If you suddenly see a mask - its eyes protruding like a telescope, its ears are spread like flying wings, and there is a particularly mysterious square hole in the middle of its forehead, will your heart beating faster when your fingers stop? The cultural relic we are going to talk about today is the Sanxingdui bronze vertical mask that makes countless scholars sleepless all night. It is not only the treasure of the Sanxingdui Museum, but also the key to unlocking the code of ancient Shu civilization. Are you ready to start this mysterious journey spanning three thousand years with me? Like and follow us, we will set out now!
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Time is turned back to July 1986, when the archaeological team discovered this bronze mask called "alien civilization" in the sacrificial pit number 2 of the Sanxingdui site. When archaeologists carefully brushed off the soil on them, the columnar eyeballs on the mask stared at modern people for the first time, everyone at the scene took a breath - this completely subverted our understanding of Shang Dynasty civilization!
Figure 2
This mysterious mask is so large that it is beyond everyone's imagination: it is 138 cm wide, 66 cm high, the length of the protruding eyeball is 16 cm, and it weighs more than 100 kilograms. Such a huge size means that it is by no means something that ordinary people can wear, but should be a sacrificial instrument used for sacred occasions.
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Its overall shape presents a surreal image of a god and man. The most shocking thing is the columnar eyeballs protruding forward like a telescope. Extremely exaggerated ears spread out like birds to both sides. There is a mysterious square hole in the middle of the forehead, and it is speculated that there should be decorations inlaid. The bridge of the nose is high and straight, with a curly cloud-like pattern, with deep and long mouth cracks and a raised corner of the mouth, showing a mysterious smile. What's even more strange is that there are very clear traces of cutting modern angle grinders on the square hole on the forehead. This was cast more than 3,000 years ago, and it is impossible for modern angle grinders to be available. Even scholars with knowledgeable knowledge can't figure it out.
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Experts believe that the surreal shape of this bronze mask is not a random imagination of the ancients: its vertical eyes may symbolize "a thousand miles of eyes" and may also represent a worship of vision. The two huge ears symbolize "a wind ear", meaning that they are familiar with the sound of heaven and earth, and the square hole on the forehead may be related to "a sky eye" or the third eye.
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So, how do you use such a huge mask? Archaeologists have proposed three possibilities: 1. Place it above the altar in the ritual of sacrifice as the object of worship. 2. It is used by several people when assisting the high priests in lifting up their faces, with the purpose of using it as a medium for communication between man and God. 3. Installed on a statue of deity or totem pole as a symbol of the tribe. When it was discovered in Pit No. 2, it was burned and buried with other bronzes, ivory and seashells. This may be the remains of some large-scale sacrificial activities of the ancient Shu people.
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At present, the most fascinating question that everyone is concerned about: Who does the face shape of this bronze mask belong to? The mainstream view believes that it depicts Cancong, the ancestor of Shu people. There is a clear record in "Huayang Guozhi": "There was a Shu Marquis Cancong, whose eyes were vertical, and he was called king." But the latest research put forward a bolder guess: this may not be a specific monarch, but the image of the "God King" imagined by the ancient Shu people - it is a totem-like face that integrates the characteristics of multiple tribal leaders.
Figure 7
You may also see the saying "Sanxingdui is an alien civilization" online. After careful research, experts have shown that Sanxingdui is not a so-called alien civilization at all. The composition of a large number of bronzes it unearthed is consistent with that of the Central Plains. They are made of copper-tin-lead alloy materials. The cloud thunder patterns and dragon patterns in the patterns are in line with the Shang culture. The ivory and seashells in the sacrificial pit prove that Sanxingdui had frequent trade deals with the outside world.
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Let's put this mask back to historical coordinates: from 1300 BC to 1100 BC, when the Central Plains were in the late Shang Dynasty, and the oracle bone inscriptions in Yin Ruins were mature. At the same time, on the plains of Chengdu, the ancient Shu people created the same brilliant bronze civilization. This shows that Chinese civilization has been diverse and integrated from its origin, with both the solemnity and elegance of the Central Plains and the mysterious romance of Bashu.
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When we stare at these eyes that have traveled through three thousand years again, it seems to tell us that history is always more wonderful than we think. Behind every seemingly weird shape, there is the ancestors' understanding of the world and imagination of the universe.
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What we have done today is a conversation spanning three thousand years when we look at it in the museum. Next time you have the chance to enter the Sanxingdui Museum, you might as well stay in front of this mask for a while and feel the mysterious throbbing that connects ancient and modern times. If you are shocked by this mystery, please like and support it! Leave your feelings in the comment section. What do you think these eyes are looking at? Please follow me and take you to unlock more secrets behind cultural relics!
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