Duan Qingbo (; February 1964 – 13 October 2019) was a Chinese

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

. He served as the chief archaeologist of the

Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor The Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor () is the mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of the Qin dynasty. It is located in Lintong District, Xi'an, Shaanxi province of China. It was constructed over 38 years, from 246 to 208 BCE, and is ...

and Dean of the School of Cultural Heritage of Northwest University in

Xi'an Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by #Name, other names, is the list of capitals in China, capital of Shaanxi, Shaanxi Province. A Sub-provincial division#Sub-provincial municipalities, sub-provincial city o ...

. He discovered the large-scale drainage system of

Qin Shi Huang Qin Shi Huang (, ; 259–210 BC) was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of a unified China. Rather than maintain the title of "king" ( ''wáng'') borne by the previous Shang and Zhou rulers, he ruled as the First Emperor ( ...

's mausoleum and a high-ranking noble tomb in the mausoleum precinct. He also spent over two years surveying more than of the

Great Wall The Great Wall of China (, literally "ten thousand Li (unit), ''li'' wall") is a series of fortifications that were built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China as protection against Eurasian noma ...

on foot.

Life and career

Duan was born in February 1964 in Ruicheng County,

Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...

, China. He graduated from Northwest University in

with a bachelor's degree in archaeology in 1985. He later earned a Ph.D. in archaeology in 2008. He began working at the

Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see #Name, § Name) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichu ...

Provincial Institute of Archaeology in 1988, where he served as deputy director of the

Qin Qin may refer to: Dynasties and states * Qin (state) (秦), a major state during the Zhou Dynasty of ancient China * Qin dynasty (秦), founded by the Qin state in 221 BC and ended in 206 BC * Daqin (大秦), ancient Chinese name for the Roman Emp ...

–

Han Han may refer to: Ethnic groups * Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group. ** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...

Archaeological Research Office and director of the Sui–

Tang Tang or TANG most often refers to: * Tang dynasty * Tang (drink mix) Tang or TANG may also refer to: Chinese states and dynasties * Jin (Chinese state) (11th century – 376 BC), a state during the Spring and Autumn period, called Tang (唐) b ...

Archaeological Research Office. In 1998, Duan was appointed chief archaeologist of the

. In the following decade, he led the excavation of the mausoleum precinct. His team discovered the ruins of China's three oldest and largest

que towers The que () is a freestanding, ceremonial gate tower in traditional Chinese architecture. First developed in the Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BC), ''que'' towers were used to form ceremonial gateways to tombs, palaces and temples throughout pre-moder ...

, the mausoleum's large-scale underground dam and drainage system, and a large double-ramped noble tomb that ranks only below

's own mausoleum in importance. He oversaw the publication of three excavation reports, in 1999, 2000, and 2002. Duan's excavations led him to the conclusion that the underground realm of the mausoleum imitated the real organization of the court in the emperor's lifetime, with terracotta officials, musicians, even acrobats and realistic bronze waterfowl, in addition to the famous

Terracotta Army The Terracotta Army is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China. It is a form of funerary art buried with the emperor in 210–209 BCE with the purpose of protecting the emperor in ...

. He also found that the emperor might have employed people from west

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago a ...

, as the structure of the mausoleum bore similarities to the

Mausoleum at Halicarnassus The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus or Tomb of Mausolus ( grc, Μαυσωλεῖον τῆς Ἁλικαρνασσοῦ; tr, Halikarnas Mozolesi) was a tomb built between 353 and 350 BC in Halicarnassus (present Bodrum, Turkey) for Mausolus, an ...

, which had been built a century earlier in today's Turkey. Duan found that the

Epang Palace The Epang Palace was a Chinese palace complex built during the reign of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China and the founder of the short-lived Qin dynasty. It is located in western Xi’an, Shaanxi Province. Archaeologists believe that on ...

, recorded in histories as a luxurious palace which symbolized Qin Shi Huang's tyranny and greed, was actually never built except for its foundation. In his 2018 book, ''Qin Mausoleum: A Dust-Laden Empire'', he argues that Qin Shi Huang had been vilified by

Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

historians such as

Sima Qian Sima Qian (; ; ) was a Chinese historian of the early Han dynasty (206AD220). He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for his ''Records of the Grand Historian'', a general history of China covering more than two thousand years b ...

, who have cemented the emperor's reputation as a cruel and tyrannical ruler. In 2006, he was appointed leader of the Shaanxi Great Wall Survey Team and spent the next two years surveying of the

in Shaanxi on foot. He subsequently surveyed parts of the Great Wall in neighbouring

Gansu Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...

province. In 2009, Duan returned to his alma mater to teach at the School of Cultural Heritage of Northwest University. He served as deputy dean of the school from 2010 to 2014 and as dean from 2017 until his death. He advised 48 graduate students at the university. Duan authored more than 10 books and about 100 research papers. He received over 10 national, provincial, and ministerial awards.

Death

Duan was diagnosed with

kidney cancer Kidney cancer, also known as renal cancer, is a group of cancers that starts in the kidney. Symptoms may include blood in the urine, lump in the abdomen, or back pain. Fever, weight loss, and tiredness may also occur. Complications can include spr ...

and had one of his kidneys surgically removed in 2016. In May 2019, it was discovered that his cancer had

metastasized Metastasis is a pathogenic agent's spread from an initial or primary site to a different or secondary site within the host's body; the term is typically used when referring to metastasis by a cancerous tumor. The newly pathological sites, then, ...

to his lung. He underwent another surgery in July 2019, but died on 13 October 2019 in Xi'an, aged 55. He was survived by his wife Wu Chun (吴春).

Life and career

Death

References

Further reading