Huaxia Archaeology, No. 2, 2022

Huaxia Archaeology, No. 2, 2022

Huaxia Archaeology 2022.2 Table of Contents

Miaodigou culture with the shrew

--Xu Yongjie

The Miaodigou culture was a strong archaeological culture in the prehistoric period of China, and at its peak it "stretched from the Central Henan Plain in the east, to the eastern part of Qinghai in the west, from the upper reaches of the Han River in the south, and to the bending area of the river in the north." The influence is more than the Bohai Sea in the east, the Yangtze River in the south, and the yin of the Yanshan Mountains in the north." Su Bingqi attributed the cultural characteristics of the Miaodigou culture to heavy lip and small-mouth pointed bottom bottles and flower patterns, bird pattern faience pots, and the academic research on the culture of faience also mainly focuses on its floral patterns and bird patterns, while few people involve shrews, turtles and frog patterns.

Images of shrews, turtles and frogs

The main motifs of the Miaodigou culture are: 3 pieces of frog-patterned pottery reported by the first excavation of the Miaodigou site in Shaanxi County, Henan Province, (report plate Jiu 1, 2, 3) Of which the specimen H52:48 is larger, the pattern is painted in the upper part of the scroll along the basin, the main pattern is a blank large circle painted with a black colored frog, a small head pointed round, no neck, short forelimbs, three toes, a circle, two vertical lines in the middle of the back, a dotted pattern on both sides of the vertical line, and the hind limbs and lower body are mutilated. (Figure 1, 1) The other 2 pieces are more mutilated and the pattern is difficult to identify. Ruzhou Hongshan Temple Urn Coffin Tomb is one of the few tombs that can be identified as the Miaodigou culture, and the drawing on the "Yichuan Tank" used as a burial tool is very mysterious. Among them, the specimen W42:1 upper abdominal ring belt is painted with five groups of patterns. There is a dot in two groups of circles. One group is a "deer" running sideways with its head held high. A group of human turtles, a running human, swinging arms, and a turtle in each hand. The turtles are preceded by a group of monolithic turtles with a round head and a long neck, and the front of the limbs is a dot and a short tail. (Figure 1, 3)

Artifacts depicting shrews, turtles and frogs similar to this piece of faience pottery are also found in the remains of the first phase of the Jiangzhai site in Lintong, Shaanxi, and the cultural nature of the first phase of Jiangzhai belongs to the Banpo culture. Banpo culture is an archaeological culture that has coexisted with the Miaodigou culture in the Yangshao era of Shaanxi, Jinyu region for a long time, and the artifacts and cultural elements of the two cultures coexist in large quantities at the same site, the same accumulation unit, and the same artifacts. Jiang Zhai rolls along the basin (W63:1), the inner painted symmetrical two frogs and four fish, all swim in the water; the frog has a flat round head, front and back limbs, similar length and shortness, three toes of the forelimbs, a round body, and a dot-shaped pattern on the back. (Figure 1, 2)

The Majiayao culture distributed in the late Yangshao period in the Ganqing region is a successor to the Miaodigou culture, and there are many artifacts painted with shrew patterns in the Majiayao culture. Tianshui Shi Zhao Cun Fifth Remains Of the Open Bowl (T244:16), the bowl is painted with a shrew, a flat round head, slightly shorter forelimbs, slightly longer hind limbs, three toes of the forelimbs, a round body, three vertical lines in the middle of the back, and oblique reticulated lines painted on both sides of the vertical lines, with no tail. (Figure 2, 1) Lanzhou Yan'erwan Majiayao type faience open bowl, the bowl is painted with a shrew, flat round head, limbs of the same length, forelimbs uplifted, hind limbs drooping, forelimb three toes, round body, back painted longitudinal and horizontal grid pattern, wide short tail. (Figure 2, 2) Anderson collected a faience pot at the site of Lintao Majiayao in that year, and the inner wall was painted with a shrew, which was basically the same as that painted in the Faience Bowl of Yan'er Bay. (Figure 2, 3) In addition, "Gansu Faience Pottery" contains two variations of faience pottery, one is a "Shilingxia Type" faience pot from Yangjiaping, Tianshui (original book number 19), and (Figure 2, 4) The other is a Majiayao type faience pot from Zhangxian County (original book no. 31). (Figure 2, 5)

The reappearance of shrew (turtle, frog) figures was during the Shang and Zhou dynasties. In 1955, Zhengzhou Baijiazhuang Early Shang Dynasty Tomb M2 unearthed a piece of copper, neck with 3 shrews, pointed round head, convex snout, neck, larger upper limbs, upper lift, small lower limbs, flattened, round body, persimmon patterns on the back, with tails. (Fig. 3, 1) Rong Geng's "Shang Zhou Yi Instrument Examination", there is a bronze plate of the late Shang Dynasty with a turtle as a decoration, a turtle and fish pattern plate, (the original book figure 824) The turtle is in the center of the plate, with a pointed round head, a neck, thick and short limbs, an upper forelimb, a flat extension of the lower limbs, a round body, and a four-circle pattern on the back, with a tail. (Fig. 3, 2) Turtle fish bird pattern plate, (original book figure 826) The turtle is in the center of the plate, with a pointed round head, a neck, an upper limb lift, a lower limb lift, a round body, a seven-circle pattern on the back, and a tail. (Figure 3, 3)

In recent years, the National Museum has collected a piece of shrew-shaped bronze ware that is rumored to have come from Henan, a book-like mole. The whole of the instrument is shrew-shaped, prone crawling, triangular head, convex snout, neck, limbs of the same length, extended to the side, long round body, short tail, three arrows in the back, one arrow in the neck, the arrow did not reach the arrow feather, and the back armor cast inscription 4 lines and 33 characters. (Fig. 3, 4) Zhu Fenghan interpreted this inscription as follows: "On the day of Prophecy, the king and Yu Huanshui obtained this shrew." The king first shot one arrow, and then three arrows in a row, all of which hit and did not have any wasted arrows. Wang Ming gave this shrew to the book, and the king said, 'Remember this matter in the Philistine, as your treasure.' ’”

More images of shrews, turtles, and ferrets appear as graphic characters, and are mostly combined with humanoid figures, which scholars have interpreted as "celestial shrew" or "celestial shrew". Some scholars have collected statistics, and there are 118 pieces of Tian mole (Tian Mo) and shrew (黾) on the Bronze ware of the Shang Zhou Dynasty. The combination of human and shrew (黾) is basically the same as the upper human form, which is a frontal human form, a round head, the upper limbs extended on both sides of the body, and the lower limbs do horse steps and squats. The head and limbs of the shrew (黾) are basically the same, with a pointed round head, an upper limb extended forward, a bent lower limb, and three toes at the end of the limb, while the neck, dorsal stripe, and tail have variations, or have a neck or no neck, or a dotted dorsal stripe or a decile dorsal stripe or an X-shaped dorsal stripe, or a tail or no tail.

The earliest and more complete compilation of this character in modern times is Luo Zhenyu's "Three Generations of Jijin Wencun", which records the son of the zi yi (6.20.5), the shrew (黾) is a pointed round head, with a neck, the forelimbs lifted, the lower limbs bent, the round body, the back of the four dots, no tail. (Fig. 4, 1) Ding Yi (6.20.8), the son of ding yi (6.20.8), the shrew (黾) is a pointed round head, with a neck, the forelimbs lifted upwards, the lower limbs are bent, the body is round, the back is X-shaped, and there is no tail. (Fig. 4, 2) The son of the son is the father of the shrew (13.1.4), the shrew (黾) is a pointed round head, with a neck, the forelimbs are lifted, the lower limbs are bent, the round body, the back is ten-shaped, and there is no tail. (Fig. 4, 3) The son of the male shrew (13.5.3), the shrew (黾) is a pointed round head, with a neck, the forelimbs are lifted, the lower limbs are bent, the body is round, and the back is four polka dots, with a tail. (Fig. 4, 4) Zi Ding (2)(2.39.8), the shrew (黾) is a pointed round head, with a neck, the forelimbs are lifted, the lower limbs are bent, the body is round, the back is ten-shaped, and there is a tail. (Fig. 4, 5) The son of the son is the father of the shrew (ii) (13.1.5), the shrew (黾) is a pointed round head, no neck, the forelimbs are lifted, the lower limbs are bent, the round body, the back is ten-shaped, and there is no tail. (Fig. 4, 6) Father Gengding (II) (3.46.3), the shrew (黾) is a pointed round head, no neck, the forelimbs are lifted, the lower limbs are bent, the body is round, and the back is four dotted and tailless. (Fig. 4, 7) The father is a shrew (12.55.3), a pointed round head, no neck, an upper forelimb lift, a bent lower limb, a round body, a ten-shaped stripe on the back, and a tail. (Figure 4, 8)

2. Tianfei, Xuanyuan, Yellow Emperor, Miaodigou culture

For graphic characters, Guo Moruo, Rong Geng, Tang Lan and Yu Shengwu and other ancient script masters have discussed or interpreted them, of which Guo Moruo's interpretation has a greater impact. He interpreted the word as "Tianfei", or "Tianfei", or Xuanyuan, and associated it with the Ji Clan Zhou clan and the Yellow Emperor clan of the legendary era. The meaning of the word is mentioned many times in Guo's writings. "Its word is 'Celestial Weasel', Gaigu No. Regushi clan also." Yu Jin attained the ancient twelve-year-old name of the zodiac Zhou Tian, yin zhi regent is the big horn, followed by 卯之 shan fu dang yu Xuanyuan (western Leo), and shan fu is called tian shrew. Yes, Then Xuanyuan and Shan Fu are all changes in the sound of the Heavenly Shrew. Xuanyuan did not have to be the Yellow Emperor, the ancient had this surname, which still existed and then disappeared at the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty, so later generations attached it to the Yellow Emperor's ear. "Yu Jinkao was twelve years old, and learned that Shan Fu was xuanyuan in the stars, Shan Fu was called Tianfei, and the ancient Yi ming had a graphic text author, and his examples were at most, and the old interpretation of 'descendants' was actually the name of the nation, and Yu Doubt was the Tianfei, that is, Xuanyuan. Xuanyuan moved to the name of the star for the clan, one of the cases of the Ancient Divide, and judas fire for the Shang Xingye. With Xuanyuan as the Yellow Emperor, he is regarded as the ancestor of the Han nation, and is passed down by future generations. "The original inscription of the word Tianfei is common, the old interpretation is a descendant, and the yu is said to be a heavenly shrew, that is, Xuanyuanye." "Zhou Yuxia": 'My Ji clan is from the Heavenly Shrew' is from the Yellow Emperor. The twelve-year-old Shan Fu, that is, the twelve times of the Heavenly Shrew, in recent years, according to Yu Kao, it is really in the Leo Regulus of the Zodiac. The person who plays the star name by the surname is the same as the shang star. ”

Although Guo, while identifying Tianfei as Xuanyuan and Xuanyuan as the title of the Yellow Emperor's clan, expressed doubts about The Yellow Emperor's link. However, Yang Xiangkui, Zou Heng and others still agreed with his basic views. Yang Xiangkui believes that "the Yellow Emperor's name 'Xuanyuan' is really a totem worship, that is, the worship of aquatic animals, turtles and snakes." "As a clan emblem, the Heavenly Shrew actually comes from Xia, and Zhou is only from the Heavenly Shrew, that is, from the Yellow Emperor of Xuanyuan."

In the data collected by Zou Heng in his article "On the Culture of the Pre-Zhou Dynasty", in addition to the combination, he also combined with other beasts, counting as many as six categories. (Fig. 5) He believes that the Shang Zhou bronze inscription "" is the emblem of a famous clan in the Zhou clan, "from these celestial beast artifacts, people will easily think of: "Shi ji , the Five Emperors Benji" records that when the Yellow Emperor fought in the wilderness of Hanquan, he used exactly six armies with different totems: bear, 罴, 貔, 貅, 貙, and tiger. Is this all a coincidence? Of course, the materials we have collected are limited, and in the future, there may be other celestial beast clan emblems found, and the yellow emperor clan may lead more than six clans. However, these clan emblems cannot be said to have nothing to do with the Yellow Emperor Clan."

The material legacy of the Yellow Emperor clan is the Miaodigou culture of the Yangshao era, which has become a tendency in the archaeological community, and Huang Huaixin spoke of this view earlier: "The Yangshao culture Banpo type is equivalent to the culture of the Yandi Department, and the Miaodigou type is equivalent to the culture of the Yellow Emperor's Department." ”

The Material Relics of the Miaodigou Culture as a Yellow Emperor Tribe can be cited in three proofs: First, the two are the same age. The Miaodigou culture dates back about 5500 years, belonging to the early and middle Yangshao era. When the Chinese civilization source exploration project is set up, the dating range is locked in the Longshan era of archaeology and the five emperors era in ancient history, that is, the five emperors era of ancient history is compared to the Longshan era. There are many theories about the Five Emperors of Ancient History, the Source Exploration Project adopts the "Chinese Lu Language" to the "History of the Five Emperors Benji", the five emperors are the Yellow Emperor, the Emperor, the Emperor, the Yao and the Shun, if the Yao Zen gives way to Shun, Shun Zen gives way to Yu, the Yu transmission is located in Qi, and the generations are connected, then the Yao and Shun eras should overlap with the late Longshan Era, and the Emperor Zhao, The Emperor, and the Yellow Emperor era should not be late to the late Longshan Era, but should overlap with the early Longshan Era, and even extend into the Yangshao Era. Among the many theories of which five emperors were the five emperors, the influence that was not under the system of "Chinese LuYu" was the system of the five emperors of Taihao, Yandi, Yellow Emperor, Shaohao, and Zhao Yu contained in the Zuo Chuan Zhao Gong Seventeen Years, Lü Shi Chunqiu Xi di ji, and Li Ji Yue Ling. In this system, the Five Emperors ended with the Emperor Huan, excluding the three Emperors, Yao and Shun, and the Five Emperors era is likely to have nothing to do with the Longshan Era, but is comparable to the Yangshao Era.

The second is the geographical overlap of the two. The scope of activity of the Yellow Emperor's clan recorded in the "History of the Five Emperors" is: "As far as the sea in the east, Dengmaru Mountain and Daizong; west to Kongtong, Dengjitou; south to Jiang, Dengxiong and Xiang; and north to the meat porridge, in line with Busan, and Yi in Zhuolu'a." Yu Xiyun believes that the distribution range of the Miaodigou culture: "from the Central Henan Plain in the east, to the eastern part of Qinghai in the west, from the upper reaches of the Han River in the south, and to the bending area of the river in the north." The influence is more than the Bohai Sea in the east, the Yangtze River in the south, and the yin of the Yanshan Mountains in the north. ”

Third, the descendants of the two are of equal complexity. The Yellow Emperor's clan included many sub-tribes, and the Chinese Jin Yu IV records: "The son of the Yellow Emperor, twenty-five sects, fourteen of whom have the surname of Ji, You, Qi, Ji, Teng, Zhen, Ren, Xun, 僖, 僖, 姞, 儇, and Yi Is also." However, Qingyang and the Canglin clan are the same as the Yellow Emperor, so they are both surnamed Ji. Historians have questioned the authenticity of this record because it violates the ancient system of "not marrying with the same surname". Gu Jiegang said: "This twelve surnames are organized as one and included in the Yellow Emperor's lineage, and their boldness is particularly great, but the suspicious points are many." Five suspicious points were then cited. However, some people think it is credible, Yang Ximei believes: "This phenomenon (father and son brothers with different surnames), according to the patrilineal clan society descending from the Han Dynasty in China, is difficult to understand, but in modern anthropology, the matriarchal caste system of modern primitive peoples or ancient civilized peoples is obviously commonplace, rather than any novelty and incomprehensibility." Wang Xiantang believes: "The surname is derived from the mother, the difference in the surname, the difference in the mother, the total number of surnames is thirteen, and the Yellow Emperor marries thirteen concubines." "After the disintegration of the Miaodigou culture, the newly generated archaeological culture within its distribution range has more or less left the elements of the Miaodigou culture, including the Quanhu culture in the Shaanxi-Jin-Yu region, the Dadiwan type in the Longdong region, the Majiayao culture in the Ganqing region, the Qinwangzhai culture in the central and western regions of Henan, the Dasikong culture in the northern and southern Henan regions, the Yijing culture in central Shanxi, the Haisheng Bulang culture and the Miaozigou culture in the Hetao region, the small river along the culture in the northern and southern regions of Yanshan and the Qujialing culture in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, etc. But only the Izumi culture and the Dadiwan culture are its direct successors.

3. Shrews and shrews

Guo Moruo interpreted it as "Tianfei", and Rong Geng also interpreted the word as "Tianfei"; while Tang Lan and Yu Shengwu, who were also ancient characters, interpreted it as "Tianfei".

Tang Lan said of the "turtle" shaped pattern on the shoulder of the early Shang copper skull unearthed in Baijiazhuang, Zhengzhou: "There are inscriptions on the skulls, which are also pictorial hieroglyphs. "This word is very similar to the turtle character, but the four legs of the turtle character are equal in size, and the hind feet of this inscription are longer than the front feet, and the curve from the tail should be the word 黾."

Yu Shengwu once said, "I think that 鼋 is the combined text of the word Tianwu, which is heaven, and there is no need to repeat it." The Sayings say: '黾, frog (frog) 黾也.' 'Both the mole and the turtle are hieroglyphs, but the configuration in the ancient script is very different. The turtle has short feet and a tail, and the mustel is tailless, and its posterior feet are both extended in front and folded in the back. However, the character is like a frog, and there is no doubt. Li Shizhen's "Compendium of Materia Medica" Toad Strip Collection: "The toad hides in the wet place under people's homes, is large, has many prickly heat on its back, walks extremely slowly, cannot jump, and cannot sound." Shrimp and toads are mostly in the Pi Ze, small shape, black spots on the skin, can jump to pick up hundreds of insects, and the action is extremely urgent. According to the frog is called the toad in the folk today. Yu Shi distinguishes between turtles (shrews) and frogs (toads) from the presence or absence of the tail and the short length (folding) of the foot, and from the composition of the golden text, the difference between the presence or absence of the neck and the pattern of the back should also be added.

Before considering whether the lower part of the Golden Text is a shrew or a shrew, it is also necessary to understand the classification of shrews, turtles, frogs and toads in modern zoology, which is a genus of turtles of the reptile order turtle turtle family, the largest turtle, with a dorsal disc of nearly 130 cm in size. Turtles and turtles belong to the same reptile turtle turtle order, belonging to the turtle family and turtle family, the two are also collectively called turtles, the main difference in posture is that the glans is more rounded, the turtle head is more pointed, the turtle back has a geometric pattern, the turtle back has scattered small wart spots, the turtle is in the water for a long time, and the turtle needs land "sun nails". Frogs and toads belong to the same amphibian tailless order, belonging to the frog family and the toad family. The frog can jump and crawl, with stripes and dots on its back. Toads can only crawl, cannot jump, and have warts on their backs.

Taking the neck as a sign, the frog has no neck, the turtle has a neck, but the turtle neck can be retracted into the shell, so that it can only be determined that the necked person is a turtle, and the neckless person is a frog or a turtle. Taking the tail as an indicator, the turtle has a tail and the frog has no tail, but the juvenile frog has a tail, so it can only be determined that the tailless person is not a turtle, and the tailed person is a turtle or a frog. The dorsal pattern is indicated, the turtle back pattern is geometric (X-shaped and decaloid pattern) and dot pattern (shrew), and the frog back pattern is the dot pattern (toad) and vertical line pattern. In this way, those with geometric stripes on the back are turtles, and those with dorsal stripes with dots may be toads or shrews. According to these indications, the son of the father of the shrew, (see Figure 4, 4) has a neck, a tail, a dot pattern, and is a shrew. Zi Ding (2), (see Figure 4, 5) has a neck, a tail, and a ten-shaped stripe, which is a turtle. Father Gengding (II), (see Figure 4, 7) has no neck, has a tail, and is dotted with dots, which is a shrew. The father, the shrew-shaped cuneiform , ( see Figure 4 , 8 ) has no neck , has a tail , and is ten-shaped , and is a turtle. The son of the male Yi Yi, (see Figure 4, 1) has a neck, no tail, and a dot pattern, and it is not certain that it is a shrew or not a toad. The son of Ding Yi, the father of the son, (see Figure 4, 2) has a neck, no tail, and X-shaped stripes, and cannot be identified as a turtle. The son of the son of the father ,1), (see Figure 4, 3) has a neck, no tail, and ten-shaped stripes, and cannot be identified as a turtle. The son of the father (ii), (see Figure 4, 6) has no neck, no tail, and ten-shaped stripes, and cannot be identified as a turtle or frog. (Table 1)

Through the analysis of the physical characteristics of shrews, turtles, frogs and toads, the lower morphology includes four species that are definite or probable, such as shrews and turtles as one class, frogs and toads as one, Jin Wendang includes two species, and some are difficult to identify as shrews or shrews. Were the ancients able to accurately distinguish between shrews, turtles, frogs and toads in terms of physical characteristics? The difference between the shrew turtle and the frog and the toad is large and easy to distinguish; the difference between the shrew and the turtle is different, and the difference between the frog and the toad is sensitive and slow, which is difficult to distinguish. Therefore, scholars are correct to classify this type of graphic text as a discussion of the two types of shrews and shrews. However, the toad is slow, crawling, and the same as the shrew, whether the ancients identified it as the same kind, it is difficult to predict.

In today's understanding of shrews and ferrets, from the physical characteristics of the judgment that there is a problem with the shrew or the shrew, some scholars have seen this problem. Yang Xiangkui pointed out: "The makers of hieroglyphs have no ability to sketch, but only take their divine appearances, if they must be like each other, why should they be examined by philologists." Zou Heng further gave an example: "There is also a famous clan in the Zhou clan, and the emblem is called or, that is, 'Tian'. In the golden text, there are many clan emblems depicting the human body, and the characteristics of the tianzi are: standing in the front, round head, flat shoulders, sagging arms, legs apart, hands and feet are outstretched. In 1963, in The Qijia Village of Fufeng, Shaanxi Province, the three instruments of Wenkao Ri's Fang Zun, Fang Yi and Fang Yi were found, with the inscription, with the pattern, and the same form of the production wind, which was cast for one family at the same time. But its clan emblem is painted in two ways: one with chicks and one without. It can be seen that these two ways of writing are the same. The chick under the crotch of the word "heaven" has the same meaning as the tail under the crotch of the word "黾". Cao Shuqin and Yin Weizhang also gave examples: "The inscription (Qi yao 18.2.3-4) has the same inscription, but the hind legs of the inscription are long and have no tail; the inscription has a short hind leg and a short tail. The appearance of the same inscription on the same bronze ware shows that the degree of standardization of the text used at that time was not very high. "Since the meaning of the tail is the same, is the difference between the presence or absence of the neck, the length of the limbs, and the form of the dorsal stripe also have the same meaning?"

If the prehistoric faience pottery shrew and mole pattern are considered by considering the various physical indications of the Shang Zhou Jin Wen Shrew and the Mole, then the pattern on the Temple Bottom Ditch Faience Pot (H52:48) is a pointed round head, no neck, short upper limbs, vertical lines and dot patterns on the back, resembling a frog-like shrew, but because the lower part is crippled, it is not known whether the hind limbs are long or short, and there is no tail, so it is difficult to make a conclusion. (See Figure 1, 1) Hongshan Temple Faience Clay Jar (W42:1) Ring belt tattooed on a single body, round head, long neck, limbs of the same length, with a tail, for the turtle; the human animal pattern, the animal body carried by the hands is the same as the single turtle, for the turtle, the person and the turtle are the same as the Jinwen People's Shrew. (See Figure 1, 3) The drawing in the Jiangzhai faience pot (W63:1) has no neck, the limbs are the same length, the back is dotted, and there is no tail, which should be a toad. (See Figure 1, 2) The shape of the two painted clay pots seen in Lanzhou Yan'erwan and Lintao Majiayao is the same, (see Figure 2, 2, 3) are flat round heads, no necks, limbs of the same length, dense grid patterns on the back, short and thick tails, should be shrews.

Through the above analysis, it can be considered that the upper part of the golden text is human-shaped, and the lower part is the graphic text of the shrew, turtle, frog and toad, which has the same meaning, and can be interpreted as "heavenly shrew" or "heavenly shrew", so as to push up to the prehistoric period of the Temple Bottom Gully culture of the shrew, turtle, frog and toad faience pottery pattern, the meaning should also be the same. If we agree to interpret such figures as "Heavenly Shrew", which is "Xuanyuan", Xuanyuan is the most common of the yellow emperor's names, and the material relics of the Yellow Emperor's tribe are the Miaodigou culture, then the name "Heavenly Shrew" can best show its meaning.

4. Shrews and birds

In the faience pottery of the Miaodigou culture, the moose pattern is also symbiotic with the bird pattern on the same vessel.

Hongshan Temple Deep Abdominal Tank (W84:1), a white color band around the middle of the abdomen, painted on the ribbon with a dark brown turtle and two birds, the turtle is centered, running sideways, the neck is extended, the mouth is open, the body is round, the forelimbs are forward, the hind limbs are backward, the limbs are four toes, and the short and thick tail is shortened. Two birds, one in front of the turtle, one behind the turtle, facing the turtle, are in an upright sideways shape, with their heads up, their mouths open, their legs extended forward, and their tails short. (Fig. 6, 1) The temple bottom ditch basin along the upper fragment (H52:48), the upper abdomen is painted with a black pattern, the middle of the large circle is painted with a shrew, pointed round head, short forelimbs, round body, dotted pattern on the back; the left side of the large circle is painted with a simplified bird pattern, with a dot symbolizing the bird's head, with an arc symbolizing the bird's body, the head and tail; the right side of the large circle has a residual dot, which should be the bird's head. (Fig. 6, 2) Late Yangshao era faience vase (F820:15) at the Dadiwan site in Qin'an, Gansu Province, the black color of the abdomen of the bottle draws two sets of patterns, located on both sides of the utensil, one set of patterns is shrew, pointed round head, no neck, short forelimbs, uplifted, round body, back decorated with dense oblique grid patterns, and mutilations below the lower limbs; one set of patterns is two birds facing the bird, symbolizing the bird's head and wing tip with a dot, and an arc triangle symbolizing the bird's body, the two birds' backs are opposite, and the head wings are facing the other side of the shrew. (Figure 6, 6)

This paper identifies the pattern composed of dots and arcs on the faience pots produced at the Miaodigou site as a side-view bird, and the pattern composed of dots and arc triangles on the faience pots produced at the Dadiwan site as a positive bird, which is the understanding of the classification of the bird pattern of the Miaodigou culture by Zhang Pengchuan's "Chinese Faience Atlas". The three faience patterns mentioned in this article have a common feature in the composition, that is, one turtle and two birds, and the turtle is located between the two birds. The birds on the Faience Jar of Hongshan Temple can only identify the long neck, it is difficult to determine why the bird is, and the bird pattern on the faience pot and the Dadiwan Faience Vase in the bottom ditch of the temple has been highly abstracted, and it is impossible to identify the bird.

Although it is not obvious from the morphology that the bird pattern of the three turtles and birds is a bird pattern, it is certain that the owl has appeared in the life of the residents of the Miaodigou culture. The most famous owl object of the Miaodigou culture is from the owl in Quanhu Village, Huaxian County, Shaanxi Province, which is regarded as a national treasure and collected in the National Museum, the owl is squatting in shape, with a rich posture, two wings slightly braced, two feet thick, majestic and powerful. The eyes are round and convex, looking straight ahead, which is awe-inspiring. (Fig. 6, 3) In addition, at the ruins of Miaodigou and Quanhu Village, there are faience patterns and clay sculptures of the image of the owl.

Images of the symbiosis of turtles and birds are also found in Han Dynasty portrait tiles. The first issue of "Central Plains Cultural Relics" in 1987 reported a batch of Han Dynasty portrait bricks from Xinzheng, Henan. Brick 17 is a bird and a basalt, a creeping large turtle in front, stretching its head and neck, crawling on four legs, with a short tail on its back; a giant bird after the turtle, a long crown, a long beak, a giant body, a short tail, and a thick leg; an S-shaped snake lives between the turtle and bird, which is called by the beak of the bird. (Fig. 6, 4) Brick 18 is a carp and a turtle, the brick is diamond-shaped, the lower part is painted with a side-looking giant turtle, with its head held high, a long neck, a back bulge, a diagonal reticule on the back, a short tail, and limbs of the same length, crawling; a bird squatting on the back of the turtle, with its head held high, a round eye, and a long beak; a person behind the bird, with a bow on the front legs, a hind leg pedal, and the upper limbs swing forward and backward, in a running shape; the empty space of the picture is filled with 10 circles. (Fig. 6, 5) The report believes that the lower part is a sacred turtle, the upper part of the turtle is an owl (owl), and the character is a carp. The portrait brick is reminiscent of the legend of Yu Father's fish. The legend is found in the Chu Ci Tianwen: "If you don't let Mihong, why should the master still be shangzhi?" Why worry, why not teach and do it? The turtle is dragging, how can the carp listen? If you want to succeed, why should the emperor punish him? It means: "If the water is not successful, why does everyone respect it?" They all say why worry, why not try it first and then use it? The tortoises are pulling each other one by one, why do the turtles let them do it? But even if he still wants to cure the flood, why did God sentence him to death? ”

The scene painted by the brick painting of the portraits of Xinzheng Cang and the Turtle is naturally reminiscent of the bronze inscription of a large number of people and weasels in the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, and even the Hongshan Temple specimen W84:1 "Double Bird Playing Turtle" figure of the Miaodigou culture, and the specimen W42:1 "Benren Ti Turtle" figure. The portrait bricks of the carp and the turtle tell a long-standing ancient historical legend in the form of pictures - "the turtle dragging the title".

5. Shrews and lizards

In the remains of the Miaodigou culture, a reptile related to the shrew can also be seen - lizards. Lizards are reptiles, lizards, lizards.

A total of 3 pieces of pottery with lizards (geckos) attached to the table of the temple were found at the site of the temple bottom ditch, all of which were the mouth edges of the utensils. Specimen H20:36, lizard clay sculpture, upper body mutilation, head obliquely to the mouth, body decorated with wheat ear pattern, thin body, slender tail, two hind feet forward. (Fig. 7, 1) Specimen T234:16, lizard clay sculpture, lizard full body, head and tail, obliquely attached to the mouth edge of the utensil, long round head, slightly fat body, back covered with dots, short limbs forward, long tail thicker. (Fig. 7, 2) Specimen T234:17, lizard clay sculpture, mutilated tail, head and tail, obliquely attached to the mouth edge of the utensil, long round head, slightly fat body, back covered with dots, short limbs forward. (Fig. 7, 3) Hongshan Temple Faience Jar (W46:1), lizard clay sculpture, slender and straight body, head and tail, attached to the upper part of the wall, long round head, rectangular body, slender tail long straight, symmetrical limbs. (Fig. 7, 4) Hongshan Temple specimen W128:1, residual colored pottery jar lizard painting, for the large mouth tank in the middle of the white ribbon painted black pattern, a total of two groups. One of the groups is not very clear. The clear person lies horizontally on the wall of the vessel, with a long round head, an inconspicuous neck, a slightly fat body, short limbs, extended on the side of the body, and a thick tail. (Fig. 7, 5) Gaoling Yangguanzhai painted pottery pot lizard painting, black painted on the upper abdomen of the painted clay pot, lying horizontally, pointed round head, slender body, slender tail, slender limbs, stretched on the side of the body, the middle of the back is not painted, leaving a blank. (Figure 7, 6)

In the Shang Zhou Jin text, there is also a graphic text combined with a weasel, that is. The inscription recorded in Luo Zhenyu's "Three Generations of Jijin Wencun" has a weasel-shaped ding (2.12.12), which is shaped on the mole. (Fig. VIII, 1) 黾形爵 (1) (15.36.8), shaped on the mole. (Fig. 8, 2) 黾形爵 (二) (15.36.9), shaped on the weasel. (Fig. VIII, 3) 黾形爵 (iii) (15.37.1), shaped on the mole. (Fig. 8, 4) 黾形爵 (4) (15.37.2), shaped on the mole. (Fig. VIII, 5) 黾形爵 (5) (15.37.3), shaped on the weasel.[45] (Figure 8, 6)

The word from the graphic point of view, the lower part of the figure is basically the same, are turtle-shaped, pointed round head, with neck or neckless, limbs of the same length, stretched on the side of the body, with a tail, turtle back grid pattern or deca-shaped or dotted pattern. The top of the upper figure is an inverted triangle, and the triangle is a decagonal pattern or various grid patterns or no grains; the triangle is connected to a vertical line, and the vertical line is coiled with a serpentine pattern. When Rong Geng's "Jin Wen Bian" marked the bronze ware with this word cast, it was interpreted as "turtle". When explaining the word, Yang Xiangkui said: "Paleographers have never understood, in fact, the next word is equivalent to the tianfei character in the bronze, and the tail is more prominent, and the tianzun character also has a short tail, not as Mr. Yu Shengwu said, 'turtle-shaped short foot and tail, and the shrew shape has no tail' and is judged as a shrew character." There is no problem with the shrew character, the shape of the upper edge, the shape of the real dragon snake disk, the so-called "thing" or that is, the ancient Hua table, because this is a totem, so it is a big image, and the word should be interpreted as 'Xuan'. "So we judge that this graphic character is 'Xuan', and the hewen is 'Xuan', which is the clan emblem of the Xia system, which is the same as 'Tianfei'."

There is also a legend about XuanFei as the emblem of the Xia clan and its connection with the Zhou clan. The Chinese Zheng Yu says: "The decline of Xia, the deification of the people of Xia into two dragons, in order to be the same as the royal court." Speaking of: Yu, Yu No.2 Junye. After xia, bu killed, and went, and stopped, Moji. Bu asked him to hide it, Ji. The dragon dies and wanders, and the tree hides it, and spreads it to the outskirts. and Yin, Zhou, Mo Zhifa also. And the end of the king, the hair and the view, the flow in the court, can not be removed. The king made the woman not to be noisy, and to turn her into a shrew, so that she could enter the palace. The concubines of the children of the house did not suffer from them, but they were pregnant, and when they were born when they were king Xuan, they did not have a husband and gave birth to them, so they were afraid and abandoned. Wei Zhao's note: "鼋, or '蚖'." Leeches, stinging lizards, like dragons. ”

Tianfei is Xuanyuan as a transliteration, And Xuanfei is pronounced closer to Xuanyuan; Tianfei is Xuanyuan, and Xuanfei is also Xuanyuan. Compared with the Tianzu created characters, the lower part of the shrew has a tail, while the shrew in the lower part of the tianzu is more common. The reason for this difference is difficult to explain at present, and may be related to the complex composition of the Yellow Emperor's clan.

Review | Liu Haiwang

Designed | cow dimension

Produced | Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology