Huang Wenbi (; April 23, 1893 – December 18, 1966) 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 ...

specializing in

Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...

. Huang was born in

Hanchuan Hanchuan () is a county-level city in east-central Hubei province, People's Republic of China. It is under the administration of Xiaogan prefecture-level city. The city's urban area is located on the left bank of the Han River a few tens of kilom ...

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...

Province. After graduating from

Peking University Peking University (PKU; ) is a public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education. Peking University was established as the Imperial University of Peking in 1898 when it received its royal charter ...

in 1918, he became a faculty member of the university. From 1927 to 1930, he participated in the

Sino-Swedish Expedition The Sino-Swedish Expedition was a bilateral Chinese-Swedish expedition, led by Sven Hedin, which carried out scientific research in north and northwest China, 1927–1935. About the Expedition The Expedition looked in particular at the meteorolog ...

Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a ...

and

with

Sven Hedin Sven Anders Hedin, KNO1kl RVO,Wennerholm, Eric (1978) ''Sven Hedin – En biografi'', Bonniers, Stockholm (19 February 1865 – 26 November 1952) was a Swedish geographer, topographer, explorer, photographer, travel writer and illustrator ...

and

Xu Xusheng Xu Xusheng, also known by his courtesy name Xu Bingchang, (1888 – January 4, 1976) was a Chinese archaeologist, historian, and explorer born in Tanghe, Henan Province. Best known for his discovery of the Erlitou culture in 1959, he was one of C ...

. He was also a research fellow on the Sino-Swedish Expedition of 1934-37. In 1928 and 1930, he worked in

Turfan Turpan (also known as Turfan or Tulufan, , ug, تۇرپان) is a prefecture-level city located in the east of the autonomous region of Xinjiang, China. It has an area of and a population of 632,000 (2015). Geonyms The original name of the cit ...

with other members of Hedin’s expedition, while also studying

Gaochang Gaochang (; Old Uyghur: ''Qocho''), also called Khocho, Karakhoja, Qara-hoja, Kara-Khoja or Karahoja (قاراغوجا in Uyghur), was a ruined, ancient oasis city on the northern rim of the inhospitable Taklamakan Desert in present-day Xinj ...

and the cave monasteries,

Bezeklik The Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves (, Uyghur: بزقلیق مىڭ ئۆيى ) is a complex of Buddhist cave grottos dating from the 5th to 14th century between the cities of Turpan and Shanshan (Loulan) at the north-east of the Taklamakan Desert ...

in particular. In 1930, he excavated in Yarqoto, before returning to Gaochang and then moving on to the burial grounds of

Astana Astana, previously known as Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and most recently Nur-Sultan, is the capital city of Kazakhstan. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim (river), Ishim River in the north-central part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmo ...

. A new cycle of work was undertaken in 1933 and then resumed in 1943. As a member of the Central Committee for the Preservation of Antiquities, he was stationed 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 ...

to be a director to research the

Stele Forest The Stele Forest or Beilin Museum is a museum for steles and stone sculptures in Beilin District in Xi'an, Northwest China. The museum, which is housed in a former Confucian Temple, has housed a growing collection of Steles since 1087. By 194 ...

from 1935. In 1947, he returned to Beijing, where he worked in the Institute of Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences of the People’s Republic of China. He conducted a number of further archeological research trips to the western regions from 1950, in particular exploring the historic city of

. His last expedition to Chinese Turkestan took place in 1958. He died in 1966.

Works

* Gaochang zhuanji, Peking 1931 * Gaochang zhuanji zhuiyan, Peking 1931 * Gaochang taoji 1934 * Luobu Nao'er kaogu ji (The Exploration around Lob Nor: A report on the exploratory work during 1930 and 1934; Chinese with English translation of the preface and the table of contents), Peking 1948. * Gaochang tuanji, Peking 1951. * Gaochang zhuanji 1951 * Talimu Pendi kaogu ji, Peking 1958. * Tulufan kaogu ji 1954, 1958 * Huang Wenbi Meng Xin Kaocha riji 1927–1930 uang Wenbi's Mongolia and Xinjiang Survey Diary Peking
Wenwu chubanshe
1990 * Xinjiang kaogu fajue baokap, 1983 * Xibei shi di luncong, 1981 * Gaochang zhuanji, Beijing 1931 * Gaochang zhuanji zhuiyan, Beijing 1931 * Gaochang taoji 1934 * Luobu Nao'er kaogu ji (The Exploration around Praise Nor: A report on the exploratory work during 1930 and 1934, Chinese with English Gaochang tuanji, Beijing 1951. * Gaochang zhuanji 1951 * Talimu Pendi kaogu ji, Beijing 1958. * Tulufan kaogu ji 1954, 1958 * Huang Wenbi Meng Xin Kaocha riji 1927-1930 uang Wenbi's Mongolia and Xinjiang Survey Diary Beijing
Wenwu chubanshe
1990 * Xinjiang kaogu fajue baokap, 1983 * Xibei shi di luncong, 1981

Works

References

Further reading