Master Archaeologist

Chapter 70 Prosperity, the common people suffer.dead, people suffer
Some people think that the prosperous age should be a period of outward expansion, while others think that the prosperous age should focus on improving people's living standards.

To measure whether a period is prosperous or not, obviously needs to be judged from multiple dimensions.

Military strength, national income, people's livelihood, social class, development of various industries...

However, it is known as the first feudal prosperity in Chinese history: the rule of Wenjing, but it has never been questioned.

It is written in the history textbooks and is constantly preached about the great prosperity!
In books, the rule of Wenjing is hailed as the first prosperous age of Chinese civilization after entering the imperial era, a great era of rapid economic and cultural development.

Throughout the ages, countless literati and writers have also written many articles yearning for or praising the governance of Wenjing.

It is believed that the society at that time was relatively stable and the people became richer.

In the later period of Emperor Jingdi, the country's granaries were full of grain, and a large amount of copper coins in the treasury had not been used for many years, so that the ropes that wore the money were rotten, and there were too many loose coins to calculate.

It is also recorded in historical data that Emperor Wenwen of the Han Dynasty reduced rent and taxes, reduced corvees, and his virtues spread across the world, benefiting the world.

After the death of Emperor Wen, the common people cried unceasingly, and the ministers also mourned the loss of such a benevolent and virtuous emperor.

In that era when the temple name was not so bad and most emperors could not get the temple name, the emperor who created the prosperous Western Han Dynasty also won the rare "Taizong" temple name.

No matter from historical materials or from the excavated tombs of nobles in the early Western Han Dynasty in the field of archaeology, it can be seen that the society and economy of the Wenjing period were indeed quite developed, and exquisite objects emerged in endlessly.

However, the bamboo slips unearthed from Tomb No. [-] in Fenghuang Mountain reveal the real life of a group that has been neglected since ancient times.

People!

Throughout the ages, the common people are the foundation that supports all heroes, heroes, overlords, aristocratic families, and scholar-bureaucrats who have left a strong mark in history.

However, in the history books, there are very few records about the people.

In the prosperous age, they were represented and summarized by the phrase "the people are rich".

Troubled times and disaster years, recorded in history, are nothing more than a sentence "the severe drought in Guanzhong, the hungry people eat each other".

The common people will never be the protagonists in the history books.

But they really constitute the cornerstone of the entire Chinese civilization!

When he stepped out of the Jingzhou Cultural Protection Center, Chen Han was in a daze.

Is it true that the people live and work in peace and contentment recorded in the history books, or is the record on the bamboo slips unearthed from Tomb No. 10 in Fenghuang Mountain true?

In other words, in the bamboo slips unearthed from Tomb No. 10, the living standards of these poor and poor people were considered happy in ancient times?

After all, although the labor is a little heavier, the tax is a little more, and the land is a little less, at least they can survive. There is no war, no chaos, no absurd emperor, and no hungry people eating each other?
Poor people are better than disaster victims and refugees, right?

For no reason, Chen Han thought of Zhang Yanghao's "Hillside Yangtong Caring for the Ancients"

"Xing, the people suffer. Death, the people suffer."

In the feudal period, even in the so-called era of great rule and prosperity, for the people at the bottom, it was just that they could barely survive, and they could barely survive.

Enjoyment has never been something that the people at the bottom can expect extravagantly.

After digging more tombs of the nobles of the Western Han Dynasty, Chen Han sometimes subconsciously thought that people in the Western Han Dynasty, like these nobles, could use exquisite lacquer and woodware, and pursue their spirits after eating and drinking. enjoy.

In fact, the real people of the Western Han Dynasty, not to mention lacquerware, an ordinary pottery pot, which may have been used by three generations of grandparents, was reluctant to be buried with it after death, and had to be passed on to future generations for use.

After death, it is impossible to have such a rich burial objects like the nobles, and death is like life.

That is to say, after a hastily dug a hole on the mass grave, and barely built a wooden coffin, he was buried alone.

In the 400 years of the Eastern and Western Han Dynasties, how many generations of people have multiplied.

But how many tombs are there that can really survive into modern times?
Only a small group of extravagant nobles can have the manpower and material resources to build a deep underground tomb for themselves, so that they can still survive after thousands of years.

And ordinary people?

Most of them have long since turned into a pool of dry bones and dissipated in this world, leaving no trace behind.

Like the No. [-] tomb in Fenghuang Mountain, Zhang Yan, the owner of the tomb, still exists in the world as the fifth doctor.

But in the Jiangling Xixiang he governed, the countless Xixiang people have long since lost their names.

Taking advantage of a rare trip to the city center.

After completing the handover of cultural relics and visiting the Jingzhou Cultural Relics Protection Center, Professor Li was not in a hurry to return to the construction site. Instead, he took Chen Han to find a business district and treated him to a good meal.

【Magic Frog】

In Dianping, Jingzhou is the number one restaurant for bullfrogs.

Professor Li ordered two pots of dry pot bullfrogs with different flavors, and Chen Han and Chen Han started to eat wildly while holding a pot.

The bullfrog looks ugly, but it tastes tender and delicious, and it is a high-quality meat with high protein and low fat.

Chen Han, who can't live up to the food, is so refreshing!

After nibbling a piece of juicy frog leg beautifully, he couldn't help sighing:

"It's better to be modern."

"At least everyone's material life is still very full. Eat whatever you want, don't worry about not being full, life is rich, and the spiritual world is also very rich."

"The people in the Western Han Dynasty were really miserable. Even during the Wenjing period, the people at the bottom were still very poor."

Professor Li glanced at Chen Han, but ignored him.

Young people have little experience, and all kinds of emotions are always emerging one after another. He is no stranger to it.

Isn't it just a bamboo slip that records the living conditions of the people in the Western Han Dynasty.

How big is it?

When the ruins of the Battle of Changping were dug, it was tragic.

Any layer of bones has a thickness of about 60cm and a length of more than 20 meters.

Skull, leg bones, arm bones... crossed and stacked, irregular piles of white bones stacked together, some arms and thighs showed obvious signs of fracture, some had arrowheads left in the chest cavity, and some had only torsos but no heads.

That is really miserable!
If it wasn't for the dinner, he would have used it to preach to Chen Han.

Compared with the people in the troubled times, a group of people who lived in the early days of the Great Unification Dynasty, when the politics were relatively clear and the society was relatively stable, were already very lucky.

Somewhat unexpectedly, that is, during the "Wenjingzhizhi" period, the living conditions of the people at the bottom did not improve at all, which makes people question the authenticity of the "Wenjingzhizhi".

However, these things are the field of research and debate by those historians, and have nothing to do with them who do archaeology.

Archaeologists are only responsible for digging out the cultural relics and written records that have been buried in the ground, tracing the origin of Chinese civilization and rescuing the lost culture.

As for how many of the historical records found in the tombs are inconsistent with the handed down historical materials, and how many do not conform to the historical records, that is not their research.

I didn't have the time to research it.

The Academy of Social Sciences has a bunch of sociologists and historians, and they should study this matter!

"Xiao Chen, eat more." Professor Li skipped the topic, put a fat frog leg into Chen Han's bowl, and encouraged him with a smile:

"Replenish more energy, and use your best state to meet the live broadcast tomorrow!"

"This is the first time that the Institute of Archeology of the Academy of Social Sciences has tried to use new media to communicate face-to-face with netizens."

"Xiao Chen, all the leaders in the institute are very optimistic about you, so don't let us down!"

Chen Han, who was chewing the bullfrog beautifully, felt that the bullfrog in his mouth didn't seem so tasty when he heard this.

Coauthoring this is a strong meal, right? !

"Professor Li, with my small body, I'm afraid I can't bear the high expectations of the leaders."

Putting down the bowls and chopsticks, Chen Han asked a little nervously: "If I don't do a good job in this live broadcast, what will be the consequences?"

"Oh, no, no, no consequences."

Professor Li still had that smiling expression, waved his hand and said indifferently: "Don't worry about it, this is a new attempt."

"Even if it fails, it's okay. Doing new media is a matter of patience and long-term trial and error."

"That teacher Xiaoliang, didn't he do science popularization on Weibo for many years, slowly gaining popularity, and then suddenly became popular!"

"The institute didn't expect you to become popular on the Internet with a live broadcast. Let's take our time and not be in a hurry."

"Come, come, eat vegetables, eat vegetables!"

　It's time for some casual daily plot, and it's time for the protagonist to take off.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)