Liang Siyong (1904-1954), a native of Xinhui, Guangdong, was the second son of Liang Qichao. He was a modern Chinese archaeologist and an academician of the first class of the Academia Sinica. He directed and participated in the excavations of numerous sites, including Ang’angxi in Heilongjiang, Xiaotun, Hougang, and the Royal Cemetery of Houjiazhuang of the Yin Ruins in Anyang, as well as Chengziya and Liangchengzhen in Shandong. His work greatly elevated the scientific standards of Chinese field archaeology. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, he served as Deputy Director of the Institute of Archaeology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Despite being bedridden by illness, he continued to direct the institute's work, making indelible contributions to the establishment of the Institute and the foundation and development of archaeology in New China.

Xia Nai (1910-1985), courtesy name Zuoming, a native of Wenzhou, Zhejiang, was an archaeologist and Egyptologist. He graduated from the Department of History at Tsinghua University in 1934 and obtained his PhD in Egyptology from the University of London in 1939. He worked successively at the Preparatory Office of the Central Museum and the Institute of History and Philology at the Academia Sinica. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he served successively as Research Fellow, Deputy Director, Director, and Honorary Director of the Institute of Archaeology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (which became part of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences after 1977). He was one of the main guiding figures and organizers of archaeological work in the People’s Republic of China.

 

Correspondence Between Liang Siyong and Xia Nai collects 88 letters exchanged between Liang Siyong and Xia Nai from 1941 to 1953. The contents cover a wide range of topics, including the excavation of the Pengshan Cliff Tombs during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression; the preparation and early establishment of the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Sciences; as well as archaeological excavations and surveys conducted in Huixian, western Henan, Changsha and other regions in its early years. The correspondence also involves many prominent scholars including Guo Moruo, Zheng Zhenduo, Xiang Da, Gu Baojun, Chen Mengjia, and Su Bingqi. The original letters are preserved in the field excavation archives of the Institute of Archaeology at Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and compiled and edited by the Institute. Among them, 51 letters—47 by Liang Siyong and 4 by Xia Nai—are compiled and published for the first time.

These letters preserve precious archives of several major archaeological excavations in New China during the 1950s and numerous historical events of the early formation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. They reflect the rigorous and truth-seeking scientific spirit of the first generation of archaeologists in New China and their arduous pioneering course, possessing both academic and historical value.

This book is printed in full color, accompanied by more than 80 high-definition images of the original letters and precious photographs. It also appended with a “Chronology of Liang Siyong’s Academic Career”, together with Xia Nai’s article “In Memory of Archaeologist Liang Siyong”.