HUANG WENBI: PIONEER OF CHINESE ARCHAEOLOGY IN XINJIANG
Justin M. Jacobs $PHULFDQ8QLYHUVLW\
henever one thinks of the history of the Silk Nikolai Petrovskii, Otani Kozui, Tachibana Zuicho, W Road and of the explorers and archaeologists George Macartney, Clarmont Skrine, Gustav Manner- ZKRÀUVWXQHDUWKHGLWVP\ULDGVRIDQFLHQWWUHDVXUHV heim, and perhaps even Ellsworth Huntington. One a select group of names readily comes to mind: Sven name that is rarely included within such lists, howev- Hedin, Aurel Stein, Albert von Le Coq, and Paul Pel- HULV+XDQJ:HQEL ² >)LJ@WKHÀUVW&KL- liot, to name just a few of the most famous (or infa- nese archaeologist to undertake excavations in Xinji- mous, depending on your perspective). For those ang. An international symposium dedicated entirely scholars who are somewhat more familiar with the to Huangs life and career, held in Urumqi in October history of the expeditions themselves, other explor- 2013 and sponsored by Xinjiang Normal University HUVDQGLQÁXHQWLDOSHUVRQDJHVDUHMXVWDVZHOONQRZQ and the newly established Huang Wenbi Institute FRQVWLWXWHV WKH ÀUVW VLJQLÀFDQW attempt to reassess his legacy. The conference, in which scholars from China, Ja- pan, Europe, and America all participated, was held in tandem with the publication of three substantial collections of articles likely to be of interest to anyone who studies some aspect of the history of the Silk Road in northwestern China. For historians and linguists of the pre-modern era, the most useful volume is likely to be &ROOHFWHG 3DSHUV RQ WKH 'RFXPHQWV 'LVFRYHUHG E\ +XDQJ:HQELLQWKH:HVWHUQ5HJLRQV (Beijing: Kexue chubanshe, 2013), edited by the noted Dunhuang scholar Rong Xinjiang. In his pref- ace, Rong observes that scholars have long referred to repositories of manuscripts and artifacts in London or Paris as the Stein collection or the Pelliot collec- tion, but that no one ever refers to the Huang Wenbi collection, despite its comparable size. As Rong him- self also notes, however, this is a natural result of the historical inaccessibility of the collection, a situation akin to similar collections held in the former Soviet Union. Now that materials from all such previously restricted holdings are rapidly being made available through facsimile reproductions and electronic repos- itories, Rong hopes that more scholars will be able to
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122 Copyright © 2014 Justin M. Jacobs 7KH6LON5RDG12 (2014): 122 131 Copyright © 2014 The Silkroad Foundation take advantage of the wealth of material that Huang has not yet received the serious scholarly treatment it collected during his expeditions to Xinjiang. The ar- deserves. By means of a careful analysis of the person- ticles in this volume, authored by a balanced mix of DOGLDU\+XDQJNHSWGXULQJKLVÀUVWDQGPRVWIDPRXV Chinese, Japanese, and Western scholars, represent expedition to Xinjiang (192730), it is hoped that more VRPHRIWKHÀUVWV\VWHPDWLFDWWHPSWVWRLQWHJUDWHWKH scholars, both within China and abroad, will recognize ´WKH +XDQJ :HQEL FROOHFWLRQµ LQWR ZLGHU ÀHOGV RI WKHHQRUPRXVSRWHQWLDORIDÀHOGRIVWXG\GHGLFDWHGWR comparative scholarship. the life and times of Huang Wenbi, in much the same Two other volumes offer an eclectic sampling of ar- ZD\WKDWRWKHUÀHOGVRIVWXG\KDYHJURZQXSDURXQG ticles relating mostly to Huangs life and career in a the lives of men like Aurel Stein or Sven Hedin. historical context, though some continue to pursue the above volumes focus on analyzing the actual ar- A Life of Obscurity chaeological material that Huang brought back from Up until very recently, the name Huang Wenbi has Xinjiang. &ROOHFWHG(VVD\VRQ+XDQJ:HQEL been relatively unknown outside of China. Even with- (Beijing: Kexue chubanshe, 2013), edited by Zhu in China, he enjoys nowhere near the prestige and Yuqi and Wang Xinchun, includes articles of both his- UHFRJQLWLRQRIRWKHUFRQWHPSRUDULHVLQUHODWHGÀHOGV torical and historiographical import, many of which Why? Two explanatory frameworks may go some way ZHUHÀUVWSXEOLVKHGVHYHUDOGHFDGHVDJR>)LJ@*HQ- in helping to understand his neglect: language and erally speaking, the later the date of original publi- SROLWLFV 7KH ÀUVW H[SODQDWLRQ LV ODUJHO\ UHVSRQVLEOH cation, the higher the quality of scholarship. Though for his obscurity outside of China and Japan. Huang some of the articles included in this volume break new was educated entirely within China, obtaining all of ground in going beyond mere admiration of the man his degrees from Peking University in the late 1910s and his work, too many of them simply cover more or and early 1920s, and never traveled abroad. Though it less the same standard points of biographical interest, seems he could read publications in major European lacking both new sources and new interpretations. Six ODQJXDJHVSHUWDLQLQJWRKLVÀHOGDQGZDVDEOHWRFDU- entire articles, for instance, are authored by Huangs ry on basic conversations with his foreign colleagues son, and belong more to the category of studied rem- apparently in English or German his own work iniscences than scholarship. Far more promising is 7KH ,QWHUQDWLRQDO 6\PSRVLXP RQ +XDQJ :HQEL DQG WKH 6LQR6ZHGLVK1RUWKZHVW&KLQD6FLHQWLÀF([SHGLWLRQ , a collection of papers presented at the international conference in 8UXPTLLQ+HUHRQHÀQGVFXWWLQJHGJHUHVHDUFK into Huangs life and work, put forth by new and promising scholarsmostly from mainland China for whom the restrictive politics and scholarly taboos RI HDUOLHU JHQHUDWLRQV H[HUW OHVV LQÁXHQFH WKDQ WKH\ did on their forbears. The purpose of the present article is to bring much-needed attention to the lively reassessment of Huang Wenbis life and work currently underway, DQG IXUWKHU WR FRQWULEXWH WR WKH HPHUJLQJ ÀHOG RI Huang Wenbi studies. For the historian of twenti- eth-century China, the life and times of Huang Wenbi offer original and rare insights into the relationship between foreign scholars and their Chinese counter- parts during an era of great upheaval. Huang came of age during a time when the global monopoly of West- ern and Japanese scholarly institutions was gradual- ly and reluctantlygiving way to the determined efforts of Chinese scholars to join the ranks of an in- WHUQDWLRQDOVFLHQWLÀFHOLWH7KRXJKLWZDVDSURWUDFWHG painful, and highly illuminating process, it is one that
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123 was published exclusively in Chinese, and remains so el to which all foreign scholars are expected to ad- to this day. This stands in stark contrast to some of here should they desire to do work in China. For Xu his more well-known contemporaries such as the Bingxu, the professor of philosophy at Peking Univer- archaeologist Li Ji or anthropologist Fei Xiaotong sity who was selected as Co-Director of the expedition who were educated abroad and saw to it that their alongside Sven Hedin, the venture was regarded as a works appeared in both English and Chinese. That politically successful enterprise that paid professional Huang did not survive the Cultural Revolution, suc- dividends for the rest of his life. Xus diary of his ex- cumbing to his persecutors on a snowy winter day SHULHQFHVÀUVWSXEOLVKHGLQ KDVORQJDWWUDFWHG in 1966, similarly deprived him of the opportunity to scholarly attention and is frequently reprinted. oversee a revival of his scholarship during the reform In stark contrast, Huangs diary, amounting to 565 era. typeset pages, was never even prepared for publica- Another inhibiting factor related to language is the tion during his lifetime. (It is a wonder at all that the fact that many of Huangs discoveries contained an- original handwritten manuscript managed to survive cient Central Asian scripts and languages. Indeed, as Huangs persecution during the Cultural Revolution). will become evident in the analysis to follow, this is Only through the unstinting efforts of Huangs son, one of the more important and compelling aspects of Huang Lie, was the manuscript rescued and edited Huangs legacy, and one that carries profound impli- GXULQJWKHUHIRUPHUDÀQDOO\VHHLQJWKHOLJKWRIGD\ cations for the political and cultural debates attendant in 1990. What can account for such a delay? Articles on any frontier expedition. In the context of his time, by Li Xun and Håkan Wahlquist, appearing in two however, the unfortunate result was that few scholars of the three volumes published on the occasion of the within China had the linguistic expertise which might 2013 conference, both give prominence to a series of have allowed them to study Huangs collection with remarkable entries in the second and third volumes SURÀWHYHQLILWKDGEHHQDFFHVVLEOHWRWKHP$V:DQJ of Hedins massive +LVWRU\ RI WKH ([SHGLWLRQ LQ $VLD Guowei observed in the 1920s, none of our country- ² , long the chief narrative of the expedition men have yet studied these sorts of ancient languag- with which most people outside of China are familiar. es. As a result, those who wanted to unlock the secrets As Wahlquist notes, it is in these portions of the nar- of non-Chinese documents and artifacts discovered in rative, particularly the one detailing Hedins return to Xinjiang have no choice but to look toward England, Beijing in 1934, that Hedin takes the unprecedented France, and Germany (Wang 1999, p. 52). (Even to- and for him highly unusual step of vilifying one day, roughly half of the articles contained in &ROOHFWHG of his adversaries in print. That adversary is Huang 3DSHUVRQWKH'RFXPHQWV'LVFRYHUHGE\+XDQJ:HQELLQ Wenbi, whom Hedin repeatedly disparages as an un- WKH:HVWHUQ5HJLRQV [2013] have been penned by West- scrupulous rumor-monger and relentless saboteur of ern or Japanese scholars). And yet scholars from these Hedins most recent collaboration with the Nationalist latter countries could not obtain access to the collec- government in Nanjing: a motor expedition across In- tion during the tumultuous decades subsequent to ner Mongolia and Xinjiang intended to produce blue- Huangs return to Beijing in 1930. Furthermore, the prints for future road construction. IDFWWKDW+XDQJZDVQRWFKLHÁ\HQJDJHGLQWKHUHFRY- Outside of China, these provocative entries have HU\RIFODVVLFDOO\RULHQWHGVRXUFHVÀOOHGZLWKV\PEROLF most likely escaped previous scrutiny simply because nationalist potential such as the Shang oracle bones +XDQJ ZDV VXFK DQ XQNQRZQ DQG VKDGRZ\ ÀJXUH unearthed by Li Ji at the government-funded Anyang within the standard histories of the Silk Road and its site in Henan could only further undermine his latter-day expeditions. Within China, the reason no prospects for scholarly celebrity. one has highlighted these entries prior to Li Xuns Matters of linguistic import notwithstanding, the article in 2012 can only be due to the fact they touch chief reason Huang has fared so poorly in the histor- upon extremely sensitive issues located at the heart of LFDOLPDJLQDWLRQLVGXHWRSROLWLFV0RUHVSHFLÀFDOO\ nationalist narratives of scholarly collaboration with it is due to the politically charged tensions Huang foreign explorers. In short, as a result of his unprec- maintained with both Chinese and foreign members edented willingness to re-organize his Swedish and of the famous and much touted Sino-Swedish North- German expedition as a joint Sino-Swedish venture, ZHVW6FLHQWLÀF([SHGLWLRQWR;LQMLDQJ ² %LOOHG Sven Hedin has long occupied a cherished position ERWKWKHQDQGWRGD\DVWKHÀUVWVFLHQWLÀFH[SHGLWLRQ atop the pantheon of enlightened and progressive to Xinjiang in which Chinese and foreign specialists foreign scholars sympathetic to, and respectful of, participated on equal footing and on terms respect- Chinese concerns. That Huang Wenbi, a relatively ful to Chinese political and cultural sovereignty, the low-ranking member of this expedition, would later Sino-Swedish expedition has long occupied a hal- incur Hedins very public wrath for suggesting that lowed and sacrosanct position within China as a mod- Hedin had been less than honest in adhering to the 124 stipulation of the Nationalist government that he not My colleagues and I have been deputed by the engage in archaeological excavations during the 1934 Chinese Association of Academic Organizations to motor expedition Huang even alleges that Hedin VHUYHDVPHPEHUVRIWKH1RUWKZHVW6FLHQWLÀF([- FRQVSLUHGWRVPXJJOHKLVÀQGVRXWRI&KLQDDOWRJHWKHU pedition, entrusted with the task of excavating an- thus presents a very serious problem. tiquities and other assignments. Originally Hedin, Lis and :DKOTXLVW·VÀQGLQJVQDWXUDOO\OHDGWRHYHQ a Swede, had planned to organize a large-scale ex- more questions. If, for instance, Huangs relationship pedition to northwestern China to excavate antiq- with Hedin could end with such public acrimony uities and study the geology, climate, etc. Chinese in the mid-1930sand still bother Hedin enough to scholars expressed their opposition. After negoti- FRQVLGHUWKHHSLVRGHZRUWK\RILQFOXVLRQLQKLVRIÀ- DWLRQV&KLQDVHQWÀYHVFKRODUVDQGÀYHVWXGHQWV cial narrative of the expedition a full decade later to accompany the survey. I was one of the schol- could there also be signs of discord during the orig- ars. As a result, our task was twofold. On the one inal Sino-Swedish expedition in 192730? If so, then hand, we were to supervise the foreigners, and on the outlines of Huangs historiographical ostraciza- WKHRWKHUKDQGZHZHUHWRFDUU\RXWVFLHQWLÀFLQ- WLRQPLJKWÀQDOO\EHZLWKLQRXUUHDFK,QRWKHUZRUGV vestigations. [Huang 1990, p. 1] was Huangs feud with Hedin one of the chief reasons Xu Bingxu, the professor of philosophy at Peking ZK\+XDQJ·VGLDU\ZDVGHHPHGXQÀWIRUSXEOLFDWLRQ University who was chosen as the Chinese Co-Direc- during the entirety of Huangs natural life? And, by tor of the expedition, expressed similar sentiments in extension, could this be responsible for his margin- the preface to his published diary. Noting the unprec- alization both from scholarly and from popular nar- edented nature of the Sino-Swedish collaboration, Xu ratives of archaeological expeditions to Xinjiang? let it be known that all future proposals for foreign This theory appears even more promising when we expeditions in China would have to follow this new consider the diary of Chinese Co-Director Xu Bingxu model. As for our posture toward foreigners, Xu Huangs colleague and superior who was able wrote, we will embrace them with friendship and to publish his narrative of the expedition almost im- welcome those who are willing to cooperate with us. mediately upon the return of most of its members to But for those who pursue an agenda of cultural ag- Beijing in 1930. For instance, while Xu was only too gression (ZHQKXD TLQOXH , hoping to pillage willing to print his criticisms of some of the rank-and- DQG FDUU\ RII RXU SUHFLRXV UHVRXUFHV ZH ZLOO ÀQG D ÀOHIRUHLJQPHPEHUVRIWKHH[SHGLWLRQKHDOZD\VSRU- way to resist them and prevent their return to our trays Hedin himself as beyond reproach. land (Xu 2000, p. 2). Huang, however, does not. Thus it is with the above Although both men professed similarly lofty goals, backdrop in mind that we now turn to a close read- there was a key occupational difference between ing of Huangs diary itself, in order to paint a fuller them, and it was one destined to give rise to tensions picture of the many tensions attendant upon a schol- LQWKHÀHOG,QVKRUW;X·VDSSRLQWPHQWWRWKHH[SHGL- arly venture between Chinese and foreigners during tion was based upon political considerations, whereas a key transitional period in modern Chinese history. Huang was attached to its roster on the strength of his Huangs diary will also prove instructive in challeng- VFLHQWLÀF TXDOLÀFDWLRQV ,Q RWKHU ZRUGV ;X ZDV QRW ing some of the conventional wisdom regarding the WUDLQHGWRXQGHUWDNHH[FDYDWLRQVLQWKHÀHOGQRUGLG attitude of Chinese scholars in the eastern metropole he. He was appointed to the expedition solely for the toward the linguistic and ethnic heterogeneity of the prestige of his name and willingness to endure hard- distant non-Han borderlands. Ultimately, the follow- ship. As a result, it is clear that Xu had a greater stake ing analysis will show that the career of Huang Wenbi, in adhering to a politically correct narrative of the WKHÀUVWSURIHVVLRQDO&KLQHVHDUFKDHRORJLVWWRFRQGXFW expedition than did Huang, who was more likely to ÀHOGZRUNLQ;LQMLDQJEHDUVDVWULNLQJUHVHPEODQFHWR see himself in direct methodological competition with that of Aurel Stein, toward whom Huang harbored the Swedish and German members of the expedition. equal parts admiration and jealousy. And the politically correct line of the day, one that has continued down almost to the present, was that Sven Huang and the Teutons Hedin was an enlightened foreigner whose actions on
WKLVH[SHGLWLRQVWRRGDVVXIÀFLHQWDWRQHPHQWIRUKLV The opening lines of 7KH'LDU\RI+XDQJ:HQELGXULQJ past imperialist activities in China. DQ([SHGLWLRQWR0RQJROLDDQG;LQMLDQJ (+XDQJ :HQEL 0HQJ ;LQ NDRFKD ULML ), make it In his diary, Xu always refers to Hedin as Mr. He- clear how Huang regarded the nature of his mission din or Dr. Hedin. Huang, however, never refers to to Xinjiang: Hedin by anything other than his unadorned surname, reserving such titles of respect only for Mr. Xu and 125 the other Chinese members of his party. On several have made him out to be. But Huangs diary provides occasions, Xu records his admiration for the spirit of a very different perspective, including several key ep- VFLHQWLÀFGLVFRYHU\DQGXQÁDJJLQJSHUVLVWHQFHRI+H- isodes that Xu chose either to omit or severely circum- din, as was the case when the latter muddied himself scribe in his narrative. Here we will limit our analysis in the water in order to measure the velocity of a river WRIRXURIWKHPRVWWHOOLQJ WKHÀOPLQJRIDWUDYHOLQJ current. We Chinese may laugh at them now, Xu ob- theater troupe, a proposal to survey the ruins of the served, but it is only later that we will come to realize Great Wall, the camel thief episode, and access to stra- that the levels of judgment and tolerance exhibited by tegic military sites. IRUHLJQHUVDUHYHU\GLIÀFXOWWRUHDFKµ S %\FRQ- trast, Huang demonstrated little interest in holding On June 26, 1927, a traveling contingent of the up his foreign colleagues as a model for his country- Flower and Drum Opera Troupe passed by the expe- men to emulate. What he wanted more than anything ditions encampment in a part of what is now Inner else was to become that model himself. When Huang Mongolia. Huang thought their performance and learned early on that the Swedish archaeologist Folke lyrics were very crass and depraved, and took so- Bergman had already uncovered a large number of ar- lace in the fact the new Nationalist government in the tifacts, and that Hedin was promising a reward of up south had already issued a ban on its performance, so to 5,000 dollars to anyone who discovered the next as to improve the customs and habits of the people. Loulan, Huang let his competitive spirit be known: Much to Huangs chagrin, however, the foreigners decided to take a motion picture of it, with the intent Mr. Xu laughed and said that no one should tell of showing it to audiences overseas and exposing Mr. Huang about this, or he will certainly go look- the backwardness of the Chinese race. How very hu- ing for two ancient cities, and we shall have to give miliating! Worst of all, Huang continued, was that him 10,000 dollars. Hedin agreed, saying we abso- Co-Director Xu Bingxu refused to stand up for what lutely cannot let Mr. Huang know about this. But Huang thought was right. I made strenuous attempts Mr. Xu then turned his head around and told me. I to suggest that they not do this, but Mr. Xu did not laughed, and said that the discovery of one ancient approve. What a shame (Huang 1990, p. 24). When city is nothing, for when I get to Xinjiang I expect to +XDQJDJDLQEURDFKHGWKHIDWHRIWKLVÀOPZLWKRQH discover an entire kingdom. [Huang 1990, p. 112] of his Chinese colleagues, he concluded that Xus ex- Whereas Xu was eager to participate in a Chinese cessive weakness and pliability (JXR\XUXDQUXR and German language exchange arrangement with ) were a cause for concern (p. 34). Hedin, Huang kept his distance, despite his linguistic One week later, Huang proposed a side trip to in- GHÀFLHQFLHV$QGWKRXJKERWK;XDQG+XDQJUHFRUG vestigate rumors that a ruined portion of the Qin criticisms of their foreign colleagues, Huangs are far Great Wall was nearby. I decided to head out and more scathing and indiscriminate. Xu, however, took investigate it, Huang wrote on July 1, but was pre- great care to insulate Hedin from censure. The best vented from doing so by the foreigners. This made illustration of this comes from the arrival of the expe- me extremely angry and sad (p. 26). Four days later, GLWLRQLQ+DPLLWVÀUVWPDMRUVWRSZLWKLQWKHERUGHUV Co-Director Xu took up the proposal with Hedin, and of Xinjiang. Faced with orders from the governor that Huang recorded them talking endlessly in his diary. every members baggage must be opened and inspect- According to Huang, Hedin initially demurred on the HGVRPHRIWKH(XURSHDQPHPEHUVGXJLQIRUDÀJKW pretext that there were not enough camels to permit Calling their intransigence very immature and un- their departure from the party. When faced with Xus reasonable, Xu wrote that he could not countenance lobbying on Huangs behalf, however, Hedin changed any foreigner enjoying special privileges within my tack, telling Xu that this part of the wall had already country. After several of the foreigners decided to been noted on European maps. Hedins ever-chang- eat separately from the Chinese, Xu proceeded to dis- ing excuses did not sit well with Huang. I suspect parage them in his diary. Faced with such nonsense that Hedin is simply trying to frustrate us. Originally and their childish temper, I could only let them go. when we broached this matter with Hedin, he didnt Several days later, however, Hedin, sidelined during know anything about it. Now that weve told him it the dispute with a fever, returned and asked about might be the Qin wall, he says that it has already been the course of the luggage inspection and why we were discovered. Could it be that he doesnt want the Chi- eating separately. He then roundly castigated Mas- QHVHWREHWKHÀUVWWRGLVFRYHULW"µ S senbach and the others (Xu 2000, pp. 164, 166). Several months later, one of the expeditions Han If we only had Xus version of events to go by, then porters attempted to abscond in the night with two it would seem like Hedin really was the foreign saint camels. Though both Huang and Xu recorded this that seven decades of glowing Chinese historiography event, their responses could not be more different.
126 Huang wrote that he was greatly ashamed of this straight into the heartland of China via Central Chinese man, who has no self-respect and whose ac- Asia and the Pamir plateau, without having to tions have led to a loss of face for all of us. Wishing travel around the ocean. China has already lost its to prevent the foreigners from applying their own riverine shipping routes to foreigners, and this is form of private punishment, Huang and the rest of cause for regret to this day. [Huang 1990, p. 33] his Chinese colleagues decided to deliver the thief to Huang concluded the matter by expressing his re- WKH ORFDO RIÀFLDOV 6RRQ KRZHYHU +XDQJ·V LQGLJQD- solve to restrict them from any and all strategic mili- tion turned to pity: tary regions (p. 34). Later developments show that he 7KLVPDQLVDOUHDG\PRUHWKDQÀIW\\HDUVROGDQG stayed true to his word. When the Swedish geologist KHKDVJUHDWGLIÀFXOW\ZDONLQJ7KXVKHVWROHWZR Erik Norin proposed a survey of the strategic Juyanhai camels, one to carry his possessions and the other region, Xu expressed his disapproval. Huang went on for himself to ride. Other than his clothes and some to note in his diary that Hedin suspects that I am the other sundry possessions such as a few pieces of true cause of obstruction, a suspicion Huang makes bread, he didnt touch any other important items. no attempt to dispel. From that point on, tensions So to label him a thief rests upon a single moment mounted. Originally Norin wanted to map a lake, of muddleheaded action; he is certainly not a sea- Huang wrote, and planned to take a southern road soned criminal. But the foreigners have already to get there, but I expressed my disagreement. Then tied him up in chains, verbally abused him, and he decided to take the northern road, and stopped even taken pictures of him. How many more such for three days. We started off after them. What their insults can our country bear? [p. 68] ultimate intentions were, Huang was uncertain, but Most distressing to Huang, however, was what whenever they see me they stop their secret discus- happened two weeks later, when the foreigners tied sions, and we simply have to act like we dont under- XS WKH FDPHO WKLHI DQG ÀOPHG KLP RQ FDPHUDµ )RU stand what they are saying (p. 112). Huang, this was further evidence that foreigners all In the end, Huang rejoiced when he heard that the adopt an insulting attitude toward China, imposing governor of Xinjiang had refused to yield an inch to a deep affront to our honor (p. 86). On the contrary, Hedins proposal that his German sponsors be al- Xu, in his published account of the camel thief affair, lowed to establish aerial routes through Chinese terri- sides entirely with Hedin and the foreigners. In stark tory. Again, however, the differing accounts of Xu and contrast to Huang, Xu describes the thief as a sea- Huang are instructive. Whereas Xu dispassionately soned criminal, and approves of the shackles used to describes Hedins meeting with the provincial Min- LPPRELOL]HKLPFRQÀGHQWWKDW´WKHUHZDVQRLQWHQWWR ister of Foreign Affairs, refraining from adding any abuse him (Xu 2000, p. 64). commentary of his own, Huang indulges in scarcely 7KHÀQDOVRXUFHRIWHQVLRQEHWZHHQ+XDQJDQGWKH concealed 6FKDGHQIUHXGH. Hedin then mentioned that foreigners and between Huang and Xu was a [warlord] Yang Yuting had already issued his approv- result of the strategic aims of Hedins original German al [in Beijing], hoping to use this as an intimidation ÀQDQFLHUV ,Q VKRUW +HGLQ·V SXUSRVH LQ DWWHPSWLQJ tactic against [the governor]. This is truly laughable. to organize an expedition to Xinjiang had originally Several weeks later, the matter was closed for good. been to undertake geological, meteorological, and car- They were refused, Huang noted. I am thrilled. For tographic surveys in support of German aeronautic PDQ\GD\VQRZWKHDLUKDVEHHQÀOOHGZLWKWKHVKULOO expansion throughout Central Asia. Huangs under- voices of the Germans saying they will return home, standing of these aims comes through clearly in an ac- but this is not enough to intimidate my countrymen count of an extended discussion he had with another (p. 178). Chinese member of the expedition, in which Huang From these few examples, it is clear that the animosi- learns that their goal for this expedition is entirely ty between Huang and Hedin destined to surface pub- related to airplanes; hence, the cover pretext of im- licly in the mid-1930s traces its roots back to the ear- plementing aerial archaeology. After summarizing liest days of the Sino-Swedish expedition. At the crux the geopolitical goals of interwar Germany vis-à-vis of the matter lay the understandable tensions between the Soviet and British presence in Xinjiang, Huang ex- foreign explorers long accustomed to getting their presses his adamant opposition: way in China, and a new generation of professional Chinese scientists eager to displace them. The irony I am of the opinion that such a project as this ab- of the situation, of course, is that in choosing Xu and solutely cannot be countenanced, as the rights for Hedin as model examples of the new spirit of inter- aerial routes concern national security. If we per- QDWLRQDOVFLHQWLÀFFRRSHUDWLRQLQ&KLQDWKRVHUHVSRQ- PLW DLUOLQH URXWHV WKHQ *HUPDQ\ FDQ VLPSO\ Á\ sible for the suppression of Huangs no-holds-barred
127 account inadvertently consigned him to the margins of policymakers, scholars, and dissidents around the of historiography on the archaeology of the Silk Road. world but especially within China who may wish For it is clear that Huangs diary, with its frank and to advance their own agendas regarding the future of QRQHWRRÁDWWHULQJDSSUDLVDOVRI+HGLQDQGLWVUDZH[- Xinjiang today. Second, from a historical perspective, pose of jealous competitions on all sides, could not be LWLVFOHDUWKDWPDQ\LQÁXHQWLDOVFKRODUVRQWKHHDVWHUQ reconciled with the politically correct narratives put seaboard demonstrated a strident bias against the re- forth by Xu and Hedin, both of whom were far more covery of that which Huang had devoted himself to renowned than Huang. collecting. Chen Yuan, president of the Catholic Uni- And yet it is clear that Huang deserves his due, per- versity of Peking, expressed precisely this sentiment haps now more than ever. Toward this end, the re- in the preface to his,QGH[WRWKH'XQKXDQJ0DQXVFULSWV mainder of this article will analyze the substantive 5HPDLQLQJDIWHUWKH3OXQGHU ('XQKXDQJMLH\XOX work that Huang undertook in Xinjiang following his ), completed soon after Huangs return to Beijing. departure from the main body of the caravan. As we Manuscripts written not in Chinese but rather in one shall see, there is much more to learn from Huangs of the ancient Central Asian languages are not worth career than that made relevant by his principled oppo- much (EXJXL]KH ), he wrote. What the Chi- sition to the foreign presence in China. Evaluated on nese people value (JXRUHQVXRJXL]KH ) are the merits of the work he performed rather than the ancient manuscripts written in Chinese (Chen 1931). SROLWLFDOEDWWOHVKHORVWLWLVGLIÀFXOWWRVHH+XDQJDV Much like Stein, who often lamented the lack of in- anything other than the Chinese embodiment of Aurel VWLWXWLRQDODQGÀQDQFLDOVXSSRUWIRUDQ\DUFKDHRORJLVW Stein. who chose to lead an expedition outside of the Bible lands, Huang faced an uphill battle to procure fund- A Chinese Stein? ing and support for archaeological labors deemed un- likely to shed light on the classical forbears of Chinese The similarities between Huang Wenbi and Aurel civilization. Stein are many. Both undertook four expeditions to ;LQMLDQJGXULQJWKHLUOLIHWLPHV(DFKZDVWKHÀUVWRIKLV Nonetheless, this is precisely the task to which countrymen to complete a successful crossing through Huang set himself, despite the wholesale lack of in- the heart of the Taklamakan Desert (Stein did it both terest among many of his colleagues back home and from north to south and in reverse, while Huang did despite the fact that few if any of them were equipped it from north to south). Both men were indefatigable to conduct research on what he had uncovered. His LQWKHÀHOG\HWQHLWKHUZDVHDJHUWRGUDPDWL]HWKHLU unorthodox interest in such remains was kindled al- accomplishments back home or bask in the limelight. most immediately after the expeditions departure %RWKPHQZHUHÀHUFHO\LQGHSHQGHQWDQGVKXQQHGWKH from Beijing, during a cursory survey of the environs company of colleagues: Stein went to great lengths to of Bailingmiao in todays Inner Mongolia. Huangs avoid the sort of burdensome partnerships that he saw ÀUVW ELJ ÀQG ZDV D &KLQHVHODQJXDJH VWHOH ´FDSDEOH in his German and French competitors, while Huang of yielding an investigation into the history of the and Xu nearly had a falling out over Huangs insis- Mongol kings, which we can then use to supplement tence that he be allowed to split from the party and LQPDQ\SODFHVWKHRIÀFLDOKLVWRU\RIWKH
128 Huang merely expressed a desire to safeguard the ma- 0XVOLPPDQXVFULSWZULWWHQLQÀYHGLIIHUHQWODQJXDJ- terial for consultation by future generations of more es, none of which was Chinese. If not consulted for linguistically endowed Chinese scholars. Once, when its contents, Huang wrote, it can be used as a lin- he uncovered a script that wasnt Tibetan or Mongo- guistic reference book. The same man also brought lian but rather Tangut, Huang cursed his own lin- 7KH$FWVRI0RKDPPHG, while another brought a man- JXLVWLF GHÀFLHQFLHV D UHIUDLQ RIWHQ KHDUG IURP 6WHLQ uscript about the conversion of the Mongol kings at regarding his own sinophilic inadequacies. It is a Khotan and Kashgar to Islam (p. 516). In letting it be shame that I cannot read Tangut, Huang noted in known that he was interesting in acquiring in such KLVGLDU\´7KXV,FDQRQO\EULHÁ\GHVFULEHLWKHUHIRU items, Huang was positioning himself against decades future consultation by those who know how to read of antiquarian transactions in northwestern China, it (p. 89). He pursued a similar approach to what most of which took it as an article of faith that foreign- he thought would be a bilingual stele in Chinese and ers would pay the highest prices for Central Asian ar- Mongolian near Karashahr. After offering a reward of tifacts and manuscripts, while the Chinese would do ÀYHVLOYHUOLDQJ to whichever of his laborers managed similarly for the same in Chinese. WRUHFRYHULWÀUVW+XDQJIRXQGWKDWKHFRXOGQRWLGHQ- In pursuing his interest in procuring Central Asian tify the script. Nonetheless, I took three pages of rub- artifacts and manuscripts for consultation by future bings, to retain for future research (p. 235). generations of Chinese scholars, Huang found himself During his time in Xinjiang, Huang made it a pri- constantly in the footsteps of Stein and other foreign ority to collect manuscripts and artifacts exhibiting explorers. Time and time again, he notes in his diary non-Chinese scripts. Sometimes they surfaced as a traces of sites where his predecessors had excavated, result of his own archaeological labors, but more of- and what, if anything remained. At one site in Turfan, ten than not he acquired them through purchase. In Huang notes that foreigners only excavated in this Turfan, Huang records that some of the locals dug VSRWIRUWZRGD\VDQGWKH\GLGQRWÀQGPXFK,GRXEW up two pages of a manuscript in Uighur, so I gave that everything inside has already been discovered. If them one silver OLDQJ for it. That is a pretty good deal I dig here carefully, I am certain to uncover much (p. 168). Near Kucha, Huang encountered a village (p. 165). Most of the time, however, Huang realized headman trying to sell some manuscripts, all written that the foreigners had done their work only too well, in non-Chinese languages that were probably from as was the case at Ming-oi: India but with some slight changes. He paid thirty It is a pity that this site has already been excavat- OLDQJ for the lot of them, all of which were complete ed. I see some fragments with the letters mixi on from front to end, and are probably government doc- them, and other foreign papers, all of which proves uments or letters of some sort. He then articulated beyond a doubt that this was done by foreigners. the precise reason why he was paying so much atten- According to one of the guides, a foreigner came tion to the collection of these sorts of artifacts: We do here (probably Stein) with thirty laborers and not lack for Tang manuscripts on Chinese soil, so I am worked for more than forty days. So there will not beginning to pay closer attention to the collection of be much left to excavate. In matters of archaeology, items in other scripts (p. 263). On another occasion we have already fallen far behind the foreigners. It near Domoko, a Uighur man approached Huang with is no longer possible to enjoy the ease of discovery some manuscripts for sale. The script resembles that which they experienced upon their arrival. [p. 203] of India but with some differences, Huang noted. They are printed documents, but printing developed Whenever Huang learned that he was closing in on a in the Western Regions relatively early. I gave him site of Steins past labors, he usually gave up any and twenty OLDQJ and he left (p. 426). Huang regarded all hope for fresh discoveries. I excavated here for half VXFKÀQGVDV´H[FHHGLQJO\SUHFLRXVµ VKHQ]KHQJXL a day, but did not see a single thing, Huang wrote ) (p. 207). two weeks later. It is said that twenty or thirty years ago a foreigner dug here for many days, and every- In fact, by the time Huang was about to leave the thing he found was taken away. This must be Stein province, word had circulated far and wide through (p. 209). Unfortunately for Huang, foreigners even local bazaars that this was a Chinese explorer who those working outside the Bible lands had far more ZRXOG SD\ JRRG PRQH\ ERWK IRU QRQ&KLQHVH ÀQGV resources to work with than he did. I inspected the and for Chinese manuscripts concerning non-conven- site from north to south, he wrote in the environs of tional subjects. On his return to Turfan in early 1930, Kucha, but most everything has already been exca- Huang was swarmed by locals trying to sell him var- vated by foreigners. It is said about twenty years ago, ious antiquities, few of which seem to have displayed a foreigner was here. Every day he employed tens of Chinese characters. One such peddler brought him a laborers to dig, for twenty or thirty days straight. This
129 makes it clear on just how grand a scale the foreigners for the former to remove the cream of the crop from pursued their work (pp. 31314). Xinjiang. Throughout Huangs diary there is a recur- Despite the often melancholy nature of Huangs rent air of melancholic tardiness, nowhere more evi- work, coming as it did a full generation after the gold- dent than when Huang encounters what appears to be en age of foreign expeditions in Xinjiang, Huang re- several tourist placards at sites long since explored served very little energy for scolding his predecessors. and explicated. At one bare site near Aksu, Huang Mostly he simply aspired to do what they had already was taken aback by the sight of a wooden board in GRQH$QGLQWKHFDVHRI6WHLQVSHFLÀFDOO\DQ\DQWLSD- the middle [of the site] inscribed with the words: The thy Huang may have felt was balanced by a large dose Tang city of Qieshi. It was erected in 1925 by Magis- of quiet admiration. In his diary, we see Huang go- trate Yang Yingkuan. One week later, he found an- ing to great lengths to procure only those guides once other. Halfway up the mountain there was a wood- used by Stein, staying in local lodgings once frequent- en sign, erected by the magistrate of Bachu County, ed by Stein, noting Steins campsites, and making Duan Quan. On it appeared the words, Ancient ruins liberal use of Steins maps, which Huang deemed far of the Tang state of Weitou, followed by several lines superior to those produced by his own government. of description (pp. 478, 484). Few things could be Huang frequently consults Steins publications, and more demoralizing to any explorer, much less the does not second guess the old Hungarian lightly: ÀUVW&KLQHVHDUFKDHRORJLVWHYHUWRYLVLW;LQMLDQJWKDQ to come face to face with the realization that a great Looking at the shards of pottery and coins, it seems number of people before you had already been there like this region was still inhabited a thousand years and done that. ago. Yet Stein, based upon the papers he unearthed here written in ancient Western Regions script, Conclusion concludes that these all date to after the eighth cen- The diary of Huang Wenbi contains a virtual treasure tury. As I do not have any evidence to the contrary, trove of data and commentary relevant to scholars in I dare not say otherwise. [p. 425] many disciplines. For the archaeologist and historian Like Stein, Huang makes frequent reference to the of ancient China or the Silk Road, it is akin to read- travels of Xuanzang. Unlike Stein, however, Huang ing Steins 5XLQVRI'HVHUW&DWKD\ or Le Coqs %XULHG also had full recourse to the classical canon of Chinese 7UHDVXUHVRI&KLQHVH7XUNHVWDQ, in that it provides the OLWHUDWXUHDQGKLVWRULHVDWKLVÀQJHUWLSV situational and topographical context indispensable to a comprehensive understanding of the artifacts More than anything else, the reader of Huangs dia- and manuscripts now contained within the Huang ry gets the sense that what he most fervently wished for was to be regarded as the Chinese successor to Wenbi collection. For the historian of modern China Stein. Thus, it should come as no surprise to learn or the historian of archaeology, it provides a wealth that few things bothered Huang more than attempts of documentation regarding Huangs interactions to obstruct his progress toward such a goal by local ZLWKORFDO&KLQHVHRIÀFLDOVLQ;LQMLDQJLQWHUQDWLRQDO &KLQHVH RIÀFLDOV ,Q 'HFHPEHU ÀYH PRQWKV DI- scholarly collaboration in China, the daily lives and ter the assassination of the governor of Xinjiang had livelihoods of the southern Uighur oases, the warlord given the new governor a pretext to attempt to dis- politics of the early Nationalist era, and the amateur band the expedition, Huang wrote a pointed letter to H[FDYDWLRQ DFWLYLWLHV RI &KLQHVH RIÀFLDOV WKHPVHOYHV the latter that laid bare a raw sense of injustice. In Though Huangs diary has long taken a back seat to the past, Huang observed from Aksu, scholars from the accounts of Sven Hedin and Xu Bingxu, it is argu- ably the most informative and certainly the least both East and West have come numerous times to censored of the three. That its long delayed pub- conduct excavations, and they have collected untold numbers of crates full of antiquities. In particular, the lication may very well be a consequence of Huangs RIÀFLDOV ZKR KRVWHG WKHP ZHUH VROLFLWRXV WR WKH H[- falling afoul of the political lines of his day only makes treme in seeing to their needs. Today, however, when it more valuable as a historical resource for scholars of Chinese come, they are not even allowed to obtain a our own day. As recognition of the value of the Huang single glance. What will people say about this? (p. Wenbi collection increases in tandem with interna- 373). Though one of his Chinese colleagues succeed- tional accessibility to its contents, there is no doubt ed in convincing him to remove several provocative WKDWVWXGLHVRI+XDQJ:HQELZLOOÁRXULVKDVZHOO phrases from this letter, Huangs most fundamental insecurities remained on full display in his diary. About the author At the crux of the matter was a simple chronological An Assistant Professor of History at American Uni- fact: Huang and his colleagues lagged behind the for- versity, Justin Jacobs is a historian of modern China. eigners by a full generation, more than enough time He is currently working on a comprehensive reassess- 130 ment of foreign archaeological expeditions to Xinjiang Xu 2000 GXULQJ WKH HDUO\ WZHQWLHWK FHQWXU\ DV VHHQ FKLHÁ\ Xu Xusheng . ;X;XVKHQJ[L\RXULML [A through the reactions and interactions of Chinese of- diary of Xu Xushengs western travels]. Yinchuan: Ningxia ÀFLDOV DQG VFKRODUV WR DQG ZLWK $XUHO 6WHLQ (PDLO renmin chubanshe, 2000.
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