The Mysterious Culture of the Ancient Shu
Bronze Sculpture from Guanghan Sanxingdui
The culture of the ancient shu， a unique civilization， grew alongside the cultures of the central plaints during the Shang and Zhou dynasties. Large numbers of relics have been unearthed from Guanghan Sanxingdui. The bronze figures and masks are most distinctive. The styles are different from those of the central plaints and have their own characteristics， which display the regional differences of Chinese civilization.
Sanxingdui culture
Sichuan Province was called Shu in ancient times. In the preQin period， this land was home to several local tribes. They established the Kingdom of Shu but also the mysterious culture of the ancient Shu. According to the legends， several powerful tribes established a dominating position and an early kingdom.
The character “蜀” (shu) first surfaces in the inscriptions of bones or tortoise shells from the Shang Dynasty. The history of this kingdom still remains a puzzle but the discovery of the Sanxingdui Ruins confirmed the existence of the civilization of the ancient Shu Kingdom.
The word Sanxingdui， which means “three-star mounds，” is composed of three clay piles shaped like stars. According to the Hanzhou Annals—Mountain Annals of Jiaqing Reign of the Qing Dynasty—there is a land of mystery in the southwest where three star-shaped clay piles shine with the moonlight. As early as the Qing Dynasty， the annals describe Sanxingdui’s landform.
Actually， the three clay piles are the walls of the Shu’s capital made during the Xia and Shang dynasties (2070–1046 BC). After long weathering， the old walls become clay piles.
The mysterious culture lasted for more than 2，000 years from the late Neolithic Age to the late Shang and early Zhou dynasties. The ruins cover an area of around 1，200 hectares and are one of the most important and largest cultural relics in Sichuan Province. Large numbers of pottery， jade， bronze and gold wares have been unearthed there. They have distinctive characteristics from the local culture. In contrast to the bronze cultures of the central plaints， the objects are unlike any made in any other period of Chinese civilization. The ruins form a unique cultural system， called Sanxingdui culture.
The most important archaeological discoveries of the Sanxingdui culture were unearthed from the famous No.1 and 2 pits in Sanxingdui Ruins. Most objects were burnt， scorched， destroyed， cracked， melted or destroyed before the burial customs. Some bronze heads and masks had red mouths and dark eyes when they were found. The use of color paint was popular among many ancient civilizations， such as the ancient Greeks， who used colour painting that faded over time.
Besides some bronze， jade and pottery wares common in the central plaints， most objects from the two pits were not seen before， including groups of bronze figures and masks， and gold scepters and masks. The unearthed objects are not only vast in quantity but also of various types with complicated and mysterious cultural features. The objects and sculptures， which are unique in shape and superior in techniques， obviously belong to the upper class of the ancient Shu. The ancient Shu had developed bronze casting techniques， along with unique aesthetic consciousness and religious belief.
Standing bronze figure with multiple identities
In contrast to bronze sculptures from other regions， the bronze figures from Sanxingdui have more of the features standalone sculptures， especially the bronze figure standing on a pedestal， which is similar to the memorial sculptures of modern and contemporary times and is dominated by strong religious meaning. The bronze figures from Sanxingdui also present a unique spirituality by their stylized features， besides the unique majestic feeling of the Shang and Zhou’s bronze sculpture. The facial casting techniques， in particular， produce a mysterious feeling and tickle the imagination. There are still huge gap between the cultural characteristics of these mysterious culture and the bronze-age culture of the central plaints. Some have even suggested that these civilization are of extraterrestrial origin. Certainly， archaeological excavations prove that the Sanxingdui culture was indeed established by Shu people.
Among the bronze sculptures from Sanxingdui， the tallest and bestpreserved standing bronze figure is 260.8cm high. It consists of a 180cm figure and an 80.8cm base. It had been cast in separate components with a hollow body. This sculpture is important regardless of clothing， image or stature. It is wearing a flowershaped high crown and gorgeous shortsleeve robe engraved with dragons， birds and exotic animal patterns. It has extraordinary ring-shaped big hands， arms in embracing gesture in front of its chest， and its bare feet are wearing anklets. Under the feet is a high base decorated with various patterns. The figure looks very solemn. The casting technique is exquisite. Academic circles regard this monumental standing figure as the image of a king from Shu， who was also the high priest. In ancient Shu， the king holds the leading position political and religious stages. The kingdom was similar to a theocracy. So， this figure presents both priest presiding over a worship ceremony and a representative of deities accepting worship. The figure once held something in its ring-shaped hand， which has been lost but we can use our imagination to fill the gaps.
Suspected alien bronze heads
Besides the standing bronze figure， most unearthed bronze sculptures from Sanxingdui are independent bronze heads or masks， some of which have gold foil masks. Because those bronze heads look strange， some people say they are alien objects.
