Bashu symbols, also known as Bashu graphic language or Bashu graphic characters, are 65,438+050 different symbols found in the cultural relics from the Warring States Period to the early Western Han Dynasty unearthed in Sichuan Province, China, collectively known as "Bashu symbols". Most of them are physical images, without verbs, adjectives, conjunctions and numbers. They can't form a sentence, but only look at symbols with graphic meaning, which is different from Oracle Bone Inscriptions, ancient Yi language and later Bashu language. It is the only ancient BC language in China that has not been deciphered. Qian, a scholar in China, thinks that these symbols may be a kind of phonetic alphabet more than 2,400 years ago. It has also been speculated that the "Bashu symbol" may belong to the hieroglyphics left over from ancient Sichuan, just like the bronze inscriptions, but no one can interpret it.
Bashu symbol refers to the stereotyped hieroglyphics cast or carved on objects (mainly bronzes, but also a few lacquerware and pottery) or seals by the ancient Bashu indigenous people, and it is a manifestation of the ancient Bashu cultural system. Ancient Chinese characters found in Bashu area can be divided into two categories: one is graphic symbols, that is, palms, flower stems, water waves, houses, heads, tigers, birds and cicadas, etc. In addition, it is a kind of written symbol, a few of which are consistent with the Central Plains characters, and most of them have not been interpreted so far. Bashu symbol refers to the former, while Bashu script is developed on the basis of Bashu symbol, so Bashu symbol is older than Bashu script.
Many Bashu symbols, such as mask pattern, sacred tree pattern, eye pattern, hand pattern, heart pattern, Zhang pattern and Ge pattern, still have the original witchcraft color of Shamanism. These symbols can't be read one by one. Only when these graphic symbols form a set of specific "symbols" can they have meaning, and this meaning can only be explained by the parties. These inexplicable explanations are ".
Are they words? Is it a family emblem? Is this a painting? Or is it a specific symbol, that is, a religious symbol in a certain region? Or, some have literal meaning? People disagree and can't reach an agreement. Because there are few artifacts with "Bashu symbol" unearthed and there is no record in historical documents, the "Bashu symbol" has never been cracked.
The object of "Bashu symbol"
Bashu symbols are mainly distributed on bronze weapons, musical instruments, seals and other objects, of which more than 90% are carved on bronze weapons by carving. The seal of "Ba Shu Fu" is relatively rare, and it is only unearthed in the tombs of senior officials such as Wang, Hou and General. More than 200 meaningful combinations of Bashu symbols have been found, and thousands of articles with "Bashu symbols" have also been found.
Typical Bashu symbols include tiger pattern, palm pattern and flower pedicle pattern, and the most common ones are tiger, turtle, peacock and flower pedicle pattern. The combination of these figures and symbols does not pay attention to rhythm or symmetry, and they have more profound significance than decorative patterns.
The History of "Bashu Symbol"
Sichuan's "Bashu Symbol" appeared in the Western Zhou Dynasty and was popular in the Warring States Period. It is inferred that Bashu symbols may have originated in the enlightened dynasty of ancient Shu. More than 200 kinds of Bashu symbols have been discovered, from the Western Zhou Dynasty in the 9th century BC to the Western Han Dynasty in the 1 century BC, which lasted for 800 years. According to documents, ancient Shu people wrote books and made biographies in the Six Kingdoms period. Although it was rare, it stayed after all. Many scholars believe that Shan Hai Jing was preserved by this ancient symbol. After Qin unified the six countries, "Bashu symbols" and "Bashu characters" were abolished.
The Discovery and Research of "Bashu Symbol"
About 192 1 years ago, nearly a thousand ancient bronzes with Bashu symbols were unearthed in Baima Temple and Tan Jun Temple in the northern suburb of Chengdu. This is the first batch of cultural relics about Bashu symbols. When they were discovered, they were looted and later distributed to collectors. Collectors have studied these bronzes with mysterious symbols and think that they are cultural relics of the Central Plains in the Xia Dynasty, and those symbols may be their long-awaited Xia Dynasty characters.
This view was not clarified until the 1940s. These ancient bronzes were collected by Mr. Juxian Wei. 1942, he published a batch of materials in Shuowen magazine, thinking that these bronzes were Ba-Shu cultural relics in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and put forward the concept of "Ba-Shu culture", which was the earliest public record of Ba-Shu symbols. As for the symbols or patterns left by ancient Shu people on bronzes, it was not until the 1980s that they were officially named as "Bashu symbols".
Since then, archaeologists have discovered bronze ge and seals engraved with symbols, and these symbols with the same characters have also been included in the category of "Bashu symbols". So far, archaeologists have found at least 300 different characters on bronze weapons, musical instruments, ritual vessels and various seals and lacquerware. However, these symbols are rarely deciphered by later generations.
Because the shape of "Bashu symbol" is very similar to decorative symbols, it was not regarded as words at first. With the progress of archaeological work, more and more similar symbols have been found, and people realize that they are not simple patterns, but may be an ancient Chinese character used by the ancestors of Bashu.
In the 1950s, due to the excavation of coffins in eastern Sichuan, a large number of symbols different from the Chinese language and writing system in the Central Plains were found on the unearthed bronzes and bronze seals. In 1970s, bronze inscriptions were discovered in the east and west of Sichuan Plain.
1950s From the 1970s, the academic circles put forward concepts such as "Bashu symbols", and the Wangs collected more than 300 symbols for this purpose. At that time, it was generally believed that these language symbols were created by Ba people in eastern Sichuan, and they still hold the view that there is no writing in Shu. However, Meng believes that the characters in Chengdu were developed in the early Han Dynasty, and great writers emerged one after another, thus inferring that Shu people should have characters.
However, the deciphering of Bashu symbols still makes it difficult for scholars to start, and the study of Bashu symbols was once difficult to open up the situation. The three bronze seals with the same structure and shape unearthed from Tomb No.50, Dongsunba, Baxian County in 1954, recorded in the Report on the Excavation of Ship Coffin Funeral in Sichuan Province, may make experts who study ancient Shu characters see a ray of precious light. Among the three rectangular bronze seals, two are Chinese characters "Renzhong" and the other is a Bashu symbol, which looks like a bunch on top and two tadpoles lined up on the bottom. Some scholars have pointed out that the upper bunch of tadpoles corresponds to the Chinese character "Ren Zhong", and the lower two tadpoles represent "Ren". If this speculation is correct, these three bronze seals are likely to be a starting point to unlock the Bashu symbols.
According to the excavation report of Sichuan coffin burial published by 1960, there are two kinds of Bashu characters, one is a symbol, and the other is similar to Chinese characters instead of Chinese characters. Tong published an article in 1976, giving a scientific explanation of the latter writing. 1982, Li Xueqin published an article, which divided Bashu characters into two categories, A and B, and considered them all characters. Wang Jia and Wang Jia published an article in 1984, arguing that Bashu symbols have the function of conveying images and characters, and put forward that Bashu square characters are related to Xia, which is the culture of Xiling family, the hometown of Xia people's grandmother. These works prepare the conditions for the emergence of a new upsurge in the study of Bashu characters.
1988, Qian published the article "There are Pinyin Characters in Ancient Shu", which initiated the view that Bashu symbols are actually Pinyin characters, and believed that Bashu characters were related to ancient Yi characters. Later, it provided a further supplementary argument for this view. This new view has aroused heated discussion, and Wei Xuefeng and Liu Zhiyi have written articles questioning and opposing this view.
In recent years, the view that there is no writing in ancient Shu has been denied by many newly unearthed archaeological materials. Lin revealed the carved symbols on Sanxingdui pottery to the author. The Excavation Report of Sanxingdui and the Brief Report of Chengdu Twelve Bridges Site both published the carved symbols and written materials unearthed from the site, which contributed to the emergence of new achievements. Duan Yu published a paper in 199 1, pointing out that there are not only two types of Bashu characters, but also traces of their origins can be found in Shang Dynasty, and that Bashu characters originated in Shu and later spread to eastern Sichuan, becoming popular characters in Bashu area.
Other archaeologists don't think so They think that "Bashu symbol" is not a kind of writing. Some people think that "Bashu symbol" is a kind of picture semantic symbol that understands its meaning by looking at images, and it is a "cartoon" without text explanation.
Sun Hua, vice president of Peking University Wenbo College and a famous archaeologist, believes that it is no accident that "Bashu symbol" appears on many weapons. Therefore, the "Bashu symbol" is an auspicious symbol with primitive witchcraft color, not a text. The purpose of casting this auspicious symbol on weapons is probably to protect users, prevent users from being hurt, give users strength and courage, and inspire users to fight bravely. In his view, the number and types of "Bashu symbols" are too few, and there is still a big gap from the words that can record the language.
Some archaeologists believe that the ancient Shu people wanted to express their respect and nostalgia for the ancient Shu king through Bashu symbols, which were engraved on bronzes and seals and passed down from generation to generation in an almost mysterious way.
Others believe that Bashu symbols and Mayan languages come from the same source. Through research, Mr. Wang Dayou found that the symbols in Bashu and Mayan languages have similar symbols and combinations. Tujia people are descendants of Ba people, and there is a complete legend of Fuxi pushing gossip, Nu Wa creating human beings and the great flood. The oldest civilization factor of Indians is also Tai Hao culture-Taiji, Bagua, Fusang altar, Dragon and Phoenix, sun worship ... In this sense, Bashu symbols are likely to have similar origins with Maya. ...
Through the unremitting efforts of scholars in past dynasties, the mysterious Bashu symbol seems to have gradually revealed the tip of the iceberg. Scholar Qian claimed to have read the word "Chengdu"; Feng speculated that Chinese characters and Bashu symbols were popular in Sichuan at the same time, and Chinese characters also borrowed Bashu symbols; It is also said that Confucius' thought of "benevolence" can be seen from this ... the cracking of Bashu symbols seems to be close at hand.
Although the above viewpoints are still inconsistent, ancient Bashu does have characters, which has become a generally accepted conclusion in academic circles. Many linguists are still engaged in interpreting these words. At present, the mainstream view holds that "Bashu symbol" is a tool, family emblem, totem or religious symbol used by Bashu ancestors to record languages. It is a hieroglyph and the embryonic form of Bashu characters.
Interpretation of the Significance of "Bashu Symbol"
The ancient Ba people and Shu people are a mysterious group. They once had their own splendid culture. It is still a mystery where they migrated after the Qin Dynasty destroyed Bashu. As Ba people and Shu people are a group of brave people, they have no fixed border and stable center since the day they were born. Moreover, during the Warring States period, there were no characters in Bashu area, and the records of its political, economic and cultural conditions in history books were also vague. Due to the lack of relevant archaeological evidence, Bashu has been covered with various myths. Bashu symbols become the key to understand and explore Bashu ancient civilization.
The most important significance of whether Bashu symbol is a character is that it is the touchstone to measure Sanxingdui's culture or civilization. International historians have formulated a series of conditions as the yardstick to distinguish culture from civilization, namely writing, bronze civilization, city and farming. The last three Sanxingdui are all proved in kind, and the key is words. Scholar Duan Yu once found eight symbols with suspected words on bronze wares in Sanxingdui. If we can interpret it, Sanxingdui civilization will be even more well deserved.
In addition, since Cuba and Shu also use the "Bashu Symbol" extensively, if we crack the secret of the "Bashu Symbol" and find out whether it is a complete text with separate notes and symbols or a folk symbol, we can extend the results to many ancient Shu cultural relics found in today's archaeological work. Under the comparative study, many cultural relics can be linked to present a living ancient Shu civilization. Because few cultural relics with "Bashu symbols" have been unearthed, it can be said that every cultural relic with "Bashu symbols" found may solve the mystery of ancient Shu civilization.
At present, there are two ways to interpret the history of Bashu: one is the Central Plains characters, such as Oracle Bone Inscriptions; One is the ancient Chinese characters of ethnic minorities, such as the ancient Yi language. However, these two ways are far from the ancient Bashu culture. Turning to the incoherent history of ancient Shu language, the world may first ask: Where did the ancient Shu people come from? At present, there are two main conjectures about the origin of Shu people, one is Qiang people in the upper reaches of Minjiang River, and the other is Yi people in Shandong. Chang Qu, a historian in Jin Dynasty, said in Huayangzhi that Can Cong, the king of Shu, came to Chengdu Plain from Minshan. Archaeological excavation shows that Sanxingdui has a certain origin with Erlitou site, the capital of Xia Dynasty. Who are the ancestors of the ancient Shu people?
The second mystery is about the king of Shu. Who were the Shu kings Can Cong, Guan Bai, Yu Fu, Du Yu and Bieling in the Five Dynasties? What is the relationship between them? Inherit? War or hatred? It is obvious that the kings of Shu have their own descendants, handed down from generation to generation. The world only knows that the Enlightenment Dynasty founded by Gui Ling passed to 12 generations. So, who is Can Cong's son? Who did Guan Bai pass the throne to? Maybe later classics and archaeology can't answer, and Bashu symbols will have an answer.
In the vast history of ancient Shu, I don't know how many such mysteries exist. Do Yan Di, Huangdi and Dayu in the ancient history of China have anything to do with Shu people? Why have all the bronzes in Sanxingdui Sacrificial Pit been rammed and burned? Where did Sanxingdui people go after abandoning the country? Does the legendary Du Yu Dynasty really exist? Whose country is Jinsha Site? Can Cong and Bieling, the builders of Dujiangyan, a water conservancy project that has been passed down through the ages, or Li Bing of the Qin Dynasty? Is Vietnamese Luo Ou the last dynasty of Shu people?
Any one of these problems is enough to make us fall into the clouds. The answers to these mysteries may be hidden in Bashu symbols. At present, it is impossible to completely decipher Bashu symbols, but if we decipher Bashu symbols, we can decipher the mysterious ancient Bashu kingdom! For example, what is the origin of Bashu race, nationality and writing? There is also the mystery of the rise and fall of Sanxingdui ancient Shu State and so on.
There is no doubt that the Bashu symbol is a huge mystery, but the mystery itself may be a window, which plays an important role in the history of the Chinese nation. Behind every thin symbol, a group of fresh faces may be active, and an unknown history may be hidden. The symbol of Bashu embodies all the magic of ancient Shu civilization. The interpretation of it will play a decisive role in our understanding of the mysterious ancient Bashu kingdom culture and is the key for us to uncover the cultural secrets of Sanxingdui. But the key now is that we must get this key and master how to use it, so that we can enter the hearts of ancient Shu people, their lives and the mysterious ancient world.