to Liu Che destroying South Vietnam."

"The style of the middle and late Western Han Dynasty from Liu Cheyuan's feudal year to Wang Mang's regent."

"The last is the private seal of the Xinmang period, from the first year of Ruziyingjushe to the first year of Liu Xiujianwu."

"The number of private seals in the early Western Han Dynasty is relatively rare, and the materials are mostly copper jade. Moreover, the Han Dynasty inherited the Qin system, and the composition of the Qin charts."

"Most of the engraved texts are jade seals using bird and insect scripts, and copper seals use small seal script after the "Clerical Change" and Miao seal script with twists and turns, and they are all only seen in private seals in the early Western Han Dynasty."

"After the middle of the Western Han Dynasty, the number of jade seals decreased sharply, and copper seals dominated the mainstream with overwhelming numbers, and became the peak period of private seals in the Han Dynasty."

"Nine out of ten of the private seals of the Han Dynasty that survive now are from the middle and late Western Han Dynasty."

"Private seals in the middle and late Western Han Dynasty generally added words such as "yin", "zhiyin", "private seal" and "yinxin" after the name, so that the printed surface could be combined into four characters."

"And the fonts are mainly in the official seal script. The bird and insect script of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods have been eliminated."

"As for Xinmang's private seal, it is a link between the past and the future. The composition and composition are inherited from the private seal of the middle and late Western Han Dynasty, but the button style shows the characteristics of transition to the style of the Eastern Han Dynasty."

After Chen Han had just talked a few words about the different styles of seals in the three periods, Kong Jianwen nodded in satisfaction and interrupted him: "That's right, Xiao Chen did a special study before opening the coffin! "

"Very well, that's what archeology is all about. Keep consolidating and absorbing knowledge at all times. You have to hold on to the book and persevere!"

"Unlike some people, I'm afraid I've almost forgotten everything I learned in school!"

Kong Jianwen glanced at Zhuang Yunpeng coldly, and said in a cold tone: "Xiao Zhuang, when you go back, copy the method and detailed explanation of the private seals of the Western Han Dynasty three times and give them to me!"

"I will check it later, if I miss a word, I will copy it again!"

How to date the private seals of the Western Han Dynasty is definitely not something that Chen Han can explain clearly in a few words. He just gave a few examples based on the differences in the styles of seals in different periods.

In fact, there are many aspects, from the button style to the composition of the printed surface to the stroke style of the inscription, etc., which can be used to judge the age of private printing.

If you really want to sort it out and transcribe it, I'm afraid it won't work out with a few thousand words.

Zhuang Yunpeng responded with a bitter face, scolding himself in his heart, he shouldn't ask too much!
He actually knew it, but he just wanted to be positive in front of his mentor, but he didn't expect to be flattered.

It's just too late to regret it now.

After Kong Jianwen scolded a few words, he no longer cared about him. He held up the seal, which was only a little over a centimeter long and maybe less than a centimeter wide, and patiently taught others:

"Look, the button style of this seal is a typical thin-edged tile-shaped button, and it is a turtle button."

"In the middle and late Western Han Dynasty, the tile-shaped buttons with thin edges replaced the ring-shaped nose buttons and became the mainstream of copper buttons in the middle and late period."

"In addition, the word "Zhiyin" is added after the name on the printed surface, which also conforms to the rigid system of private seals in the middle and late Western Han Dynasty."

"Private seals in the early Western Han Dynasty did not pay attention to making up four characters. Single-character and double-character seals are very common."

"So based on these two points, it can be judged that this private seal was made in the middle and late Western Han Dynasty."

Chen Han and the others quickly made an enlightened expression, nodded again, and showed a learned expression, which immediately gave Kong Jianwen a sense of accomplishment as a teacher.

All of a sudden, the atmosphere in the workshop became harmonious again.

Only Zhuang Yunpeng was crying with a sad face, wanting to cry without tears.

"Teacher, can you copy less?"

(End of this chapter)