The iconic cultural relic of the Hongshan Culture, the "Hongshan Jade Dragon", was unearthed in the "Sanxingtala" village 8 kilometers north of Wudan Town, where Wengniute Banner is located (see Figure 1). The village was originally affiliated to Chaogwendu Sumu (Township), but was placed under the jurisdiction of Wudan Town when the township was evacuated and merged into a town in 2004. "Sanxing Tala" is now translated into Chinese as "Saiqintala". The village is no longer called a village, but was renamed "Gacha" according to the Regional Ethnic Autonomy Law.

Figure 1 The famous Chinese first dragon - the "C" shaped dragon unearthed from Tarara, Samsung.

The "C"-shaped jade dragon from the Hongshan Culture unearthed in 1971, known as the "First Dragon in China", is made of dark green nephrite. , thin and curved in the body, with a powerful curly tail and extremely dynamic, it is the largest animal-shaped jade artifact of the Hongshan Culture known to date.

One afternoon in the eighth lunar month of 1971, 17-year-old Zhang Fengxiang (see Figure 1) and seven other farmers from Sanxingtala Village, Wengniute Banner, Chifeng City, were assigned by the production team to go to the small village in the north of the village. There are tree pits on the north mountain. By evening, the strong Zhang Fengxiang had already left the other seven farmers far behind. At this time, Zhang Fengxiang, who felt a little tired, sat in a tree alley about ten steps away from the edge of the forest to rest. He turned over the soil around him almost unconsciously and found that it was full of small eggs-like stones. He thought it was fun, so he looked through it and threw it out. Suddenly, a lot of soil leaked out with a "swish". Pulling it again, I found a smooth stone slab more than 1 meter long underneath. Lifting the stone slab, there is a tic-shaped pit made of stones. In the stone pit, Zhang Fengxiang found a crescent-shaped object, which was covered with thick rust and black. Zhang Fengxiang took the piece in his hand and looked at it, thinking it was a piece of broken iron. On the way home from work, Zhang Fengxiang showed this piece of stuff to seven farmers. One farmer named Yang Decheng hit it hard with a shovel several times, trying to knock off the rust on it, but he couldn't. . So, Yang Decheng casually said: "What's the use of such a broken piece of iron?" After that, he threw it away without Zhang Fengxiang picking it up and continued walking home. When he was about to get home, Zhang Fengxiang suddenly thought: "That piece of iron weighs 1 kilogram, can be sold for 4 cents, and can buy several pieces of candy!" Thinking of this, he ran back and picked up the piece of iron. return. Zhang Fengxiang never dreamed that by picking it up, he would unintentionally reveal the mystery of "China's No. 1 Dragon".

After returning home, Zhang Fengxiang threw the piece of stuff in the corner of the house. There are five brothers in the Zhang family, Zhang Fengxiang is the eldest, and the youngest brother was only 4 years old that year. In order to coax this little brother to play, Zhang Fengxiang tied the "rusty iron" on a rope and used it as a toy for his brother. Children pull this piece of rusty iron around and follow the adults behind them every day. Ten days have passed, and the rust on it has gradually been worn away, revealing a dark green crystal color. After careful observation, Zhang Fengxiang's father Zhang Jingui (now deceased) thought that this object might be a piece of jade. Everyone in the village who saw this object also thought it looked like jade. From that day on, Zhang Fengxiang's family no longer dared to use it as a toy for their children. They regarded it as a treasure. Zhang Fengxiang's father even pulled two feet of red cloth, wrapped it tightly and locked it in the bedroom cupboard.

Before the reform and opening up, under the "People's Commune" system, the most basic rural organizations were not called "villages" but "production brigade". Sanxing Tala Village was called Sanxing Tala Production Brigade at that time. Farmers are all called "communal members", and the leaders of the production brigade are the direct parents of the members.

Two months later, Zhang Fengxiang’s father, Zhang Jingui, decided to give this thing to the production brigade, but Han Yulong, the party branch secretary of the brigade, looked at it and said: "What is the use of this thing? You should just take it." Go back, or take it to the Cultural Center to see if it’s worth it.” So Zhang Fengxiang and his father drove a donkey cart for more than ten miles to find the staff of the Flag Cultural Center. At that time, the people who received the cultural center were not engaged in cultural relics. They thought this thing was of little use, so they asked them to bring the original thing back.

Once, Zhang Fengxiang’s uncle came to visit. He saw this piece of stuff and said that it could be washed into four or five half-foot-long cigarette holders. A jade cigarette holder could be exchanged for a big bullock or a cow. Worth 180 yuan. This idea really tempted Zhang Fengxiang's family, and they went to the city twice to inquire about the market. Later, Zhang Fengxiang's father said: "Forget it, this may still be a treasure. It cannot be damaged. Let's take it to the brigade.

A year later, the Zhang family and his son went to the brigade branch secretary again with the "treasure", but they still insisted on handing it over to the public. The branch secretary said: "You must have failed to find the right person last time you went to the Flag Cultural Center. This time you will go find him again." curator. "After listening to the branch secretary's words, Zhang Fengxiang's father carried this thing to the Wengniute Banner Cultural Center for the second time.

The person who received him this time was Wang Zhifu, deputy director of the cultural center. Wang Zhifu said: "This It's a jade thing, worth two cents. I don't know what it is. You can't damage it. It can't be appraised here. If it doesn't work, just put it aside. I'll take it to another place to appraise it for you. "After completing the registration procedures, he treated it as an ordinary cultural relic and locked it in a box in a warehouse converted from an abandoned toilet, where it stayed for a year or two. During this period, Zhang Jingui went to the cultural center several times. After inquiring, there was no clear answer, so he asked for some money because of the family's difficulties. Seeing that it was not easy for him, Wang Zhifu said, "I'll give you my salary, and you can help first." "At that time, his salary was 37 yuan a month, so he gave 30 yuan from his salary to Zhang Jingui. What was the reason that made the curator use his salary as a bonus to solve the embarrassing situation at that time? Yes Was he moved by the sincerity and enthusiasm of Zhang and his son again and again, or was it the responsibility of a cultural worker? Was it his judgment based on years of experience in cultural relics work, or was it a pity that this jade article contained too many unknown calls? The curator is no longer here, and we cannot communicate with him face to face.

Jia Hongen, associate researcher at the Wengniute Banner Cultural Center, later recalled: “When I picked up the thing and looked at it, I thought it couldn’t be original. Social things that belong to the Shang and Zhou dynasties. From its craftsmanship and the level of carving, it seems that primitive society could not produce such good carving craftsmanship. It could only be found in the metal age. It is impossible to carve such good things without metal. In primitive society, there were no metal things, just stone tools. Stones were carved into stones. The tools were also made of stone and not of metal. So I did not dare to say it at the time. There was no evidence and insufficient evidence. ”

After this piece was left at the Wengniute Banner Cultural Center, archaeological experts at the municipal and banner levels conducted many studies on it, but no results were obtained. It needs to be emphasized that this We can’t blame the local archaeologists for not practicing their “internal skills” well, because at that time the archaeological community did not have a relatively accurate understanding of the Hongshan culture. When the team was conducting a cultural survey in Tala Village, Sanxing, they heard that a semicircular artifact was found here, so they went to the Wengniute Banner Cultural Center to examine the object and thought it was an early dragon made of stone. (The Chifeng area was placed under the jurisdiction of Liaoning Province from 1969 to 1979) After the report, Mr. Sun Shoudao, Guo Dashun, Xu Bingkun and others from the Liaoning Provincial Institute of Archeology made a special trip to Chifeng to inspect and determined that it was a jade dragon and its texture was sapphire.

Mr. Liu Guanmin of the Institute of Archeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences has presided over many cultural relics and archaeological excavations. After he learned about this in 1974, he personally went to Sanxing Tala to conduct an on-site inspection. After seeing this thing, he thought it was very interesting. Important, it was said to belong to the Hongshan Culture. This attracted the attention of the local cultural center and placed it in the hall.

In 1984, a major breakthrough was made in the archaeological discovery of the Hongshan Culture. In Niuheliang, at the junction of Lingyuan County and Jianping County in Liaoning Province, not far from Chifeng, the archaeological team excavated an ancient tomb from 5,000 years ago that was discovered by Tong Zhuchen in 1943 and was buried with jade articles. The most eye-catching thing is , on the chest of the owner of the ancient tomb, there are two exquisite jade objects. After careful identification and research, archaeologists believe that they are jade pig dragons from the Hongshan Culture period.

Found in Niuheliang. News of the 5,000-year-old Jade Pig Dragon reached Wengniute Banner. Jia Hongen, the person in charge of the cultural center, suddenly remembered the jade unearthed in Sanxingtala collected in 1971. He realized that the jade was most likely related to Niuheliang jade. A cultural relic as precious as a pig dragon. He immediately put the jade in his bag and rushed to Beijing by train to ask Mr. Su Bingqi to identify it. Su Bingqi is a famous Chinese archaeologist and chairman of the Chinese Archaeological Society, who has paid special attention to the archaeological discoveries in Hongshan. According to Jia Hongen's recollection, Mr. Su Bingqi gently touched the jade with his hands. While appraising it carefully, Su Bingqi told him about the place where the jade was found and the collection process. An important Hongshan cultural relic.

In this regard, Jia Hongen sent a briefing and later wrote an article, which was published in a cultural relics journal. This news was like a bolt from the blue, alarming the archaeological community and also the historical community, triggering a series of research articles by many cultural relic experts. This news also alarmed Mr. Shen Congwen, a famous modern writer and historical and cultural relics researcher. Probably due to his long-term sensitivity in cultural relics research, or perhaps due to his dedicated research on "dragon and phoenix art", even though he was already over 80 years old, he was overjoyed to hear the news about this jade dragon, so he broke the convention. , promptly made an appointment with the staff of the Wengniute Banner Cultural Center in front of the hospital bed.

In 1985, "People's Pictorial" published a full page photo of this jade dragon. Mr. Su Bingqi, a leading archaeologist, published an article in "People's Pictorial", fully affirming the Hongshan culture and Hongshan The important historical position of Jasper Dragon. The Jade Dragon discovered in 1971 in Terah, Sanxing, was finally officially confirmed after being ignored for more than ten years: it was the "first Chinese artifact" discovered in China that dates back 5,000 years and was carefully crafted by the Hongshan people at that time. A jade-carved dragon." From then on, it was named Hongshan Jasper Dragon. Since then, the Hongshan Jasper Dragon has become famous in China almost overnight and has become a priceless treasure that attracts worldwide attention. It has been seconded many times and exhibited at home and abroad. The elegant shape and crystal clear texture have won praises at home and abroad.

Today, the Hongshan Jasper Dragon placed in the Chifeng City Museum is a replica, and the original has been transferred to the National Museum (formerly the Museum of Chinese History). According to Xiang Chunsong, the former director of the Chifeng Municipal Museum, in 1989, the Ministry of Culture issued a document specifying that the Hongshan Jasper Dragon stored in the Wengniute Banner Cultural Center should be transferred. Relevant leaders of the Wengniute Banner Cultural Center and Chifeng Municipal Museum were in trouble after receiving the document. Xiang Lao said: "Don't give it, it won't work; give it, but I really can't bear it. In the end, I considered the overall situation, reluctantly gave up, and handed over the priceless Hongshan Jasper Dragon." After handing over the Hongshan Jasper Dragon, the Wengniute Banner Cultural Center The curator always feels that at this time, he should ask the country for some money to repair the dilapidated Wengniute Banner Cultural Center. So, after much consideration, I wrote an application for a national grant of 20,000 yuan. After the application was submitted, the curator felt uneasy. He said to Mr. Xiang: "It requires so much money, can the superiors give it to us?" As a result, the national competent authority quickly allocated 20,000 yuan. After receiving the money, the curator said to Mr. Xiang: "I knew it would be so fun, I should have ordered more!" The money was then used for basic maintenance of the Wengniute Banner Cultural Center.

Now, at the entrance of Saiqintala Gacha Village, Wudan Town, Wengniute Banner, where the Red Mountain Jasper Dragon was unearthed, there is a 10-meter-high stone with the words "China's No. 1 Dragon" engraved on it. Monument. On the top of the giant monument, there is a red mountain jasper "C" shaped dragon sculpture that has been enlarged dozens of times with its head raised and ready to fly (see Figure 2-3). An oil road running through the Gacha Room is also named Yulong Road. As a cultural relic that solidifies historical civilization, the cultural value of the Hongshan Jasper Dragon deeply affects everyone here. In Chifeng City, the beautiful patterns of the Red Mountain Jasper Dragon can be seen everywhere. When people in Chifeng talk about the Hongshan Jasper Dragon, they all show pride. The author realized that the true cultural tradition is not just at the archaeological level. The high-spirited and positive spirit of "China's First Dragon" has been completely integrated into the souls of the local people and penetrated into their bones. Went.

We have to lament the greatness of agricultural civilization. When we try to get rid of the shackles of agricultural civilization and begin to enter industrial civilization and information civilization, agricultural civilization still uses farmers' hoes to declare its eternity from time to time. Yang Xinman, an unknown farmer from Xiyang Village, Lintong County, Guanzhong, used his hoe to dig out the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Shi Huang. The old man Yang Xin Man had already signed autographs for tourists in front of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum of Qin Shi Huang to make money. And when people perceive the dawn of civilization from the Hongshan culture in various ways, will anyone still think of the place where the jade dragon was unearthed—Samsung Terra in Wengniute Banner? Does anyone still think of the young man who once regarded the jade dragon as a piece of rusty iron? The young man back then has now been living under the same roof for three generations and has a grandson in his arms; the kid who pulled the jade dragon around the village has already married and started a business. Zhang Fengxiang's family is still farming in the village. He did not seize the opportunity of becoming famous to make money. He just used his agricultural tools to once again prove the eternity of China's agricultural civilization.

Whenever domestic and foreign experts and scholars come to visit him, Zhang Fengxiang will always say these words after telling the story of the discovery of the Jade Dragon: "People in the village say they are wronged and wronged, but I tell the country , It is not unfair at all, it has brought blessings to future generations, and it is also happiness!" The jade dragon dug out by farmer brother Zhang Fengxiang, shaped like the Latin letter "C", has become the headline photo of many magazines and the logo of Hua Xia Bank. It has become a symbol of Hongshan culture.

Figure 1 Zhang Fengxiang, the discoverer of the Sanxingtala Jade Dragon.

Figure 2 The distant view of Sanxing Tala Village.

Figure 3 The entrance of Sanxingtala Village.