Why are Sanxingdui's bronzes important?
Nearly 100 experts and scholars talked about Sanxingdui culture and China's Bronze Age
Li Yuxin, Liu Kexin, Wu Yong, Lei Implication
What kind of magnificent history did China go through in the Bronze Age? Now, stepping into the Sanxingdui Museum's "History of Jijin Casting: Ancient China in Bronze" exhibition, you can see the life process of ancient Chinese bronzes from its birth to the present day. What kind of sparks will collide with this bronze exhibition, when you come to Sanxingdui Museum, which is also famous for its bronzes? In midsummer July, a seminar gathered nearly 100 experts and scholars from the archaeological and cultural circles opened next to the Sanxingdui Museum.
In order to cooperate with the exhibition of "History of Jijin Casting", further enhance the academic significance of the exhibition, build an academic exchange platform, and promote the exchange and interaction between Sanxingdui bronze culture and regional civilization and the in-depth study of bronze cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries, on July 23, the "History of Jijin Casting - Sanxingdui Culture and Chinese Bronze Age Academic Seminar" was officially held in Guanghan, Sichuan.
From the comparative study of the production technology of the bronzes unearthed in Yinxu and Sanxingdui, to the cultural and technical characteristics of the Sanxingdui bronzes from the Hanzhong bronzes, and the re-examination of the origin of the Sanxingdui bronzes...... At the seminar, experts and scholars present took the stage around China's Bronze Age and brought keynote speeches.
Discuss the historical context of the development of bronze civilization
24 experts and scholars started "brainstorming"
At the scene, Li Shuicheng, a professor at Sichuan University and Peking University, took the stage and opened the seminar with the title of "Ancient Shu Civilization under the Perspective of Regional Interaction". From a macro perspective, Li Shuicheng demonstrated the connection and influence of Sanxingdui civilization and other civilizations, incorporated the ancient Shu civilization into the perspective of regional interaction of Chinese civilization, and systematically interpreted the cultural exchange and integration between Sanxingdui site and the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and the Central Plains through the comparison of cultural relics. Peng Bangben, director and professor of the Research Center for Paleography and Pre-Qin History of the School of History and Culture of Sichuan University, took historical materials as the starting point, combined with the latest archaeological discoveries, and discussed "Sanxingdui - the national form of Jinsha Bronze Civilization" through the double evidence method.
Li Shuicheng, a professor at Sichuan University and Peking University, School of Archaeology and Museums
At the same time, Mei Jianjun, director of the Joseph Needham Institute in Cambridge, gave a speech entitled "The Cultural and Technical Characteristics of Sanxingdui Bronzes from Hanzhong Bronzes", saying that in terms of types, Hanzhong bronzes are significantly different from Sanxingdui bronzes, and only individual types may be comparable. "For example, there are container statues and receptacles, as well as human masks and animal masks. Another type of artifact that may be the most relevant is the Zhang-shaped ware. ”
Wang Fang, deputy director and research librarian of Chengdu Jinsha Site Museum
In addition to bronzes, there are also experts and scholars who have set their sights on other types of cultural relics unearthed at the Sanxingdui site. For example, Wang Fang, deputy director and research librarian of Chengdu Jinsha Site Museum, brought "Diversity, Integration and Innovation: On the Cross-Cultural Characteristics of Sanxingdui-Jinsha Jade". She said that through research and analysis, it was found that the ancient Shu bronze civilization represented by Sanxingdui and Jinsha had been affected and impacted by multicultural factors in other regions from its origin to the process of development. In particular, taking jade as an observation point, it is found that many foreign cultural factors have been clearly inherited and retained in terms of the type of artifacts, jade combinations, processing techniques, and decorative characteristics.
"The import of these foreign cultural factors reflects that there have always been close exchanges between the ancient Shu culture living in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and the Yellow River basin and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Wang Fang said.
Seminar site
It is worth mentioning that in this seminar, not only 24 experts and scholars took the stage to speak, but also nearly 100 experts and scholars at home and abroad exchanged the historical context of the development of bronze civilization, the relationship between Sanxingdui and Chinese bronze culture, and discussed new methods and new perspectives for the study of Sanxingdui civilization. At the scene, experts and scholars conducted in-depth discussions on the Sanxingdui Bronze Civilization, the Bronze Civilization of other parts of China, the comparative study of regional Bronze Civilization and cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries, and conducted extensive exchanges on the latest archaeological achievements of Sanxingdui site, the ancient Shu civilization represented by Sanxingdui and the integration of the Yangtze River civilization, etc., which had a positive impact on promoting the archaeological research of Sanxingdui site and promoting the dialogue and exchange between Sanxingdui and the world's ancient civilizations.
Why are Sanxingdui's bronzes important?
"See the big from the small through the objects"
"Through a series of archaeological work and research in recent years, we have a more comprehensive understanding of the Sanxingdui site and the ancient city of Sanxingdui. Of course, the archaeological work continues, and it is hoped that more new archaeological discoveries will provide richer and more detailed information for the study of Sanxingdui. During the seminar, Sun Hua, academic dean of Sanxingdui Research Institute and professor of the School of Archaeology and Museums of Peking University, was interviewed by the cover news reporter. The topic he shared on the spot was "Sanxingdui Bird's Foot God Tuoli Statue Analysis: The Great God Messenger and King in the Sky", focusing on the analysis of the combination structure, use scenarios and meaning of bronze bird-foot statues, bronze altars and other cultural relics.
"Today's academic seminar, its theme is 'Jijin', which is the so-called bronze." Sun Hua said that bronze and stone carvings in ancient times were the main objects of traditional gold and stone research, and for a long time they were historical and cultural, as well as representatives of antiquities. "Bronze is a great creation of mankind, so we take bronze as a sign of the times. Sanxingdui has unearthed a large number of rich bronzes, including bronze human heads, bronze statues, etc., which attract the attention of the academic community and the public. ”
Sun Hua, academic dean of Sanxingdui Research Institute and professor of the School of Archaeology and Museums of Peking University
In Sun Hua's view, the study of Sanxingdui's bronzes and the relationship between these bronzes and the surrounding culture can provide very rich historical information for the study of Sanxingdui from the aspects of resource investment, manufacturing technology, as well as the style and decorative details of containers, the use of bronzes, and the spread of bronzes. In addition, Sun Hua also emphasized that basic research on single pieces of bronze is very important. "We must see the big from the small through the artifacts one by one, so that the research will not be too vague, and the research can be built on a relatively solid foundation."
Source: Cover News
Author: Cover News Reporter Li Yuxin, Liu Kexin, Wu Yong, Trainee Reporter Lei Yun
Source: Sanxingdui Museum