Xu Xusheng, also known by his
courtesy name
A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theob ...
Xu Bingchang,
(1888 – January 4, 1976) was a Chinese archaeologist, historian, and explorer born in
Tanghe
Tanghe County is administered by the prefecture-level city of Nanyang, in the southwest of Henan province, People's Republic of China, bordering Hubei province to the south. Its ancient name was Tangzhou ().
The county consists of 3 subdistrict ...
,
Henan Province
Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...
. Best known for his discovery of the
Erlitou culture
The Erlitou culture was an early Bronze Age urban society and archaeological culture that existed in the Yellow River valley from approximately 1900 to 1500 BC. A 2007 study of radiocarbon dating proposed a narrower date range of 1750 to 1530 B ...
in 1959, he was one of China's most important and respected archaeologists and historians of the twentieth century, providing a model of archaeological methodology for future Chinese archaeologists. He also was president of
Beijing Normal University.
Biography
In 1921, Xu was appointed professor in the department of philosophy,
Peking University, teaching History of Western Philosophy. In 1926, he served as provost of Peking University, and in the following year he led an expedition to northwest China to conduct archaeological investigations. In 1929, Xu served as dean of National Peking University Women's Teachers College. He also was president of
Beijing Normal University from February 1931 to May 1932. He traveled to
Xi'an
Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by other names, is the capital of Shaanxi Province. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong Plain, the city is the third most populous city in Western China, after Chongqi ...
in 1933,
where he established the
Shaanxi Archaeological Society. From 1934 to 1937 he investigated the
Early Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
culture in
Shaanxi Province
Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), Ni ...
, discovered by his team of archaeologists who carried out excavations at the
Doujitai site in the middle
Yellow River Valley, where his approach was said to have served as a model for archaeological methodology.
He became director of the Institute for Historical Studies in 1936.
Xu was instrumental in conducting the first modern study of China's early "myths" based on the reports of
antiquaries
An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifacts, archaeological and historic sit ...
findings by archaeologists.
He also worked on the ''Historical Gazetteer of Beiping''.
He was elected to the
Chinese National Assembly in 1947. Xu became a research fellow of the
Institute of Archaeology of the
Chinese Academy of Sciences
The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); ), known by Academia Sinica in English until the 1980s, is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for natural sciences. It has historical origins in the Academia Sinica during the Republi ...
, and surveyed
Gaocheng Gaocheng may refer to the following locations in China:
* Gaocheng District (), a district of Shijiazhuang, Hebei
* Gaocheng Township (高城乡), a township in Xinzhou, Shanxi
Towns
* Gaocheng, Henan (告成), in Dengfeng, Henan
* Gaocheng, Hub ...
in 1959.
The
Erlitou culture
The Erlitou culture was an early Bronze Age urban society and archaeological culture that existed in the Yellow River valley from approximately 1900 to 1500 BC. A 2007 study of radiocarbon dating proposed a narrower date range of 1750 to 1530 B ...
was discovered by him that year.
He joined the
Chinese Communist Party
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...
in 1957, and was elected to the
Third National People's Congress in 1964. Persecuted during the
Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goa ...
, Xu died during January 1976.
Research
As a historian, Xu authored the 1943 book, ''Zhongguo gushi de chuanshuo shidai'' ("The legendary times in early Chinese history"), where he comments that the name of
Five Emperors was not mentioned until the
Warring States era
The Warring States period () was an era in ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded with the Qin wars of conques ...
and cannot be found in earlier works such as the
Zuo Zhuan,
Guoyu,
Lunyu
The ''Analects'' (; ; Old Chinese: '' ŋ(r)aʔ''; meaning "Selected Sayings"), also known as the ''Analects of Confucius'', the ''Sayings of Confucius'', or the ''Lun Yu'', is an ancient Chinese book composed of a large collection of sayings a ...
,
Mozi or
Mencius.
This was the first book to provide detailed facts concerning ancient Chinese history and archaeological finds and present a comprehensive history of China's
prehistoric period.
References
External links
Hudong Encyclopedia entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Xu, Xusheng
1888 births
1976 deaths
Chinese archaeologists
Republic of China historians
Peking University faculty
Presidents of Beijing Normal University
People's Republic of China historians
Historians from Henan
Writers from Nanyang, Henan
Educators from Henan
Scientists from Henan
20th-century Chinese historians
20th-century archaeologists