After arriving in Kyoto, Yu Fei learned how big the scale of the century-old search for Peking Man skull fossils was. Fourteen academicians initiated the search, and the search involved celebrities from all walks of life. CCTV followed and reported the entire process, and the momentum was unprecedented.
However, many people do not have high hopes for the results of this search.
It's very simple, because this is not the first time that we have searched for Peking Man fossils. After World War II, China, the United States, and Japan all used a lot of manpower and material resources to search for Peking Man fossils overtly and covertly, but so far nothing has been found.
From the first discovery of the skull of Peking Man in 1929, to the discovery of the skull fossils of three adult apes in 1936, to the outbreak of the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, the fate of the Peking Man fossils when the Japanese army occupied Kyoto was closely related to the fate of China at that time.
In 1941, the relationship between Japan and the United States deteriorated, and it was necessary to find a safer storage location for the skull fossils of Peking Man stored in Kyoto Union Hospital.
There were three solutions at that time. First, transport the fossils to Chongqing, the rear area of the Anti-Japanese War, but in a war environment, the safety of long-distance transportation is difficult to guarantee; second, bury them on site in Kyoto, but safety in occupied areas cannot be guaranteed; third,
Ship to the United States for storage. Judging from the situation at the time, the third treatment option was the best choice.
Due to the contract signed between China and the United States during the cooperative excavation of fossils, all fossils excavated in Zhoukoudian were Chinese property and were prohibited from being transported out of the country. Therefore, people at the U.S. Embassy refused to accept them. Later, with the consent and authorization of the U.S. Ambassador to China, the U.S. Ambassador to Peking
The U.S. Embassy received these precious ancient human fossils and prepared to transport them safely to the United States for preservation.
Before being transported away, researcher Hu Chengzhi carefully packaged the fossil. Until now, when he is over 90 years old, he often laments to others: I am probably the last Chinese to see the fossil of Peking Man. No Chinese will see it in the future.
Or know its whereabouts.
Today, the skull fossil of Peking Man has been missing for nearly 60 years. Many insiders have died one after another, making the search more and more difficult. The older generation of scholars, including Jia Lanping and Hu Chengzhi, are actually making their last effort.
They knew that their time was running out. If they could not find it in their lifetime, the chances of relying on the younger generation to find the Peking Man fossils were slim.
Because the plane was a bit late, when the two walked into the conference room Jia Lanping told them about through the back door, the seminar on the fossils of Peking Man had already begun.
On the rostrum, a man in his sixties was describing the possible whereabouts of the skull.
That's my senior brother Chen Chun. Qin Xiaojin took Yu Fei and sat down quietly in the last row and introduced her in a low voice.
Chen Chun is Jia Lanping's eldest disciple, and he will inherit Jia Lanping's legacy. Although Jia Lanping initiated this search, due to age and physical limitations, I am afraid that most of the work will have to be done by Chen Chun.
Regarding the whereabouts of the fossils of Peking Man, there are mainly the following opinions. Chen Chun said while showing the slides.
The first view is the theory of destruction. Since the war at that time was very cruel and frequent, if it were gold, silver, jewelry, calligraphy and painting, it might still be preserved. But for the Beijing Man skull fossil, it is hard to say that the Japanese army had such a high ability to distinguish it. In fact, the Japanese army burned
Killing and looting can be said to be the most barbaric army. Although three transfer plans were formulated at that time, and the American Embassy also agreed to accept them, a lot of time was wasted due to early rejection. The Japanese army suddenly launched a war and occupied the hospital, so the fossils were actually
It was not transferred out at all. It should still be stored in the vault in the basement of Union Hospital. The Japanese army destroyed it in the basement, so the hope of finding the fossil should be slim.
Most of the supporters of the destruction theory are young scholars, including Chen Chun, who is a supporter of the destruction theory.
The second view is that the fossils are buried in Ritan Park. In early 1996, before his death, Japanese veteran Matsumoto Maru conveyed news to relevant Chinese departments that the fossils were buried under a pine tree in Ritan Park. The pine tree also had special decorations.
Mark, and later the relevant personnel did find the pine tree. In May of the same year, the electroseismic detection team of the Institute of Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, conducted two high-density electric surface wave multi-channel shallow seismic detections on the buried area, and the results were very successful.
The anomaly was soon discovered. After reaching a formal excavation agreement with the Beijing Ritan Park Management Office, excavation began in June. However, even after digging to a depth of more than 2 meters, no buried objects were found, let alone any.
Earth-moving phenomenon. After discussion, it was decided to dig further down, and the result was fine yellow sandstone. Later, the excavation scope was expanded again, but no buried objects were found. From this, on-site experts judged that the geophysical abnormalities at that time should be a large amount of gray-white under the surface.
It was caused by the calcareous nodule layer, so we decided to stop the excavation and search. My teachers, Mr. Jia Lanping and Mr. Hu Chengzhi, were also invited to participate in the excavation work and had a very good understanding of the situation. At that time, Matsumoto Maru was dead, and we also
There is no way to verify the authenticity of what he said. We don’t know whether he remembered it incorrectly or was just deliberately teasing us, or someone dug up the fossil first.
Chen Chun's last guess is the most worrying. After Matsumoto Maru reported the news, it was relayed many times to the relevant Chinese departments. During this process, as long as one person has his thoughts, the Peking Man fossil may be lost.
The third view is that the fossils sank with the Awa Maru. The Awa Maru was a Japanese ocean tanker. On March 28, 1945, it was requisitioned by the Japanese army and loaded in Singapore with a large number of Japanese officers and important personnel retreating from Southeast Asia.
people sailed to Japan. At midnight on April 1, the ship sailed to the waters east of Niushan Island in Fujian Province, China, and was attacked and sunk by a US submarine cruising in the waters. When US President Nixon visited China that year, he considered the US
The whereabouts of the fossils were given to the Chinese government as a top-secret gift, saying that the fossils might be on the sunken Japanese ship Awa Maru. In 1977, China conducted a preliminary salvage of the sunken Awa Maru, but due to the limitations of diving technology at the time, only 3,000 tons were discovered.
Tin ingots and some other things. No Peking Man skull was found. However, the salvage crew did find a small official seal and a round inkstone belonging to the puppet Manchukuo political leader Zheng Yu. From this, it can be inferred that the ship confirmed that it carried a large number of treasures from northern China.
The speculation has also become strong circumstantial evidence that the Awa Maru may be loaded with Pekingese skulls. The specific situation will be introduced to everyone later by Professor Li Muxi.
Li Muxi participated in the salvage in 1977 and had a strong say.
The fourth view is that the fossil was on the President Harrison. On December 5, 1941, the U.S. Marine Corps, carrying the skull fossil of Peking Man, took a special train to Qinhuangdao, where they planned to send the fossil to a ship sailing from Shanghai.
The US regular liner Harrison President came from the United States. At that time, the ship was scheduled to arrive at the Qinhuangdao pier on December 8. Therefore, some people thought that the skull fossil of Peking Man should be lost on the Harrison President, a transport ship from Peking to Qinhuangdao. However,
It should be noted that after the President Harrison sailed from Manila, the capital of the Philippines, it was chased by a Japanese warship. Finally, it ran aground near the mouth of the Yangtze River east of Shanghai. It was subsequently sunk by the Japanese army. It never sailed to its destination, Qinhuangdao Port, to pick up the ship.
U.S. Marine Corps. So the possibility of the fossils being on the President Harrison is also very small.
Chen Chun's objections are very strong. The possibility that the skull fossil of Peking Man is on board the President Harrison is extremely slim.
The fifth view is that the fossil is on board the Lisbon Maru. According to relevant records, in the early morning of October 2, 1942, the Lisbon Maru transport ship was carrying more than 700 Japanese officers and soldiers and more than 1,800 British captured personnel and property.
It was sunk by a torpedo while passing through the waters near Zhoushan, and a large number of cultural relics and rare treasures on board were buried at the bottom of the sea. Later, nearby fishermen rescued 384 British officers and soldiers. According to the memories of the rescued British prisoners of war, a large number of people were carried on board.
The gold treasures and cultural relics plundered by the Japanese army may also include skull fossils of Peking Man. However, this view lacks corresponding historical records, and the guesswork based only on a few Japanese prisoners of war is not very reliable.
Having said this, Chen Chun stopped slightly and took a sip of water before continuing.
The sixth point of view is that the fossils were in the U.S. Marine Corps barracks in Tianjin. The American anthropologist Shapiro said in his book Peking Man that a former Marine Corps soldier once told him that the fossils were transferred to the U.S. Marine Corps barracks in Tianjin.
On October 21, 1971, according to American doctor Feili, who was responsible for escorting the Peking Man fossils overseas, the box containing the Peking Man fossils was placed on the wooden floor of the basement of Building 6 in the compound of the U.S. Marine Corps barracks in Tianjin.
Below, the old military barracks that were not sent to Qinhuangdao has changed owners several times and now belongs to Tianjin Health School. Building No. 6 also collapsed in the 1976 earthquake and was later razed to the ground and used as a playground. The foundation was even removed during the construction of the building.
We dug them all up, but found nothing. But one thing can be confirmed, the fossils were indeed transported to the barracks, but we had nowhere to look for them.
The last view is that the fossils were in the original US Consulate in Kyoto. Professor Zhou Jiaxing will explain the reason in detail later. However, Teacher Jia Lanping has verified that the fossils were later transported to the US Marine Corps Barracks in Tianjin, and from there to Qinhuangdao, but halfway
The unit was captured by the Japanese army, and the whereabouts of the fossils have never been known. From this point of view, it is unlikely that the fossils are still in the U.S. Consulate. The above are seven views on the whereabouts of the fossils. We will discuss and formulate a search plan after the discussion.
Chen Chun put down the page turner in his hand and said slightly tiredly.
Because it is a lecture theater, Yu Fei, who is sitting in the last row, has the highest position. From his angle, he can see everyone sitting in the front row. Most of them have gray hair, especially those in the first row.
Most of the old people sitting there are over the age of ten, and some are even octogenarians. There are even two empty seats among these seats. There are no people sitting on them, but two photo frames are placed on them.
Qin Xiaojin explained that they were Pei Wenzhong and Yang Zhongjian, one of the initiators of this search activity. Pei Wenzhong was the first person to discover the fossil of Peking Man. But unfortunately, they passed away one after another on the eve of the activity.
In order to show respect for them, Jia Lanping brought their photos, as if their spirits in heaven were also participating in this search.
Hearing this and seeing the clusters of gray hair, Yu Fei felt very sad. To be continued...