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Concept
Sanxingdui
Summary
Sanxingdui () is an archaeological site and a major Bronze Age culture in modern Guanghan, Sichuan, China. Largely discovered in 1986, following a preliminary finding in 1927, archaeologists excavated artifacts that radiocarbon dating placed in the twelfth–eleventh centuries BC. The archaeological site is the type site for the Sanxingdui culture that produced these artifacts, archeologists have identified the locale with the ancient kingdom of Shu. The artifacts are displayed in the Sanxingdui Museum located near the city of Guanghan.
Sanxingdui is on the UNESCO list of tentative World Heritage Sites, along with the Jinsha site and the tombs of boat-shaped coffins.
Many Chinese archaeologists have identified the Sanxingdui culture to be part of the ancient kingdom of Shu, linking the artifacts found at the site to its early and legendary kings. References to a Shu kingdom that may be dated reliably to such an early period in Chinese historical records are scant. The kingdom is mentioned in Shiji and Shujing as an ally of the Zhou who defeated the Shang. Accounts of the legendary kings of Shu also may be found in local annals.
According to the Chronicles of Huayang that were compiled during the Jin dynasty (266–420), the Shu kingdom was founded by Cancong (). Cancong was described as having protruding eyes, a feature that is found in many of the masks and figures of Sanxingdui. It has therefore been suggested that the large masks with protruding eyes are a representation of Cancong, although there are other interpretations. Other eye-shaped objects were also found that might suggest worship of the eyes. Other rulers mentioned in Chronicles of Huayang include Boguan (), Yufu (), and Duyu (). Many of the objects are fish- and bird-shaped, and these have been suggested to be totems of Boguan and Yufu (the name Yufu means fish cormorant), and the clan of Yufu has been suggested as the one most likely to be associated with Sanxingdui.
Later, similar discoveries were made at Jinsha as well, which is located 40 km away and has close link with the Sanxingdui culture.
Official source
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