PS: Chapter 2 is here!

Arriving in Kyoto, Yu Fei realized how large the scale of the search for the fossil skull of Peking Man this time was. Initiated by 14 academicians, the people involved in the search are well-known people from all walks of life, and CCTV has followed up and reported the whole process, and the momentum is unprecedented. But for the results of this search, many people are not very hopeful.

After World War II, China, the United States, and Japan have used a lot of manpower and material resources to search for Peking Man fossils, but nothing has been found so far!

From the first excavation of the Peking Man skull in 1929, to the discovery of three adult ape-man skull fossils in 1936, to the outbreak of the Lugou Bridge Incident and the occupation of Kyoto by the Japanese army! The fate of Peking Man fossils is closely related to the fate of China at that time!

In 1941, relations between Japan and the United States deteriorated, and a safer place to store the Peking Man skull fossil stored in Kyoto Union Medical College Hospital had to be found.

At that time, there were three treatment options. First, the fossils were transported to Chongqing, the rear of the Anti-Japanese War, but in the war environment, it was difficult to ensure the safety of long-distance transportation; Second, it is buried on the spot in Kyoto, but safety in the occupied area cannot be guaranteed. Third, it was shipped to the United States for preservation. Judging from the situation at that time, the third treatment plan was the best choice.

Because the contract signed between China and the United States at the time of the joint excavation of fossils stipulated that all fossils excavated in Zhoukoudian were Chinese property and were prohibited from being transported out of the country. So the people at the American Legation at that time refused to accept it. Later, with the consent and authorization of the U.S. ambassador to China, the U.S. Legation in Beiping received these precious ancient human fossils. And prepare to safely ship it to the United States for preservation.

Before transporting it away, researcher Hu Chengzhi carefully wrapped the fossils. Until now, at the age of more than 90, he often sighs to others: "Probably I am the last Chinese to see the fossil of Peking Man." Since then, no Chinese have seen or known its whereabouts. ”

Today, it has been nearly 60 years since the loss of the Peking Man skull fossil, and many insiders have passed away one after another, making it more and more difficult to find! The older generation of scholars, including Jia Lanping and Hu Chengzhi, was actually making the last effort, knowing that their time was running out, and if they could not find it in their lifetime, it would be very unlikely that the younger generation would have to rely on the younger generation to find the fossils of Peking Man.

Because the plane was a little late. So when the two of them walked into the conference room told by Jia Lanping through the back door, the seminar on Peking Man fossils had already begun.

On the podium, a man in his sixties was telling about the possible whereabouts of the skull.

"That's my senior brother Chen Chun." Qin Xiaojin pulled Yu Fei to sit down quietly in the back row. Whispered to her.

Chen Chun is Jia Lanping's eldest disciple, and he also wants to inherit Jia Lanping's mantle, although this search activity was initiated by Jia Lanping, but it is limited to age and physical reasons. I'm afraid most of the work will have to be done by Chen Chun.

"On the whereabouts of Peking Man fossils. There are several main points of view. Chen Chun said as he showed the slides.

"The first view is destruction. Because the war was very cruel and frequent at that time, if it was gold, silver, jewelry, calligraphy and painting, it might have been preserved, but for the fossil of the 'Peking Man skull', it is difficult to say that the Japanese army had such a high ability to distinguish. In fact, the Japanese army burned, killed and looted arguably the most barbaric army! Although three transfer plans were formulated at that time, and the U.S. Legation agreed to accept it, a lot of time was wasted due to the rejection in the early stage. The Japanese army suddenly started a war and occupied the hospital, so the fossils were not actually transferred out of the river at all. It should still be in the basement vault of Union Hospital, where the Japanese destroyed it, so the hope of finding the fossil should be slim. ”

Most of the supporters of the theory of destruction are mostly young scholars, including Chen Chun, who is also a supporter of the theory of destruction.

"The second view is that the fossil was buried in Ritan Park. At the beginning of 1996, before his death, the Japanese veteran Matsumoto Maru delivered a message to the relevant Chinese authorities, saying that the fossil was buried under a pine tree in Ritan Park, and that the pine tree had been specially marked, and that the relevant personnel had indeed found the pine tree. In May of the same year, the seismic detection team of the Institute of Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences carried out two high-density electric methods, surface waves, and multi-channel shallow seismic methods in the buried area, and soon found anomalies! After reaching an agreement with the Beijing Ritan Park Management Office for a formal excavation, the excavation began in June. However, when digging to a depth of more than 2 meters, no buried objects were found, let alone groundbreaking. After deliberation, it was decided to dig a little further down, and the result was fine yellow sandstone. Subsequently, the excavation area was expanded again, but no buried objects were found, and the on-site experts judged that the geophysical anomaly should be caused by a large number of gray-white calcareous nodules under the surface, and decided to stop the excavation. My teachers, Mr. Jia Lanping and Mr. Hu Chengzhi, were also invited to participate in the excavation work, and they also had an extraordinary understanding of the situation. And at that time, Matsumoto Maru was dead, and we have no way to verify the truth of what he said, is it a mistake? We don't know if they were just trying to tease us, or if someone had dug up the fossils first. ”

Chen Chun's most worrying guess is the most worrying, after Matsumoto Maru fed back the news, it took many times to finally reach the relevant Chinese departments, in this process, as long as one person moves his mind, the Peking Man fossil may be lost!

"The third view is that the fossils sank with the Awa Maru." The Awa Maru is a Japanese ocean-going tanker. On March 28, 1945, it was requisitioned by the Japanese army and loaded a large number of Japanese officers and dignitaries who had retreated from Southeast Asia in Singapore and sailed to Japan. At midnight on April 1, the ship sailed to the waters east of Niushan Island in Fujian Province, China, and was attacked and sunk by a U.S. submarine cruising the area. When U.S. President Richard Nixon visited China that year, he gave the Chinese government what the U.S. believed was the whereabouts of the fossils as a top-secret gift, saying that the fossils might have been on the shipwreck of the Japanese ship "Awa Maru". In 1977, China conducted a preliminary salvage of the Awa Maru wreck, but due to the limitations of diving techniques at the time, only 3,000 tons of tin ingots and some other things were found. The "Peking Man skull" was not found. However, the salvage personnel found the small official seal and round inkstone of Zheng Yu, a puppet Manchukuo political dignitary, from which it was inferred. The ship confirmed the speculation that it was carrying a large number of treasures from northern China, and also became a strong circumstantial evidence that the "Awa Maru" may have carried the "Peking Man skull". The details will be introduced to you later by Professor Li Muxi. ”

Li Muxi participated in the salvage in 1977 and had a lot to say.

"The fourth view is that the fossil is on the USS President Harrison. On December 5, 1941, the U.S. Marine Corps, carrying the fossil of the "Peking Man Skull", took a special train to Qinhuangdao, where they prepared to send the fossils to a regular American ship from Shanghai, the "President Harrison". At that time, the ship was scheduled to arrive at the Qinhuangdao pier on December 8. Therefore, some people believe that the fossil of the "Peking Man skull" should be lost on the "President Harrison", a transport ship from Peking to Qinhuangdao. It should be noted, however, that the USS Harrison sailed from Manila, the capital of the Philippines. It was chased by a Japanese warship, and after the last day, it ran aground near the mouth of the Yangtze River east of Shanghai. It was subsequently sunk by the Japanese. He never sailed to his destination, Qinhuangdao Port, to pick up the U.S. Marines. So the possibility of fossils on the President Harrison is also very small. ”

Chen's argument against this is very strong, and the possibility that the Peking Man skull fossil aboard the President Harrison is very small.

"The fifth view is that the fossil is on the "Lisbon Maru". According to relevant records, in the early morning of October 2, 1942, more than 700 Japanese officers and soldiers were loaded. and the transport ship "Lisbon Maru", which was used for more than 1,800 British prisoners and belongings. It was torpedoed and sunk while passing through the waters near Zhoushan, and a large number of cultural relics and treasures on board were buried at the bottom of the sea. Later, 384 British officers and soldiers were rescued by nearby fishermen, and according to the recollections of the rescued British prisoners of war, the ship contained a large number of gold treasures and artifacts looted by the Japanese army, and possibly a fossilized Peking Man skull. However, this view lacks corresponding historical records, and the speculation of a few Japanese prisoners of war is not very reliable. ”

Speaking of this, Chen Chun paused slightly and took a sip of water. Go on.

"The sixth view is that the fossils are in the American Barracks in Tianjin. American anthropologist Shapiro said in his book "Pekingese" that a former Marine once told him. The fossils were transferred to the U.S. Marine Corps barracks in Tianjin. On October 21, 1971, according to Ferry Fee, an American doctor who escorted the Peking Man fossils abroad, the box containing the Peking Man fossils was placed under the wooden plank floor of Building 6 in the compound of the US Marine Corps Barracks in Tianjin, but was not sent to Qinhuangdao! The old barracks has changed hands several times, and now belongs to the Tianjin Health School, Building No. 6 also collapsed in the 1976 earthquake, and then razed to the ground and converted into a playground, and even the foundation was dug up when the building was repaired, and there was nothing. But one thing is certain, the fossils did arrive at the barracks, but we had nowhere to look for them. ”

"The latter view is that the fossil was originally at the U.S. consulate in Kyoto. Professor Zhou Jiaxing will explain the reasons in detail. However, Mr. Jia Lanping verified that the fossils were later transported to the U.S. Marine Corps barracks in Tianjin, and from there to Qinhuangdao, but the unit was captured by the Japanese army halfway, and the whereabouts of the fossils have not been known since. From this point of view, it is unlikely that the fossils are still in the U.S. Consulate. These are the seven views on the whereabouts of fossils, and we will discuss and formulate a plan for finding them after we have demonstrated them. ”

Chen Chun put down the page turner in his hand and said slightly tiredly.

Because it is a lecture hall, Yu Fei, who is sitting in the back row, is the highest, and from his point of view, he can see everyone sitting in the front row. Most of them had gray hair, especially the elderly in the first row, most of whom were in their old age, and some were even old, and there were even two empty seats on them, and there were no people sitting on them, but two picture frames.

Qin Xiaojin explained that they were Pei Wenzhong and Yang Zhongjian, one of the initiators of this search activity, and Pei Wenzhong was the first person to discover Peking Man fossils. Unfortunately, on the eve of the event, they passed away one after another. As a sign of respect for them, Jia Lanping brought their photos as if they were also participating in this search in the Heavenly Spirit.

Hearing this, and seeing the tufts of gray hair again, Yu Fei had a very sad feeling. (To be continued......)