------Part Four: From the Yin Ruins to the Lifeng Villa

Source: CCTV.com

08-02-2006 10:24

In 1940, at the time of the war against Japan, the History and Language Institute of Academia Sinica moved to Banli'ao, a village not far from the town of Lizhuang in Sichuan Province. Members of the institute brought with them a wealth of research material. It included their findings from the Yin Ruins, regarded as one of the most important archaeological discoveries of the 20th century. But would the relocation interrupt the research on the relics? We'll find out in the latest part of our series about war-time Lizhuang.

During the six years that it was located in Lizhuang, the History and Language Institute succeeded in publishing no fewer than a dozen major books, including Tung Tso-pin's 'Chronology of the Yin Ruins', Li Lincan's 'Dictionary of Moxi Pictographs', and Ling Chunsheng and Rui Yifu's 'Report on the Miao People in Western Hunan Province'. All were publications that promoted Chinese culture, and as such raised the national morale. But probably the most important work in this regard was a joint compilation by researchers at the History and Language Institute. It was the 'Territorial History of China'.

With the departure of Tongji University and the research institutes, Lizhuang became quiet once again. As time passed, so memories of this part of Lizhuang's history faded. But then, after several years, there was a sudden upsurge in interest in this small town's remarkable war-time story. Historians, writers, artists and tourists flocked to the place.

 

Editor:Wang