[Explanation] On April 6, 2021, the Sanxingdui Museum in Guanghan, Sichuan reported that the restoration of the Sanxingdui No. 3 sacred tree has started and has begun to bear fruit after the approval of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage.
On the afternoon of the 8th, the reporter saw the magical tree No. 3 at the Cultural Protection Center of Sanxingdui Museum.
Unearthed in 1986 in the sacrificial pit No. 2 of the Sanxingdui site, the restored No. 1 bronze sacred tree with a height of 396 cm is one of the treasures of the town hall of the Sanxingdui Museum.
Few people know that in addition to the No. 1 bronze sacred tree, several bronze sacred trees were unearthed in the sacrificial pit, and the No. 3 bronze sacred tree is one of them.
The reporter saw at the scene that the sacred tree was more than 1 meter high. Above the bronze tree base, the three main trunks of twist-shaped twists "grew" upwards, while the bronze branches on it tried to "stretch" to the side, with three tail feathers on top. There are three human head bird statues, and the three human head bird statues "sit firmly" on the top of the tree, with their tails stretched out and their tails high.
Yu Jian, director of the Sanxingdui Museum's Exhibition and Storage Department, told reporters that in 2019, after the approval of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, cultural preservation workers started the restoration of the No. 3 bronze sacred tree.
After one year after another, the splicing of the entire body of the No. 3 bronze sacred tree has been basically completed.
[Concurrent] Yu Jian, Director of Display and Storage Department of Sanxingdui Museum
The whole shape and body of the entire No. 3 sacred tree have been assembled and assembled, so we now follow that if we really want to complete it, we need to bond the broken part to it. All stitched together is considered as stitching completed.
And one more point is that we can see that it has many cracks in many places. Maybe we will have to reinforce it at that time. At present, we can only say that the overall shape of it is to splice it completely. come out.
[Explanation] Yu Jian introduced that the No. 3 bronze sacred tree and the No. 1 bronze sacred tree are completely different in shape. Its branches are twist-shaped and the main trunk is about 1 cm in diameter. Therefore, it can be found in the more than 70 pieces of bronze unearthed. It is easier to find parts of similar shape and size.
The current restoration to the present level is generally relatively smooth, because the restoration clues are relatively clear.
[Concurrent] Yu Jian, Director of Display and Storage Department of Sanxingdui Museum
Because of the many remaining parts of the No. 3 sacred tree, it is actually very obvious, which means that the information of the main trunk of the No. 3 sacred tree left to us is still very complete. Why can we see that it looks like this? Twist-shaped branches, and the diameter of its main trunk is about one centimeter of a main trunk, so as long as we find this corresponding twist-shaped vessel in the debris, we will Integrate it all together. After the integration, we will probably classify these damages, there are about 70 pieces of damage.
[Explanation] Although the restoration clues are clearer, there are still some puzzles that need to be further studied on the No. 3 bronze sacred tree: there is a wrapped gold leaf left on the trunk, how big is the wrapping area?
The remaining hooks under the branches show that there were decorations on them. Are these hanging decorations related to the small gold leaf ornaments and copper bells unearthed from the sacrificial pits of Sanxingdui No. 1 and 2?
[Concurrent] Yu Jian, Director of Display and Storage Department of Sanxingdui Museum
Our current thinking is to wait until the next few pits and see if it is related to it as the excavation work is carried out. If it is related, then we will combine it with it and then further study, if it is not related to it If it is, we plan to perform a complete splicing restoration of it. After splicing and restoration, it can be exhibited in the exhibition hall as soon as possible.
[Explanation] "Shanhai Jing·Overseas Eastern Jing" once recorded that "there are hibiscus on the valley, bathing for ten days, and living in the water. On the 9th, staying in the lower branch, one day in the upper branch." According to historical records, Dongfang Shuo, a writer in the Han Dynasty, wrote in the "Hainei Ten The shape of the hibiscus tree is described in Zhou Ji: “The trees grow on the same root in pairs and are more dependent on each other. They are named Fusang.” Yu Jian said that although the No. 3 bronze sacred tree has not been fully restored, it has participated The archaeologists who excavated the No. 2 sacrificial pit believed that the sacred tree portrayed the "Hibiscus tree" inhabiting the sun in ancient mythology.
Reporter He Xi from Guanghan, Sichuan
Editor in charge: 【Luo Pan】