via SHINE News, 30 March 2021: More on the excavations from Sanxingdui in China’s Sichuan province, which has reignited China’s excitement for archaeology.
The discoveries reveal the distinctive nature of the Shu Civilization and its connection with other areas of China and Asia, said Duan.
“Most newly discovered cultural relics are amazing,” he said. “For example, the huge bronze masks, the bronze sacred tree and the bronze vessel feature the sculpture of a kneeling man.”
Bronze urns, vessels and jade ware show close cultural ties with ancient civilizations on China’s central plains and the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Gold masks, seashells and gold rods previously unearthed indicate that the Shu may have had contact with civilizations even further afield, in western and southern Asia.
According to Duan, remnants of silk fabric seem to corroborate legendary tales that the Shu invented silkworm cultivation and silk production. They also tend to verify historical records, such as the tale of a king of the Shu carrying jade and silk gifts to a meeting with ancient Chinese emperor Da Yu, and the story of Shu cloth found in what is today’s Afghanistan by envoy Zhang Qian in the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty (202 BC-AD 220).
They also corroborate other archeological findings, such as armlets made of Shu cloth unearthed in the northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China, and a Han Dynasty wooden loom found in another Sichuan excavation site.
Source: Ancient ruins foster exciting new chapter in archeology – SHINE News
See also:
- Interview: New discoveries at Sanxingdui Ruins may open up future of archaeology: Japanese expert | Xinhua, 30 Mar 2021
- Museum showcases vita clues to the past | China Daily, 1 April 2021
Further Reading (affiliate links):
- The Sanxingdui Site-Mysterious Masks of the Ancient Shu Kingdom by the Sanxingdui Museum
- Ancient Sichuan: Treasures from a Lost Kingdom by Robert Bagley.
