Master Archaeologist

Chapter 377 Rong and Yue

"Yo, this ax is really nice."

"What kind of axe? It's called a Yue."

Zhuang Yunpeng put Chen Han's shoulders on his shoulders and said winkingly.

They were standing in front of the cultural relics unearthed from Tomb No. 12 of Fanshan King's Mausoleum.

Fanshan King's Tomb, since it can be regarded as a king's tomb, of course it is because many things representing royal power were found in Fanshan's tomb.

The great affairs of the country lie in worship and Rong.

Si has already understood.

What about Rong?
If sa represents divine power, or religious belief, then Rong represents royal power without a doubt.

Rong is specifically a Yue, and Wu also refers to a Yue.

Yue is a symbol of royal power and a scepter of military command for the rulers of the dynasty.

"Sima Fa" said: "Xia holds Xuanwu, Yin holds Bai Qi, Zhou left Zhang Huangwu, and right held Bai Mao."

The white Qi held by the Yin people is a kind of Wu. "Shuowen Jiezi Wu Bu": Qi, Wu also.

""Mozi Fei Gongxia" also said: In the past, the three seedlings were in chaos, the destiny was in jeopardy, the sun and demons came out,...the five grains changed, and the people were greatly invigorated (shock). Take the auspicious order of the heavens to levy seedlings.... There are gods and men with the body of birds, and they are served by Jin, and the arrows have the auspiciousness of seedlings.

The so-called "Auspicious Order of Heaven" in "Mozi", according to Mr. Dong Chuping's textual research, is the so-called "Heavenly Axe" in "Six Secret Teachings".
In the Shang and Zhou dynasties, the Yue, as a symbol of royal power, was inherited from the previous dynasties, and was given to the princes of the Fang Kingdom by the Shang and Zhou kings as tokens of granting military power to conquer.

However, a large amount of archaeological evidence shows that the southeast prehistoric cultural circle, that is, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Shanghai and other places in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, was the most popular area in the Neolithic Age of China.

The number of stone axes found here not only ranks first in the country, but also has the most abundant shapes of stone axes, and the sequence of initiation, development and evolution of various types of stone axes is also very clear.

The ceremonial jade and bronze axes were the symbols of royal power and the ceremonial staff of military command in the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties.

In terms of the shape of the vessel and its cultural, social, political and religious functions, the jade axe was directly popular in the Liangzhu culture of the late Neolithic period in the southeastern region, but was not seen in other regional cultures of the Neolithic period in China.

Bronze Yue is the continuation of Liangzhu Culture and Xuejiagang Culture Jade and Shi Yue in the southeast region.

The one in front of Chen Han and Zhuang Yunpeng is the Jade Ax King from Tomb No. 12, Fanshan, Liangzhu. It is green with yellow in color and has no trace of use.

What does this mean?
That means it's not a utility.

It also shows that in the Liangzhu civilization, the axe is no longer a simple weapon when the stone axe was born, but has become a part of the ritual vessel. The jade axe specially made of jade is more symbolic than practical.

It may even be made, and it will not be used once, just as a symbol of royal power.

Many people who don't know much about archaeology and history, when they visited Fuhao's tomb in Yin Ruins, were very puzzled by the large copper ax unearthed from Fuhao's tomb in Shang Dynasty. Take a big axe?

In fact, the copper axe unearthed from Fuhao's tomb is the correct situation. If no copper axe was found in Fuhao's tomb, it would put a question mark on the oracle bone inscriptions about Fuhao's battle.

Because the bronze axe is a symbol of military power, a status, and a ritual culture inherited from ancient times.

As long as he is a general who goes to war, he will receive a Yue from the emperor as a symbol of power to rule the army.

This situation continued until the Han Dynasty.

However, after the Han Dynasty, the ax and axe began to be broken.

At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, Emperor Ping of Han added Jiuxi to Wang Mang.

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty bestowed Jiuxi on Cao Cao.

The so-called "nine tins" are actually the emperor's level of chariots and horses, clothes, musical instruments, Zhuhu, Nabi, tigers, bows, axes, axes, and scorpions.

Behind each of these items stands a privilege.

"Axe" is a symbol of military power and power.

Until the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and even the Tang Dynasty, "Adding Jiuxi" was a very high-standard reward from the king.

However, because of Wang Mang's good start, most of the people who "add Jiuxi" are rebellious officials and thieves, who are linked to "usurping the throne", and are either proclaiming emperor or on the way to proclaiming emperor.

So after Li Yuan was the last one to enjoy the "Jiuxi" treatment, "Jiuxi" was basically rotten, and it belonged to Yingfengstink.

No official in power dares to "add Jiuxi" anymore, otherwise it would be telling others that I am going to usurp the throne.

So after the Tang Dynasty, the axe basically disappeared from the sight of the public or history books.

But in fact, the descendants of the emperor will still use axes and axes when performing some grand sacrifices. This is the etiquette system passed down from the ancestors, and the ancestors' laws are difficult to change.

Tracing back to the bottom line, the ax first appeared in the southeastern region of China, and it was also the first one in Liangzhu to use it as a ritual vessel.

Of course, this does not mean that axes were not used in prehistoric times except in the southeast.

To put it bluntly, the appearance of a Yue is similar to that of an axe, and its usage is also similar to that of an axe.

In fact, stone axes were unearthed in the Neolithic period all over the world.

However, this is the "charm of words" of our Chinese civilization.

Those that are purely used as tools and are frequently used can only be called axes, which are used by ordinary people to cut trees and people.

With special meaning, not only as a tool, but also as a symbolic axe, it is called axe.

The difference between the two is the difference in material, and the second is the degree of wear.

An ax that has been used intensively and is full of wear and tear is definitely not a battle axe, but a tool axe.

Only axes with no traces of wear, or very few traces of wear, and with excellent workmanship are the axes.

For example, the Jade Yuewang in Tomb No. 12 of Fanshan has no trace of use at all, and it is obviously an item specially used as a symbol.

This is the same as the difference between copper tripod and pottery tripod.

The pottery tripod was used by the common people, and it can be seen everywhere. It can be unearthed in the burial pits of the common people and even the slaves.

As for the bronze tripod, once the material is changed and the workmanship is exquisite, the meaning will be different immediately. It has become an exclusive utensil that only the princes and officials can use. It is both practical and ritual.

Aristocrats with relatively poor families may use the tripod for daily use after casting it, and use it as a funeral vessel after death.

But the family situation is relatively good. Simply put, local tyrants with a lot of mines pay more attention to this aspect. They usually use a set of tripod and gui, and when they die, they will cast a new set of unused copper gui for burial.

Therefore, in the archaeology of the Eastern and Western Zhou Dynasties, it often appears that the ritual vessels unearthed from some tombs are brand new, while the ritual vessels unearthed from some tombs are low and dark, obviously used.

There is no deep meaning in it, it is simply that some tomb owners are rich and some are poor.

(End of this chapter)