How a lost civilization made me reconsider what it means to be Chinese

via Sup China, 29 June 2022: The incredible but less-understood finds of Sanxingdui are located in Sichuan province, in what must be the northern edges of Southeast Asia.

In comparison to the Xia, Shang, and Zhou, we know very little about the Bronze Age societies that existed outside of the Yellow River Valley. Scant evidence of their existence, either written or physical, exists. Yet how can we be so sure they weren’t just as advanced?

This is where the discoveries at Sanxingdui come in, blowing a hole in the traditional narrative.

Covering an area of nearly four-square-kilometers, the ruins of Sanxingdui are replete with ancient walls made of rammed earth, building complexes, and even water conservation facilities. A ruin this large and organized indicates a clear distinction between countryside and city, making a compelling case for a civilization rather than a patchwork of tribes.

Currently, scholars have not reached a conclusion as to who the Sanxingdui Civilization was, yet many believe them to be the Shǔ 蜀, a kingdom first mentioned in the Book of Documents (书经 shū jīng). In it, the Shu was described as a tribe coming to the aid of the Zhou during the overthrow of the Shang Dynasty. Considered by many to be an unsophisticated barbarian society, the Shu were quite literally written off by ancient historians. After all, their home in the Sichuan Basin was surrounded by imposing mountains on all sides, and was historically considered a cultural and political backwater, geographically isolated and of little importance to the central states vying for power in the Yellow River Valley. Now, the discoveries at Sanxingdui have reopened dialogue on the Shu Kingdom as the force behind the Sanxingdui civilization.

Source: How a lost civilization made me reconsider what it means to be Chinese – SupChina