The brick factory within the ruins protection area has existed for many years.
Shangluo report: A brick factory has been taking soil and firing bricks for many years within the site of Shang Yang's fief, which is a provincially important cultural relics preservation unit. On the 13th, when interviewed, relevant leaders of the Danfeng County Cultural Relics Department claimed "not knowing about this matter".
In the morning of the 13th, reporters received public feedback that there was a brick factory that had been operating for many years inside the remains of Shang Yang's fief in Danfeng County. The location of the brick factory wasn't hidden; it was just west of the road leading from National Highway 312 to Chenjia Village. Local villagers told reporters that west of the road was the site of Shang Yang's fief and the ancient city ruins, while below the road was the original city wall from the Warring States period. After arriving at the scene, reporters saw a large amount of unfired brick blanks piled up on the slope where the brick factory was located. Trucks and excavators were conducting operations, and the entire slope had been dug up due to soil extraction.
Under the pretense of wanting to buy bricks, reporters met with Mr. Zhang, the boss of the brick factory. Seeing the reporter coming to buy bricks, Mr. Zhang enthusiastically said, "The quality of my bricks is very good, and bosses often come from Xi'an to do business with me." According to Mr. Zhang, the brick factory was privately owned, had been operating for 11 years, and guaranteed quality. When the reporter asked about the situation and establishment procedures of the brick factory, Mr. Zhang became very cautious and said, "Are you really here to buy bricks or are you here to investigate?" Before leaving the brick factory, reporters questioned a worker there, who informed them that the brick factory was called "Welfare Brick Factory," and "the real use of 'welfare' as its name is to evade taxes."
In the afternoon of the 13th, reporters went to the Danfeng County Cultural Relics Bureau and asked Director Tan about the scope of the Shangyi Ruins. Director Tan's introduction confirmed that this brick factory was indeed within the ruins. Subsequently, reporters reported the existence of the brick factory within the ruins to Director Tan, who claimed not to know about the existence of the brick factory within the ruins and stated that requisitioning land and constructing factories on the Shangyi ruins must be approved by the cultural relics department. In the afternoon of the 14th, when reporters again questioned Director Tan, he said he was in a meeting and would contact the reporter afterward, but by the evening of the 14th before the reporter filed the story, they still hadn't received a call from Director Tan.
On the 14th, after experts from the Shangluo City Museum understood the relevant situation of the brick factory on-site, they told reporters: "The brick factory is within the ruins protection area, and the Shangyi ruins have been damaged." According to the expert, the protected area of the Shangyi ruins also contains a cluster of Chu tombs from the Warring States period, and a large number of pottery and bronze artifacts have been unearthed within the site. According to national regulations, requisitioning land within the range of provincially important cultural relics preservation areas must first be surveyed, researched, and evaluated by an archaeological team to determine whether protective excavation should be conducted, then approved by the cultural relics protection department before requisitioning can occur.
Regarding this matter, our newspaper will continue to follow up.
By/Photos by Reporter Guo Feng
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The Shangyi Ruins are located in Gucheng Village, Longjuzhai Town, 2.5 kilometers west of Danfeng County, covering a total area of 121 mu (about 8 hectares). They were the fief of the famous reformer and military strategist Shang Yang from the Warring States period. In recent years, a massive and richly endowed Warring States-period city site has been discovered within the protection range of the Shangyi Ruins. Outside the city site, multiple Warring States tombs have been found, and a batch of artifacts have been excavated. Artifacts unearthed from the Shangyi Ruins include fish-pattern painted pottery, basins, tripods, plates, and pottery jars; bronze tripods, cauldrons, helmets, and vases. Weapons include bronze swords, arrowheads, and halberds. Building components include roof tiles imprinted with small seal script "Shang" characters, stamped "Shang" tiles, cloud pattern and phoenix bird pattern semi-tiles, hollow bricks with patterns of Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise. These unearthed artifacts provide significant historical evidence for studying the political, economic, military, and cultural development of the Warring States and Qin-Han periods, and have extremely important historical research value. (Liu Xiaorong)
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