The discovery of the Sanxingdui site in 1986 unveiled the mystery of the ancient Shu Kingdom more than 3,000 years ago. Sanxingdui site has a rich variety of animal shape cultural relics with peculiar designs, among which the powerful bird family is the most eye-catching.
There are more than 10 different forms of bird shape cultural relics unearthed at Sanxingdui site, they are simple, or exquisite, or elegant, or simple, and beautiful!These cultural relics full of aura are not only exquisite art treasures, but also show us the rich spiritual world of the ancient Shu people. In the minds of the ancient Shu people, these birds are not only the elves who shuttle between heaven and earth, but also the messengers who communicate with people and gods.
Among the many bird-shaped cultural relics unearthed at the Sanxingdui site, the bronze large bird's head is the largest one. It is 40 cm tall and has a minimalist design. This big bird has its mouth closed, its eyes wide open, and it is full of energy, and it has the temperament of the king of birds. When the artifact was unearthed, archaeologists found that red cinnabar was preserved around its beak and eyes, and it seems that the ancients may have made a colorful sacred bird.
Look closely, and you'll notice that the big bird has three small round holes at the lower end of its neck. Archaeologists deduced from this that this big bird was probably the emblem of a tribe at that time, and the ancient Shu people could fix it to buildings or other objects with small round holes. What kind of unique symbolic meaning does this big bird with the spirit of a king have in the hearts of the ancient Shu people more than 3,000 years ago?
As you can see, the hook-like beak of the big bird looks very close to the osprey, so some archaeologists speculate that it may represent the legendary third generation of Shu kings - the fish, and some people believe that this is one of the symbols of the fish-fish tribe at that time. Different from the simple and vivid design style of the bronze big bird head, many phoenix bird-shaped utensils unearthed in Sanxingdui are exquisite, elegant, and have strong ornamental and artistic qualities. Among the many artifacts, there is a bronze phoenix bird with a distinctive crest of feathers on its head. The bird's body is streamlined, with round eyes, a long, pointed beak, and an upright crest of feathers like a row of flags waving in the wind. Judging from the severed legs, it may have been used in combination with other artifacts, presumably as an accessory or ornament on an important artifact.
Another bronze phoenix is also very distinctive. I saw a slender body of the proud bird, with a curved beak, round eyes, and flying wings like a beating flame, making it look like it was flying, showing a dynamic beauty. It rests on a round lid with its legs, which may be an ornament on the head of an important bronze or stigma. The craftsmen of Gu Shu used skillful techniques to outline the charm of birds, reflecting their deep understanding of abstract art and their skillful use of deformation and exaggeration techniques.
Seeing them, we admire more and more the unique creativity, rich imagination and outstanding artistic talent of those unknown artists more than 3,000 years ago. Among the bird-shaped cultural relics unearthed in Sanxingdui, the most breathtaking is a human-faced bird-body artifact. They originally stood on the top of a small bronze sacred tree unearthed in the No. 2 "sacrificial pit", a total of three pieces, the same shape, more than ten centimeters high, most of them were incomplete when they were unearthed.
The bronze human-headed bird figures stand on the buds of the branches of the small god tree, and if you look closely, their faces are very similar to the bronze heads: they wear a high crown, their faces are masked, their facial features are exaggerated, their eyes are prominent, their ears are wide, their noses are high, and their eyes are sharp, giving people a sense of majesty and sacredness. At the same time, they also have the body of a bird, with their wings spread out as if they are about to fly high, and their two sharp claws cling to the flower buds underneath. If you are observant, you must have noticed that their earlobes and the lower part of their wings have round holes, so it is not difficult to guess that these places were originally hung with small ornaments.
There is also a circular flame pattern on the chest of the bronze human-headed bird. Fire symbolizes light, but also represents the scorching sun, perhaps this cultural relics are the supreme sun god in the minds of the ancient Shu people. More than 3,000 years ago, the ancient Shu people should have also longed to be able to swim in the sky like birds and chase the sun!In addition to the above, there are many "birds" unearthed at the Sanxingdui site. The bird-shaped clay spoon handle, the jade decorated with small birds, the golden rod carved with the bird, and the delicately shaped bird-shaped bronze bell ......The newly discovered No. 5 "Sacrificial Pit" also unearthed exquisite bird-shaped gold leaf.
Why do the ancient Shu people like birds so much?This is closely related to their faith and worship. In the legend of the ancient Shu Kingdom, the Shu King Bai Guan, Yu Yan, and Du Yu are all related to birds, and birds should be the most important totems and symbols of the ancient Shu Kingdom. In Chinese mythology and legend, the sun rises in the east and sets in the west by a sacred bird called the "golden crow", and bird worship also embodies sun worship. The growth of all things is inseparable from the sun, so in the hearts of the ancient Shu people who prayed for a good harvest, the bird represented the god of the sun.
These vivid and realistic bird-shaped cultural relics and utensils decorated with bird patterns unearthed from the Sanxingdui site show the ancient Shu people's love for nature and closeness to nature. In their hearts, these divine and spiritual birds are symbols of the repetition of life in nature, and they are not only birds in the world, but also spirits flying between heaven and earth, messengers who can communicate between man and God. Through a piece of exquisite cultural relics, we see the ingenuity and wisdom of the ancient Shu craftsmen, and also see the scene of hundreds of birds contending and vigorous in the Chengdu Plain more than 3,000 years ago, and entered the rich spiritual world of the ancient Shu people.