As the center of civilization in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, Sanxingdui is located on the south bank of the Yazi River in the northwest of Guanghan City, Sichuan Province, with a history of about 3,000-5,000 years, and is the largest and most culturally rich ancient Shu cultural site found in southwest China.
With the continuous excavation of Sanxingdui, the ancient Shu Kingdom, a name sealed in history, once again appeared in everyone's field of vision. The excavation of Sanxingdui once again shocked the world, and thousands of mysterious objects appeared, but the most shocking thing was the "roe deer owl" pattern!
It is said that the "roe deer owl" once appeared in The Hook Wu Mountain in Shanxi. So, according to legend, what kind of animal is the "roe deer owl" in the Luowu Mountains of Shanxi, and why does it appear in the ruins of Sanxingdui?
The bronze masks, gold masks and kneeling figures unearthed at Sanxingdui this time are all valuable treasures. Among them, the unearthed "roe deer owl" pattern unveiled the true face of the legendary "roe deer owl" for the first time.
The mysterious animal of the "roe deer owl" is presented in various materials: round eyes, pointed beak, long nose, and large ears, giving people a very mysterious and noble feeling.
"Roe deer owl" consists of the words "roe deer" and "owl". As we all know, the "roe deer" is a running animal, but it always becomes the food of tigers and leopards; and the "owl" refers to the owl, and in ancient times, the owl was deified as a messenger who could communicate with the gods.
The ancients combined these two animals to form the "roe deer owl". It can be seen that the "roe deer owl" is not only good at running in the forest, but also can fly at night, and even greedy.
In many classical Chinese texts, there are records of "roe deer owls". The earliest record of the "Roe Deer Owl" is the "Classic of Mountains and Seas, The Classic of the North Mountain", which says: Jade is abundant all year round on the Hook Wu Mountain, and there is also a very rich copper mine under the mountain. But there is a beast in the mountains, its body is like a sheep, but it has a human-like face, its eyes grow under its armpits, its teeth are like tiger's teeth, but its claws are like human hands, and it makes a sound like a baby's voice.
Since then, "Roe Owl" has come out, as for the name "Gluttony", it appeared in the "Divine Anomaly Classic" written in the Western Han Dynasty Dongfang Shuo, as for who took the name "Gluttony", there is no research at present, perhaps Dongfang Shuo himself came up with it.
According to the Records of Dongfang Shuo: Gluttony is a kind of human beast, this kind of thing is covered with hair, wearing wild boar skin on its head, greedy and fierce like a hungry wolf, they are very powerful, specializing in bullying the old and weak, when they encounter many enemies, they flee, and when they encounter a single enemy, they go up to attack. Look at it this way, the mythological story written by Mr. Old Mr. Shuo of the East.
It was not until the Eastern Jin Dynasty that the "roe deer owl" and "gluttony" were considered to be the same kind of monsters. The Eastern Jin Dynasty hereditary and feng shui scholar Guo Pu made a commentary on the Classic of Mountains and Seas, in which he believed that "roe deer owl" was "gluttony".
Later, even the "Ci Hai" also recorded that the gluttony was a legendary gluttonous beast, and the ancient bell ware was carved with its head shape as a decoration.
Since the advent of the "roe deer owl", various folklore has come to the fore. In many stories, it is said that the "roe deer owl" was of noble birth, one of the nine sons of the dragon, and ate a large amount.
It is also said that "Roe Deer Owl" is the embodiment of Xuan You, in the past, Xuan You fought with the Yellow Emperor, Xuan You was defeated in the Battle of Zhuolu, after the Yellow Emperor beheaded it, Xuan You was angry, and its head landed as "Roe Deer". The person who invented this legend is, at first glance, a literati raised by the Yellow Emperor, or an enemy of Xuan You.
The "Left Biography" gives the "roe deer owl" a noble birth. In the "Eighteenth Year of Zuo Chuan Wengong", it is recorded that the "roe deer owl" is a person, and his father is called Jinyun Shi, because he is insatiable, willful and extravagant, has no kindness, and does not help the widows and poor, and everyone calls him "roe deer owl".
"Spring and Autumn Left Transmission of Justice" is even more exaggerated. The article mentions that the "roe deer owl" is a vicious beast that is greedy, and it is precisely because of its gluttony that it finally ate its own body, and slowly became a monster with a head and no body.
Su Dongpo's "Old Food Endowment" adds a little cuteness to the "roe deer owl". The gist of the article goes something like this: Why not collect the fat food to nourish the "roe deer" like me! Su Dongpo used this self-deprecating style to start a playful rehabilitation for the "roe deer owl".
Roe deer owl, also known as gluttony, ancient myths and legends of Chinese myths and legends of the ancient god beast, as a mysterious animal, its appearance is mostly described by the literati inkers: roe deer owl has the characteristics of sheep, tiger and people, grows a terrifying face, sheep body human face, tiger teeth human hands, eyes grow under the armpits, very mysterious and strange.
It is said that the roe deer owl has a sheep-like body, but its body is significantly larger, and its whole body is covered with many hairs. On a huge head, there is a human-like face; the eyes are not on the face, but under the creaky nest, the eyes are shining, and the eyes are under the armpits mainly for fear of being stabbed, because this guy's eyes are too special, and once he is hit in the eye, he is either dead or seriously injured.
It had a large, gluttonous mouth that cracked to the base of its ears, and had sharp and dense fangs like a tiger in its mouth, a very prominent nose, and a pair of curved horns on its head, like sheep's horns and bull's horns.
Curiously, the roe deer's cry is like the cry of a baby, and it also has claws like human hands, and its two front paws look like human arms. This guy doesn't look like a man at all except for his face and hands.
Its biggest feature is that it can eat, and its temperament is as greedy as a jackal, and it finally eats its own body.
Such a magical animal, the real world does not exist, so what is its prototype animal, or what combination of animals?
Paleographer Ding Shan said it was an antelope. Ding Shan introduced in the book "Examination of Ancient Chinese Religion and Mythology" that the "roe deer owl" on the ancient bronze ware had antelope horns, and its nose and mouth were very similar to antelope. It can be seen that the so-called "roe deer owl" is actually a bland antelope.
Netizens said that "roe deer owl" is actually a toad. Judging from the appearance of the "roe deer owl", the eyes are prominent, the limbs are short, which is clearly a toad. He analyzed that the skin of the toad can produce a strong hallucinogenic toxin, which is a necessity for ancient wizards, so the wizards respect the toad very much and let people carve it on various sacrificial utensils.
Some people assert that "roe deer" is an ox. If you look at the four hooves of the "roe deer owl", you know that it is very similar to the "roe deer owl"; and the "roe deer owl" is a foodie, and everyone knows that the cow chews and eats all day long.
To say that there are any animals that are more in line with the image of "roe deer owl", Zhang Yi, a scholar who studies paleontology, believes that it is a giant hyena. This hyena is large, weighs about 300-500 kg and is about 110-150 cm tall.
First, judging from the excavated fossils, giant hyenas did exist in ancient China, and I don't know what the reason is that giant hyenas have long since died out in China. Archaeologists have found fossils of giant hyenas in Shaanxi, Ningxia and Shanxi.
Second, from the analysis of the call, the Classic of Mountains and Seas and other ancient books have recorded that the call of the "roe deer owl" is like a baby crying, and the current hyena bark is also very similar to the cry of a baby.
Third, the habit of hyenas is also very fond of eating, it eats everything, whether you live or die, it eats with relish. And the bite force of the hyena is also very amazing, not only the meat, but also the bones have given you a fine gnaw.
Xuelinggu Nature Lab/Production References: National Zoological Museum, Nature Exploration, Discovery and Discovery, Nature Code, Beijing Youth Daily