MUZI MUZIChinese Matrix

Sanxingdui Bronzes

Represented by the bronze tree and protruding-eye masks, it shows ancient Shu rites and bronze casting, one strand of a diverse yet unified Chinese civilization.

Shang dynasty to early Western Zhou
1600 BCE · OriginThe ancient Shu bronze civilization of Sanxingdui rose on the Chengdu Plain, developing in parallel with the Shang state of the Central Plains.1100 BCE · EvolutionThe Sanxingdui sacrificial pits buried bronze sacred trees, protruding-eye masks and the gold staff; radiocarbon dates fall around 1200–1000 BCE.1000 BCE · ImpactAfter Sanxingdui declined, the political centre of ancient Shu moved to Jinsha in Chengdu, whose culture carried on its bronze and gold traditions.
ShangZhou
Sources (3)
  1. Gold, bronze and mystery (China Daily via chinaservicesinfo)
  2. Bronze Age Sacrificial Pits Discovered at Sanxingdui (Archaeology)
  3. Sanxingdui newly found sites date back 3,200 years (SCMP)

The bronze civilisation of ancient Shu at Sanxingdui arose on the Chengdu plain and developed in parallel with the Shang state of the Central Plains.

In the sacrificial pits of Sanxingdui were buried weighty objects such as the sacred bronze tree, protruding-eye masks and the gold staff, dated to between about 1200 and 1000 BCE. These objects show the early religion of ancient Shu and the beauty of its casting; ancient Shu is one strand in the plural yet unified pattern of Chinese civilisation.

After Sanxingdui declined, the political centre of ancient Shu moved to Jinsha in Chengdu, and the bronze and gold traditions of Sanxingdui were carried on by the Jinsha culture.

Sanxingdui Bronzes is the class in the chapter on Crafts on the bronzes of Sanxingdui, represented by the sacred bronze tree and the protruding-eye masks. The ancient Shu bronze civilisation of Sanxingdui arose on the Chengdu plain and developed in parallel with the Shang state of the Central Plains, and later the political centre of ancient Shu moved to Jinsha in Chengdu.