A large number of cash cows have been unearthed from Han tombs in southwest China. They have a deep origin with the sacred tree of Sanxingdui in form and connotation, and inherit the thought of Sanxingdui's "sacred tree" connecting heaven with god. Tree lights unearthed in other parts of China are also a reflection of tree worship.
The second exhibition hall, Samsung Yongyao-the mysterious bronze kingdom
The main exhibit of the preface exhibition is a portrait of a bird with a face. Its prototype comes from the shape of the upper branch of a small copper tree unearthed in Sanxingdui. Among the cultural relics unearthed in Sanxingdui, there are a large number of bird-shaped objects and bird-shaped patterns. And several generations of Shu kings recorded in ancient documents, such as Guan Bai, Du Fu and Du Yu, are closely related to birds. So at the beginning, a statue of this bird with a head was put as a typical object to show the characteristics of animism and the connection between man and god in the ancient Shu era.
Unit 1: The Country of the Gods-Mysterious Primitive Religion
1986 The excavation of two large sacrificial pits in Shang Dynasty is the largest excavation in Sanxingdui archaeology for more than half a century, and it is known as "one of the most exciting archaeological discoveries in the 20th century".
The first pit is rectangular with a big mouth and a small bottom. The pit bottom is 4.0 1 m long, 2.8 m wide and 1.46 ~ 1.64 m deep. When unearthed, there were three tunnels on the left, middle and right, which were about 1 m wide and extended outward in a symmetrical layout. It is speculated that the pit and the tunnel were built at the same time. More than 400 pieces of various cultural relics were unearthed in the pit. Sanxingdui's famous golden staff comes from this pit.
Only one month later, about 30 meters southeast of No.1 pit, No.2 pit was found again. The second pit is also rectangular, and the pit mouth is larger than the pit bottom. The pit bottom is 5m long, 2 ~ 2. 1 m wide and1.4 ~1.68m deep. Apart from thousands of seashells, there are about 800 cultural relics unearthed in No.2 pit, including several large bronzes that have attracted worldwide attention, including a bronze vertical mask with a width of 1.38 meters, a bronze statue with a height of 2.62 meters and a bronze sacred tree with a height of 3.95 meters.
These shocking and rare treasures can't be privately owned items, but only ritual vessels and statues that can be owned by national ancestral temples. But these artifacts were smashed and burned by the ancients and bought in the pit in a certain order. Why?
Most scholars believe that these two pits are "sacrificial pits". Because: the consistency of the orientation of the two pits, the existence of the No.1 pit tunnel and the orderly arrangement of the objects in the pit indicate that the two pits are not random and accidental products, and they are probably the remains left by some sacrificial activities in the ancient Shu State, and the objects in the pits are all sacrifices. Smashing, burning and burying were probably the sacrificial methods at that time. As for the reasons for the sacrifice, it may be related to the survival of the country, such as changing the dynasty.
The bronze statue of Sanxingdui is the largest and most valuable for research. The bronze statue of Sanxingdui is a group of worshiped authorities and idols, which not only symbolizes gods, territories and ancestors, but also represents secular leaders or spiritual leaders such as kings and wizards, and shows the social form and group relationship of the ancient Shu people's unity of god and politics and religion. Their excavation filled the blank of bronze portrait sculpture in Shang Dynasty in China and idolatry in early China.
More than 50 heads were unearthed in two pits in Sanxingdui. These heads are very thin and dignified, with pierced ears, which are probably used to wear earrings.
This mask is 64.5cm high and138cm wide. Its mouth is wide, its ears are big, and its ears are stretched obliquely, which is extremely exaggerated. There is a square hole in the middle of the forehead, which may be decorated. The most peculiar thing about this mask is that its eyes are cylindrical, protruding as high as 16 cm, which is commonly known as "clairvoyance, a thousand miles away". This style is unique all over the world! Maybe you can't help asking: who is it? Academic circles generally believe that it is related to Can Cong, the legendary first generation king of Shu. The ancient book Huayang Guozhi records that "Can Cong, the Duke of Shu, became king only after his eyes were set". Some scholars believe that "vertical eyes" probably refers to prominent eyes. The ancients may have deliberately exaggerated the characteristics of their ancestors, as if using exaggerated facial features to show that their ancestors had superhuman abilities.
The productivity and production level in ancient times were low, and the material life of ordinary people was very poor. Humans depend entirely on the sky to eat, and their thinking concepts are also in a relatively primitive state. The ancestors believed that everything in the world was animistic and attached great importance to communication with God, and the way of communication was to connect heaven and earth through the ritual activities held by wizards. The purpose of communication between man and god.
What we are seeing now is a simulated sacrificial scene, the main body of which is the bronze altar above. The original altar is 53 cm high, which is a replica with a magnification of 6 times. The altar is divided into three layers, the bottom is a round seat and two monsters standing in parallel, one is right and the other is wrong, and it is regarded as a god beast in ancient legends; There are round seats on the second floor, and four people are standing outside. The upper end of the stick in their hands has been broken, and it is estimated that it is a dragon snake or something. The top floor is a gabled seat composed of four mountains and a square bucket-shaped building. There are standing birds in the four corners of the top, and a portrait of a human face bird is cast in the center above the square bucket. It is generally believed that the upper, middle and lower floors of the altar are the most vivid physical manifestations of the ancient people's "three realms view" of heaven, earth and man.
Sanxingdui is a country with strong theocracy. It can be said that holding and participating in religious ceremonies was the top priority in human social activities at that time. Therefore, we specially simulated the scene of ancient people's sacrifice, aiming to create a mysterious color and let everyone feel the strong atmosphere of the ancient Shu kingdom's sacrifice culture!
Unit 2: Thousand-year-old Shu Soul-a wonderful cultural relic essence
The first group: the favored one-wearing a crown bronze vertical mask
A dragon-shaped forehead ornament with a height of 68 cm was cast in the square hole in the middle of the forehead from the No.2 sacrificial pit. The ears and nose of this mask are cast by inlay, and we can clearly see the trace of inlay from the back of the mask. When unearthed, the eyes and eyebrows of the mask were black, and the lips were painted with vermilion. Its exquisite shape makes it stand out from all kinds of images.
The second group: ancient and different shapes of God-bronze body shapers
The second pit was unearthed, with a height of 46.2 cm. It looks like a headless and hands-free portrait, and its use is unpredictable. His body is covered with patterns. On the other hand, it looks like two groups of five owls. The beak of the bird has been deformed and exaggerated, both sharp and long. How to place this cultural relic and what purpose it is used for have not yet been determined.
The third group: Rizhao Zhongtian-bronze sun gear
Six bronze wheel-shaped vessels, about 85 cm in diameter, were unearthed in Sanxingdui No.2 Sacrificial Pit. Academic circles generally believe that this is the worship of the sun and the sun god by the ancients and the same cultural psychology of early human beings. In the early rock paintings and cultural relics around the world, there are countless patterns or ornamentation about the sun, but this one rarely shows the sun in the form of bronze. These sun gears have small holes, which are estimated to be nailed up as a symbol of the sun.
The fourth group: the leader of the witch group-bronze giant
Starting from the second sacrificial pit, it is divided into portrait and base, with a total height of 2.62 meters, of which the base is 0.9m and the portrait is 1.72 m. This portrait should be the image of a leader. He wears a high crown on his head and bracelets on his feet. Wearing three layers of clothes, the longest clothes hanging down inside, just like today's tuxedo. There are dragon patterns on clothes, which may be the earliest "dragon robe". People wear checkered ribbons on their chests as a symbol of authority, such as the "law belt". The gesture of the portrait is extremely exaggerated, holding, and the two hands are not on a central axis. Is it a specific gesture? Still holding something? Is it a project? Or one in each hand? At present, there are different speculations, and it is still difficult to conclude. Scholars estimate that the bronze statue should be the most authoritative leader who combines theocracy and kingship. "