Wild Elves That Walked into Cultural History

The author develops a new style of introducing the perspective of rivers and oceans into Jiangsu’s cultural studies. The book collects 14 cultural proses， with themes related to the migration of the Yellow Sea coastline， natural landscapes， legends of figures， legends of life， the rise and fall of cities， iteration of water systems， changes of rivers， etc. These concentrate on expressing the distinctive geographical identifications and profound cultural heritage on the Yangtze River --- Yellow Sea Basin.

Jin Weixin

Jin Weixin， a native of Yancheng， Jiangsu， runs newspapers and websites and writes commentaries for large-scale feature films. He has published more than 1，600 essays， reportages， and various news works， which add up to over 2.8 million words. He won the first， second， and third prizes of China News Awards. In 2018， his collection Memory of Jiangsu (the Chinese version) was published by Yilin Press. In 2020， the English version of Memory of Jiangsu was published by New Classic Press， Britain.

5，000 Years of Roaring Rivers and Seas

Jin Weixin

Yilin Press

February 2022

68.00 (CNY)

The Yangtze River， with a large amount of sediment， rolls down ceaselessly. The Yellow Sea， with its broad， inclusive mind， silently accepts and accumulates everything. From about 6，000 to 7，000 years ago， the pieces of land outside the ancient Yangtze Estuary rose gradually， which were named Gushazui (ancient sand spit) by later generations. With years of changes， the Gushazui land developed southwards into the alluvial plain of the Yangtze River Delta， where Rugao and Tongzhou rose gradually. It extended eastwards to Hai’an， Dafeng， and Dongtai. In the north， it was gradually deposited into the depositional plains of the Li Canal --- Xia River Basin.

Finally， the river converged with the sea into surging tides and thundering waves. At that time， the Jianghai Plain， formed by the Yangtze River and the Yellow Sea， was covered with vast tidal flats， swamps， and reeds， as well as crowds of gulls and wild geese， and wild red millet everywhere. As a result， groups of rare elks first settled here. The lush Hailing Wetland became their paradise to inhabit and multiply.

Elk have a horse’s face， cattle’s hooves， a donkey’s tail， and sharp antlers on top of their heads. Thousands of elk dug and fed on grass roots in the swampy river branches. They could stay as quiet as a maiden when at rest and as nimble as an escaping hare when in action. They were good swimmers， never afraid of tides and waves， and full of vitality. There were also red-crowned cranes that migrated in winter. They were elegant， with long legs， white feathers， and red crowns. They stood tall there， stretched their necks， and sang loudly.

Under the blue sky and white clouds and among the lush water plants， the agile， vigorous elks and dancing red-crowned cranes formed vivid landscapes in the wilderness of the Jianghai Plain.

More than 5，000 years ago， the footsteps of the “Qingdun people” from Hai’an awakened this field.

Located in a coastal area and along the riverside， it had plenty of rainfall and sunshine， a mild climate， and four distinct seasons， which facilitated fishing and hunting. Perhaps ancestors from the Dongyi tribes that migrated southwards along the coastline settled here. They worked hard day and night， “plowing the land and making pottery”.

In August 1973， a site of “Qingdun Cultural Relics” about 5，000 to 5，800 years old was unearthed. This site shows the living conditions in this field and the lifestyle between the sea and the river of those “Qingdun people” more than 5，000 years ago.

Qingdun Brigade， Shagang Commune， Hai’an County， Nantong was to build a residential area. When the river course of Qingdun New River was being excavated， a large number of ancient relics such as pottery， stoneware， bone implements， elk horns， and animal bones were discovered by accident. After that， experts successively collected a large number of jade articles such as jade Bi (a Bi is a round flat piece of jade with a hole in the center)， jade Cong (a Cong is a seal with square sides and round and hollow inside)， jade pendants， and jade bracelets; pottery such as pots， basins， Fu (a kind of cauldron)， earthen bowls， Ding (an ancient cooking vessel with two loop-shaped handles and three or four legs)， and Dou (an ancient food and sacrificial vessel); and a large number of animal bone fossils.

At the end of the 20th Century， people discovered “Nandang Cultural Relics” and “Yingshantou Relics” in Linhu Township， Xinghua City， Taizhou， from which many daily utensils such as pottery Ding， jugs， urns， and basins， as well as production tools such as stone knives， adzes， chisels， and bone cones (a conical tool for drilling holes， made from animal bones) were unearthed. They were also dated to be from 5，500 to 6，000 years ago， roughly from the same historical period as the “Qingdun people” from Hai’an.

Amongst the “Nandang Cultural Relics” of Taizhou， a remarkable triangular thrower made of elk horns was unearthed. On the other unearthed elk horn subfossils， there are mysterious symbols engraved by ancients， which “reveal” traces of the early “Nandang people” who gradually evolved from hunting to animal husbandry. In this excavation， more than 8，000 pottery sherds were unearthed， with fishnets， water ripples， snail patterns， and pig patterns on them. On a pottery sherd with a “bird” picture， paleographists verified the Chinese characters “Wu”， “Chen”， “Wei” and “Xin”， the ancient pronunciations of which are the equivalent as todays “Yan” (goose) and “Ya” (duck). In particular， the “bird picture” shows us their close internal cultural connections with the worship of bird totems in Dongyi tribes of the ancient Tan State in the territory of today’s Donghai County， Lianyungang." The same can be said with regards to the human face and animal face pictures carved with feather patterns on Cuiping Mountain’s Jiangjun Cliff in Haizhou.

If we look at the Jianghai Plain in ancient times from a broad historical perspective， there are Luzhuang Relics in Funing， and Jiangzhuang and Kaizhuang Relics in Dongtai. Kaizhuang Relics date from 4，200 to 5，200 years ago， and Jiangzhuang Relics date from 4，500 to 4，700 years ago. Afterwards， the site of the “Dantanghe Relics” was discovered in Jiangyan， Taizhou， which dates back to about 4，000 years from now.

In specific time and space， from “Qingdun”， “Nandang”， and “Yingshantou”， and Luzhuang Relics in Funing， Jiangzhuang and Kaizhuang Relics in Dongtai， and to the “Dantanghe” Relics of Jiangyan， which are only more than 100 kilometers from each other and retreat from the east to the west， the footprints of ancestors in the Neolithic Age are outlined as living in the coastal area along the Yellow Sea coastline. The cultural relics unearthed from these sites in large quantities also give us access to the intersections between Dongyi Tribal Culture and Liangzhu Culture in this field.

The tide rises and falls. The clouds swirl and flow. Time flies as plants dry and flourish.

The ever-changing Jianghai Plain has generously cultivated ancestors in the Neolithic Age and the creatures that inhabited and multiplied on this land. The rare elk favored by the Yellow Sea and the Yangtze River also followed the footsteps of human beings， entered the ancient oracle bone inscriptions and bronze wares， and were integrated into the poems， songs， royal hunting parks， folk customs， myths， and legends in the past dynasties， becoming the soul and cultural symbols of this land.

The elk， the horse， and the crane became the symbols of wisdom， courage， fortune， and longevity in Chinese legends， idioms， worships， and allusions. In the history of Chinese culture， there are numerous writings of praise about these animals. They also manifest the far-reaching influence of the elks and red-crowned cranes on the Yellow Sea shoal on the humanistic psychology of the Chinese Nation at different levels.

The fertile field was the distant homeland of rare elk， while the vast tidal flats have become the permanent station for red-crowned cranes that migrate through the winter. They have integrated their wildness， vitality， and natural spirit into the time-honored context on this fertile land.