Sanxingdui’s Bronze Wheel: A Puzzle Connecting Ancient Worlds

Today, we’ll introduce a mysterious artifact that may offer insights into ancient cross-cultural exchanges, potentially linking Sanxingdui with far-flung civilizations like Egypt or Mesopotamia. Its unique design and possible connections to sun worship raise intriguing questions about its origins and influence.

Transcript

Sanxingdui’s Bronze Wheel: A Puzzle Connecting Ancient Worlds

Today, we’ll introduce a mysterious artifact that may offer insights into ancient cross-cultural exchanges, potentially linking Sanxingdui with far-flung civilizations like Egypt or Mesopotamia. Its unique design and possible connections to sun worship raise intriguing questions about its origins and influence.

The popularity of museums has been on the rise for several years. During the summer of 2024, museums were especially popular, reaching an unprecedented level of interest. Two major special exhibitions, one in the south and one in the north, stood out in particular. In the south, the Shanghai Museum hosted an exhibition entitled “On Top of the Pyramid – The Civilization of Ancient Egypt”, while in the north, the Capital Museum’s new branch, also known as the Grand Canal Museum, showcased the “Sanxingdui Special Exhibition.”

Since the opening of its new branch in Sichuan last year, the Sanxingdui Museum has been a significant attraction. This summer, Sanxingdui brought a collection of important artifacts to Beijing, creating even more enthusiasm for these relics. Everyone was eager to see firsthand what astonishing artifacts had been unearthed from Sanxingdui after more than thirty years of excavation, and whether there were any new answers to the “mystery of Sanxingdui culture” that has intrigued so many.

Sanxingdui was first discovered in 1929 and underwent its first scientific excavation in 1934. However, due to various historical events, archaeological work practically came to a standstill for more than half a century. It wasn’t until 1986 that Sanxingdui experienced its “springtime of brilliance,” with the discovery of the first and second sacrificial pits. These excavations yielded a large number of valuable artifacts, including bronzes, jades, gold objects, seashells, and ivory. 

Particularly noteworthy were the first appearances of a series of uniquely shaped and exaggerated bronze artifacts, such as the bronze masks, the large standing bronze figure, and the bronze sacred tree. These discoveries caused a sensation both domestically and internationally.

After another long period of silence lasting 35 years, Sanxingdui once again stunned the world in 2021 by revealing the excavation results of six additional sacrificial pits uncovering over 13,000 numbered artifacts. In 2023, the new Sanxingdui Museum opened with great fanfare, displaying many of these newly unearthed artifacts to the public for the first time. Yet, even this could not fully satisfy the intense curiosity surrounding the mysterious culture of Sanxingdui. So, it’s no surprise that the recent exhibition in Beijing has sparked a renewed wave of enthusiasm.

There have been countless reports and speculations in various films, images, and articles about the artifacts from Sanxingdui, especially the most distinctive ones such as the large bronze standing figure, the bronze sacred tree, and the bronze masks. And we won’t repeat that information here. Today, we’ll focus on one particular artifact that, whenever exhibited, creates a great sensation. Its design features are well-known, but it has relatively little written introduction. We’re talking about the Bronze Sun Wheel – an artifact that is not only fascinating but also highly representative.

What makes it fascinating is its shape, which closely resembles a “steering wheel” on a car. It’s a perfectly symmetrical five-spoke round disk, so well-crafted that it could easily be mistaken for a steering wheel on a modern-day bus. Because of this, the artifact is particularly popular among children. When standing in front of it, children can let their imaginations run wild, coming up with all sorts of ideas, and this is one of those cases where any idea is a good one because there’s no definitive answer. Adults – whether parents, teachers, or even archaeologists – don’t know its exact purpose, so no one’s guess is more authoritative than the children’s.

Among the more entertaining suggestions is that a contemporary time traveler accidentally left the steering wheel at Sanxingdui. Or maybe it’s actually a steering wheel from an alien spacecraft that visited Earth 3000 years ago. 

A more realistic thought is that it might have been a part of some wheeled device, such as a cart, a spinning wheel, or a waterwheel, all of which could have existed during that era. However, existing archaeological findings don’t support this theory. First, no parts of vehicles, looms, or waterwheels have been found among the tens of thousands of other artifacts at Sanxingdui. Second, practical tools typically started with wooden or stone versions before more valuable bronze ones were made, but no similar stone or wooden tools have been found at Sanxingdui. Third, even if it were a part of some practical device, early technological methods usually involved using an even number of spokes for symmetry, as it was much simpler to craft. Creating a perfectly symmetrical five-spoke design would be difficult even for modern craftsmen working by hand.

In August 2024, during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, the Olympic flame was creatively carried into the sky by a hot air balloon. The flame was held on a metal disc suspended beneath the balloon. Visitors who had previously seen the Sanxingdui exhibition exclaimed in amazement, “Could this ‘steering wheel’ also have been used by ancient people to carry a sacred flame into the air for worship and viewing?”

This idea might seem as imaginative as some of the kids’ ideas, but, in fact, it could actually be closer to the truth than what we’ve talked about so far. Most of the bronzeware from ancient China, not only that from Sanxingdui, were ritual objects, while practical tools, especially agricultural implements, were relatively rare. There were some weapons, but these were mainly status symbols of high-ranking nobles and were seldom actually used in battle. Given the precious and scarce nature of bronze, it was reserved for the most important occasions, namely, for ritual use.

Ritual objects, or “liqi,” in Chinese, were used in various ceremonial contexts, such as for formal ceremonies, banquets, entertainment, ancestor worship, the veneration of spirits, or to signify status, and sometimes to ward off evil. Although they might seem impractical to us, to the ancients, the role of ritual objects was paramount. They believed these objects deserved to be made from the most precious materials with the finest craftsmanship, and bronze was the most esteemed material for creating these ritual objects, highly favored by the ruling class and nobility.

So, in what kinds of ceremonies were the bronze artifacts from Sanxingdui used, and how were they utilized? The reason this “steering wheel” is considered representative among Sanxingdui artifacts is that, like the bronze standing figure, bronze masks, and bronze sacred trees, it possesses the typical characteristics of a bronze ritual object: expensive materials, exquisite craftsmanship, and unique design. However, since no written records have been found at Sanxingdui and there are no references in existing historical texts, the exact purpose of these bronze ritual objects remains a mystery. Were they used for ancestor worship? To honor deities? Or to signify royal authority? This remains unknown, making it one of the many “unsolved mysteries” of Sanxingdui culture: What was their religious belief system? Solving this mystery could also help answer another question: Where did Sanxingdui culture originate? Or, which civilization influenced it the most? Was it ancient Central China, ancient Mesopotamia, or ancient India?

This bronze “steering wheel” might hold the key to unlocking these mysteries. If it was a practical object, like a wheel, then considering the oldest wheels were created by the ancient Mesopotamian civilization, the civilization of the Tigris and Euphrates, it would suggest that Sanxingdui culture was significantly influenced by ancient Western Asia. However, if it was not a practical object but a ritual one, what was its purpose? A common theory links its design to primitive “sun worship,” which is why experts and scholars named it the “Bronze Sun Wheel,” while “steering wheel” is just a colloquial or informal name.

If this “sun worship” theory is accurate, then what civilization might have influenced it? Sun worship appears to have traces in ancient mythologies across the world. In ancient Greece, there was the sun god Apollo; in ancient India, the sun god Surya; in ancient Egypt, the sun god Ra; and even the Japanese emperor claims descent from Amaterasu, the sun goddess. After all, the sun rises regularly every day, hangs in the sky, and bathes the Earth in its light and warmth, enabling life to thrive. From this perspective, worshiping the sun seems logical and universally accepted in many civilizations.

However, ancient China’s Central Plains civilization seems to be an exception. The sun in Central Plains mythology does not have the same “great, glorious, and correct” image as in other civilizations – instead, it has a somewhat mixed or even negative portrayal. There are few sun-related myths, and the two most well-known are “Houyi Shoots the Suns” and “Kuafu Chases the Sun.”

In “Houyi Shoots the Suns,” Houyi is a great hero of ancient times. The story goes that there were ten suns in the sky, and though only one was supposed to come out each day, all ten suns sometimes mischievously appeared together, scorching the earth and causing great suffering. Houyi, with his immense strength, shot down nine of the suns with his bow and arrows, leaving just one to continue providing light and warmth for humanity.

The story of “Kuafu Chases the Sun” is similar to “Houyi Shoots the Suns.” Kuafu, the leader of the giant tribe and a great hero, was dissatisfied with the sun scorching the earth and causing harm to humanity. He began chasing the sun from the east, where it rises, and pursued it westward for nine days and nights. Kuafu finally caught up with the sun but was utterly exhausted and dehydrated, ultimately dying of thirst. This story illustrates both Kuafu’s overestimation of his abilities and his spirit of self-sacrifice for the sake of his people.

In summary, the sun’s image in Chinese mythology is not particularly glorious or radiant; instead, it is often associated with causing harm to the world, which is quite different from how the sun is perceived in other civilizations. When it comes to sun worship, ancient Egypt is perhaps the most typical example.

Ancient Egypt’s unique geographical conditions were very different from those of Mesopotamia, which was a region of constant conflict. Egypt’s simple and isolated geography was highly conducive to the early formation of a unified monarchy. Egypt is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, with deserts on the other three sides, and the Nile River running through Upper and Lower Egypt, dividing the country into east and west. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west, and the ancient Egyptians’ understanding of life followed this east-to-west journey – from birth to death, and from death to rebirth, in a perpetual cycle. Much like the sun’s daily rise and fall, and the Nile’s annual and predictable flooding, both of these natural phenomena nurtured and irrigated one of humanity’s earliest agricultural civilizations: ancient Egypt.

When it comes to Egypt’s sun worship and the legends of the sun god, there are countless examples. In the ancient Egyptian exhibition held in Shanghai that I mentioned earlier in the podcast, the presence of the sun god is ubiquitous, depicted in various forms and artistic expressions.

In the past, visiting exhibitions often felt disjointed, with little connection between different displays, especially when comparing Chinese and foreign exhibitions, which seemed to have even less in common. However, the Sanxingdui exhibition is different. 

Because even after more than thirty years of significant archaeological discoveries, including numerous artifacts never seen before, the mystery of Sanxingdui’s origins remains unsolved, especially since no written records have been found. This lack of textual evidence has only deepened the enigma of Sanxingdui’s origins. Over the past three decades, archaeological experts have studied a large number of jade, stone, and pottery artifacts unearthed from Sanxingdui, revealing that Sanxingdui culture was significantly influenced by the civilization of the Central Plains. 

Many of the jade artifacts, particularly ritual jade items, are quite similar in form and function to those found in Central Plains jade culture. However, the unique design of Sanxingdui’s bronzeware remains an unsolved mystery. With the discovery of the six additional sacrificial pits, this question has only become more pronounced.

If the dragon-shaped patterns on the clothing of the large bronze figure at Sanxingdui suggest an influence from Central Plains culture, then could the other bronze artifacts, which lack obvious Central Plains elements, have been influenced by cultures from Western Asia, Persia, India, or even Greece and Egypt? In the past, scholars primarily focused on the cultural ties between Sanxingdui and the Central Plains, often downplaying or avoiding discussion of its “foreign elements.” Now, with the increasing number of unearthed artifacts and the clearer relationship between Sanxingdui and Central Plains culture, scholars and interested parties might be ready to systematically reassess possible connections between Sanxingdui and foreign civilizations. This reassessment could go beyond simply analyzing the unusual forms and exaggerated designs of the artifacts to determine whether they are Chinese, foreign, or alien.

But here’s one thing we do know: civilizations and cultures don’t exist in isolation. They develop through fusion and interaction. And perhaps this “bronze sun wheel” could help broaden our view, allowing us to peer into the distance and steer a path from Sanxingdui to ancient Egypt or even further into the unknown.

Well, that’s the end of our podcast. Our theme music is by the famous film score composer Roc Chen. We want to thank our writer Song Yimin, translator Du Guodong and copy editor Pu Ren. And thank you for listening. We hope you enjoyed it, and if you did, please tell a friend so they, too, can understand The Context.