Sichuan Shang Dynasty kneeling stone statue identity mystery hands tied in a surprised manner

The new Chengdu Museum, located on the west side of Tianfu Square, will soon open. Cultural relics with Chengdu's cultural memory will enter the new museum's 12 exhibition halls for rotation. Cultural relics can speak, there is a story behind each piece of cultural relics, cultural relics for Chengdu's history to testify. Taking this opportunity, "Chengdu Painting" chooses to start from the perspective of unearthed stone artifacts, combing a vivid history of Chengdu's civilization.

In addition to gold, copper and jade, stoneware is a category of artifacts found at Jinsha Site. At present, there are 170 pieces of stone tools*** unearthed at Jinsha site, including stone man, stone tiger, stone snake, stone turtle, etc., which are the earliest and most exquisite stone tools found in Sichuan so far. Among them, the beautifully modeled, concise and vivid kneeling stone figures, is currently China's discovery of the era of the earlier, the production of the most exquisite batch of three-dimensional round stone carving works of art.

Jinsha Site **** unearthed 12 kneeling stone figures, the human figure was sitting in a kneeling position. The top of the head hair in the middle, the four corners of the high cocking, behind the head there are two bundles of braided hair. The two bundles and a stream, hanging straight on the back between the hands. Naked, barefoot, kneeling with knees bent and hands bound by a rope. The figure is flat-chested and round-shouldered, leaning slightly forward with a surprised facial expression. The figure's eyes, mouth and top hair style are carved with negative lines, part of the position is painted, the figure's left and right eyes are not completely symmetrical, the earlobes are drilled on both sides, the left ear hole is pierced through, the right ear hole is not pierced, and the left earlobe is mutilated. Due to the weathering of the stone, the figure has multiple cracks from the neck to the waist, lower abdomen and back. Its identity, nature is more special. This kind of image in samsung mound site, chengdu fangchi street site have been found. Jinsha kneeling stone figures were unearthed in the ritual area of the site, some placed with the stone snake, some placed on top of the jade jang, some kneeling in front of the stone tiger, and some of them are accompanied by stone bibs, copper, pottery and so on.

These stone people represent what kind of people? What kind of identity they have? Why are they bound? Why are they sitting on their knees? These questions have aroused strong interest among scholars, and produced two very different statements. According to the director of the research department of Chengdu Jinsha Ruins Museum, Wang Fang, there are currently two very different scholarly statements.

A part of the experts that may be prisoners of war

A close look at the kneeling stone figures, it is not difficult to find that, in the process of carving the figures, the focus is on the delicate portrayal of the characters on the top of the head of the strange hair style, the braid of hair at the back of the head, the ropes tied hands; rendering is the kneeling posture of the figures and the hands that are bound by the reverse, which is aimed at accounting for the identity of this figure that may be from a foreign race! The purpose of this rendering is to account for the identity of the figure, which may be of foreign origin, and to emphasize its submissive and lowly position of inferiority and slavery.

Other experts believe that it may also be the image of the sorcerer

According to the kneeling stone statue of stylized features, there are scholars have put forward another view, that the kneeling stone statue of the sorcerer may symbolize the ancient Shu society, is the image of a real portrayal of the then held to pray for rain ritual activities. Shang and Zhou period in the central plains due to climate variability, the rulers of the Shang dynasty often held a variety of rituals, praying for wind and rain, the country and the people's peace. The Chengdu Plain was also prone to frequent disasters, with frequent droughts and floods. These stone statues with rich symbolic meanings carved by the ancient Shu people at the Jinsha site are stylized as "cutting their hair", "grinding their hands", and have the meaning of "sacrificing their bodies to pray for the blessing of God". The symbolism of the temple is "to make a sacrifice of one's body for the blessing of God". Therefore, it should play an important role in the sacrificial activities, in the ancient Shu people may be highly respected, special status idol. (Original article from Sohu History)