The dragon is a symbol of Chinese civilization, and the discovery of dragon-shaped artifacts closely connected the ancient Shu civilization with Chinese civilization.
Looking at the bronze pig-nosed dragon-shaped vessel in front of him, Chen Wenzhe felt a little emotional.
This should be somewhat similar to the Jade Pig Dragon of the Hongshan Culture. They are the earliest Chinese dragons that have not yet truly taken shape.
This kind of utensil is in the shape of a cylinder, with a long nose, long ears and a single horn.
However, experts speculate that it is mainly used in construction.
There are also some dragon-shaped objects used in ornaments, such as a copper dragon-shaped ornament.
This copper faucet is 7.7 cm wide and 17.5 cm high.
This vessel is a B-shaped copper dragon-shaped decoration. The copper dragon opens its mouth wide, and the two rows of round holes cast in the mouth represent "dragon teeth", which has an abstract tendency;
The upper kiss curls backwards, connecting with the momentum of the dragon's horn configuration. The dragon's horns escape forward, and the end is slightly lifted upwards and retracted sharply, with restrained strength.
The S-shaped long eyes are integrated into the dragon horn form and extend to the end of the horn, and the ears are wide.
Its overall shape is slightly similar to the image of the bronze dragon on the circle base of the large bronze sacred tree No. 1, but it is more bizarre and absurd.
In addition, there are many cultural relics unearthed in Sanxingdui with dragon patterns. It can be said that dragon patterns, or dragon-shaped utensils, are important objects throughout Chinese civilization.
It is also the dragon culture that connects the Chinese nation and Chinese civilization together.
Many cultural relics in Sanxingdui inevitably have dragon patterns.
For example, the "top kneeling figure" newly unearthed from Pit No. 3 "can be called a national treasure".
This statue is very peculiar. It has several dragon-shaped patterns on its abdomen from its mouth to its shoulders.
There was no such attachment on the Dakou Zun before. It may be the only one in China and has never been unearthed.
This dragon-shaped decoration is the same as a flying dragon descending from the sky on Sacred Tree No. 1.
Also, the mouth of this slave vessel is facing downwards, giving the impression that it is a dragon falling from the sky.
A monster like a dragon with an ox head shows that people in Sanxingdui are very open-minded and dare to do and think.
They pinched the ox and the dragon together and made a very beautiful piece of art.
A statue of a kneeling figure like this one should have been placed in the royal ancestral temple for worship.
Previously, especially during excavations in 1986, nearly a thousand precious cultural relics including gold, copper, jade, stone, pottery, shells, and bones were unearthed from Pit No. 1 and Pit 2 of the Sanxingdui site.
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Among them, the bronze wares include dragon-shaped decorations, dragon-shaped wares, dragon and tiger statues, sacred trees, standing human figures and other dragon patterns, and several dragon-shaped wares.
The period from about 6000 BC to about 2000 BC is the Neolithic Age in Chinese archeology.
During this period, several original dragon patterns and dragon shapes were unearthed from various cultural sites in the Yellow River Basin, Yangtze River Basin and Liaohe River Basin.
For example, at the Chahai Xinglongwa Cultural Site in Fuxin, Liaoning Province, 8,000-year-old stone dragons and pottery pieces with dragon patterns were unearthed.
At the Yangshao Cultural Site in Beishouling, Baoji, Western Shaanxi, a pottery patterned dragon dating back nearly 7,000 years was unearthed.
At the Yangshao Cultural Site on the west slope of the Nanhe River, a clam built with dragons dating back about 6,500 years was unearthed.
A jade carving dragon dating back about 5,500 years was unearthed at the Lingjiatan Cultural Site in Hanshan, Hui Province.
A jade carving dragon about 5,000 years ago was unearthed at the Hongshan Cultural Site in western Liaoning Province, Chifeng, Inner Mongolia.
At the Longshan Cultural Site of Xiangfen Taosi Temple in Xishan, painted pottery with dragon patterns dating back about 4,500 years was unearthed.
These primitive dragon patterns and dragon shapes correspond to the origins and early stages of Chinese civilization.
They are participants, witnesses and symbols of the origin and early growth of Chinese civilization.
Next, from about 2000 BC to 771 BC, that is, the Xia, Shang, and Western Zhou dynasties in Chinese history.
During this period, bronzes, jades and other materials unearthed had more dragon patterns and dragon shapes.
For example, the turquoise dragon-shaped vessels and dragon-pattern pottery unearthed from the Erlitou Cultural Site in Luoyanshi, Heyang, Nanhe.
The dragon pattern on Simu Xin's square tripod unearthed from Fuhao's tomb in Yinxu, Anyang, and the jade dragon unearthed from Fuhao's tomb.
The dragon and tiger dragon pattern unearthed in Funan, Hui Province, the Western Zhou Dynasty Li Gui dragon pattern unearthed in the western section of Lingkou Village, Lintong, Western Shaanxi, the Western Zhou He Zun dragon pattern unearthed in Jiacun Plateau, Baoji, Western Shaanxi, etc.
These dragon patterns and dragon shapes correspond to the further formation period of Chinese civilization.
Archaeologists have judged that the dragon patterns and dragon-shaped utensils unearthed from the Sanxingdui site belong to the second and third phases of the site.
It is dated to about 2000 BC to 1000 BC, which is approximately equivalent to the Xia, Shang and Western Zhou dynasties in the Central Plains.
Only the head of the dragon-shaped ornament remains. The dragon's mouth is open, the upper snout is curled back, the dragon's horns are long and stretched forward, and the dragon's auricles are large.
It is a dragon-cylindrical vessel, with a large top and a small bottom, and a flat top. A dragon stands on the top of the vessel, with its horns rolled back, its mouth wide open, its beard hanging down, and its lower body hanging from the wall of the vessel.
On the shoulders of the Dragon and Tiger statue, there are three dragons cast in high relief in the shape of squirming and swimming. The dragon heads protrude from the shoulders, the dragon horns are in the shape of tall columns, and the dragon eyes are round;
The main patterns on the abdomen are of tigers and people in high relief.
On one side of the bronze sacred tree, there is a dragon extending from top to bottom along the side of the main trunk, as if ready to fly.
The body of this dragon is slender and curved into an S shape, with its head raised, its horns raised, and its mouth wide open.
The standing bronze figure is wearing a long-breasted dragon-patterned coat on the left. The right side and back of the garment are decorated with incised dragon patterns. The dragon raises its head and opens its mouth, with a beard under its jaw, a long neck, and an upturned tail.
Comparing the dragon patterns and dragon shapes unearthed from the Sanxingdui site with those unearthed from various cultural sites in the Yellow River Basin, Yangtze River Basin and Liaohe River Basin during the Neolithic Age, you will find many similarities.
First, the slender and curved dragon body is basically the same.
For example, the flying dragon body of the bronze sacred tree unearthed from the Sanxingdui site is consistent with the dragon body built with clams unearthed from the Xishuipo site in Nanhe River, and the painted pottery coiled dragon body unearthed from the Xiangfen Tao Temple site in Xishan.
Second, the dragon’s head is basically based on the same animal material.
For example, the dragon-shaped dragon head unearthed from the Sanxingdui site, and the clam-made dragon head unearthed from the Xishuipo site in Nanhe River;
The "dragon body and bull head" of the "top kneeling figure" newly unearthed from Pit No. 3 of the Sanxingdui site;
At the Lingjiatan Cultural Site in Hanshan, Hui Province, a jade carving of a dragon with a "dragon body and an ox head" was unearthed.
Because the dragon patterns and shapes unearthed from the Sanxingdui site appeared later than those unearthed from cultural sites in the Yellow River Basin, Yangtze River Basin and Liaohe River Basin during the Neolithic Age.
Therefore, we can make judgments based on the dragon patterns and dragon shapes unearthed from the Sanxingdui site, and draw lessons from the dragon patterns and dragon shapes unearthed from various cultural sites in the Yellow River Basin, Yangtze River Basin and Liaohe River Basin in the Neolithic Age.
That is to say, the civilization with the dragon as its symbol that emerged in the Yellow River Basin, Yangtze River Basin and Liaohe River Basin in the Neolithic Age influenced the Sanxingdui Civilization.
To sum up, several consensus points can be reached.
First, the dragon pattern and dragon shape participate in, witness, and to a certain extent mark the formation of the Sanxingdui civilization.
The ancient Shu people living around Sanxingdui are also "descendants of the dragon" in the humanistic sense.
Second, the dragon patterns and dragon shapes unearthed from the Sanxingdui site inherited, learned from, and imitated the technologies of other Neolithic civilizations.
Therefore, the dragon patterns and dragon shapes unearthed from various cultural sites in the Yellow River Basin, Yangtze River Basin, and Liao River Basin are basically the same as those of the Xia and Shang Dynasties in the Central Plains;