An Introduction to Dr. Nishimura Masanari's Research on the Lung
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asian review of world histories 5 (2017) 11–27 An Introduction to Dr. Nishimura Masanari’s Research on the Lung Khe Citadel Nishino Noriko Foundation to Safeguard the Underground Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia, Japan [email protected] Abstract This paper introduces Nishimura Masanari’s research on the Lung Khe Citadel, which was built in the second century CE and continuously occupied until the end of the fifth or early sixth century. Nishimura explored four main topics. First, based on the large- scale bronze workshop in the citadel, he argued that the casting of the bronze drum there had a political purpose. Second, he proved that the Lung Khe Citadel was Long Bien, not Luy Lau. Third, he discovered several types of artifacts, including a table- shaped stone mortar (pesani) and kendi that show cultural affinity with artifacts found in Tra Kieu and Oc Eo. Hence, the cross-regional Nanhai trade and political power at Lung Khe might have reciprocally stimulated each other. Finally, Nishimura advanced the far-reaching hypothesis that the prosperity of Chinese Buddhism might have stemmed from the Lung Khe area, on the basis of his study of roof tile ends with mask or lotus petal motifs. Keywords Buddhism – Champa – citadel – Lung Khe – Long Bien – Luy Lau – mold of bronze drum – roof tile – Si Nhiep Nishimura Masanari’s Studies of Lung Khe From 1995 to 1997, Dr. Nishimura Masanari carried out a general survey in Bac Ninh Province, covering every district of the province (Fig. 1). In 1998, in his exploration of the Lung Khe Citadel, Dr. Nishimura found and identified the © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, ���7 | doi �0.��63/��8798��-��340003Downloaded from Brill.com10/08/2021 09:58:50AM via free access 12 Nishino Figure 1 Lung Khe Citadel and its surroundings. mold of a Heger type I bronze drum at the site, which had been destroyed by a brick factory. It was the first discovery of a Heger type I bronze drum mold. Immediately, he appealed to the Vietnamese scholars’ society to take action to preserve the site. In the end, the brick factory was relocated and the site was protected. By this time, the discovery of the bronze drum mold had attracted the attention of Vietnamese scholars as well as the public. The Lung Khe Citadel site is located on the natural levee of the old Dâu River, at Lung Khe Hamlet, Thanh Khuong Village, Thuan Thanh District, Bac Ninh Province. The citadel (Fig. 2) includes a large rectangular walled fort (north wall, 680 m; south wall, 520 m; east wall, 320 m; and west wall, 328 m). Previous studies identified the Lung Khe Citadel as the central citadel of the Luy Lau District (贏軻縣), which was established as the capital of the Giao Chi District (交趾郡) in the Western Han period and was also a former residence of Shi Nhiep (士燮), prefect of the Giao Chi. Recent studies will lead to a revised understanding of the citadel and its place in history. Dr. Nishimura, Assistant Professor Pham Minh Huyen, and others excavated at the Lung Khe site in May 2001, and Dr. Nishimura also joined the excavation asian review of worldDownloaded histories from Brill.com10/08/2021 5 (2017) 11–27 09:58:50AM via free access An Introduction to Dr. Nishimura Masanari’s Research 13 Figure 2 Plan of Lung Khe Citadel. of the Lung Khe Citadel conducted by the Department of History, Hanoi National University. In his archaeological research, Dr. Nishimura always fol- lowed the principle, “Study first, theorize later.” After studying the stratigraphy of the layers and their chronological sequence, he developed his theories. His studies of the Lung Khe Citadel focused on four main topics. The first topic is the large-scale bronze workshop that was identified inside the central part of the north wall. A mold fragment of the bronze drum found in this area indi- cates that it was part of the workshop where late Heger type I drums were cast. Second, Dr. Nishimura examined the period of use of the Lung Khe Citadel site, studying artifacts and the internationalization that occurred during that period. Excavations and field research reveal that the citadel was built in the second century CE and continuously occupied till the end of the fifth or early sixth century. Although the majority of the artifacts were of Chinese origin, several types of artifacts, such as roof-tile ends, a table-shaped stone mortar (pesani), and kendi vessels, show cultural affinity with those found in Tra Kieu and Oc Eo, where early Southeast Asian states were formed. Third, he pointed out that the Lung Khe Citadel was not the Luy Lau Citadel but the Long Bien Citadel. Among the early citadels or fort sites in the Red River Delta, Lung Khe was the largest after Co Loa (Fig. 3). The construction of Co Loa can be dated between the first century BCE and first century CE, and after its construction it was apparently not used for a long time. On the other hand, asian review of world histories 5 (2017) 11–27 Downloaded from Brill.com10/08/2021 09:58:50AM via free access 14 Nishino Figure 3 The citadels in the Red River Plain. the scale, occupation period, and findings make Lung Khe a strong candidate for the central capital of the Red River Delta, which must have been Long Bien (龍編). While there are many historical or legendary relics of Si Nhiep around Lung Khe, no early document mentions relations between Si Nhiep and Luy Lau. The title of Long Bien Hau (龍編侯), which according to San Kuo Chih (三国志) was conferred on Si Nhiep as the lord of the district, provides sup- porting evidence for this hypothesis. Finally, Dr. Nishimura advanced the far-reaching hypothesis that the pros- perity of Chinese Buddhism might have stemmed from the Lung Khe area, based on the roof-tile ends with mask or lotus petal motifs. (Dr. Pham Le Huy discusses this topic from the viewpoint of historical studies in his article “A Reconsideration of the Leilou–Longbian Debate: A Continuation of Research by Nishimura Masanari” in this issue.) He also discussed the date of the beginning of Buddhism in Vietnam. (Dr. Le Thi Lien discusses this topic in her article “Lung Khe and the Cultural Relationship between Northern and Southern Vietnam” in this issue.) asian review of worldDownloaded histories from Brill.com10/08/2021 5 (2017) 11–27 09:58:50AM via free access An Introduction to Dr. Nishimura Masanari’s Research 15 Dr. Nishimura analyzed the structure of the mound and citadel in compari- son with other Vietnamese or South China citadels. The results of his analysis are summarized in his book Archaeology and Ancient History of Vietnam.1 Dating the Use of the Citadel At the Lung Khe Citadel, artifacts predating the Dong Son period have been unearthed. The Dai Trach site, located 2 km north of Lung Khe Citadel, and the Tam A site, 2 km east of the citadel, also contained artifacts from the Dong Dau period to the Dong Son period.2 This means that the south bank of the Duong River had been settled as early as the Dong Dau and Dong Son periods. On top of the earlier layer of the Dong Son culture settlement, people possessing Chinese culture began to settle down. Following a chronological study of the pottery, the artifacts from LK1, LK4, and LK5 were dated to the third quarter of the second century CE.3 The Lung Khe Citadel was built in the middle of the second century, and Madorolle’s account of its founding follows the Taiping huanyu ji (太平環宇記), vol. 170.4 Zhou Chang (周敞) of the Han Dynasty probably moved the capital to Long Bien during 142–143 CE. To determine when use of the Lung Khe Citadel ceased, it would help to know the date of the third period of the citadel. The upper layers (Layer 1 and 1 Nishimura Masanari, Archaeology and Ancient History of Vietnam (Betonamu no Koko- Kodaigaku) (Tokyo: Doseisha, 2011), 164–167. 2 Pham Minh Huyen and Nishimura Masanari, “Dieu tra khao co hoc hai huyen Thuan Thanh va Gia Luong tinh bac Ninh” (Survey in Two Districts, Thuan Thanh and Gia Luong in Bac Ninh Province), Nhung phat hien moi ve Khao co hoc nam 1997 (New Discoveries in Archaeology in 1997) (1998): 135–137; Pham Minh Huyen and Nishimura Masanari, “Bao cao khai quat di chi Dai Trach thang 11, nam 2004” (Report on the Dai Trach Site Excavation, November 2004), in Tu lieu vien khoa co hoc (Excavation Report for Institute of Archaeology) (2004); Pham Minh Huyen, “Nhan dien van hoa Dong Dau o di chi Dai Trach” (Perception of Dong Dau Culture at the Dai Trach Site), Khao Co Hoc (Archaeology) 1999, no. 4 (1999): 19–41; Nishimura Masanari, “Chronology of the Neolithic Age in the Southern Vietnam,” Journal of Southeast Asian Archaeology 22 (2002): 25–58. 3 Nishimura Masanari, “Basic Data and Recognition about Pottery from the Latter half of 1st Century to 2nd Century in Red River Plain, Northern Vietnam,” East-Asian Archaeological Forum 3 (Gongju-si: Chusei bunkazai kenkyuin, 2007), 57–101. 4 Claudius Madrolle, “Le Tonkin ancien. Lei-leou et les districts chinois de l’époque des Han. La population. Yue-chang,” Bulletin de l’Ecole française d’Extrême-Orient 37, no. 1 (1937): 263–332. asian review of world histories 5 (2017) 11–27 Downloaded from Brill.com10/08/2021 09:58:50AM via free access 16 Nishino Layer 2) of the LK1 site provide a reference for the ending date of the site.