﻿464 
  ANNUAL 
  EEPORT 
  SMITHSONIAN 
  INSTITUTION, 
  1927 
  

  

  What 
  Confucius 
  could 
  not 
  see 
  we 
  see 
  to-day. 
  What 
  Confucius 
  

   could 
  not 
  know, 
  we 
  know 
  to-day. 
  The 
  mistakes 
  Confucius 
  made 
  

   we 
  are 
  now 
  in 
  a 
  position 
  to 
  rectify. 
  Besides, 
  we 
  can 
  infer 
  from 
  these 
  

   findings 
  the 
  kind 
  of 
  society, 
  customs, 
  folklore, 
  and 
  psychology 
  of 
  

   ancient 
  times. 
  

  

  We 
  are 
  still 
  studying 
  the 
  language 
  of 
  the 
  inscriptions 
  on 
  the 
  bones 
  

   and 
  shells. 
  We 
  hope 
  that 
  scholars 
  will 
  gird 
  up 
  their 
  loins 
  for 
  the 
  task 
  

   that 
  is 
  not 
  yet 
  completed. 
  If 
  we 
  could 
  succeed 
  in 
  deciphering 
  all 
  

   the 
  characters 
  we 
  would 
  achieve 
  greater 
  results 
  than 
  we 
  have. 
  

  

  Wooden 
  fragments. 
  — 
  Aurel 
  Stein 
  went 
  to 
  Chinese 
  Turkestan 
  on 
  

   his 
  archeological 
  trip 
  and 
  discovered 
  there 
  many 
  wooden 
  fragments. 
  

   These 
  wooden 
  fragments 
  are 
  in 
  the 
  words 
  of 
  a 
  contemporary 
  scholar 
  

   " 
  the 
  ancient 
  relics 
  left 
  in 
  the 
  desert." 
  Most 
  of 
  these 
  wooden 
  frag- 
  

   ments 
  have 
  gone 
  to 
  Europe, 
  where 
  they 
  are 
  being 
  carefully 
  studied. 
  

  

  If 
  we 
  look 
  at 
  the 
  inscriptions 
  on 
  these 
  wooden 
  fragments 
  we 
  shall 
  

   find 
  that 
  they 
  have 
  a 
  great 
  deal 
  to 
  do 
  with 
  the 
  history 
  of 
  China. 
  

   The 
  things 
  on 
  these 
  wooden 
  fragments 
  cover 
  the 
  period 
  from 
  the 
  two 
  

   Han 
  dynasties 
  down 
  to 
  the 
  Six 
  Dynasties, 
  and 
  so 
  from 
  an 
  

   examination 
  of 
  them 
  we 
  can 
  find 
  out 
  the 
  conditions 
  of 
  Turkestan 
  

   at 
  that 
  time 
  and 
  also 
  the 
  customs 
  of 
  that 
  period. 
  

  

  *Stone, 
  metal, 
  pottery, 
  bones, 
  and 
  tortoise 
  shells, 
  these 
  are 
  the 
  

   five 
  principal 
  kinds. 
  I 
  have 
  only 
  tried 
  to 
  touch 
  upon 
  the 
  important 
  

   aspects 
  of 
  the 
  subject. 
  Besides 
  these, 
  there 
  are 
  many 
  others. 
  As 
  

   I 
  am 
  not 
  a 
  specialist, 
  I 
  shall 
  not 
  say 
  anything 
  on 
  the 
  other 
  kinds. 
  

   In 
  short, 
  the 
  last 
  150 
  years 
  have 
  witnessed 
  great 
  progress 
  in 
  arche- 
  

   ology, 
  thanks 
  to 
  the 
  untiring 
  efforts 
  of 
  scholars. 
  Although 
  the 
  

   technique 
  that 
  has 
  been 
  used 
  is 
  traditional, 
  the 
  contributions 
  to 
  

   scholarship 
  are 
  already 
  very 
  great. 
  So 
  much 
  for 
  the 
  study 
  of 
  arche- 
  

   ology 
  in 
  the 
  past 
  and 
  at 
  present. 
  

  

  I 
  am 
  of 
  the 
  opinion 
  that 
  Chinese 
  archeology 
  is 
  still 
  in 
  its 
  infancy 
  

   and 
  the 
  future 
  of 
  archeology 
  is 
  very 
  bright. 
  From 
  now 
  on 
  we 
  

   should 
  try 
  to 
  work 
  in 
  two 
  directions 
  : 
  

  

  Excavation. 
  — 
  In 
  the 
  first 
  place, 
  excavation 
  is 
  very 
  important 
  and 
  

   necessary. 
  So 
  far 
  the 
  discovery 
  of 
  antiquities 
  is 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  

   accidental 
  and 
  yet 
  we 
  have 
  already 
  in 
  our 
  possession 
  a 
  large 
  body 
  of 
  

   valuable 
  material. 
  From 
  now 
  on 
  we 
  should 
  go 
  a 
  step 
  further 
  and 
  

   undertake 
  excavation 
  on 
  a 
  large 
  scale. 
  

  

  Eecently, 
  in 
  view 
  of 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  European 
  and 
  American 
  scholars 
  

   have 
  come 
  to 
  China 
  and 
  achieved 
  very 
  good 
  results 
  through 
  excava- 
  

   tion, 
  the 
  Chinese 
  scholars 
  begin 
  to 
  feel 
  the 
  necessity 
  of 
  making 
  ex- 
  

   cavations 
  by 
  themselves. 
  If 
  the 
  Chinese 
  scholars 
  can 
  really 
  under- 
  

   stand 
  the 
  methods 
  of 
  excavation 
  and 
  have 
  really 
  made 
  up 
  their 
  

   minds 
  to 
  do 
  so, 
  the 
  following 
  suggestions 
  may 
  be 
  worthy 
  of 
  attention. 
  

  

  Chinese 
  Turkestan. 
  — 
  Recently 
  European 
  and 
  American 
  scholars 
  

   have 
  done 
  a 
  great 
  deal 
  of 
  work 
  in 
  Chinese 
  Turkestan; 
  but 
  I 
  think 
  

   there 
  are 
  still 
  many 
  places 
  in 
  that 
  region 
  which 
  can 
  be 
  excavated, 
  

  

  