Throughout the ages, there have been many poems describing the scenery of the Three Gorges. It is precisely because of the beautiful scenery here and the unique artistic sentiment of the literati that many famous sayings have been spread here.
Back then, because there were many undiscovered ancient monuments and sites near the Three Gorges, archaeologists were very alert during the survey, searching every corner where cultural relics might be hidden. All carefully excavated.
As a result, during the Three Gorges demolition process, experts really discovered a "monster", and the mysterious man from 7,000 years ago was also able to see the light of day again.
The Chinese civilization has been around for five thousand years, giving most people a sense of continuity. However, this archaeological discovery is so old that it is unimaginable.
Human civilization has a very long history. Even people in ancient times still rely on nature for survival. They need the warmth of the sun, rain, dew and mountains. The same is true for the original Three Gorges ancestors. .
At that time, humans had already encountered natural hazards such as mountain collapse and flooding. Due to their limited cognitive abilities, they began to worship mountains, rivers, animals and "gods".
Many of them are fantasies given by human imagination, but they are also an important product of the development of human civilization and consciousness.
It is said that art comes from life, no matter how old it is, this is true.
Since the end of the last century, the closure, water storage, and navigation of the Three Gorges Project in the Yangtze River, as well as the rescue and excavation of cultural relics in the Three Gorges, have also been carried out in an intense and orderly manner. During this period, countless precious historical relics have also been recovered. Unearthed.
As early as June 1994, in order to formulate the Zigui County underground cultural relics protection planning report for the Three Gorges Project, the Hubei Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology also began an intensive investigation, and during the investigation, the East Gate was discovered Head ruins.
In 1998, the Hubei Provincial Cultural Relics and Archaeological Team excavated the Zigui Dongmentou site. Meng Huaping and other archaeological team members excavated pottery fragments such as supports, which also proved that many years ago, this place was There are traces of habitation.
In November, Meng Huaping used his spare time to inspect the neighborhood. Xu Menglin from Hubei Tianmen Municipal Museum also came to the scene. They searched carefully in the messy grass. As a result, Xu Menglin suddenly shouted:
< p> "Hua Ping, look, there seems to be writing on the stone."In this way, everyone unexpectedly discovered a prehistoric art relic: the "Sun Man" stone carving, which is about 105 centimeters in length. The width is 20 centimeters and the thickness reaches 12 centimeters. Such a major discovery directly surprises people.
In addition, when the archaeologists excavated again, they also excavated pottery from the Chengbeixi Culture era in the northeast. Such discoveries also shocked all the staff involved in the archaeology.
This has also been able to prove that as early as 7,000 years ago, some kind of tribal civilization had already formed in the Zigui area.
The study of the "Sun Man" stone carvings has been on the agenda from this moment on. In view of its long history and many details, it has been debated by scholars and experts.
Five years later, in 2003, an academic seminar on the protection of cultural relics and archaeological research in the Three Gorges was held. Many top figures in the industry participated in the meeting. Some of the cultural relics unearthed from the Three Gorges were displayed in the warehouse of the Yichang Museum. within.
Mr. Chen Wenwu, a well-known expert in the industry, said:
When he first saw the "Sun Man" stone carving, he was particularly surprised. The entire image looked full of "archaic" It has a very strong original flavor, but the sun graphic carving is very neat, and every "light" of the carving is particularly vigorous and powerful.
At the scene, many artists also put forward their own thoughts: the head of the character is slightly smaller than the sun, but strangely, there is a small pointed object on the top of the head. What kind of thing is it?
In addition, the shape of the entire body is an elongated inverted triangle, and the lines look relatively soft. The two lines at the lower end are not drawn to the top, but there is a horizontal line at the lower part. Below the horizontal line There is still a triangle, which puzzles many people.
Some experts say this: the small triangle represents the "male root".
However, this statement still makes many people doubtful.
There are small circles on the left and right sides of the lower limbs and body, much smaller than the other two, which may represent stars.
Generally speaking, the entire stone surface has been carefully polished and the surface is very smooth. The facial expressions of the characters are also particularly dignified, as if they are praising the sun and benefiting the people.
No matter which angle you think about it, the "Sun Man" stone carvings seem to be telling people an ancient story.
In the final analysis, because the purpose and social function of the "Sun Man" stone carvings are so long ago, it is not easy to figure out their true meaning.
Therefore, experts have thought of a good way: to find some valuable information through images from the same period.
In that era, people in ancient times were stuck in their narrow worldview and had no way to understand the world through inherent thinking and cognition.
Take the sun as an example. Neither rotation nor revolution is within their understanding. The logic they adapt to is:
Behind all natural phenomena, there is an extremely A special mysterious force is driving.
In this context of thinking, witchcraft was born.
Of course people hope to be able to communicate with the "gods", so they elect their own wizards.
Wizards also have their own "special skills". They can make full use of their witchcraft skills and the laws of nature they have learned to make the majority of ordinary residents believe in their abilities, and everyone can easily regard them as wizards. As "the incarnation of God."
In ancient China, there was the saying of the "Ten Witches of Lingshan", such as the Shenlong clan. The well-known Xia Yu also often presided over divination, sacrifices and other activities related to witchcraft.
Looking back, it is only in the context of extra respect for these great wizards that figures like the Zigui "Sun Man" stone carvings appeared.
In the current environment, everyone worships the sun and hopes to ward off disasters and avoid evil through worship activities. This is also a manifestation of the worship of the sun gods and satisfies the psychological needs of sacrifice.
In order to show their mysterious majesty, the tribal leaders need to make some ornaments. The "Sun Man" stone carving is one of them, which also reflects the leaders' prayer for the peace and prosperity of the tribe.
In ancient times, sacrificial activities were not small-scale, but the result of the hard work of planners and craftsmen. They imitated common things in life, and finally reflected them in the sacrificial paintings. This The difficulty of the process can also be imagined.
Judging from the modern handicraft industry, it is not difficult to make the "Sun Man" stone carvings, but more than 7,000 years ago, this was already a huge project.
Brown sandstone was usually chosen for the stone carvings at that time. The material required a long period of accumulation, making good use of the resources of the Three Gorges, and gradually figuring out a set of rules.
Generally speaking, craftsmen will first choose a harder object to make a tool, beat the stone into a strip, and then polish the side where the figure is carved to be very smooth.
After designing the engraved content, use sharp instruments to tap the stone surface little by little, so that the lines will look more uniform and concave and convex.
Looking at the "Sun Man" stone carvings, they are themselves a great creation of the ancestors of the Three Gorges. There is belief in the sun gods in this area, and the custom of offering sacrifices has been passed down for a long time.
At the Wangjiaba site in Zigui, sun patterns were found on earthen pottery pieces. Sun patterns were also found on the sacrificial pits unearthed on Zhongbao Island. Sun-related artifacts were also unearthed at the Taiziwan site. shape.
Various Taoists, temples and temples in Xiajiang worship various gods, among which the Sun God is the most common manifestation.
In addition to being used for sacrifices, the Zigui "Sun Man" stone carvings may also be a manifestation of the achievements of a certain tribal leader.
This statement has also been recognized by many scholars.
The carving technique of stone carving is also somewhat similar to the form of Chinese engraving art: intaglio engraving.
What it refers to is the flat modeling language, which is also the oldest artistic expression method of stone carving at home and abroad. This kind of carving technique is not a special case in China, it is widely used all over the world. Applications.
For example, there are triangular figures in the Tasili rock paintings in the Sahara Desert of Africa; the sun and feathered figures are also painted in the fourth area of ??the seventh site in Cangyuan, Yunnan, the Forbidden City. The sun inside is also radiant, and there are A giant holding a bow and arrow is also the image of the sun god among our ancestors.
Moreover, there are many similarities in the bodies of the characters between the Zigui "Sun Man" stone carvings and Cangyuan's rock paintings "Dance Picture" and "The Sun God and the Wizard". All are drawn as triangles, with straight lines used to represent the limbs.
In addition, there is also a sun worship picture in the Langshan area of ??Inner Mongolia. A person raises his hands above his head to worship the high-hanging sun. The sun is to the left or above the head.
The characters in the picture raise their hands high above their heads and squat with their legs bent. They abandon details and emphasize the main features. The appearance is very clear, and they are strikingly similar to the "Sun Man" stone carvings in Zigui.
The depiction of sun graphics has been described in almost all places where ancient civilizations existed. Different ethnic groups also have their own forms of belief. The similarities and similarities can be easily felt intuitively.
"Sun worship" has emerged as early as the Neolithic Age. Many cultures regard the sun as a living spirit, which exists in both China and the West. This can also fully illustrate the role of the sun in ancient people. important position in the eyes.
At the Shanghai World Expo, the "Sun Man" stone carvings in Zigui, Three Gorges were also displayed. In the China Pavilion, 8 national treasures were selected. The timeline is from the stone carvings of the Neolithic Age to the Ming Dynasty. The bronze figure with acupuncture points is enough to reflect the profound historical value of this cultural relic.
This exhibition is not only the dawn of Chinese culture, but also a review of human civilization.
The Zigui "Sun Man" stone carvings are also the earliest sun-related stone carvings discovered in the Three Gorges area of ??China. History provides researchers with physical basis for art and has extremely high original artistic value.
The secrets contained in it need to be continuously discovered and supplemented by future generations.
The first light of dawn: Stone carvings of the Sun God in Zigui, Three Gorges China Education News 2010