Master Archaeologist

Chapter 162 What is the mysterious bird in "The Mysterious Bird of Destiny"?

"Hey, this Nanyue king is still a monarch who loves barbecue and skewers!"

Jiang Yu, a researcher at the Guangzhou Institute of Archaeology, was lying on a wooden pulley, holding a square bronze vessel in both hands, and his expression was full of ridicule.

What he holds in his hand is an "oven".

That's right, it is the oven in the thinking of modern people.

The plane of this square copper oven is slightly rectangular, the middle part is slightly concave, the four corners are upturned, and the bottom surface has a certain curvature.

There is an owl at each of the bottom four corners "lifting" the entire oven.

The shape is exquisite and special, and it is quite interesting.

It's a pity that a clay pot was stacked on top of this oven, which flattened the oven.

However, even if it is deflated, it can be seen that there are corridor-shaped rims on the four sides of the oven, supported by copper pillars inside, a shop head, and wear-ties on both sides.

It shows that when the oven is in use, it can be hung with iron chains, instead of being placed on the ground and then grilled.

It should be to set a fire on the ground, and then use wood as a support to cook the oven on the fire.

It's a pity that the rust of this oven is also very serious. The decoration on the oven body has been corroded, leaving a piece of patina.

Only on the flat edge, there are still some panchi patterns.

On the contrary, the four owls "lifting" the oven are quite cute and cute.

An owl is actually an owl.

A large number of these objects were unearthed in Fuhao's tomb. Among the bronzes unearthed from the Middle Shang and Late Shang cultures, a large number of owl-shaped bronzes were also found.

Some experts and scholars deduce that the owl is also an owl, and this thing may be the so-called "mysterious bird" in the Shang Dynasty.

As we all know, businessmen think of their own origin as "the mysterious bird of destiny descended to give birth to businessmen".

A woman named Jiandi, after swallowing the eggs laid by "Xuanniao", became pregnant and gave birth to a son named Qi.Qi, that is, Yanbo, is the legendary ancestor of Shang.

In the ancient times of China, it was a common phenomenon to use myths and legends to describe the origin of the tribe.

It is a means of exaggeration, adding theological color to the ruler, and maintaining authority and dominance.

Since then, the merchant's totem has been the black bird.

However, the shapes of Xuanniao in different Shang culture periods are also different.

Just like a dragon, it has no feet and horns from the earliest days, similar to loaches and snakes. After many evolutions, it becomes a common dragon image in later generations.

Some scholars also believe that the so-called "mysterious bird" in the Shang Dynasty may have been born out of an owl, that is, an owl.

Because the owl is a kind of "evil bird" in later generations, that is, after Shang, Zhou, Qin and Han Dynasties, not a mascot.

However, in the Shang Dynasty, and even from the Spring and Autumn Period to the Qin and Han Dynasties, owls were not "evil birds" and frequently appeared in bronze wares.

Especially in the tomb of Fu Hao, there are a large number of objects in the shape of owls.

This shows that at that time, the owl was a sacred, even highly sought-after animal, which appeared on the bronze.

After all, that era was still the totem period, and different tribes had different totem animals, and a large number of them would appear on bronze wares in the form of totems.

It is worth mentioning that the totem of the Qin State, or the tribe with the surname Ying, is also related to the black bird, which is composed of three parts: "the black bird dies eggs", "worship with both hands" and "grain seedlings".

But the "black bird" in the Qin totem is not an owl, but a kite, that is, a sparrow hawk, an animal that looks like a sparrow and an eagle.

"Historical Records. Qin Benji" said: "Da Fei Zuo Shun trained the birds and beasts, and the birds and beasts trained more, it was for Boyi."

Da Fei is the ancestor of the Qin people, and also the ancestor of the harrier breeders, and Qing harrier is the protector of the Qin people.

Because when the people of Qin are doing agricultural work, they need to domesticate green harriers to help them guard the ripening of millet.

Agricultural production capacity cannot be harvested, it all depends on the protection of Qingyao.

Therefore, the totem of the Qin State is composed of three parts: "harrier", "hands worship" and "grain seedling".

However, in the eyes of the Qin people, the green harrier is also a "mysterious bird", and their own interpretation of the totem is "the mysterious bird perishes its eggs".

Although the Qin State was established relatively late, the old winner is the proper eight surnames in ancient times, after Zhuanxu.

Boyi, the ancestor of the Ying surname, Qie, the ancestor of the Shang Dynasty, and Yu, the ancestor of the Xia Dynasty, all existed at the same time.

This shows that the three tribes, at least culturally, should have the same origin, and their concept of "black bird" should also be the same.

Then why is the mysterious bird of the winner, and the mysterious bird of the Shang Dynasty, obviously not the same animal?

Inferred to this point, a conjecture was born.

Perhaps "mysterious bird" should be a general term in ancient times, rather than a single description of a certain bird.

As long as the tribe thinks that this kind of bird is a patron saint, it can be called "Xuan Bird"!
Therefore, many scholars believe that a large number of owl-shaped objects appeared in Fuhao's tomb, which shows that in the Shang period, "owl" was the mysterious bird of the Shang tribe!
In other words, businessmen have always regarded "owl" as the patron saint and totem of their tribe.

As to why they did this, that is for research.

At least the words "Meng Xiaoniao" and "Shou Xiaoyou (you)" appearing in the oracle bone inscriptions of the Shang Dynasty express that the appearance of owls is an auspicious omen in war.

As a warlike nation, merchants endowed "owl" with the meaning of "good fortune in battle", which may be the reason why owl became a mysterious bird.

Back to the topic.

In the tomb of the Nanyue king, it is still a very special thing to find a bronze vessel in the shape of an owl.

Bronze wares made in the shape of an owl were mostly seen before the Qin and Han Dynasties.

To be precise, it was more common in the Shang Dynasty.

Several famous owl-shaped bronze wares are all from the Shang Dynasty.

For example, the [Shang Dynasty Bronze Ware Owl] in the collection of Shanxi Museum.

For example, the Fuhao Owl Zun in the Henan Museum.

As well as the jade, stone, pottery, and bronze wares of the Shang Dynasty, there are exquisite owl shapes.

However, after the Shang Dynasty and the Zong and Zhou Dynasties, the owl god culture worshiped by merchants also disappeared.

However, the "phoenix" culture worshiped by Chu people gradually became the mainstream of bird worship at that time.

By the Qin and Han Dynasties, if birds were to be engraved or painted on most bronze ware and lacquered wood ware, most of them chose "phoenix bird".

After all, Liu Bang came from Chu, and he was influenced by Chu culture.

In the Chu culture, the phoenix is ​​the real divine bird!

Owl?How unfamiliar!
Therefore, most of the utensils in the Western Han Dynasty use the phoenix as the bird statue!

However, the Nanyue Kingdom in the early Western Han Dynasty actually had bronze wares made in the shape of "owl".

Although these owls are just four tool birds for "lifting" the oven.

But it also means something different!

The Nanyue Kingdom is located in the south of the Five Ridges, and has been greatly influenced by Chu culture and Wuyue culture.

Even if the ruling class of Nanyue Kingdom are all outsiders, they came from the Qin Kingdom, but how can they not get along with the business culture?

Zhao Tuo's lineage, it's fine if they don't worship the phoenix, but they actually played with the divine bird "Owl" in Shang culture?
Is this awkward?
Anyway, the archaeological elites of the Guangzhou Institute of Archeology didn't think of a reason.

This is estimated to become an unsolved mystery of the Nanyue king's tomb.

But for those who do archaeology, the unsolved mysteries and so on belong to the fact that there are too many lice and it doesn't itch.

Digging a large tomb will not reveal a few unresolved and incomprehensible mysteries.

Then I am embarrassed to tell my colleagues what heavyweight tomb I dug!

It is the unearthed artifacts that are unclear and unclear, which shows that this tomb is of great significance and cultural influence!
Fu Pu, the director of the Guangzhou Institute of Archeology, is eager to get some more special cultural relics like this!
(End of this chapter)