History is a mirror of human development, and taking history as a mirror has thousands of years of experience and lessons.
When the Sanxingdui site is continuously excavated, when we continue to realize the amazing cultural relics of more than 3,000 years ago, no matter how much confusion and incomprehension there is at present, behind these sites and cultural relics is related to the development of the entire Chinese national civilization.
To tell the truth, this makes me feel overjoyed, the level and richness of Chinese civilization, the culture and advancement of the ancient Shu ancestors beyond everyone's cognition and imagination.
In today's Sanxingdui Museum, there stands such a tall, shocking cultural relic, which can be called the most beautiful cultural relics excavated from the Sanxingdui site: the Tongtian God Tree, also known as the Copper God Tree, is the treasure of the Sanxingdui Museum (one of them).
The Tree of the Gods is divided into three layers, namely the base, the tree and the dragon. Each layer extends 3 branches, a total of 9 branches, each branch is bent in a different direction into a bow shape, there is a golden god bird, a total of nine, and the entire sacred tree is hung with "fruit", which has a history of more than 3,000 years.
This is the largest of all the bronze artifacts found on the mainland so far, reaching a height of 395 centimeters after restoration, and is currently the largest single bronze artifact found in the world. Since the part at the top has been missing, it cannot be fully rendered, but it is estimated that the full height should be around 5 meters. It is reported that this cultural relic was restored for 10 years.
The unique shape and complex craftsmanship of the Tongtian God Tree can be described as unique in the world. However, there are still different views in the academic community on the connotation of the sacred tree. But it is a consensus to define the copper tree as a "sacred tree".
In ancient history, myths and legends, the Chengdu Plain is "in the heavens and the earth", and "in the heavens and the earth" means "the center of the world", which represents a sacred tree standing in the center of the earth.
Some experts believe that the shape of the Tongtian God Tree is related to the "Jianmu" recorded in the "Classic of Mountains and Seas".
It is the ancient Shu people's heavenly ladder to communicate with heaven, earth and gods.
Some scholars believe that this is
A bronze vessel made by the ancient Shu people based on the "Legend of the Ten Days" is a physical portrayal of the worship of the sun.
In the ancient "Myth of the Ten Days", the movement of the sun was carried by the sacred bird flying in the sky. The golden crow on the sacred tree is a portrayal of the sun, and the image of the three layers of nine branches and its branches on the sacred tree is divided into nine birds, which is in line with the characteristics of "Fuso" and "Wakaki" of "having ten days on it".
Experts boldly speculate that there are 10 divine birds in the Divine Tree, and the tenth Golden Wu Divine Bird is at the very top of the Sacred Tree.
More than 3,000 years ago, the Sanxingdui people believed that the place of their sacrifice was the "center of the world", and when the sacred sacred tree was erected, the communication between people and heaven and earth was realized, so as to pray that the sun would "appear at the right time, the wind and rain would be smooth, the grain would be abundant, and the people and animals would prosper." ”
When I first saw this sacred tree, I became interested and thinking about the "three" and "nine" that appeared on the tree. The premise is that the sacred birds on the sacred tree are nine, not the "ten" that experts boldly speculate.
In ancient times, "three" and "nine" each had symbolic significance. For "nine", many people know one or two, which represents honor, mostly related to the emperor; it also represents the number of quantities; and there is the meaning of "the heaven is nine days, the earth is nine continents, the moon is nine paths, and the sun has nine lights".
The number "three" has more of the meaning of "through the sky".
According to historical records, the ancients believed that heaven was one, earth was two, and heaven and earth were added to three. The ancients said that there are three talents in the universe: heaven, earth, and man; there are three lights in the sky: the sun, the moon, and the stars. "Three" has a more important position in Taoist culture, such as one life two, two birth three, three life all things.
The appearance of "9 branches of 3 branches" and "9 sacred birds" in the Tree of The Gods is certainly not arranged by accident. For this reason, I am very convinced that the Sanxingdui civilization presents the diversity of Chinese civilization, rather than the source or continuation of the ancient Egyptian civilization.
When we look through the brilliant star of Sanxingdui to pursue the starry sky in the sky of Chinese civilization, a gust of wind of 3,000 years has blown through this ancient kingdom, and the people of the whole kingdom can listen to the music played by the swaying and collision of metal, and the crisp sound proves that a great Bronze Age reached its peak in the Sichuan Basin.