Chapter 7 Chapter 5 Searching for the Labyrinth of Xia Culture

dawn After the archaeological excavation of Yin Ruins in Anyang began in 1928, according to the principles of archaeological stratigraphy and the oracle bone inscriptions unearthed at the same layer and other artifacts of the Shang Dynasty, various cultural relics such as palace foundations and tombs of the Shang Dynasty were discovered. In archaeology, it has become a conclusive conclusion as Shang culture.Since the Shang culture is like this, can the Xia Dynasty culture in the literature records also be found through archaeology?As scholars' confidence in archaeology has grown, the academic community has also begun to explore the Xia culture from several aspects.

It was a few historians who first started this exploration.From the 1930s to the 1940s, they took the initiative to start from two aspects: one was to determine the location of the capital of the Xia Dynasty based on ancient documents; Find the Xia culture among various archaeological cultures.The common feature of the two methods is that they hope to use field archaeological data to confirm some problems about Xia in historical documents. The combination of historical documents and field archaeological data is what Wang Guowei calls the double evidence method.However, due to the immature objective conditions at that time, most of their research results focused on geographical research, while in archaeology they only put forward some hypotheses, lacked strong arguments, and even made inevitable mistakes.

The so-called immature objective conditions are due to the fact that Chinese archaeology has just started, field archaeological data are scarce, and many problems related to the Xia culture have not yet been resolved, not to mention the support of modern radiocarbon dating technology. Accurate chronology of culture.The Shang culture determined at that time was only the late Shang culture, mainly belonging to the late Shang culture.At the same time, what is known earlier than the Shang culture is mainly the Yangshao culture in the upper and middle reaches of the Yellow River and the Longshan culture in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River.

Under such circumstances, historians such as Xu Zhongshu and Jian Bozan at the time inferred that the Yangshao culture or the Longshan culture was the Xia culture, and Fan Wenlan proposed that the Longshan culture That is the theory of the Xia culture, and use the relics of the Longshan culture to speculate on the situation of agriculture and handicrafts in the Xia Dynasty.Since the known Longshan culture is closer to the Xia culture than the Yangshao culture in terms of age, but the Longshan culture is widely distributed and has existed for a long time, Fan Wenlan put forward the theory that the Longshan culture is the Xia culture in general, which naturally aroused academic circles dispute.Nevertheless, the historians have made some useful attempts to explore the Xia culture.It can be said that this is a new step in the combination of ancient history and modern archaeology after Wang Guowei.

After the 1950s, with the rapid development of archaeology, new sites appeared one after another, and new research results were continuously obtained.Especially in the early 1950s, the Erligang Shang Dynasty site in Zhengzhou, Henan Province was discovered. According to the comparative study of stratigraphic relations and cultural characteristics, archaeologists confirmed that the Erligang Shang Culture was earlier than the late Shang Dynasty culture at the Yin Ruins in Anyang. And fill the gap between Longshan culture and Yinxu late Shang culture.That is to say, Erligang merchant culture in Zhengzhou is already close to or belongs to the category of early merchant culture.

Following the discovery of the remains of the early Shang culture in Erligang, Zhengzhou, remains of the culture earlier than Erligang and later than Longshan were discovered in Luoda Temple, Xiaozhitian, Xinzhai, and Nanguanwai in Zhengzhou.These new archaeological discoveries undoubtedly brought new and important information to the explorers of the Xia culture.Li Xueqin, a historian who had just emerged at the time, made an in-depth study of these newly unearthed sites and archaeological materials and pointed out that when the Zhengzhou Shang culture layer overlapped with the Longshan culture layer, there were often soil layers without cultural relics in between, indicating that the two are not related. connect.In places such as Luoda Temple, Nanguanwai, and Gagawang, a cultural layer between the two was found, which we call the Nanguanwai period or the Luoda Temple period.They are closer to the Longshan culture, but have unique features, such as the brown pottery outside the Nanguan period, and the empty-footed wares without gilts from the Luoda Temple period.Both of these periods are earlier than the Erligang Lower Period, most likely dating from the Xia Dynasty.The Nanguan Wai period or Luoda Temple period that Li Xueqin refers to at this time is the Erlitou cultural category that was later regarded as the main object of Xia culture exploration by academic circles, and has extremely important academic value.This is most likely the assertion of the Xia Dynasty, marking the end of the old era of Xia cultural exploration and the arrival of a new era of substantive exploration.

Towards the Summer Market When this new era came, an important figure in the history of Chinese archaeology opened a brilliant page for the substantive exploration of Xia culture. This figure was Xu Xusheng, an outstanding ancient historian and archaeologist. It is not easy to understand the deeds of Xu Xusheng's life now, but from the biography written by archaeologist Huang Shilin for Xu Xusheng, we can see the general situation: Xu Xusheng, formerly known as Bing Chang, was born in Yanhe Village, Tonghe Town, Tanghe County, Henan Province on December 10, 1888 (November 8, the 14th year of Guangxu in Qing Dynasty), and was born on January 4, 1976 Died of illness in Beijing at the age of eighty-eight.Xu Xusheng grew up in a scholarly family and was influenced by ancient culture since he was a child. He became interested in ancient Chinese history when he was young, which laid the foundation for his later research on ancient history and intellectual history.

In 1906, Xu Xusheng studied in Beijing Yu School.In the winter of this year, he was admitted to the Institute of Translation and Translation to study French and graduated in 1911.In 1912, he taught arithmetic and mathematics at Zhangde Middle School.A few months later, he was admitted to study in France at public expense.From the spring of 1913 to the spring of 1919, he studied philosophy at the University of Paris and returned to China in the summer of 1919. Since 1921, Xu Xusheng has been a professor in the Department of Philosophy of Peking University, teaching the history of Western philosophy, and started to translate Weber's "History of European Philosophy".Later, together with Qiao Zengcuo, he translated the historical novel "Where Are You Going" by the Polish writer Xiankeweizhi (Note 1), which is the earliest Chinese translation of the book.

(Note 1) Henryk Adam Aleksander Pius Sienkiewicz: 1846-1916, Polish writer.He won the 1905 Nobel Prize for Literature for his outstanding achievements in his epic works. In 1925, he served as the editor-in-chief of "Mengjin". "Meng Jin" was a political weekly with a progressive tendency at that time.Xu Xusheng published a short commentary on current affairs entitled "We Should Have the Courage to See All Sides in the Right Eye" in "Mengjin", which attracted Lu Xun's attention.Therefore, Lu Xun wrote an article "On Opening the Eyes" in the "Yusi" weekly magazine, further discussing this.Since then, he has established a friendship with Lu Xun, and often corresponds to comment on issues.

In the autumn of 1926, Xu Xusheng served as the dean of Peking University.In the following year, in view of the ignorance and prejudice of those in power against science, especially natural science, the China Association of Academic Societies not only did not reward science, but also hindered research, so it proposed to organize and collect materials from various places to provide conditions for in-depth research; for foreigners Those who are willing to cooperate sincerely with the association are welcome, and those who attempt to carry out cultural aggression and snatch scientific materials will be rejected, and we will not be confused again.With this aim in mind, after some struggles, he cooperated with the Swedish explorer Sven Hedin, who had already entered China at that time, to form the Northwest China Scientific Expedition Group. study, and obtain major academic achievements.

In February 1931, Peking Normal University and the Second Normal College of Peking University merged into National Peking Normal University, and Xu Xusheng became the president of the combined Peking Normal University.In September of the same year, the September 18th Incident broke out, and teachers and students of Beijing Normal University enthusiastically participated in the War of Resistance Against Japan.Two days after the incident, Xu Xusheng, together with Jiang Menglin, the president of Peking University, invited the presidents of all major schools in Peking to hold an emergency meeting.On the same day, the dean and dean of the school were called together for an emergency meeting to oppose the Japanese imperialist invasion of China.In November of that year, he went to Nanjing in person to ask for an increase in funding for Beijing Normal University, but Song Ziwen, the Minister of Finance at the time, refused to meet him, and Xu Xu resigned as president of Beijing Normal University angrily. Since 1932, Xu Xusheng has been the editor of the Historiography Research Society of the Peking Research Institute, and later changed to a researcher.At the beginning of 1937, the Historiography Research Association of the Peking Research Institute was changed to the Historiography Research Institute, with Xu Xusheng as the director.After the liberation of Peking, he served as acting vice president of the Peking Research Institute, and began to study ancient history and legends with great concentration, preparing to write a book "The Legendary Age of Chinese Ancient History". At that time, scholars of the extremely skeptical school denied the history of the long period before Yin Ruins.Treating legendary materials as corrupt, or adding prejudice, or not citing them.The purpose of Xu Xusheng's writing this book is to try to correct their mistrust and undoubted bias, so that the method of treating this period of history can be put on the right track early, so that Xia and the history before it can return to their true colors. Xu Xusheng recalled in the book: I have been teaching at Peking University since 1921. At that time, my country’s historians were influenced by European and Western science, and the slogan of revaluing ancient historical materials was chanted. Outside the trend of thinking of the times.However, because I studied philosophy when I was studying abroad in France, what I taught at Peking University was not within the scope of the history of philosophy, and there was no time for further study of history itself.Around 1923, Mr. Gu Jiegang and Mr. Liu Jieli had a sensational discussion about whether Dayu was a god and whether he had a real personality. Although I was also deeply interested in this issue, I was unable to participate in the discussion because I had no time to collect information. .At that time, the general opinion of the historians seemed to be in favor of Gu, but although I personally had a high evaluation of his work, I always thought that he had gone too far and was untrue, so I did not take his conclusions seriously.At that time, I felt that "Yao Dian", "Gao Tao Mo", and "Yu Gong" in "Shang Shu" were certainly not works of that day or not far from that day, but were written by later generations. This word can already be proved; but their records are not necessarily unfounded, the record period is the earliest or can be traced back to the Shang Dynasty. As for how to view the merits and demerits of the Ancient Suppression School, Xu Xusheng pointed out: In the past three years (from about 1917 when Cai Yuanpei became the president of Peking University to 1949 when the mainland was liberated), the Ancient Skepticism School has almost shrouded The historical circle of the whole of China, but its base camp is in Gushibian and its surroundings.Their diligence in work is very respectable, and their achievements are also great, but the research methods they use are very problematic.Mainly, the late Mr. Zhang Yinlin has already pointed out that tacit evidence is used too unlimitedly.This method is to conclude that there is no such concept in a certain era because there is no description of a certain historical event in a certain book or a book of a certain era that exists today.Regarding this method, the French historian Xenobo said it well: it is not enough to prove that there is no description of something in the existing records, let alone that it has never happened.Therefore, in an era when more records are annihilated, tacit evidence should be used less and less.It is far less useful in ancient history than it was in nineteenth-century history.The workers of the extremely skeptical school widely used tacit evidence for the era when many records were annihilated, and the results can be expected.They saw arguments that did not agree with them, and they could not deal with them normally and carefully. Many times they blatantly declared against the falsification of arguments, but their reasons were weak and untenable.For example, seeing that "Shangshu·Lizheng Pian" contained the thought of appreciating the virtuous, it was announced that it had been influenced by Mohist thought and that it was forged by the people of the Warring States period.However, the so-called virtuous by the ancients just means that a certain person is more capable.Although there are many differences and contradictions in the ancient history described by the various schools in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, there are actually many similarities.For example, the legend of Yu's control of the water, the relationship between Yao, Shun, and Yu, can be said to be roughly the same among the pre-Qin scholars, and there is no dispute.However, the extremists of the Doubting Ancient School exaggerate their differences and contradictions, and turn a blind eye to many uncontroversial points, disdain to pay attention!We must know that the academic atmosphere in the late Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period was quite free, and mutual refutation among various schools was not merciless.One family is fabricating rumors, and it is giving other families a pretext. Why do other families keep silent and tacitly admit it?They seem to be unable to distinguish between legends mixed with myths and pure myths, or they are unwilling to distinguish.Among the legends of the ancient emperors, except for the special reasons of Emperor Zhuanxu, the legends of Yandi, Huangdi, Chiyou, Yao, Shun, and Yu did not contain too many myths, but the extreme skeptical schools are all rambling. Don't choose, just send them to the safe of mythology and seal them up, so that other historical workers are not allowed to touch them again!If compared with Greek legends, the myths about Theseus are not less than the myths mixed in the legends of ancient Chinese emperors. However, Engels also mentioned Theseus. Xu Xusheng believes that in the so-called era of legends, the initial history of any nation in the world is always passed down by word of mouth.There are ancient legends preserved in ancient documents, but the historical materials that could not directly record them in words at that time, the era described by such historical materials is called the era of legends.The upper limit of the legendary era in China is not yet determined, or it may be from the Yanhuang period; the lower limit is tentatively set before Pan Geng moved to Yin. As for how to treat the historical materials of the Legendary Age.Xu Xusheng said that first of all, we should have a clear understanding of myths and legends and distinguish them.Of course, the two are similar, and it is difficult to separate them completely, but they should not be confused. The Xia Dynasty, which was quite controversial in the history circles, was still a blank spot in archaeology at that time.For this reason, Xu Xusheng attached great importance to it, and for the first time proposed to explore Xia culture and put forward guiding opinions: first of all, it should be clarified that the term Xia culture includes two meanings, namely the culture of the Xia nationality and the culture of the Xia Dynasty.The two are both different and very closely related.If it refers to the former, its geographical scope is very limited, and its period includes before Yu and after Jie; if it refers to the latter, its geographical scope is wider, and its period begins with Yu and ends with Jie.The main activity areas of the Xia people: Jinnan Plain, Fen, Wei, and Su River basins; Luoyang Plain, Yi, Luo, and Ying River basins; even the Guanzhong Plain is also the old soil of the Xia people. At the same time, Xu Xusheng, on the basis of careful study of the pre-Qin documents about the Xia Dynasty, believed that the search for Xia culture should focus on the two regions of western Henan and southwestern Shanxi.In order to verify this theory, at the turn of the spring and summer of 1959, the 72-year-old Xu Xusheng, regardless of his old age and frailty, took his assistants to the west of Henan to investigate the Xiaxu in the literature. , which opened the prelude to the substantive field exploration of Xia culture.Xu Xusheng and his party walked back and forth in the established circle in the west of Henan, walking more than 40 miles a day. Whenever there was heavy rain and their shoes got stuck in the mud, it was inconvenient for them to walk. Xu Xusheng simply walked barefoot in the mud.His spirit of hard work and hard work for the cause of science is moving and admirable. Xu Xusheng conducted field investigations on ancient cultural relics such as Bafang, Shiyangguan in Dengfeng County, Yanzhai in Yuxian County, and Gushui River. One day he passed Yanshi and was going to the Luoyang Archaeological Workstation. When I was outside the village in Erlitou, I found something unusual here, so I stopped and walked around to find what I wanted.After he walked around the village for a few times, a farmer who was working in the field felt very strange, thinking that the old man must have lost something, so he took the initiative to ask.This question made Xu Xu very happy, and he said humorously: "I lost a big thing. It is a city, a city that has existed for thousands of years."The farmer was puzzled, and Xu Xusheng explained: I am doing archaeological surveys, and I want to see if there are any ancient pottery fragments in this area.At this time, the farmer understood, and he said disapprovingly: We have a lot of pottery fragments here, and there are also complete pottery, all of which were dug out for water conservancy construction.When Xu Xusheng heard this, he was very pleasantly surprised, and hurriedly said to the farmer in front of him: "My good brother, where is the place you mentioned, can you show me?" become!The farmer readily agreed, and led Xu Xusheng to a field in the east of the village.Sure enough, Xu Xusheng found many pottery fragments here, and also picked up a complete pottery.Judging from the scale of the site and the pattern and texture of the remaining pottery and pottery, this is a very large-scale ancient cultural site. After Xu Xusheng made a preliminary judgment on the Erlitou site, he immediately returned to the Luoyang workstation of the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and informed the workstation, Zhao Zhiquan and others of the investigation.Everyone was very excited when they heard it, and decided to go to Erlitou with Xu Xusheng to conduct further investigations the next day, led by Zhao Zhiquan, the director of the workstation, with several archaeologists. The Erlitou site is located about nine kilometers southwest of Yanshi City, east of Luoyang City.As far as its location is concerned, it is adjacent to the Guluo River and Yihe River in the south and Songyue, Taishi, and Shaoshi Mountains; it is adjacent to Mang Mountain and backed by the Yellow River in the north, with the danger of Chenggao in the east and the solidity of Jianggu Xiaohan in the west.The Heluo area where it is located has been called Zhongtu, Tuzhong and Dizhong since ancient times.The rivers and mountains are arched, the situation is the best in the world, and it is a place where all directions converge.It is said that all the sage kings from Fuxi to King Cheng of Zhou Dynasty were enshrined in the Heluo area and received auspiciousness.The residences of the three generations are all between Heluo.Songshan here is known as the top of the five mountains, also known as Taishi Mountain, and it is also the heavenly house that King Wu of Zhou did not want to stay away from.King Wu once told the sky in this court: Yu Qi's house is here in China, and he is also a citizen.Therefore, this is also China in the original sense.Duke Zhou obeyed King Wu's intention to build Luoyi here as the capital of the king.In addition, Zhou Gong also built a scene (shadow) platform near Songshan Mountain, and determined this place as Dizhong from the etiquette system.It is endowed with mysterious meanings such as the union of heaven and earth, the intersection of the four seasons, the meeting of wind and rain, and the union of yin and yang.After the Han and Wei Dynasties, many dynasties also paid attention to this place and established their capitals here.This place has naturally become the center of Chinese politics, economy and culture and the core area of ​​ancient civilization. When Zhao Zhiquan and others followed Xu Xusheng to Erlitou Village, the local farmers were still building water conservancy facilities in the fields.A group of people came to a pond where a farmer was digging, and found pottery shards all over the ground. When they entered the steps of the pond, they saw pottery fragments on the wall of the pond, and touched them lightly with their hands. The broken pottery shards fell down with a clatter.This scene made Zhao Zhiquan and others very excited. In previous archaeological investigations, they had never encountered such an exciting scene.If this is not the ruins of the ancient capital, what is it? After leaving the pond, Zhao Zhiquan and others conducted a detailed survey around Erlitou Village, and estimated that the site was about 3 to 3.5 kilometers long from east to west and 1.5 kilometers wide from north to south.Judging from the geographical environment, historical origin, and the relics and relics discovered, the possibility of this place as an imperial capital in Chinese history is indeed very high. Due to Xu Xusheng's first discovery and the subsequent dozens of excavations, Erlitou has become one of the most eye-catching ancient cultural sites in the world's academic circles.It has not only become the key point for scholars to explore Xia history and Xia culture, but also an unavoidable holy place for exploring the origin of China's country and civilization. Excavation of Erlitou Ruins In view of the great potential and academic value of the Erlitou site in archaeology, Zhao Zhiquan and others wrote a report to the archaeological institute after returning to the Luoyang workstation. To dig.Soon, the Henan Cultural Management Committee also learned of the discovery of a major site in Erlitou, and decided to send a team to excavate it.So in the autumn of 1959, more than ten members of the approved Luoyang work team of the Institute of Archaeology and a Liu Hulan team composed of women dispatched by the Henan Provincial Cultural Management Committee entered the Erlitou site almost simultaneously to start excavation. In 1960, due to the political movement, Zhao Zhiquan, the archaeological team leader, was sent to a certain place in Shandong Province for labor reform. Under the instruction of Niu Zhaoxun, the deputy director of the Institute of Archeology, the excavation of the Erlitou site was started by a graduate from the Department of Archeology of Peking University. Yin Weizhang, who is only 24 years old, is in charge.The Liu Hulan team sent by Henan Province also withdrew from the excavation site due to other reasons.Therefore, the entire Erlitou site was excavated exclusively by the Erlitou team under the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Sciences for several years. After more than half a year of excavation at the Erlitou site, the dawn of the archaeological community has appeared. Niu Zhaoxun, the deputy director of the Institute of Archaeology, instructed Yin Weizhang, who had just taken office, to divide the entire site into several areas. Excavate the area and strive to obtain results as quickly as possible.It is a pity that Niu Zhaoxun's plan cannot be realized, because it needs to employ a large number of workers to operate on such a large scale. Unable to provide support.Migrant workers cannot be hired, and the archaeological team of only a dozen people is simply unable to excavate an area of ​​10,000 square meters.Helpless, Yin Weizhang had no choice but to discuss with his colleagues and decide to drill in this range first, and then do some targeted excavations after the basic situation is clarified. Therefore, more than a dozen members of the archaeological team each drilled with a shovel, and drilled one hole per square meter in the divided well-shaped area.After several months of hard work, the bone-making, pottery-making, and copper-making workshop sites around the designated area have been successively discovered.Since there are workshops all around, according to previous archaeological excavation experience, there may be relics such as palaces hidden deep underground in the middle.According to this inference, archaeologists put their main energy into drilling in the middle part called the fifth zone.The middle part of this well-shaped area is indeed different from the situation in the four areas of east, west, north, and south. Common pottery fragments in the four areas are rarely found. On the contrary, relics similar to palaces are unearthed from time to time.In order to verify the authenticity, Yin Weizhang and other archaeologists decided to start excavation in the fifth area. As expected, the archaeologists discovered a group of rammed earth foundation sites with obvious rammed earth holes. One of the foundation sites in the north is long and wide. Each is about 100 meters and is the main part of this group of buildings.After careful identification, it is certain that what was found was a palace foundation.Archaeologists deduced from the fact that a considerable number of house foundations, cellars, ash pits, wells, kiln sites, copper pottery models, stone materials, aggregates, etc. have been found in the surrounding area, and the Erlitou site has the scale of an early ancient city. It is by no means an ordinary natural village. The discovery of the palace ruins ended the archaeological excavation of the Erlitou team in 1960 in a festive atmosphere. In order to let colleagues in the archaeological institute enjoy the joy of victory, Yin Weizhang decided to ram the largest and deepest nest at the palace foundation site. , The clearest part, two pieces were cut off with force, and carefully placed in a wooden box that had already been prepared, ready to be taken back to Beijing.It was mid-December 1960 when this last piece of work was finished.When the archaeologists transported the two pieces of rammed earth back to Beijing, the entire archaeological institute, from leaders to ordinary scholars, came to watch.For a while, news of the discovery of the palace at the Erlitou site quickly spread throughout the academic world. In 1961, Zhao Zhiquan went to Erlitou again to preside over the excavation work.Since then, in a period of 40 years, with the continuous efforts of dozens of archaeologists such as Zhao Zhiquan, Yin Weizhang, Zheng Zhenxiang, Gao Tianlin, Fang Yousheng, Zheng Guang, Du Jinpeng, Zhang Lidong, the cultural features of the Erlitou site have basically been revealed. come out.The total area known is about three square kilometers, and the cultural accumulation is extremely thick and the connotation is very rich.The cultural continuation of the site has gone through quite a long period of time, roughly estimated to be about 400 years.As far as specific content is concerned, cultural relics include large, medium and small architectural sites, including palaces, mausoleums, platform altars, sacrificial facilities, residences of all classes, and handicraft workshops such as copper casting and bone making workshops. There are also pottery kilns, wells, roads, ash pits, tombs, etc.What is particularly shocking is that the bases of the two palaces known as the No. 1 and No. 2 palaces discovered in the middle of the site are magnificent in scale, magnificent in momentum, and quite resembling a king.The first palace covers an area of ​​more than 10,000 square meters. There are corridors around it, while the east, south and north sides are compound corridors. There are three hipped gates in the south. The foundation of the main hall is 100 meters.The main hall of Palace No. 2 is slightly larger than Palace No. 1, and there is a large tomb at the back of the hall. From the nature, it can be inferred that this palace belongs to the ancestral temple and mausoleum.The grandeur and scale of No. 1 and No. 2 palaces are rare in the archaeological history of the Shang Dynasty.Judging from the area of ​​the platform base alone, it can even rival the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City in Beijing.It took more than 20 years for archaeologists to fully see the foundation of such a large-scale palace. Later, researchers deduced that these two palaces belonged to the third period of Erlitou culture, during which Erlitou culture entered its most prosperous and glorious heyday.It is also in the remains of this extraordinary era that a large number of jade, bronze and pottery were unearthed. Most of the jade wares were ritual vessels such as Gui, Zhang, and Ge.The unique shapes of the unearthed bronze containers and weapons are all discovered in China for the first time, especially the variety of copper ornaments inlaid with turquoise. There has never been a precedent for it in the history of archaeology, and it can be called a national treasure. Obviously, judging from the scale, grade, specification and even momentum of the excavation at the Erlitou site, it has become a conclusion that this was a capital city that once existed.But it is a pity that after 40 years of excavation, archaeologists have traveled all over the site, but they have not found a city wall, or even a trench. Perhaps this is a city without a city. Since the discovery and excavation of the Erlitou site is one of the most important events in the history of Chinese archaeology, its age, cultural nature, and site nature have attracted academic attention.In 1962, Xia Nai, a master of archaeology, named this type of cultural relic as the Erlitou culture, and later based on the new excavation progress, named this cultural relic as the Erlitou culture. The naming has highlighted the typicality and representativeness of the Erlitou site. Since then, the influence of the Erlitou site has been enhanced and expanded, and Erlitou culture has become a very important cultural concept in archaeology. Now that the reputation of the Erlitou site has been well-known at home and abroad, there should be a clear and specific conclusion about the age of this site and the historical capital of the emperor. In 1974, the Erlitou archaeological team published an article entitled "Brief Excavation of the Early Shang Palace Site in Erlitou, Yanshi, Henan Province", in which the Erlitou site was clearly divided into four phases according to the stratigraphic relationship and changes in artifacts. In addition, the following conclusions were made about the nature of the palaces and ruins in the ruins: this palace building belongs to the third phase of the Erlitou ruins, and it is equivalent to the early Shang Dynasty according to the radiocarbon element determination.The Youerlitou site is only four kilometers west of the ancient city of Luoyang Han and Wei Dynasties, and less than 20 kilometers away from the east city of the Sui and Tang Dynasties. This area is surrounded by mountains and rivers, and the situation is dangerous. "Hanshu·Geographical Chronicles" Xiazhushi Township, Yanshi County, Henan County, the capital of Yin and Tang.Since then, in the past two thousand years, there have been different opinions on the issue of Xibo, the capital of Tang, and there is no consensus.Through the excavation of the Erlitou site, it was further determined that the rammed earth platform in the middle of the site was an early Shang palace building, which provided strong physical evidence for the Tangdu Xibo theory, and thus clarified the nature of Erlitou. After this briefing was published, it was approved by most archaeologists. At that time, the mainstream view in the archaeological circle was that there were big differences between the first and second phases of Erlitou Culture and the third and fourth phases, and it was not like a continuous transitional development. Culture should be cut at the middle.And because the cultural relics unearthed in the third and fourth phases are very close to the Zhengzhou Erligang culture, even to an inseparable degree, the first and second phases of Erlitou belong to the Xia culture, and the third and fourth phases belong to the early Shang culture.Since the No. 1 and No. 2 palaces and tombs of the Erlitou site are mostly in the third phase or later, this should be the capital of Tang, the founding king of the Shang Dynasty, which is called Bo in historical documents.And Zhengzhou Shangcheng should be built by a king named Zhongding in the middle of the Shang Dynasty, and it is called the capital of Kui.Therefore, it seems to be a conclusion to establish a boundary between Xia and Shang between the second and third phases of the Erlitou site. Of course, some archaeologists disagree with the establishment of this landmark. Some people feel that the first phase of the Erlitou culture is similar to the Longshan culture, but it is quite different from the second, third, and fourth phases, so they define the division of Xia and Shang here. .That is, Henan Longshan Culture plus Erlitou Phase I Culture equals Xia Culture.The second, third, and fourth phases of Erlitou are naturally Shang culture. Some archaeologists almost completely contradict the above point of view, and believe that the first to third periods of Erlitou culture are connected, but it is quite different from the fourth period, so they set the first three periods as Xia and the fourth period as Shang culture, and the boundary between Xia and Shang Between the third and fourth periods. Some archaeologists felt that the upper limit of the Erlitou site was not early enough, so they added a culture period before the first period and after the late Longshan culture in Henan. No matter who is right or wrong in the above views, there is an indisputable fact that due to the appearance of the Erlitou site, the academic circles have experienced unprecedented prosperity in the exploration of Xia culture, and various views and propositions are dazzling and dizzying.From the late Longshan culture in Henan, through the first, second, third, and fourth phases of Erlitou, to before the Zhengzhou Shangcheng culture, some people tried to cut a knife between the two as the boundary between Xia and Shang.Judging from the claims and viewpoints of each knife cutter, it seems that they have their own reasons. Just as archaeologists from all walks of life were brandishing sharp knives to show their talents on the land in the west of Henan, a man suddenly appeared and said to the crowd: Erlitou culture is a whole culture, and its nature is Xia culture. There is no business culture at all.Since it is a culture, there is no need to cut it up and down, everyone, put away the knife. This person is Zou Heng, a professor of archeology at Peking University. Controversy between true and false Bodu Zou Heng, born in 1927 in Lixian County, Hunan Province, first studied at Duize Middle School in Changsha. During the Anti-Japanese War, he moved to Sichuan with his family and joined National Eighteenth Middle School. In 1947, he was admitted to the Law Department of Peking University.While studying at Peking University, while majoring in law, he sat in on courses in literature, history, philosophy and other subjects.During this period, a professor of the history department recommended several books to the students, including "The Bronze Age" by Guo Moruo.When Zou Heng was in middle school, he read more literature books than history books. This time, after being recommended by his teacher, he bought Guo Moruo’s books and was shocked when he read them. The master, because of his admiration for Guo Moruo, also felt that history is a great subject, which is greater than other subjects; although this idea is somewhat biased, it is in line with the reality at the time.Since then, although Zou Heng is in the law department, his thoughts and interests have gradually tilted towards historiography. Later, he heard some professors say that the reason why Guo Moruo has such a great reputation in the field of history is that he studied ancient Chinese history and oracle bone inscriptions. based on inheritance and development.In this way, Zou Heng asked Luo Zhenyu and Wang Guowei to read their articles carefully, and gradually began to admire them, and became obsessed with historiography, especially ancient Chinese history. One afternoon in the late autumn of 1947, Han Jianhua, a classmate of Peking University’s law department from Hunan, asked Zou Heng to visit Xiang Da, a generation of academic giants who were also from Hunan, and a famous professor of Peking University’s history department.When they came to Xiang Da's home in Dongsishitiao, Professor Xiang Da, who is already well-known throughout the country, warmly received the two young students who had just arrived in Peiping, and kindly talked about some past events in his hometown in Hunan.When Mr. Xiang Da learned that Zou Heng had attended Duize Middle School when he was in Hunan, he proudly said that it was a well-known old school founded by people from Xiangxi in the provincial capital Changsha in the late Qing Dynasty, and that it was also his school. Alma mater, but later transferred to Mingde Middle School.Perhaps because of this relationship, Zou Heng felt that Xiang Da was very kind and friendly, and gradually relaxed his tension during the conversation. Since then, Zou Heng has often visited Xiang Da and asked some historical questions at any time. Like his own disciples, he enthusiastically gave answers and encouragement.As time passed day by day, Zou Heng's desire for historical knowledge became stronger and stronger, and his interest became stronger and stronger. Instead, he felt dull about the law major he studied.Under such circumstances, Zou Heng decided to give up the law major and transfer to the Department of History to start a new study.When he informed Xiang Da of this idea, he got approval and support, and Xiang Da also recommended it to Zheng Tianting, then head of the Department of History.Thus, Zou Heng successfully transferred to the Department of History. After entering the Department of History, Zou Heng's grades were not very good, only average. The main reason was that he participated in too many social activities.Knowing that Zou Heng loves ancient history, Xiang Da called him to his home soon after, and advised him to study archeology in the future. At the same time, he discussed with the department head and recommended Zou Heng as the first graduate student of the archeology group to be established in the Department of History.Learning archeology is exactly what Zou Heng likes and yearns for. When the archaeological team was formally established, Zou Heng got his wish and began to study and research Shang and Zhou archeology. 儘管商周考古不是向達的特長，但他仍給予鄒衡一些具體的指導，並明確要求必須認真讀王國維、郭沫若的書，否則就會陷於盲目的考古。同時發自肺腑、用意深遠地指出，讀王國維、郭沫若的書，重要的是瞭解他們的治學態度、學術體系、方法和其主要貢獻，然後再考慮自己將做些什麼和怎樣去做向達教授的教誨，使鄒衡銘刻在心，並成為他終生進行學術研究的指路明燈和追求的目標，並以這種精神和治學態度在以後的歲月裡指導自己的學生。 在北大史學系讀研究所期間，鄒衡的主攻方向是商周考古，不可能涉及夏代，但在他的心中，始終對夏朝的問題不能釋懷。 一九五六年十月，當他聽了中國科學院考古研究所資深研究員、著名歷史學家暨考古學家徐旭生在北大歷史系所作《夏代探索》的演講後，更增強了解決夏代問題的信心。一九五九年，徐旭生首次在豫西調查了夏墟，並發表了調查報告，使他備受鼓舞。一九五九年下半年，已畢業留校任教的鄒衡帶領考古專業的學生赴洛陽實習，中國科學院考古研究所洛陽工作站的站長芝荃，安排他和學生到一個叫東幹溝的仰韶文化遺址進行發掘，就是這次考古發掘，拉開了鄒衡一生中探索夏文化的序幕。 當鄒衡率領學生來到東幹溝不久，二里頭遺址的首次發掘也開始了。後來，考古所洛陽工作站的高天麟開始整理二里頭遺址的發掘材料，由於人手短缺，便請鄒衡協助處理二里頭的分期問題。這個意外插曲，使鄒衡成為沒有參加發掘，卻最早接觸二里頭遺址出土材料的學者之一，從而使他對二里頭遺址發掘的資料，有了進一步的認識和理解。就在這年十月，鄒衡所率領的考古專業的學生，在東幹溝的發掘中已達到了原來預期的初步掌握田野操作和室內整理方法和目的學習目標，接下來就要進行大規模的田野實習了。由於東幹溝遺址無法滿足這個需要，到什麼地方去，一時成了問題。於是，考古所洛陽工作站的趙芝荃、鄭振香等人建議他帶學生到二里頭參加發掘。考慮到二里頭遺址當時已有中央和河南省兩個單位在發掘，若再加上北大師生，就變成了三個單位，且北大又人多勢眾，鄒衡覺得不太合適，便主動放棄了這個打算，獨自一人到洛陽遠郊區谷水鎮以西的南王灣作實際調查。想不到這一去，便又引出了一起重要的考古發現。 當鄒衡來到南王灣剛作了不足兩個小時的調查，便發現了一大片新石器時代遺址，在這個遺址中，明顯看到仰韶文化與龍山文化共存，並夾有西周和春秋時期的陶片。根據採集到的陶片分析，此處的仰韶、龍山似乎都有早、晚的不同。面對這個特點，一個想法驀然在他的心中產生：也許在這裡可以解決學術界幾十年懸而未決的仰韶文化、龍山文化的關係及其年代的分期問題。隨著這個想法而來的，就是決定在此處發掘。 當南王灣的發掘進行到一個月之際，狀況頗佳，各方面都朝著鄒衡預期的目標發展。三個月之後，由於嚴寒的冬天已經來臨，不宜在野外發掘，鄒衡便率領學生攜帶大批發掘器物撤出工地，來到考古所洛陽工作站進行室內整理。據鄒衡多年後回憶：這段時間工作進展很快，學生們對陶片的熱情很高，經常對到深夜還不回宿舍休息，最後有三對男女同學居然對成了終生伴侶。他看到這種情況，內心有說不出的喜悅。當然，學生們除對成終生伴侶之外，還對成仰韶文化、龍山文化完整的陶器多達五百多件。 陶片對得差不多時，鄒衡便指導學生對發掘遺物進行文化分期，發現各期文化都很豐富，給研究工作帶來了很大方便，為了核實南王灣遺址分期是否正確，此後不久，鄒衡又把學生分成若干組，分別到洛陽和伊洛地區，經過他事先親自複查過的遺址進行調查與試掘。就在這次調查與試掘中，發現了一些屬於二里頭文化和鄭州二里崗文化的遺址、跡物。根據南王灣的發掘和洛陽以及伊洛地區調查試掘的材料，鄒衡經過詳細的分析研究，把伊洛地區從仰韶早期到商代前期之前的文化以四期十一段的劃分方法分離開來。即：第一期仰韶期；第二期過渡期；第三期龍山期；第四期二里頭期。各期之間又分不同的階段。這個劃分在學術界具有重大意義。因為就當時的考古界而言，對於中原地區仰韶文化和龍山文化都還沒有明確的分期，而在仰韶、龍山文化之間有沒有一種混合文化，還無法真正弄清。換句話說，當時的考古界對新石器時代的認識還較模糊。透過對南王灣的文化分期，這些問題都迎刃而解了。尤其是對仰韶期︱龍山期︱二里頭期︱早商期序列的排定，基本上就把中原地區從新石器時代到青銅時代的各個環節聯結起來，不太可能有什麼其他文化穿插期間。如此一來，就可考慮中國考古學與中國上古史的相互結合問題。也就是說，如果文獻記載的夏朝真的存在，即它必然就在這個環節之中。可以說，透過對南王灣的分期，直接為探索夏文化創造了重要而又必不可少的條件。 南王灣文化分期的消息傳開後，許多考古界的同行前去洛陽參觀，並給予充分的肯定和讚譽。著名考古學大師夏鼐曾寫信給鄒衡，對南王灣分期的重要意義給予高度評價，並將這一成果推薦給當時在中國訪問的蘇聯著名考古學家吉謝列夫，請他親自到洛陽去實地觀看。葉謝列夫果然去了洛陽，在觀看後同樣對南王灣的分期成果給予高度評價，並稱讚中國的考古學家真了不起。而中國另一位考古學大師蘇秉琦對南王灣的分期成果更是再三給予肯定，並稱這是考古學界一項破天荒的工作。 可是，隨著政治形勢轉變，已回到北大教書的鄒衡被視為走白專道路的資產階級知識份子，不僅失去了編寫發掘報告的機會，也徹底和南王灣遺址的繼續發掘無緣了。這段意外的政治遭遇，不僅成為鄒衡終身最大的遺憾，也是學術界極大的損失。 儘管鄒衡與南王灣遺址的考古發掘絕緣了，但探索夏文化的腳步並未停止，也正是對南王灣文化的成功分期，使他對夏、商文化有了一個全新的認識。 正如此前所作的介紹，由於安陽殷墟的發掘已被學術界證明是商代晚期的都城所在，也就無可爭辯地確認了什麼是晚商文化。同樣地，由於鄭州二里崗遺址的發現，學術界認為這座都城的文化早於殷墟文化，而大多數學者認為屬於商代中期仲丁隞都的可能性最大。以此類推，早於二里崗文化的二里頭遺址，就是赫赫有名的湯王打敗夏朝最後一個叫桀的王之後，建立的一座叫亳的都城。如果確認二里頭遺址就是商湯的亳都，那麼就找到了商文化的起點。以這個起點為座標，早於亳都的，自然是夏文化。令學者們頭痛也放心不下的問題是，鄭州商城真的是隞都、二里頭遺址真的是亳都嗎？鄒衡在南王灣文化分期的基礎上，對鄭州商文化重新分期之後，第一個否定了上述大多數學者認為的隞都和亳都之說。 按照鄒衡的分析推斷，鄭州商城文化延續時期很長，而鄭州商城所涵括的年代也具有相當長的一段時間。相反的是，商代中期那位叫仲丁的王所居隞都不過廿來年，無法與都城延續時間相合。而據當時的放射性碳十四測定，鄭州商城的年代最早已達到西元前十七世紀，照歷史學界的一般估算，此城已接近達夏朝的記載時期。又據古文獻記載，鄭州所處的位置與隞都所在的地理不合。因此，鄒衡認為鄭州商城絕不可能是仲丁所居的隞都。 既然隞都予以否定，那麼二里頭遺址號稱的亳都也跟著發生了動搖。鄒衡認為，如果二里頭遺址是湯都西亳，則與古文獻記載完全矛盾。據《呂氏春秋•慎大覽》所載，商湯伐桀，令師從東方出國西以進。也就是說商湯的軍隊從所佔據的中國東部向西攻打夏桀的武裝力量。又據《書序》云：湯既黜夏命，復歸於亳。也就是說，商湯的軍隊滅了夏之後，又回到了亳都。這些記載說明，亳和桀住的夏都不在一起，且亳都的方位在桀都之東。這個東在那裡，依然是從文獻記載看，應該在豫西之東，不會是在二里頭所處的豫西位置。故此，二里頭遺址西亳說同樣受到了否定。 兩座都城的性質相繼否定，到底商湯所居的亳在何處？鄒衡根據多方考證，特別是對鄭州商城出土的亳字陶文的辨認和考釋，大膽地提出鄭州商城就是商朝的開國之君湯所居的亳。 既然鄭州商城是亳，或者說是商文化的起點，而二里頭文化又早於鄭州商城文化，且兩種文化又不相同。那麼以鄒衡的觀點，二里頭文化自然就屬於夏文化。又二里頭文化是同屬一脈相承的同一類型的文化，不存在突然斷裂和突然侵入、興起的外來因素，所以也就用不著操刀在這個文化整體上切來切去了，原來由學術界認可的一、二、三、四期文化全部屬於夏文化。 鄒衡鄭州商城即湯都亳說與二里頭四期文化都是夏文化說的提出，如同一塊巨石砸進平靜的水面，立刻在學術界掀起了滔天大浪，贊成者有之，反對者亦有之，由此引發了一場曠日持久的論爭，有關夏文化的探索進入了一個色彩紛呈的新時代。 偃師商城橫空出世 正當鄒衡引爆關於夏商文化的爭論越演越烈，各種觀點、各種理由也越來越多、越來越繁，甚至越來越亂之時，許多有識之士感到這一問題的討論已形同亂度，剪不斷，理還亂，大有陷於死結狀的僵局之勢。而造成這種局面的主要癥結就是各種說法的證據都沒有足夠的條件和理由。於是，學術界希冀有一天透過地下的最新發現，使這個懸而未決的疑案雲消霧散，水落石出。意想不到的是，這天很快就到來了。 一九八三年春，中國科學院考古研究所漢魏故城工作隊考古專家段鵬琦等人，在配合河南首陽的火力發電廠基礎建設選址過程中，在偃師縣城（今偃師市區）西部，距二里頭遺址十公里處發現一段夯土城牆，隨即進行了大規模鑽探和局部解剖發掘，經過幾個月的努力，初步確認了西、北、東三面城牆的位置、走向、長度、夯土築結構及保存狀況，並由此判定城的形狀為長方形，其中南北最長達一七○○公尺、東西寬約一二一五公尺，總面積近二○○萬平方公尺。城牆寬度一般為十七至廿一公尺，最寬處竟達廿八公尺，但未發現南城牆，據段鵬琦等考古專家推測，此段城牆已被洛河水沖毀。 除此之外，考古人員在北城牆中部發現城門一座及由此城門向南的大道，並在城內發現數處大型建築夯土基址群。在編號為第一的建築群中有一圈圍牆，實為一近方型的小城，應是宮殿區所在。考古人員經過對城牆及其附近試掘，發現了大量具有商代鄭州二里崗時期文化特徵的遺物，由此初步推斷該城的年代與鄭州二里崗商代早期相當。又，城牆在與商代鄭州二里上層時期相當的某段時間內曾作過修補，故依次推斷該城的廢棄年代約與二里崗上層較晚時期相當。 最令發掘者為之激動和振奮的是，有一條低窪地貫穿城址，顯然是早年一條乾涸的河道。這條看似不起眼的乾河溝，當地人世代相傳喚作尸鄉溝。而《漢書•地理志》在河南郡偃師縣條項下明確記載：尸鄉，殷湯所都。據此，發掘者首次向世人提出了如下三種學術觀點： 一、偃師商城具有都城性質，宮殿區分布在城南部。 二、偃師城早於鄭州商城，其城址和二里頭遺址關係密切，二者同處古洛河的北岸，相距如此之近，若將二者聯繫起來進行系統研究，定會有助於二里頭文化時代及其性質的問題早日解決，加速夏商文化研究的深入發展。 三、古文獻所言的尸鄉、亳等就在偃師商城所在的地域，而偃師商城很可能就是商代前期商王湯率眾攻滅夏朝之後所營建的都城西亳。 從發掘者的觀點看，既然尸鄉商城為西亳，那麼以前爭論不休的二里頭和鄭州商城遺址，都不存在誰是亳都的問題。 偃師商城的發現，猶如一記震耳春雷響在學術界，大家都用驚奇的目光注視著這一重大考古發現。此時，持各種不同觀點的學者，不得不暫時停止爭吵和辯論而面對這個現實，重新檢索、思考自己的觀點了。 被偃師商城的發現震懵了的學術界，在短暫的沉寂之後，最早作出反應的是長期擔任二里頭考古隊隊長的趙芝荃。在二里頭遺址發掘的早期，他和大多數考古工作人員一樣，認為二里頭遺址可能是商湯的亳都。但隨著發掘的不斷深入和拓展，他的觀點有所改變，認為二里頭遺址一、二、三期是夏文化，四期是商文化。而考古學文化進展到第四期時，最為顯赫的中心區一、二號宮殿已經倒塌廢棄，這個時候若再把第四期作為湯都已不可能。如果二里頭不是湯都西亳，那裡又是西亳呢？正在這困惑之時，偃師商城發現了。趙芝荃在實際勘察後，認為困惑已久的問題豁然解決了，尸鄉商城就是歷史上真正的商湯所居的西亳，並依次推斷，當二里頭中心區一、二號宮殿倒塌廢棄之時，便是商城崛起之日。這樣，商城的第一期正好銜接在二里頭四期的尾末，中間無半點缺隙，可謂一脈承襲而來。 隨著趙芝荃觀點的轉變，考古界許多人也開始傾向於尸鄉商城即湯都西亳說的觀點，一時間，尸鄉商城即湯都西亳說成為學術界的主流，並有壓倒一切有別此說的氣勢。發這種潮流和氣勢形成之後，學術界又難免將目光集中在鄭州商城即湯都亳說的主將鄒衡身上。正如十幾年後趙芝荃在回憶中所言：尸鄉商城的發現，我找到了歷史記載中商湯所居的西亳，但鄒衡依然堅持他和鄭州商城即湯都亳說，這就好比一個馬產生了兩個頭，而兩個頭是不可能的，頭只有一個，你鄒衡既然堅持鄭州商城即湯都亳說，那麼偃師商城是什麼？因為這是一個無法迴避的問題，鄒衡就必須作了回答。那麼鄒衡又該作何回答呢？ 仍然是十幾年後，據鄒衡回憶：偃師商城發現之後，國內外許多報紙刊發了消息，其中《參考消息》報導說，中國的克里特島發現了，日本《讀賣新聞》頭版頭條特字型大小刊出成湯西亳的新聞。偃師商城的發現與消息的報導，對我來說，好像是很大的衝擊。我一些好心的朋友、老師都為我擔心。北大歷史系有些老教授紛紛對我表態，乾脆公開承認錯誤。有位德高望重的先生也託人告訴我，說我對了一半（指二里頭夏文化說），也錯了一半（指鄭亳說）。我說這是不可能的，如果錯了，我只能全錯，不可能只錯一半。我當時的最大感受則是，偃師商城和二里頭遺址的二期夯土的突然發現，使偃師二里頭遺址的性質是否為湯都西亳，及其相關的二里頭文化是否仍以二、三期間劃界分為夏、商兩種文化等主流觀點，都必須重新考慮。於是，原來觀點的堅持者很快開始分化。 按照鄒衡的說法，不管從哪方面條件來看，把尸鄉商城作為西亳總比二里頭更具備優勢。因為商城的位置正是西漢以來大量文獻所記載的西亳（或尸鄉）所在；相反，沒有一條文獻記載西亳是在二里頭；而且商城及其內的宮殿基址都具有相當的規模，顯非一般城址可比，其為王城和王宮遺址無疑。所以一九八三年秋，偃師商城第二次正式發掘後，發掘隊長趙芝荃等毅然斷定：這座城址就是商湯所都的西亳。不用說，這個斷語本身就意味著對趙芝荃等一向堅持的二里頭西亳說的否定，儘管趙芝荃等在商城發現後長時期並未如此明說。後來從趙芝荃的一些論文中可以看出，他確實曾想兼顧二址，即把二里頭遺址與尸鄉商城合二為一，以證明他以前關於二里頭三期的一號宮殿為湯宮和現在關於尸鄉商城為湯都兩個推斷都是正確的。這種觀點也曾得到一些二里頭西亳說者的支持，有的甚至據趙芝荃的暗示而直接道出了二里頭遺址為尸鄉商城時期的宗廟或王墓所在的資訊。但要證實這些觀點，卻遇到難以克服的困難。例如兩址相距五、六公里，中間並無聯繫；又如兩址的年代不同，即便設法提早尸鄉商城的年代，但也不能早到二里頭文化二期（因為二里頭遺址二期有宮殿）；況且毫無文獻根據可依。最後，趙芝荃看到實在不能兩者得兼了，只好找個柳暗花明又一村的理由，捨棄了二里頭西亳說，同意二里頭為夏代最後一個王桀都說，堅持尸鄉商城西亳說。 由於趙芝荃對二里頭西亳說的牽掛，因而對與二里頭西亳說密切相關的夏、商年代分界也長時期猶豫不決：時而定在二里頭文化二、三期之間，時而又定在二里頭文化四期與二里崗期之間，最後才選擇了二里頭文化三、四期之間；與此相應的其對尸鄉商城的年代自然也是把握不定，幾經更改，時而二里頭文化三、四期，時而二里頭向二里崗期過渡，最後才選擇了二里頭四期。 奇怪的是，趙芝荃最後選擇的根據並不是直接與近在眼前的二里頭遺址相比，況且尸鄉溝，城牆夯土內含有二里頭四期陶片，而卻捨近求遠去同鄭州南關外相比，從而給自己留下與二里崗期下層糾纏不清的麻煩。但是與趙芝荃合作的劉忠伏對上述新發現卻採取了十分果斷的態度。根據他在二里頭和尸鄉商城長時期發掘的經驗和直觀認識，經過研究後斷定：二里頭遺址作為都邑使用一直延續至四期，並認為在中原地區，繼二里頭四期文化之後，代之而起的是以偃師、鄭州兩座商城為代表的商文化。很明顯，這個推斷是與趙芝荃不同的，即把二里頭文化四期排除在早商文化之外，而晚於二里頭文化四期的偃師商城和鄭州商城則成為商文化之始。不用說，劉忠伏主張二里頭文化四期與二里崗期下層之間是夏、商的分界。 鄒衡在做了如上分析、評論之後，開始回答趙芝荃所說的：一匹馬何以產生兩個頭的問題。鄒衡說：至於尸鄉商城是否為商湯首都亳城，我覺得有必要重新研究。因為兩漢文獻從未直稱尸鄉為亳，稱亳始自皇甫謐，其所指地望在今南蔡莊一帶，東去尸鄉商城已有五公里，且皇甫謐並未言亳地有城。據我考證，最早稱尸鄉商城附近為亳者是《晉太康地記》，該書最早記載亳地附近有城，即太甲所放處。所以我認為尸鄉商城就是桐、桐邑或桐宮，是自成湯以來的早商別邑離宮，而不是湯之首都亳城。退一步說，由於偃師商城的發現，至少曾風雲一時的二里頭西亳說該徹底結束了。而由二里頭西亳說導引出的二里頭文化一二期、二三期、三四期為夏商分界的諸種學說也都因此而圓滿地畫上了一個否定的句號。就是說，夏文化的討論至此已告一個段落，二里頭文化一、二、三、四期都是夏文化。不管你承認與否，正是在這個思想理論指導下，我開始考慮如何回答偃師商城的性質問題。一九八四年四月，我帶領幾個研究生到偃師商去參觀，不久，有人傳言：鄒衡參觀偃師商城後都哭了。他們哪裡知道，我的論文提要《偃師商城即太甲桐宮說》這時已經校對完畢。 據《史記•殷本記》載：太甲，成湯之長孫，是成湯之後第三代帝。當太甲即位三年這後，由於不遵守商湯之法，暴虐、亂德，被成湯的重臣伊尹流入於桐宮，國家的行政事務暫由伊尹代行處理。太甲居桐宮三年之後，由於悔過自責，並有了好的表現，於是伊尹乃迎帝太甲而授之政。帝太甲修德，諸侯咸歸殷，百姓以甯。 一九八四年夏，鄒衡在《北京大學•哲學科學版》發表了《偃師商城即太甲桐宮說（摘要）》一文，一九九○年出版的《紀念北京大學考古專業卅周年論文集》中，又發表了《西亳與桐宮考辨》的長篇論文。他從文獻和考古資料兩個方面詳細論證了偃師商城非湯都西亳而是太甲流放的桐宮，即早商離宮，並對鄭州商城和偃師商城作了比較。文中稱：首先，從時間先後而論由於兩城址的繁榮期基本相同，始建期稍有先後，說明鄭州商城絕不可能是從偃師商城遷去，因而絕不可能是仲丁所遷隞都；偃師商城應該是當鄭州商城開始興起後才建立起來的，因而也絕不會是成湯的亳都。其次，從規模大小而論，偃師商城城牆周長比鄭州商城短一○六○公尺，前者的面積比後者小三分之一。據此，偃師商城不可能是當時的國都亳城，而只能是早商的別邑（或別都離宮）；再次，從地理方位而論，鄭州商城作為湯之亳都，不僅會於伐桀前湯始居亳的條件和伐桀時令師從東方出於國西以進（《呂氏春秋•慎大覽》）的方位，也與伐桀後復歸於亳的記載相符。而偃師商城卻與文獻上的這些記載格格不入。據此說明，偃師商城遺址實為太甲所放處桐宮，乃早商時期商王之離宮所在。成湯