Speak Well-(Photographic Treasure Edition)

Author: Yin Wen / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: A well is a deep pit dug into the ground to extract water. In any settlement that has been densely populated, such as markets, villages, towns, palaces, or cities, remnants of wells are usually found underground. Wells are hidden beneath the ground, and while wars and battles can destroy above-ground structures, they cannot harm underground wells. By interpreting ancient wells and touching their vicissitudes, we can trace historical traces from a certain perspective, understand folk customs, and learn about well culture. The Chinese character "" (jǐng) first appears in the Book of Changes (I Ching) in the Well Hexagram (Jing Guà): The hexagram for the Well is water above and wood below. Zhu Xi notes: "A well is a place where water gushes from the ground. When the gentle wood enters beneath the water, it rises above to form a well." Ancient wells were often made of bamboo and wood for the well walls. The Book of Changes (Xiang Ci) states: "Water above wood, a well." Zhu Xi notes: "Wood with water above, nourishing and ascending, this is the image of a well." This describes the image of a well with wooden walls, railings, and rings. In the 1980s, archaeologists unearthed two wells from the Ma Jiabin culture period at the Songze cultural site in Qingpu County, Shanghai. The well mouths were circular and elliptical, the walls were smooth, and the remaining depths ranged from 1 to 2 meters. Remains found in the wells included pottery pots and deer bones, dating back to about 7,000 years ago, making them a thousand years earlier than the era of the Yellow Emperor and the Flame Emperor. These are the earliest wells ever discovered in archaeological excavations in China so far. Early wells were generally earthen wells. However, because earthen walls easily collapsed when wet, making the well water (húnzhuó - turbid) and shallow, ancestors invented various methods to protect the well walls and improved well-digging techniques to keep the water clear and the walls durable. Based on archaeological findings, the development of well construction can be roughly divided into earthen wells, bamboo wells, wooden wells, pottery wells, stone wells, and brick wells. At the second cultural layer of the Hemudu site, archaeologists discovered remains of an original well. In the center of an irregular circular pit with a diameter of 600 cm, there was a square pit about 200 cm in size. The four walls of the square pit were densely supported by wooden posts, and the mouth was stacked with two layers of square well frames. This was a living water source for the settlement at the time. Archaeologists speculate that a large well pavilion was built above the well, and the bottom of the well contained accumulated water. The central square pit could concentrate a certain amount of water during dry periods. During flood seasons or rainy seasons, the entire well could store more water. The square well was placed in the circular pit, supported by wooden posts and well frames. At the lower layer of the Neolithic cultural site in Tangmiao Village, Songjiang County, Shanghai, archaeologists discovered a well with bamboo hoops and reed weaving to reinforce the walls. The walls had imprints of reeds and scattered remnants of bamboo strips. The reeds were arranged vertically, and the bamboo strips were arranged in circles horizontally to support the walls. In the riverbanks of Shanghai, reeds grew in patches, and bamboo forests stood tall. Using reeds to form the walls and bamboo strips as rings to support them was a scientific method to protect the well water from pollution by utilizing local materials. "A well symbolizes clarity." For human life, clean and stable water resources are the conditions for settled living. To obtain water, people often settled near water sources, along river terraces and riverbanks, which were ideal habitats. To obtain even cleaner water, ancestors discovered that digging pits could gather water during their labor. People drove wooden posts around the pit to prevent soil from collapsing into the water and built pavilions above to protect the water source. Steps were placed around the well pit for people to descend to the bottom during dry seasons to fetch water. The bottom of the well pit had a deep (kēng - pit) in the center to ensure a certain amount of stored water during dry periods. Ancient wells were generally shallow pit wells. At the Suqian Chenghu Lake and Dushu Lake sites, archaeologists discovered hundreds of wells from different periods, from the Liangzhu culture to the Song Dynasty.