Text/Lingshi
In our impression, Yao Shunyu and Xia Shang Zhou are a long time ago, when people did not understand the development of science and technology, and there was not much culture. However, is this really the case?
Today we will explore the development of science and technology culture in the Shang Dynasty, which absolutely subverts your imagination.
1. Astronomical calendar
The earliest surviving phenological calendar in China is the Xia Xiao Calendar of the Xia Dynasty, which records the phenology, celestial conditions and corresponding production activities of each month of the year. The production activities contained in it are extensive, and arrangements have been made for agriculture, silkworms, animal husbandry, fishing and hunting, etc., which have played a certain role in promoting the production activities in ancient China.
The Shang Dynasty inherited the tradition of valuing celestial observation, and there are many records of celestial phenomena in the Yin Xu Bu Ci. There are records of solar and lunar eclipses, a certain understanding of stars, and especially the world's earliest record of nova observations.
The calendar of the Shang Dynasty, on the basis of the Xia calendar, adjusted the yin-yang calendar that was first practiced in China, so that it gradually became more complete. According to the Bu Ci, the large month of the Yin calendar is 30 days, and the small month is 29 days, and when the number of days that are uneven between the solar calendar and the lunar calendar is merged into January, a 13th month is added at the end of the year, which is the beginning of the Chinese set leap month.
In addition, the use of the Dry Branch Chronology method is also reflected in the oracle bones. The Yin calendar laid the foundation for the traditional Chinese calendar.
2. Bronze technology
Bronze is an alloy of copper with tin or lead. China's bronze smelting technology had already sprouted in the Xia Dynasty and reached its peak in the Shang Dynasty. There are many kinds of bronzes cast in the Shang Dynasty, with different sizes, different styles, and exquisite shapes.
The most outstanding representative of the bronze ware of the Shang Dynasty is Simu Peng Da Fangding. It was excavated in 1939 in the village of Wuguan in Anyang, Henan, and is 133 cm high (with ears), 111 cm long, 79 cm wide and weighs 875 kg. The material of Simu Pengding is bronze containing 84.77% copper, 11.64% tin and 2.7% lead. Each side of the body is made of 8 external molds, and the Ding foot is made of 3 external molds. The ears of Dading are hollow, and they are cast separately from Dading and then cast together, and the use of this sub-casting method to cast large and complex vessels is an outstanding creation in the bronze smelting and casting process.
Another bronze statue of the Four Sheep Fangzun is also famous. It was excavated in 1938 in Yueshanpu, Ningxiang, Hunan, with a majestic and solemn shape. The four corners of the four sheep squares are each decorated with a sheep's head, and the whole body is decorated with fine patterns, which is extremely exquisite. The sheep's head is cast by the casting method and then cast with the body, showing a very high level of craftsmanship.
Due to overcoming the soft weakness of pure copper, and having the advantages of low melting point and good casting performance, bronze has gradually become the main variety of ancient bronze, and promoted the development of manufacturing technology such as vehicles, ships, engraving, metal processing and agriculture, military and economic society.
The application of bronze ware represents the level of science and technology and cultural culture at that time, and has become a distinctive symbol of this era.
3. The mother of words - oracle bones
Oracle bone is a kind of writing engraved on turtle shells and animal bones, born in the Shang Dynasty. The tortoise shell and animal bones engraved with oracle bones were first excavated from the Yin Ruins in Xiaotun Village, Anyang, Henan, which was discovered in 1899 and excavated many times after 1928, and more than 100,000 pieces have been excavated.
The oracle bone words that have been found are about 4500 words, and about 1700 words can be recognized. These oracle bones are relics from the 273 years from the migration of Pan Geng to the fall of Yin, and are the oracle words and divination-related chronicles written by the Shang Dynasty using turtle shells and animal bones to divination.
The script structure of the oracle bone has not only shifted from a single character to a composite word, but also has a large number of shape and sound characters, which is a fairly mature script. There are a variety of character creation methods such as pictograms, huiyi, shape sounds, false loans, and finger things, and among the recognizable Chinese characters, the oracle bone script is the oldest writing system.
During the Wuding period of the Shang Dynasty, the large-scale Tuzhu cattle bone inscriptions are engraved on the front and back of the long poems, mainly describing the invasion of the Central Plains by the northern tribes, wild dog hunting and observing celestial phenomena.
4. Sanxingdui culture
Located in the north of Nanxing Town, Guanghan City, Sichuan Province, China, Sanxingdui Cultural Site is the ancient cultural site with the largest scope, the longest duration, the most exquisite excavated cultural relics and the richest cultural connotation discovered in Sichuan so far. Archaeological excavations have confirmed that the site was once the seat of the ancient Shu state capital, and its age continued from the late Neolithic period to the beginning of the Late Shang Dynasty, lasting nearly 2,000 years.
In the Sanxingdui site, tens of thousands of pottery, stone, gold, copper, jade and other cultural relics have been excavated, especially the two large Shang Dynasty sacrifice pits unearthed in 1986, which unearthed nearly a thousand exquisite and exquisite precious cultural relics, which caused a sensation in the world. Among the many rare treasures in this batch, there is a statue of Da Li, which can be called the crown of the world's bronze statues,
There are the largest, earliest, and strangely shaped bronze statues in China, the "pure gold scepter" that symbolizes the identity and power of the supreme leader of the Shu state at that time, the bronze sacred tree with the earliest age in the world, the tallest tree, and the magical image, and the gold mask as thin as paper. In addition, there are bronze human heads of different sizes, mysterious and grotesque bronze masks, dozens of precious ivory and thousands of sea shells.
In addition, the Shang Dynasty oracle bones have roughly thirty thousand numbers, clear decimal, odd, even and multiple concepts, with initial computing power. Optical knowledge was applied very early, and the micro-convex mirrors unearthed in the Shang Dynasty could illuminate the entire human face on a smaller mirror surface.