Since the sanxingdui site was discovered in 1929, it has been more than 90 years, after many archaeological excavations, of which the most eye-catching is that such as giant bronze figures, bronze masks, bronze sacred trees, longitudinal people and other unique bronze ware have been unearthed, making China's three generations of bronze culture, which has been very brilliant, more abundant and diverse.
Bronze statue
But the ancient Shu people who created all this have left a huge historical mystery to future generations. One is that the Chengdu Plain, where the Sanxingdui site is located, has basically no copper resources and lacks raw materials for making bronzes; secondly, no large amounts of slag have been found in the site (the copper content of natural copper ore is generally about 10% to 14%), nor has there been a large casting workshop that matches the manufacture of bronzes.
What is even more curious is the origin of the genus of the ancient Shu people. Scholars start from the two aspects of literature and cultural relics, and believe that there are four sources of ancient Shu people:
Zou Lihong and others, through a comparative study of the "great stone worship" of the Qiang people and the ancient Shu people, believe that it originated from the ancient Qiang people;
Feng Guanghong and others combined evidence such as sarcophagus tombs in northwest Sichuan to believe that it originated from the Yu people;
According to the "Huayang Guozhi Shu Zhi", it is proposed that the human royal family is the ancestor of the ancient Shu people;
The Yellow Emperor clan. Among them, Mr. Li Xueqin believes that Shu and Yu, Xia, and Chu have a common ancestor according to the "Dai Li Ji And Imperial Lineage".
It can be seen that the discussion of the origin of the ancient Shu state has not formed a unified opinion due to the lack of direct and powerful evidence, which still needs further archaeological and documentary research.
The top of the horn seat is a kneeling figure
In addition, there is a view worth noting, which believes that the Sanxingdui bronzes were brought into Shu by the Youjian clan from Shandong, and created a unique ancient Shu civilization. The pointing of the evidence is somewhat unexpected" is mentioned at the end of the article, but it is not expanded, although it lacks empirical evidence, but it also constitutes a complete hypothetical chain of evidence.
In ancient times, the naming of the tribe often represented the specialty of the tribe, such as the Chao clan, which was good at building trees for nests; the Fu ren clan was very good at drilling wood for fire for the people; "Shennong tasted hundreds of grasses", which means that the Shennong clan was good at using herbs to treat diseases, and also taught the people to reclaim the land and grow grain. So, what does the existence of the Miao clan and the Ren clan represent?
Bronze beast first crown figure
The "Sayings" records: Silkworm, Ren Siye. This is because the ancient silk was mostly produced in Rendi, and there were still (Ren) clans famous for their silk as a barter item; "Ci Hai": 缗, fishing silk. It is a hanging line for fishing. Youjinshi completed the upgrade of the "primary" silk, which gave the silk a new use. It can be seen that whether there is a Clan of The Miao clan or a Clan of still, it is a tribe known for being good at raising silkworms.
Most of the main allies were in the Xia Dynasty of the Qiang, which practiced the "tribal alliance system", and gathered around the Fang state with similar cultural customs but was actually relatively independent. Located in Shandong, the two small tribes of the "Youyi Clan" and the "Youshang Clan" were tribes closely related to the Xia Dynasty. Among them, the women of the Miao clan can not only weave good embroidery, but also have natural beauty, and there are many people in the tribe, who have been elected as the empresses and princesses of other Fang kingdoms and the Xia Dynasty, so there is the Miao clan in the tribal alliance, quite influential.
Portrait of a bird with a human head
The Bamboo Book Chronicle of ▪ the Emperor Xiang records a Chinese version of the story of the "Revenge of the Prince". Emperor Xiang, the fifth monarch of the Xia Dynasty, married the daughter of the Youyi clan and was made empress; in the later period of his reign, Han Hun, a heavy minister who had assisted emperor Xiang and established a meritorious career, rebelled and invaded the capital of the Xia Dynasty and killed emperor Xiang; at this time, pregnant with the daughter of the Miao clan, it was too late to mourn her husband and fled in a hurry.
In gratitude to Emperor Xiang, yu shi took in you at the risk of his life; the following year, yu shi gave birth to a son, named Shao Kang. Under the protection of the Still clan, Shaokang's mother and son were able to live in peace, and when they grew up, Shaokang was also appointed, and there was Muzheng (a senior official) of the Still clan. The paper could not contain the fire, and the news that Shaokang's mother and son were "still alive" still let Han Hun know about it, and he immediately sent troops to go. In desperation, the Yu clan had to escort Shaokang's mother and son out of the country; this time, Yu's clan accepted Shaokang's mother and son.
The Yu clan also belonged to the clans that were more closely related to the Xia Dynasty, and shun belonged to the Yu clan. The Yu clan gave Shaokang's mother and son a place to support themselves, and at the same time gave 500 Zhuangding for Shaokang's training. After that, Shaokang contacted many former vassals of the Xia Dynasty, invaded the capital in one fell swoop, and slashed hanhun father and son, regaining power. During Shaokang's reign, he was widely administered by virtue and was supported by the remnants of the Xia Hou clan, recreating the glory of the Xia Dynasty in the past, known in history as "Shaokang Zhongxing".
Copper chicken
As the mother clan of Shaokang, the Yu clan and the Yu clan, which was the core clan loyal to the Xia royal family, the influence of the Xia royal family was further expanded, and they intermarried with each other, and gradually the two merged into one, known in history as the Yu clan, called "缗".
The sacrifice of the Chinese ancestors originated from the worship of the stars, starting with the worship of the prey obtained from hunting as a sacrifice, kneeling to a certain star; then the development of productive forces, began to build altars, put on carved idols; and then the idols were replaced by bronze ceremonial vessels.
Regarding the production and maturity of bronzes, it is another field of divergent opinions, some believe that bronzes have flourished in the Xia Dynasty, and some believe that bronzes flourished in the Shang Dynasty. According to the field archaeology of the Longshan culture and the Dawenkou culture sites by modern scholars, the conclusion that "the biggest feature of the Longshan culture is that it learned to make bronzes", and the data from the carbon-14 measurement show that this era was about 4600-4000, in the Xia Dynasty. In addition, there is also a legend in the "Records of History" that Dayu used bronze to cast Jiuding.
Copper
It can be seen that bronze may have appeared in the Xia Dynasty and earlier. However, limited by the original productivity, the mining and smelting efficiency is low, and it requires a lot of manpower and material resources, which is a sign of the strength of the country. After the rejuvenation of the country, in order to unite the people's hearts and stabilize the political situation, the cast bronze ceremonial vessel was restored.
Shao Kang invited this batch of huge and precious bronze ceremonial vessels into the Dai Temple at the foot of the solemn and sacred Mount Tai. So, who will be entrusted with the heavy responsibility of "holding the ancestral vessel" and responsible for the daily sacrifices? Shao Kang naturally thought of the Youjiao clan located in Shandong.
Time flickered, and the Xia Dynasty entered the period of the fourteenth monarch Kong Jia.
The "History of Xia Benji" records: DiKong Jiali, a good ghost god, and a sexual immorality. The Xiahou clan declined, and the princes were on the banks.
What is said is that after Kong Jia succeeded to the throne, there was no way out, and the Xia Dynasty began to decline, which caused the dissatisfaction of many princes and many betrayals; Kong Jia and the next three generations were the last generation of monarchs in the history of the Xia Dynasty, the infamous Xia Jie. The situation further deteriorated, the political situation was extremely unstable, and many Fang States began to secretly plan to flee from the persecution of Xia Jie, including the Youyi clan.
Bronze Man's head
"Bamboo Book Chronicle": In the eleventh year of Xia Jie, the battle of the Jian clan was attacked, and the princes of the Hui clan were still there, and some of the Mu clan fled and returned, so they destroyed the Youjiao.
As the elder of the Xia Dynasty, you were attacked because he sided with the princes of the Fang State and often clashed with Xia Jie. In desperation, you also made a plan to flee. Before that, there were naturally no drops of the Miao clan, placed in the Dai Temple, a set of bronze ancestral artifacts of the Xia Dynasty, which they had guarded for hundreds of years at the cost of their lives. Therefore, the Miao clan took advantage of the "convenience of office" to smoothly enter the Bronze Ancestral Artifact of the Xia Dynasty into Sichuan, opening the prelude to the ancient Shu civilization.