The Archaeologist Speaks

Name: The Archaeologist Speaks
ISBN: 9787559826787

郑嘉励Guangxi Normal University Press · ChinaJun 2020

4.0

Word count: 131K words
Chapters: 35
ISBN: 9787559826787

Report an error Find this book

Summary

This book is a revision of Archaeology's Other Side, published by our press in 2016. The new edition removes passages relatively peripheral to archaeological work and adds a large number of articles that are more thematic and specialized. The revised book is divided into four parts: Seeking Tombs, Speaking of Stones, Reading Cities, and Investigating Things. The first two parts are expanded, cut, and revised from the original two sections, "Words on Stones" and "Tomb Records"; Reading Cities is entirely new and focuses on urban archaeology in Zhejiang; Investigating Things is a revised version of the original "Observing Things" section and still consists mainly of observations and reflections from archaeological travel or personal daily life.

Editor's review

Archaeologists Speak is a highly personal work by the archaeologist Zheng Jiali. It is not a strict academic monograph but a collection of essays that blends field notes, life reflections, and cultural thought. Drawing on more than twenty years of frontline archaeological work, the author uses a calm and restrained style to interweave the wind and dust of excavation sites and the subtle details of historical remains with the life experience of a modern intellectual. The book's value lies in how it successfully breaks down the public's stereotypical image of archaeology as "treasure digging" or "treasure appraising," restoring archaeology's true character as a humanistic discipline—not only a scientific uncovering of material remains but also a long journey of dialogue with the minds of the ancients. Its accounts of Song-Yuan tombs and urban sites in Zhejiang are filled with warmth and respect for the living and spiritual worlds of the ancients; its reflections on life and death, time, and the transmission of civilization transcend professional boundaries and touch on universal human questions. Zheng Jiali's writing is concise, precise, and thoughtful, so that specialized narration never feels obscure and instead radiates a quiet, solid strength. For readers, this is not only an intellectual journey into archaeological sites but also a spiritual excursion about how to view history and settle the present.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers with a strong interest in archaeology, history, and cultural heritage who want to understand the real conditions of frontline archaeological work
Readers who enjoy scholarly essays or nonfiction that combine intellectual depth with humanistic warmth
Explorers curious about the historical and cultural landscape of the Song-Yuan period, especially in Zhejiang
People seeking a quiet reading experience amid a fast-paced life and willing to think deeply along with the text

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting thrilling "tomb raiding" or "treasure appraising" stories
Pure academic researchers seeking a systematic, rigorous archaeology textbook or methodological guide

Reading tips

Reading in order is recommended, to follow the author's narrative arc from concrete archaeological cases to abstract reflections on life
Readers may slow down appropriately to savor the author's fine balance between detailed description and philosophical elevation
Looking up maps or images related to the places or sites mentioned in the book can provide a more three-dimensional reading experience

About the publisher

Guangxi Normal University Press China · Founded in 1986

Guangxi Normal University Press is a publisher known for literature, foreign literature and history titles. Its 1,175 books in the database show a solid accumulation in classics and prose collections, including foreign literary works such as Les Fleurs du mal: Annotated Poems of Baudelaire, Snow Country, Dubliners and The Wild Palms, as well as modern prose compilations like The Complete Prose of Zhou Zuoren. History and philosophy also hold a notable share, with titles such as Running Dogs: Clerks and Runners in Qing County Yamen and The History and Thought of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom reflecting attention to Qing local administration and modern history. In art literature there is the 16-volume Ten Bamboo Studio Painting and Calligraphy Manual. Its author resources include foreign writers Charles Baudelaire and Yasunari Kawabata, translators and annotators Liu Nanqi and Zou Bo, and scholars such as Zhong Shuhe, Bradly W. Reed and You Chenjun. As public information is limited, this characterization is based only on the books in the database, which together present a profile balancing Chinese and foreign literary classics with academic works in the humanities and social sciences.

版权信息
自序
第一编寻墓
上班就是上坟
道在瓦甓
风水术的起源
龙湾好风水
国宝·重光
第二编语石
墓志八题
界碑
禁示碑
去思碑
戒石铭
客星山与三老碑
摩崖题名
沈括题名
第三编读城
浙江城市考古漫谈
金华四记
南宋御街
嘉兴子城
嘉兴瓶山
城墙
丽水大猷街
第四编格物
吾乡印象
写在瓷窑址考古边上
乡土文物漫谈
骑马
车轮
胡子史略
鉴宝记
考古人的独白（代后记）
鸣谢

FAQ

What is this book's Douban rating?

According to searches, Zheng Jiali's Archaeologists Speak has received high praise on Douban, with a rating steadily above 8.5; readers widely praise its writing and depth of thought.

What is the author Zheng Jiali's professional background?

Zheng Jiali is a researcher at the Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, a senior scholar who has long worked on the frontline of field archaeology. He mainly engages in Song-Yuan archaeology and the archaeology of historical periods, with especially deep research on tombs and urban sites in Zhejiang. His professional background provides solid and credible detail for this book.

What is the main content of this book?

The book follows the author's archaeological work as its main thread. It covers records of field excavation sites, interpretations of unearthed artifacts and historical remains, reflections on history and life prompted by archaeology, and archaeologists' own professional insights. Its core is to reveal the humanistic essence of archaeological work and connect past and present.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

郑嘉励 Author

Zheng Jiali: public information is limited, and details of identity and life are unknown. Five of the author's works are held in the library, mainly in the fields of historical reading and cultural essays, with some involvement in archaeology and tomb studies. The writing often starts from fieldwork and local experience: the representative works Archaeological Notes: A Historical Life in the Field and An Archaeologist Speaks record an archaeological career and historical observations in essay form; Studies of Southern Song Tombs and Reading Tombs: Southern Song Tombs and Rituals focus on tomb systems and rituals of the Southern Song, reflecting a solid archaeological approach; and The East-Facing House: A Century of Ripples in a Village turns to a micro-history of a village's century of change. Overall, the writing combines scholarly research with essayistic expression, showing a recognizable voice in popular history and local cultural writing.