Mai Yinghao (; 15 July 1929 – 28 November 2016) was a Chinese archaeologist. He led the excavation of three major archaeological sites in

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

: the

Qin dynasty The Qin dynasty ( ; zh, c=秦朝, p=Qín cháo, w=), or Ch'in dynasty in Wade–Giles romanization ( zh, c=, p=, w=Ch'in ch'ao), was the first dynasty of Imperial China. Named for its heartland in Qin state (modern Gansu and Shaanxi), ...

shipyard, the Mausoleum of the Nanyue King, and the Royal Palace and Garden of the

Nanyue Nanyue (), was an ancient kingdom ruled by Chinese monarchs of the Zhao family that covered the modern Chinese subdivisions of Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Hong Kong, Macau, southern Fujian and central to northern Vietnam. Nanyue was establis ...

Kingdom. He served as Director of the

Guangzhou Museum The Zhenhai Tower, also known as the Five-Story Pagoda, is a tower in Guangzhou, Guangdong. It is located in Yuexiu Park, in central Guangzhou. It now houses the Guangzhou Museum. History It was first built in 1380, at the beginning of the Ming ...

Career

Mai was born on 15 July 1929 into a poor family in

Panyu Panyu, alternately romanized as Punyu, is one of 11 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province, China. It was a separate county-level city before its incorporation into modern Guangzhou in 200 ...

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

, Republic of China. He studied education at

Guangzhou University Guangzhou University (GU; ) is a state university in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, China. The university is made up of two campuses. The major campus is located in Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center (HEMC, geographically called X ...

but did not graduate. In September 1952, he began working at the

Municipal Cultural Heritage Administration and received training in archaeology. From 1953 to the 1980s, Mai worked for more than three decades in field archaeology. He led the excavation of a number of major archaeological sites in and near Guangzhou, including the Xicun Kiln (西村窑) in the 1950s, the

shipyard in 1975, the Mausoleum of the Nanyue King (

Zhao Mo ; , posthumous name = ; vi, Triệu Văn Đế , predecessor = Zhao Tuo , successor = Zhao Yingqi , birth_date = 175 BC , death_date = 124 BC (aged 51) , dynasty = Nanyue } Zhao Mo (; vi, Triệu Hồ) was the g ...

) in 1983, and the Royal Palace and Garden of the

kingdom. He also advised on the excavation and preservation of the Nanyue sluice and the two royal mausoleums of the

Southern Han Southern Han (; 917–971), officially Han (), originally Yue (), was one of the ten kingdoms that existed during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. It was located on China's southern coast, controlling modern Guangdong and Guangxi. The ...

kingdom. In addition, he excavated more than 700 tombs dating from the Qin dynasty to the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...

. In 1991, Mai Yinghao and

Huang Zhanyue Huang Zhanyue (; August 1926 – 22 April 2019) was a Chinese archaeologist. He was a professor at the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and an honorary academician of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. His research ...

(co-leader of the excavation) published the two-volume excavation report ''Mausoleum of the Nanyue King of the Western Han'' (西汉南越王墓). It won several national awards including the 1993

Chinese Academy of Social Sciences The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) is a Chinese research institute and think tank. The institution is the premier comprehensive national academic research organization in the People's Republic of China for the study in the fields of ...

Research Award and the 1995

Xia Nai Xia Nai (Wade–Giles: ''Shiah Nae''; 1910–1985) was a pioneering Chinese archaeologist. He was born in Wenzhou, southern Zhejiang province. He was the second son of Xia Yuyi (夏禹彝) who was a wealthy farmer. Xia was given the first nam ...

Archaeology Prize (First Class). Mai was a strong advocate for building on-site museums at major archaeological sites. His efforts resulted in the establishment of the

Museum of the Mausoleum of the Nanyue King The Museum of the Western Han Dynasty Mausoleum of the Nanyue King ( Cantonese: Sai Hon Nam Yuet Wong Mou Bok Mat Gun) houses the 2,000-year-old tomb of the Nanyue King Zhao Mo in Guangzhou. Zhao Mo ruled from 137 BC to 122 BC, and his tomb ...

and the Nanyue Palace Museum. He served as Director of the

Personal life

Mai was married to Li Jin (黎金), a fellow archaeologist. They had a son named Mai Jia (麦稼). Mai was diagnosed with cancer in July 2015. He died on 28 November 2016 in Guangzhou, at the age of 87. On 12 December, a special exhibition on his life was held at the Guangzhou Museum.

References

Gallery

File:Museum of the Mausoleum of the Nanyue King.JPG,

File:Si lü yu yi.JPG, Si lü yu yi (silk thread jade burial suit), at the Museum of the Western Han Dynasty / Mausoleum of the Nanyue King, Guangzhou {{DEFAULTSORT:Mai, Yinghao 1929 births 2016 deaths Chinese archaeologists Scientists from Guangdong People from Guangzhou Guangzhou University alumni