China News Service, Chengdu, September 22. Title: Yu Jian: Excavation of Sanxingdui cultural relics demonstrates the diversity and unity of Chinese civilization
Author Shan Peng
At the Sanxingdui site in Guanghan, Sichuan, the relics of the ancient Shu Dynasty that are more than 3,000 years old are not only stunning bronze treasures, but also engraved with a clear trajectory of exchanges, mutual learning, inclusiveness, and integrated development of Chinese civilization. Recently, Yu Jian, deputy research librarian of the Sanxingdui Museum, said in an interview that through the massive artifacts, ritual remains and settlement sites unearthed in Sanxingdui, we can clearly see the vivid imprint of the development of the diverse and integrated pattern of Chinese civilization, and understand the profound history of long-term exchanges, exchanges and integration between various regions and ethnic groups.
The Sanxingdui Civilization flourished in the Xia and Shang Dynasties and is the most brilliant ancient regional civilization in southwest China. As the core representative of civilization in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, Sanxingdui is located in the hinterland of the southwest. It has been a key node at the intersection of northern and southern cultures and river basin civilizations since ancient times. Historically, the rituals of the Central Plains, the artifacts and crafts of the Yellow River Basin, and the cultural customs of the Yangtze River Basin have converged and collided here, laying a solid foundation for the ancient Shu civilization to be deeply integrated into the Chinese civilization system and forming a diverse and symbiotic cultural pattern.
Recently, at the Sanxingdui Museum in Guanghan City, Sichuan Province, there has been an endless stream of tourists coming to explore the ancient Shu civilization. The picture shows the bronze human heads displayed in the Sanxingdui Museum attracting visitors to take photos. Photo by reporter Liu Zhongjun
Yu Jian introduced that the Sanxingdui civilization has not developed in isolation since its birth, but has maintained close interaction with regional civilizations in the Central Plains, the Yellow River Basin, and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The shape and decoration of the core ritual vessels such as single-winged copper bells and bronze statues unearthed from the site are highly consistent with those unearthed from Erlitou and Yinxu sites in the Central Plains, continuing the ritual system and craft tradition of the Central Plains dynasty. Bronze medal decorations have undergone obvious regional evolution based on the influence of the Central Plains. The shapes of the vessels have become smaller and the animal-face patterns have become more abstract, becoming a typical example of innovation in inheritance. A large number of remains of jade ritual vessels prove that the ancient Shu ancestors deeply inherited the jade worship cultural system that has lasted for thousands of years in China. At the same time, the shape and craftsmanship of the daily-use pottery unearthed from the site, such as pottery pans and pottery high-handled beans, are highly similar to those unearthed from the Erlitou site in the Yellow River Basin, fully reflecting the deep integration of northern and southern artifact cultures.
"In addition to the blending of artifacts, the homology of rituals and systems is the core evidence of the pluralistic and unified pattern of Chinese civilization." Yu Jian said. The sacrificial etiquette and belief system carried by the Sanxingdui sacrificial pit have similarities in belief appeals with the sacrificial ritual system of core sites in the Central Plains such as Yinxu, which proves that the ancient Shu civilization is an inseparable and important part of the Chinese civilization family, and highlights the distinctive characteristics of Chinese civilization that is inherited through exchanges and innovated through integration.
Thousands of years of continuous civilizational interaction have also written the history of exchanges, exchanges and integration of various ethnic groups in Southwest China. Yu Jian introduced that a large number of Asian elephant tusks were unearthed from the Sanxingdui site. With the advancement of comprehensive research on the discovery of more than a hundred ivory tusks at the Sanxingdui and Jinsha sites, as well as ancient climate and literature, more and more scholars are inclined to believe that they may have come from elephants in local or neighboring areas. Regardless of the source, there is evidence of cross-regional cultural exchanges between Sanxingdui and the southwest frontier and even Southeast Asia: the characteristic jade jade unearthed at Sanxingdui has also been found in Vietnam and other places with remains of the same shape and form, further confirming the historical facts of cross-civilization exchanges in the southwest region.
From the perspective of population development, the ancient Shu ancestors migrated to the Chengdu Plain along the Minjiang River Basin and continued to multiply and differentiate, gradually forming multiple settlement groups and different branches such as the Baodun Culture. With its strong strength, the Sanxingdui ethnic group reached its peak in the early and middle Shang Dynasty and became the political, sacrificial and cultural center of the ancient Shu civilization. The large number of exquisite bronze vessels unearthed from the sacrificial pits are precious physical witnesses to the development of human settlements and the integration of ethnic groups in ancient southwest China.
"The complete ruins of Sanxingdui are powerful evidence of the continuity and unity of Chinese civilization." Yu Jian said that Sanxingdui retains a complete ancient city pattern consisting of city walls, palaces, residences, and sacrificial areas. The urban planning concept of the Duck River running through the city is in line with the ideas of ancient city construction in the Central Plains. Relying on carbon 14 dating, ivory isotope analysis, bronze craft traceability and other multi-disciplinary research, it can be confirmed that Sanxingdui bronze casting technology belongs to China's local bronze casting system, and is in the same line with the bronze craftsmanship in Erlitou, Yinxu, Panlongcheng in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and other places, and is fully integrated into the national bronze civilization development system.
The special exhibition "Yungang Grottoes: A World Cultural Heritage Built in the Pingcheng Era of the Northern Wei Dynasty" on display in Hall 4 of the Sanxingdui Museum in Guanghan City, Sichuan Province attracted many visitors. The exhibition displays a total of more than 120 pieces (sets) of cultural relics and artistic reproductions, focusing on the artistic style and historical and cultural heritage of the grottoes during the Northern Wei Dynasty. Photo by reporter Liu Zhongjun
How can the fusion code of the thousand-year-old Shu civilization be understood and passed down well by contemporary people? Yu Jian believes that the display of cultural relics is only the foundation, and activated interpretation and systematic dissemination are the keys to continuing the roots of civilization. At present, relying on multi-disciplinary archaeological results, complete site display, and systematic science popularization can break the public's one-sided understanding of Sanxingdui and clearly explain the integrated relationship between ancient Shu civilization and Chinese civilization. In the future, through regular cultural relic science popularization, archaeological achievements promotion, and regional cultural linkage dissemination, more people can understand the historical context behind Sanxingdui of the symbiosis of various regions and the blending of various ethnic groups.
