Sanxingdui culture is an important part of Chinese civilization and a common treasure of human civilization. On the 28th, the theme activity of "walking into Sanxingdui to understand Chinese civilization" attracted attention around the world. Sanxingdui has no writing, so what constitutes civilization? What does it mean to discover silk? What is the relationship between Sanxingdui and the Jinsha site? The Red Star News reporter interviewed Wang Wei, chairman of the Chinese Archaeological Society.
Wang Wei, chairman of the Chinese Archaeological Society
01
Sanxingdui has no writing, so what constitutes civilization
For Sanxingdui until now, there is no text, Wang Wei said that the academic community has been studying the Bashu Turkish language and found that some pictorial languages are used very frequently. However, a writing system has not yet been formed. "At present, we are not sure whether Sanxingdui will find text, but it is very likely that there is no text." He said.
The civilization of Sanxingdui is embodied in the religious system and the sacrificial system, which does not have to be passed on in writing, but can also be passed on through generations of wizards and sacrifices. For example, the religious art and ancestral legends of some ethnic minorities in Yunnan are now passed down through this form, and they are very complete. Therefore, the historical stories and ancestral legends of the Sanxingdui civilization can be completely passed on by word of mouth.
Sanxingdui site No. 4 pit textile scanning electron microscopy map
Sanxingdui site No. 2 pit textile form
At the end of the last century, archaeology believed that the three elements of civilization were metallurgy, writing and cities, but Wang Wei believed that this was summarized from the archaeological research of the Lianghe Civilization basin and was not universal, such as the Maya civilization without metallurgy. "We judge more from the development of productive forces, such as the superb craftsmanship, the formation of royal power, and the emergence of the state." The ruling class can control a relatively large area, he said, Sanxingdui has three small cities, the first of which has a high-grade palace, superb handicraft technology, such as the production of bronze, must mean the division of labor and differentiation of society, "such a large city, in operation, manpower mobilization, religious sacrifice customs, etc., completely constitute a civilization." ”
02
Discover what silk really means
Wang Wei said that the discovery of silk has nothing to do with the text, according to the legend, Changzu was the person who invented the silkworm, she was the wife of the Yellow Emperor, and one of the legends believes that she was a person from this side (Shudi). But now through archaeology, 4 stone carved cicada pupae have been excavated in the middle reaches of the Yellow River, apparently 6,000 years ago, the middle reaches of the Yellow River were raising silkworms, and the Chengdu Plain was more than 5,000 years ago, when a large number of people entered. "Judging from the excavated pottery, they are ancient Qiang people from Gansu." Wang Wei said that the first generation of kings of the ancient Shu legend lived in the Minshan Stone Room, which is consistent with archaeological research, so now archaeologists no longer easily deny those legends, and some of them have historical shadows.
Sanxingdui Ruins No. 4 Pit Twine Line
The criteria for judging civilization now are mainly based on the development of productive forces, the high technology of handicrafts, the formation of royal power, the emergence of the state, and the relatively large areas controlled by the ruling class.
Silk production was part of the development of the productive forces, and the high-tech handicrafts were controlled by the royal power, not by anyone.
03
What exactly is the relationship between Sanxingdui and Jinsha
The owner of the Sanxingdui ruins is the ancient Shu Kingdom, and some artifacts have appeared patterns related to the fish. The five kings in the legend of the ancient Shu Kingdom, specifically five people or five groups, may not have such a relationship as grandfather, father, and son.
But Sands did not adopt the Sanxingdui idol tradition and ritual system. Although there is continuation and inheritance, there are differences. Therefore, Wang Wei believes that there are different groups in the ancient Shu civilization, and whichever one is the ally, the status will be transferred. For example, the civilization of the Xia Shang Dynasty had many small Fang states, subject to the royal family, and in times of chaos, independence was enhanced, but it was some forces within the large cultural community, and there were common factors.
Sanxingdui announced the latest excavated cultural relics bronze top statue
Artifacts of similarities such as ivory and golden masks have been found in Sanxingdui and Jinsha, but jinsha has no god statues and sacred tree traditions, and the sacrifice system has changed. Is there a father-son, brotherly relationship between them? Wang Wei said that it is one side of the other, this side of the decline, that side of the rise, there is a overlap in the duration of existence, we now need to solve whether they are completely the same group of people or related, or different groups of forces. However, Wang Wei believes that they are all part of the ancient Shu civilization, but the political center has shifted to the central area of the Chengdu Plain. At the same time, the cultural relics in the sacrifice pit are buried by whom, why they are buried, whether they are sacrifices themselves or migration and relocation of the capital, which contain rich connotations.
Sanxingdui contrasts with gold masks unearthed from Jinsha
"Sanxingdui is very mysterious, peculiar and unique, and the situation seen so far can provide a lot of new key information for these problems, whether it can be completely solved is not dare to say, but at least there will be important progress." Wang Wei said that through the study of the ancient Shu civilization, it was found that it has strong characteristics of its own, such as sacred trees, portraits, etc., and is very closely related to the Xia Shang Dynasty in the Central Plains, such as the ceremonial instrument system, the ceremonial guard system, the court musical instruments invented by the Xia Dynasty, etc., which not only adhere to their own characteristics, but also constantly learn from and absorb, "absorption, reference, innovation, development" is the enlightenment provided by the ancient Shu civilization for us, even today there is reference value.
Red Star News reporter | Yang Fangyi zeng qi
Photography | Wang Huan
Edited | Duan Xueying
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