The Luckily Missed Blasts

Text by Liu Yishan

Edited by He Sai & Bo Ning

Photos by Su Zhuolin & Zhang Qijun

The site of the new workshop was crowded with trucks and workers,hurrying to and fro,and bulldozers were rumbling and clearing away the topsoil and the loose rocks.The villagers were busy carrying away the earth and rocks.The entire work site was full of bustling crowds.

A safety worker waved a small triangular flag and shouted,“Ready for explosion! Ready for explosion!”

All the workers around quickly evacuated to their shelters and after a short interval,smoke and dust soared,sand and stones flew up,and the sound of blast pierced into the sky.A hard layer of the red sandstone was blown away.

Something unexpected happened.Among the massive red sandstone there appeared a patch of soft brown mud,which was easily dug away without a blast.Previously on the other slope of the work site,Liang Shenfa,a local villager,dug out over 20 pieces of bronze wares.

All this demonstrated that this work site was quite out of the ordinary.

施工安全员挥动着三角小旗，高喊着：“放炮啰！放炮啰！”

人员很快疏散隐蔽。接着，腾起烟尘，飞起砂石，隆隆的炮声冲天而起，坚硬的红砂岩被炸去一层。

奇怪的事情出现了。大片红砂岩中间，突然出现了一片质地松软的褐色土，不用爆破就可以挖走。之前，在施工的另一处坡子边，民工梁升发还挖出了20 多件青铜器。

种种迹象表明，这个工地不寻常。

Wang Jiagui,the on-thescene commander immediately recollected a documentary filmA New Archaeological Discovery—Excavation of a Western Han Dynasty Tomb in Mawangdui,Changshathat was projected in his barrack some days before.Now he was wondering if there was an ancient tomb under the brown soil.He reported what came to his mind to Zheng Guoxian,director of the Radar Repair Institute,who happened to be a lover of archaeology.On hearing Wang Jiagui’s description,Zheng came to the scene for an inspection together with some other cadres.

The local villagers told them that there used to be an ancient temple on Drum-beating Mound,but not a single piece of debris of tile or brick had been found in the soils.During the Sino-Japanese War,it was a Japanese stronghold,and no trace of a battlefield—like shells,cartridge or bullet—had been discovered here either.After a heated discussion,they decided to report to the Cultural Center of Suixian County.

The first phone call Zheng Guoxian made to the Cultural Center of Suixian County was received,but no one took any notice of it.Seeing no response,Zheng Guoxian had to send Wang Jiagui to the Cultural Center.Wang went to the center by bike and reported to the person in charge about their discovery and assumption.He asked them to send over someone to the site and have a look,but the person in charge there told him that all the relevant personnel in the center had been dispatched to the countryside to take part in a campaign,and it was not possible to meet his requests until a few days later.Wang could do nothing but return on his bike.

A couple of days later,the center sent two “specialists” to the site for an inspection.They took a brief look at the brown soil,walked round the scene and had a look at the dug-out pieces.

A coffin was found at the excavation site.工人挖掘出棺木

They fumbled about in the soil with sticks for some time before giving their conclusion:“There is not any possibility of the existence of ancient tombs here.Continue to do what you think fit! Go on with your work and feel free to blast.” They were entitled as “specialists” only because one of them was learning music while the other majoring in library and information.

So the construction work went on,with the specialists’ conclusion that there was no ancient tombs here.Besides,the foundation had to be leveled according to the schedule.

Subsequently the work of drilling holes,filling explosives,blasting,bulldozing the earth,and clearing the site was resumed,round after round.

One month passed by,the top rocks on the Eastern Hill went down more than a meter.

January 30,1978 was the start of the last week of the Chinese lunar calendar.The Spring Festival was drawing near,and the local workers were to be dismissed home for vacation.Wang Jiagui took a stroll around the work site for an inspection.When he came to the patch of brown soil in the middle of the site,he couldn’t help bending down,starting to move up the earth.He found something different in the soil—the brown soil mixed with some black soft clay soil,which now turned gray-white in the sunlight.Still unable to erase his uncertainty in his mind,he simply ran back to the barracks and led Director Zheng Guoxian to the scene.

The two began to study the mud that had turned from a black color into a gray white.They dug deeper down,and the earth layer became faintly recognizable as to have been filled and rammed.

Wang Jiagui said:“This is ‘Guanyin Earth,’ also called ‘white paste mud’ in Sichuan (one of Southwest China’s provinces),my hometown,during disastrous years when famine prevails,my folks had to grind this sort of mud into powder to serve their hunger after all the edible wild herbs and tree bark had been exhausted.Many folks were severely constipated and died of bloating after eating it.”

On hearing the word “Guanyin Earth,” Zheng Guoxian said:“‘Guanyin Earth’ is also named white plaster.They are filled around many ancient tombs.A large quantity of white plaster was dug out during the excavation of the Mawangdui ancient tomb.Wang,I think there mustbe something underneath here.If not,why would this type of mud be here?”

Wang Jiagui fully agreed with Zheng,and they decided to report again to the Cultural Center.

Wang Jiagui came to Suixian County Cultural Center the second time and explained the latest discovery and their viewpoints.With great efforts they won the attention of the leaders.They sent a cadre to accompany Wang Jiagui to the Drum-beating Mound.

王家贵来到场地中间那片褐色土层边，情不自禁地蹲下来，用手去拨动那土层。他发现土层又有细微变化，褐色中夹杂了一些黑色胶泥软土，阳光照射后变成灰白色。用铁锹挖下去，隐约看得到这土层经过填充夯实的痕迹。

The cadre first made an inspection of the natural environment around the work site,and carefully examined the earth and soil texture of the middle part of the leveled area of the Eastern Hill.Shaking his head,after all being done,he came to a conclusion that the site was hardly an ancient tomb,and even said,“Be it a tomb below,it will be a fake one.”

In addition,he even told them a folk tale,which went that one year the State of Chu made an attack against the State of Sui,a general laid down his life here.Fearing that his tomb might be robbed by tomb raiders,the general’s family dug 32 fake tombs in this area,and all of them bore a close resemblance to the genuine one.One might have made mountain-removal efforts in excavation and came back empty-handed,and more than a dozen of them had been found in the Lishan,Gaocheng,and Xihe areas of the county by the archaeologists.

On his leaving,the cadre said to Wang Jiagui:“Don’t get so paranoid about it and neglect your own business.The Spring Festival is at hand.Better rush to get your New Year supplies prepared.It’s only right to blast the start of your construction and finish the earthwork after the festival.”

The Spring Festival quickly passed,and construction work was resumed on the eighth day of the first lunar month.

Seal inscription on a chime-bell 编钟上的篆体铭文

Still believing that there might be an ancient tomb beneath,Wang Jiagui made a solemn point to the workers that the depth of the drill holes should not exceed 60 centimeters,as reduced from the original depth of over one meter; the quantity of dynamite also deceased from 500 grams down to 200 grams for each hole,and a discreet examination should be exercised after each explosion,making sure to avoid bringing any harm to the ancient tombs that possibly existed underneath.

As the digging went down day by day,Wang Jiagui stationed himself at the work site,ready to tackle any newly happened problems.

On February 21,1978,after an explosion,a bulldozer shoveled up the mud and stone fragments.There appeared some gray rock pieces,different in color from the other red sandstone.When they ripped apart the debris,a flat grey granite rock emerged,measuring 1.4 meters long and 1 meter wide.

1978年2月21日，炮声响过，推土机推起炸出的泥石碎块时，出现了一些麻灰色碎石块，与红砂岩颜色相异。把碎土石扒开，一块平整的长1.4 米、宽1 米 的大麻灰色花岗岩石块出现了。

凭自己所学的知识，王家贵断定：这是一块经过人工加工的石料。

Judging by his own knowledge,Wang Jiagui concluded:it was a piece of processed stone.

Wang Jiagui commanded the bulldozer operator and the blasting team to stop their work at once.He himself took the lead in initiating clearance with other workers around the rock,where they found dozens of regularly paved and leveled stones of the same color.Through on-the-spot analysis,leaders from the Radar Repair Institute unanimously maintained that there must be unusual objects underground.

They spared no time to report to their upper leaders of the Logistics Department of the Wuhan Air Force,asking for a temporary suspension of the construction work,and decision was to be made after ascertaining the situation while sending Wang Jiagui again to Suixian County Cultural Center requesting a further inspection.

Liu Mengchi,deputy political commissar of the Logistics Division of the Wuhan Air Force,gave an immediate instruction right away,agreeing to the proposal of temporary suspension of the construction work in order to ensure the safety of national heritage.

For the third time Wang Jiagui rode to downtown Suixian,but this time he reported directly to the County Cultural and Educational Bureau instead of the Cultural Center.After listening to the briefing,Wang Huijun,director of the bureau,directly dispatched Wang Shizhen,deputy director of the County Cultural Center to the work site for an on-the-spot prospecting.

Wang Shizhen had not been in the county.Having received training courses in archaeology before and attended lectures from specialists in archaeology at provincial museums,he was regarded more or less as an archaeological expert in the county.

Gold food containers found in the tomb 墓中挖掘出多件金盏

Wang Shizhen took a walk around the scene.After checking the brown soil,the white plaster,and the big slates,he was sure at once that there was an ancient tomb underneath.

Wang Shizhen said:“We will have to report this to the Xiangyang Prefectural Party Committee and Revolutionary Committee,and ask them to send someone to handle it.”

Zheng Guoxian immediately asked Wang Jiagui to draft a brief report and on the same day,it was sent as a “secret” special letter to the two committees.

Upon receiving the report,the committees attached great importance to it.They dispatched Wang Shaoquan,head of the Prefectural Cultural Heritage Museum,and Liu Bing,an officer at the Prefectural Cultural Center to the Drumbeating Mound on March 5,1978.

Through two days of on-thespot surveys at the site,Wang Shaoquan,Liu Bing,and Wang Shizhen together confirmed the existence of the ancient tomb underground.So many days of anxiety and anticipation finally coming to a conclusion,Zheng Guoxian and Wang Jiagui felt deeply relieved.

With their high sense of responsibility in safeguarding the national historic and cultural relics,Zheng Guoxian and Wang Jiagui eventually made it possible to protect the Chime-bells of Marquis Yi,a now national treasure,from ruins.

Wandering about the worksite already shut down,and seeing the dynamite holes drilled and ready to be filled with explosives and lighted,Wang Jingui couldn’t help feeling a shudder with a cold sweat:the deepest hole was a mere 70 centimeters away from the slates.

Once the fuse was lit,all the rare treasures in the tomb down below would have fallen into a crowning calamity in an explosion.

Also,when the Japanese troops dug trenches and built bunkers in the Sui-Zao Campaign,what if the Chinese army fiercely shelled the bunkers?

Fortunately,those “ifs” did not take place.

Those unlit mountainbreaking blasts worked a wonder that was destined to shake the world!

(Translation:Luo Dongyuan)

王家贵行走在已经停工了的工地，看到那些已经打好并准备填药点火的炮眼，不由得惊出了一身冷汗，其中最深的一个，离石板只有70 厘米。

一旦引信被点燃，隆隆炮声中，曾侯乙墓中的瑰宝将陷入一场灭顶之灾！

还有一个假如，随枣会战中，日军在擂鼓墩挖战壕修地堡，一旦中国军人炮轰地堡，又会是一种什么情况。

好在假如就是假如。

那些没有点响的开山炮啊，留下了一个震惊世界的奇迹！