Chapter 36 Section 3 Bashu Culture in Sichuan and Its Adjacent Areas

During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, there existed a developed local bronze culture—Bashu culture in Sichuan and its adjacent areas.The Ba culture is mainly distributed in the eastern part of Sichuan with Chongqing as the center, and the Shu culture is mainly distributed in the western part of Sichuan with Chengdu as the center.The Bashu culture not only has a close relationship with itself, but also has a very close relationship with the bronze culture of the Central Plains, which is consistent with the records in ancient documents such as "Shangshu · Mushi" that Shu participated in King Wu of Zhou's conquest of Zhou Dynasty.

The earliest birthplace of the Ba people was in the Qingjiang River Basin in western Hubei. Later, they mainly lived in eastern Sichuan, southern Shaanxi, western Hubei, western Hunan and northeastern Guizhou.In the Western Zhou Dynasty, the Ba Kingdom was established, with its capital in Chongqing and other places. In the Spring and Autumn Period, it was relatively strong and had a close relationship with Chu.The bronze weapons of the Ba culture have distinct local characteristics, such as flat stems, willow-leaf-shaped swords with wider blades, hollow-headed bow-shaped battle-axes, Gui-shaped aids straight Nei Ge, short pasterns (qiao knocked) bow-eared spears, etc.Bronze cooking utensils include cauldrons, steamers, 鍪 [moumou] and so on.The most common bronze instruments are 錞yu and 钲.Bronze wares are often decorated with tiger patterns.In addition, symbols such as tigers, birds, hands, and flower pedicles are often cast on bronze weapons, musical instruments, and seals. These may be ancient Ba or Shu characters, but they have not been deciphered so far and cannot be understood.The characteristic of Ba culture burials is boat coffin burial, that is, a whole section of Phoebe wood about five meters long is carved into a boat shape, and the corpse is placed in the cabin and buried on a hillside along the river. In 1972, 14 sets of bronze chime bells and copper pots were unearthed from the tombs of the Ba state in Xiaotianxi, Fuling, which were consistent with the bronze wares of the Chu state in the middle Warring States period, reflecting the close relationship between the Ba culture and the Chu culture.

The Shu people initially lived in the mountainous areas of the upper reaches of the Minjiang River, and then gradually developed to the Chengdu Plain.According to literature records, in the Western Zhou Dynasty, Shu was closely related to the royal family of Zhou. During the Spring and Autumn Period, the Kingdom of Shu was strong, but in the Warring States Period, it declined. It was destroyed by Qin in 329 BC.Archaeologists discovered a huge city site of the early Shu Kingdom in the Shang Dynasty in Sanxingdui, Guanghan, Sichuan.It is slightly trapezoidal, narrow in the north and wide in the south, with a total area of ​​about 2.6 square kilometers.The city wall is built with rammed earth. The east and west walls are between Yazi River and Mamu River. The east city wall is more than 1,800 meters long. About 210 meters, no city wall was found in the north, and the Yazi River may be used as a natural barrier. In 1986, two artifact pits were discovered in Sanxingdui, south of the city.Pit No. 1 is 4.6 meters long, 3.5 meters wide and 1.6 meters deep.There are more than 300 pieces of bronze wares, gold wares, ivory and jade wares buried in the pit, as well as a large number of seashells and burnt bones.Pit No. 2 is 5.3 meters long, 2.3 meters wide and 1.55 meters deep.More than 600 pieces of bronze wares and gold wares were unearthed.According to research, these objects may be sacrificial vessels in the ancestral temple of the early Shu kings. When they died, they were burned and buried in pits.Among them, the bronze ritual vessels such as zun, 罍, and pan are similar in shape to the bronze ritual vessels of the Shang Dynasty in the Central Plains.Bronze statues were discovered for the first time since the founding of the People's Republic of China. Among them, a bronze standing statue unearthed from Pit No. 2 stands barefoot on a high seat.The body is slender, the arms are raised, the hands are held in a circle, the crown is high, the left lapel is long-sleeved, and the dark clothing is decorated with dragon and animal face patterns. It may be the image of a wizard who presides over sacrifices in the ancestral temple.There is also a large bronze mask unearthed from Pit No. 2. It is 65 cm high and 138 cm wide. The two eyeballs are cylindrical and protrude about 30 cm. It has long pointed ears and is very peculiar. It may be the statue of Cancong, the ancestor of the King of Shu. .Jade wares include ritual vessels such as Gui, Zhang, Bi, and Cong, as well as weapons and tools such as Ge, spear, axe, and chisel.Gold wares include sticks, masks, tigers and gold leaf.For example, the gold rod unearthed from Pit No. 1 is 1.42 meters long, with a gold-skinned wood core and a gold-skinned weight of about 500 grams. It is carved with patterns such as human heads, birds, fish, and spikes.In addition, the main discovery of the early Shu culture is the base of an altar in Yangzi Mountain, Chengdu. It is a square three-level earthen platform, about 10 meters high, the bottom side is 103.6 meters long, and the top area of ​​the platform is 31.6 square meters.There is also a large area of ​​bamboo and wood building sites found in the Twelve Bridges of Chengdu.The main discoveries of the late Shu culture include a large tomb of the Kaiming Shu king in the middle of the Warring States period discovered in Xindu in 1980. A large number of bronzes were unearthed, including five bronze tripods (the smallest one with the inscription "Shao Zhikai" in the cover). Ding”) and Dou, Dun, Fou, and chime bells are similar in shape and decoration to the bronze wares of Chu State, obviously greatly influenced by Chu culture.The unearthed weapons have distinct local characteristics, such as Ge with short beards on both sides of the aid, willow-leaf-shaped daggers, and bow-axes with empty heads and so on.In addition, a square seal with pictorial symbols of the Kingdom of Shu and a large number of sets of bronze tools were also unearthed.