2023学年完整公开课版BOOK8-Unit5Meetingyourancestors公开课

Sanxingdui

Sanxingduibronzeheadswithgoldfoilmasks

Sanxingdui(Chinese:三星堆;pinyin:Sānxīngduī;literally"Threestarmound")(alsoseenlocallyspelledasXanxingduiinSichuan)isanancientChinesecitywherearchaeologistsdiscoveredremarkableartifactsthatradiocarbondatedcirca12th-11thcenturiesBCE,andSanxingduiisthenamegiventothispreviouslyunknownBronzeAgeculture.ThemuseumislocatednearthecityGuanghan,China.

Location

Coordinates:Latitude30°57'"NLongitude:104°19'"EGuanghan

TheSanxingduiarchaeologicalsiteislocatedabout40kilometersnortheastofChengduinSichuanProvince,10kilometerseastofthecityofGuanghan.

Discovery

Sanxingduibronzeheadwithcharacteristiclargeears,protrudingpupilsandelaborateforeheadornament

Sanxingduibronzeeaglehead

In1929,afarmerunearthedalargestashofjaderelicswhilediggingawell,manyofwhichfoundtheirwaythroughtheyearsintothehandsofprivatecollectors.GenerationsofChinesearchaeologistssearchedtheareawithoutsuccessuntil1986,whenworkersaccidentallyfoundsacrificialpitscontainingthousandsofgold,bronze,jade,andpotteryartifactsthathadbeenbroken(perhapsrituallydisfigured),burned,andcarefullyburied.ResearcherswereastonishedtofindanartisticstylethatwascompletelyunknowninthehistoryofChineseart,whosebaselinehadbeenthehistoryandartefactsoftheYellowRivercivilization(s).

AncientBronzeCasting

Thisancientculturehadremarkablyadvancedbronzecastingtechnologywhichwasacquiredbyaddingleadtotheusualcombinationofcopperandtincreatingastrongersubstancethatcouldcreatesubstantiallylargerandheavierobjects;forinstance,theworld'soldestlife-sizestandinghumanstatue(260cm.high,180kilograms),andabronzetreewithbirds,flowers,andornaments(396cm.),whichsomehaveidentifiedasrenderingsofthefusangtreeofChinesemythology.Themoststrikingfindswerelargebronzemasksandbronzeheads(somewithgoldfoilmasks)representedwithangularhumanfeaturesandexaggeratedobliqueeyes,somewithprotrudingeyepupilsandlargeupperears.Baseduponthedesignoftheseheads,archeologistsbelievetheyweremountedonwoodensupportsortotems,perhapsdressedinclothing.Otherbronzeartefactsincludebirdswitheagle-likebills,tigers,alargesnake,zoomorphicmasks,bells,andwhatappearstobeabronzespokedwheelbutismorelikelytobedecorationfromanancientshield.Apartfrombronze,SanxingduifindsincludedjadeartifactsconsistentwithearlierChineseneolithiccultures,suchascongandzhang.

Cosmology

AsfarbackasNeolithictimes,theChineseidentifiedeachofthefourquadrantsoftheskywithanimals:abirdwiththeSouth,thetigerwiththeWest,thedragonwiththeEast,andatortoise/snakewiththeNorth.Eachofthesecompasspointswasassociatedwithaconstellationthatwasvisibleintherelevantseason:thedragoninthespring,thebirdinthesummmer,etc.Interestingly,thesearethefouranimalsthatpredominatethefindsofSanxingdui--birds,dragons,snakesandtigers,leadingtoatheorythatthesebronzesrepresentingtheuniverse.Itisunclearwhethertheyformedpartofritualeventsdesignedtocommunicatewiththespiritsoftheuniverse(orancestralspirits).Asnowrittenrecordsremainitisdifficulttodeterminetheintendedusesofobjectsfound.Somebelievethatthecontinuedprevalenceofdepictionsoftheseanimals,especiallyinthelaterHanperiod,wasanattemptbyhumansto"fitinto"theirunderstandingoftheirworld.(ThejadesthatwerefoundatSanxingduialsoseemtocorrelatewiththesixknowntypesofritualjadesofancientChina,againeachassociatedwithacompasspoint(N,S,E,W)plustheheavensandearth.)

SanxingduicultureexistedcontemporaneouslywiththeEarlyandLateShang(1600-1027BCE).ThesiteatChenggushowsinfluencefrombothShangandSanxingdui.

AlltheSanxingduidiscoveriesarousedscholarlyinterest,butthebronzeswerewhatexcitedtheworld.TaskRosenoftheBritishMuseumconsideredthemtobemoreoutstandingthantheTerracottaArmyinXi'an.ThefirstexhibitsofSanxingduibronzeswereheldinBeijing(1987,1990)andtheOlympicMuseuminLausanne(1993).Sanxingduiexhibitstraveledworldwide,andticketsweresoldouteverywhere;fromtheHybaryArtsMuseuminMunich(1995),theSwissNationalMuseuminZurich(1996),theBritishMuseuminLondon(1996),theNationalMuseumofDenmarkinCopenhagen(1997),theSolomonR.GuggenheimMuseuminNewYork(1998),severalmuseumsinJapan(1998),theNationalPalaceMuseuminTaipei(1999),totheAsianCivilisationsMuseuminSingapore(2007).In1997,theSanxingduiMuseumopenedneartheoriginalsite.

PossibleInfluence

TheSanxingduiCulturewasamysteriouscivilizationinsouthernChina,whichwasinthekingdomofShuduringtheperiodoftheShangDynasty.Althoughtheydevelopedadifferentmethodofbronze-makingfromtheShang,theirculturewasneverrecordedbyChinesehistorians.Sanxingduicultureisthoughttobedividedintoseveralphases.Thefirstonemayhavebeenindependent,whilethelaterphasesmergedwithBa,Chu,andothercultures.

BesidesSanxingdui,otherarcheologicaldiscoveriesinSichuan,includ