﻿ARCHEOLOGY 
  IN 
  CHINA 
  LIANG 
  465 
  

  

  because, 
  as 
  Tiirkostan 
  is 
  largely 
  a 
  desert 
  which 
  is 
  constantly 
  shifting, 
  

   old 
  cities 
  could 
  be 
  easily 
  buried 
  underground 
  by 
  the 
  sand 
  and 
  by 
  the 
  

   wind. 
  

  

  The 
  chapter 
  on 
  Turkestan 
  in 
  the 
  history 
  of 
  Han 
  has 
  a 
  different 
  

   story 
  to 
  tell 
  from 
  that 
  told 
  in 
  the 
  history 
  of 
  Tang. 
  

  

  The 
  Turkestan 
  described 
  in 
  the 
  history 
  of 
  Tang 
  is 
  again 
  different 
  

   from 
  the 
  Turkestan 
  of 
  to-day. 
  The 
  causes 
  of 
  such 
  wide 
  differences 
  

   can 
  be 
  easily 
  conjectured. 
  If 
  excavation 
  can 
  be 
  undertaken 
  on 
  a 
  

   large 
  scale,, 
  I 
  am 
  sure 
  the 
  antiquities 
  rescued 
  from 
  the 
  bowels 
  of 
  

   the 
  earth 
  will 
  be 
  ten 
  or 
  even 
  a 
  hundred 
  times 
  as 
  many 
  as 
  we 
  have 
  

   to-day. 
  

  

  Upper 
  region 
  of 
  the 
  Yellow 
  River. 
  — 
  In 
  ancient 
  times, 
  in 
  the 
  upper 
  

   region 
  of 
  the 
  Yellow 
  River, 
  people 
  often 
  lived 
  in 
  caves. 
  Even 
  to-day 
  

   there 
  are 
  many 
  people 
  living 
  in 
  this 
  fashion. 
  The 
  soil 
  in 
  that 
  region 
  

   is 
  very 
  loose, 
  so 
  that 
  caves 
  and 
  even 
  cities 
  might 
  often 
  be 
  buried 
  

   underground. 
  So 
  there 
  must 
  be 
  many 
  places 
  where 
  excavations 
  can 
  

   be 
  profitably 
  undertaken. 
  

  

  Lo^oer 
  region 
  of 
  the 
  Yellow 
  River. 
  — 
  Because 
  of 
  frequent 
  inunda- 
  

   tions 
  through 
  the 
  breaking 
  of 
  banks, 
  many 
  cities 
  on 
  both 
  sides 
  of 
  

   the 
  river 
  have 
  been 
  buried. 
  One 
  proof 
  is 
  that 
  in 
  1908, 
  in 
  the 
  city 
  

   called 
  Chu 
  Lu, 
  an 
  old 
  city 
  was 
  discovered 
  which 
  was 
  some 
  1,000 
  feet 
  

   beneath 
  the 
  present 
  city. 
  In 
  this 
  old 
  city 
  stone 
  inscriptions 
  were 
  

   found 
  of 
  the 
  Sung 
  dynasty 
  (1111), 
  so 
  that 
  we 
  know 
  that 
  it 
  was 
  

   buried 
  after 
  1111. 
  The 
  discovery 
  of 
  this 
  old 
  city 
  was 
  like 
  the 
  dis- 
  

   covery 
  of 
  Pompeii. 
  We 
  found 
  out 
  the 
  customs, 
  fashions, 
  household 
  

   utensils, 
  and 
  handicrafts 
  of 
  that 
  time. 
  Many 
  such 
  cities 
  in 
  the 
  lower 
  

   region 
  of 
  the 
  Yellow 
  River 
  must 
  have 
  been 
  buried 
  in 
  that 
  way, 
  and 
  

   so 
  if 
  we 
  can. 
  make 
  an 
  excavation 
  of 
  these 
  cities 
  we 
  shall 
  certainly 
  

   discover 
  many 
  important 
  things. 
  

  

  Ancient 
  tmiibs. 
  — 
  We 
  know 
  exactly 
  where 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  oldest 
  tombs 
  

   are. 
  But 
  in 
  China 
  it 
  is 
  an 
  immemorial 
  tradition 
  to 
  regard 
  the 
  vio- 
  

   lation 
  of 
  tombs 
  as 
  highly 
  immoral, 
  and 
  this 
  tradition 
  is 
  very 
  difficult 
  

   to 
  break. 
  However, 
  as 
  this 
  conception 
  of 
  the 
  sacredness 
  of 
  tombs 
  

   gradually 
  dies 
  out 
  it 
  will 
  be 
  possible 
  to 
  excavate 
  the 
  famous 
  tombs 
  

   one 
  by 
  one. 
  

  

  In 
  191G 
  in 
  Kwangtung 
  Province 
  the 
  tomb 
  of 
  Chao 
  Hu, 
  King 
  of 
  

   Nan 
  Yueh, 
  was 
  discovered 
  which 
  contained 
  different 
  kinds 
  of 
  an- 
  

   tiquities. 
  Unfortunately 
  they 
  are 
  all 
  lost. 
  The 
  tombs 
  that 
  will 
  best 
  

   repay 
  excavation 
  are 
  undoubtedly 
  the 
  tombs 
  of 
  Confucius 
  and 
  his 
  

   descendants 
  at 
  Chu 
  Fou. 
  The 
  Chinese 
  people 
  have 
  great 
  veneration 
  

   for 
  Confucius, 
  and 
  so 
  not 
  only 
  the 
  grave 
  of 
  Confucius 
  but 
  also 
  those 
  

   of 
  his 
  descendants 
  have 
  remained 
  undisturbed. 
  

  

  If 
  the 
  tombs 
  of 
  his 
  descendants 
  were 
  opened 
  we 
  could 
  get 
  a 
  very 
  

   clear 
  notion 
  of 
  the 
  conditions 
  of 
  China 
  at 
  different 
  periods. 
  Indeed, 
  

   these 
  tombs 
  would 
  make 
  wonderful 
  museums, 
  containing 
  as 
  they 
  do 
  

   the 
  history 
  of 
  several 
  thousand 
  years. 
  

  

  