Dongxiq｜Yu Chenglong: How did the chariots of the Yin Ruins demonstrate the mutual learning between the early Eastern and Western civilizations?

　　China News Agency, Beijing, January 4th:

　　The author is Yu Jackie Chan, director of China Yinshang Culture Association, former vice president of China National Museum Research Institute

　　The Yin Ruins buried the last capital of the Shang Dynasty. "Bamboo Book Chronicles" stated that "from Pan Geng's migration to Yin to the destruction of Zhou, it took two hundred and seventy-three years, not to mention moving to the capital."

Once upon a time, prosperity was like a dream.

　　There are many unearthed cultural relics from the Yin Ruins that can provide mutual learning between civilizations, and cars are one of the important ones.

The car is a major invention in the history of human technology, and it is also an important tool for human beings to accumulate experience and improve in the long-term production and life practice.

The physical chariot unearthed from the Yin Ruins is the earliest real two-wheeled chariot with horses as the driving force in ancient China, and has attracted great attention from the archaeological circles at home and abroad.

But what is little known is that the Yin Ruins chariot is also one of the early evidences of mutual learning between Eastern and Western civilizations.

　　What is the purpose of the pre-Qin chariots recorded in writing?

　　Qu Yuan, a poet of the Chu State during the Warring States Period, in the famous "Nine Songs" "National Memorial", depicted a heroic picture of the soldiers of the Chu State bravely fighting against the enemy with strong artistic appeal and sincere emotion.

Among them, "cars with wrong hubs, short soldiers meet", "lingering formations, left and right blade wounds", "two wheels, four horses", are the scenes of chariots galloping staggered, horses neighing, and short soldiers on the battlefield. a true portrayal.

　　According to Qu Yuan's poems, two-wheeled chariots using horses have been used as important military equipment from the late Shang Dynasty to the early Western Han Dynasty at the latest, and have been used for more than a thousand years.

In the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period when the heroes were fighting for hegemony, the number of chariots owned was the standard for measuring the military strength of the princes and states.

"Mencius · King Hui of Liang 1" records: "In a country of ten thousand chariots, whoever kills his king must be the home of a thousand chariots; in a country of a thousand chariots, whoever kills his king must be a home of a hundred chariots." The "Cheng" in "Thousand Vehicles" and "Hundred Vehicles" means four horses and one chariot, which shows the important position of chariots in military equipment at that time.

　　On the other hand, this two-wheeled chariot with horses was also an important means of transportation for travel, field hunting and other activities.

At the beginning of the 20th century, an inscribed oracle bone was unearthed in Xiaotun, Anyang, Henan Province. It was the lower part of the broken right shoulder blade of a cow. It was collected by archaeologist Luo Zhenyu in the third year of Xuantong in the Qing Dynasty (1911).

The front and back of the oracle bone are engraved with long inscriptions. There are nearly 180 characters in existence, and the words are painted in vermilion. Disaster happened.

Among them, the inscriptions and verdicts on Guisi Day record that on the next day of divination, in the Jiawu period, the king of Shang was hunting in the field. While chasing Si, the chariot of Xiao Chenster collided with the chariot of the king, and Ziyang fell from the chariot.

It can be seen from this that the chariots of the Shang Dynasty were also used for field hunting.

　　In addition, as an important carrier of the ritual and music system in ancient China, the number and decoration of chariots owned by the emperor, feudal lords, ministers, scholars, and nobles of different ranks are different. do not.

　Yin Ruins Uncovers the Mystery of Late Merchant Chariots

　　As mentioned above, there are countless records of chariots in ancient Chinese classics and oracle bone inscriptions such as "Poetry · Qin Feng · Che Lin", "There are chariots next to each other", "Xiaoya · Che Gong", "Xiao Xiao Ma Ming".

Through scientific field archaeological excavations, people have finally gained insight into the true appearance of ancient Chinese chariots.

　　From October 1928 to June 1937, the then Archaeological Group of the Institute of History and Linguistics of the Academia Sinica conducted 15 archaeological excavations in Xiaotun Northwest of Anyang, Henan Province and the north and south banks of the Huan River, revealing many ruins, tombs, and unearthed a large number of relics.

　　After the founding of New China, the archaeological excavation work here has been carried out in an all-round way, and has achieved fruitful results that have attracted worldwide attention.

The unearthed 160,000 oracle bones and more than 90 years of archaeological excavations show that the main remains of this place began from the period of Shang Wang Wuding to Shang Wang Dixin, and buried the last capital of the Shang Dynasty, that is, the "Yin Dynasty" moved by Shang Wang Pangeng. ", the "Yin Xu" recorded in the classics is also the center of the "Dayi Shang" in the oracle bone inscriptions of the Shang Dynasty.

　　After more than 90 years of archaeological excavations at the Yin Ruins, hundreds of two-wheeled carriages driven by two horses have been unearthed, which is also the earliest known carriage in ancient China so far.

From 2005 to 2006, 10 chariot and horse pits were found in the southwest of Anyang Iron and Steel Works, among which 5 carriages were placed in a row, which was very spectacular.

All of these are the first time that later generations revealed the real structure of the late Shang Dynasty carriage.

Anyang Iron and Steel Works unearthed a chariot and horse pit in the late Shang Dynasty.

Image source: Yinxu Museum

　　After careful combing by archaeologists, it was discovered that the carriage system in the late Shang Dynasty was composed of five major components: one yoke, two wheels, single shaft, single balance and double yoke, which required the cooperation of many handicraft departments such as bronze casting, lacquer wood processing and leather processing. It embodies the overall level of handicraft development at that time.

Structural drawing of the late Shang Dynasty carriage in Xiaomintun, Yin Ruins.

Image source: Yinxu Museum

Restoration of a carriage in the late Shang Dynasty.

Image source: Yinxu Museum

　　The carriages of the late Shang Dynasty found in the Yin Ruins were accompanied by weapons such as Ge and arrowheads and various harnesses.

"Historical Records Zhou Benji" records that in the last years of the Shang Dynasty, King Wu of Zhou "led 300 military chariots, 3,000 tigers and 45,000 armored soldiers, and defeated Zhou in the east."

From this we can see that the carriages unearthed from the Yin Ruins were the "chariots" at that time.

Shang "Wang Bin Zhongding" inscribed oracle bones are now in the National Museum of China.

Among them, the verdicts of the oracle on Guisi date record that on the next day of divination, in Jiawu, King Shang was hunting in the field. While chasing Si, the chariot and horse of Xiao Chenster collided with the chariot of the king, and Ziyang fell from the chariot.

It can be seen from this that chariots were also used for field hunting at that time.

Image source: "Chinese Civilization - <Exhibition of Ancient China> The Essence of Cultural Relics · Xia, Shang and Western Zhou Dynasties"

　　Chariot pits were also found in the Laoniupo site in Xi'an, Shaanxi and the Qianzhang site in Tengzhou, Shandong, which both belonged to the late Shang Dynasty.

In other words, the archaeological evidence we have seen so far shows that the period of Shang Wang Wuding, that is, the 13th century BC, was the earliest time for domestic horses and chariots to appear in China.

　　Examining the above-mentioned two-wheeled carriage unearthed from the site of the late Shang Dynasty, the structure and mechanics are reasonable, the craftsmanship is excellent, and a large number of bronze components are used. It is by no means a preliminary work, but has gone through a long process of invention, improvement and perfection.

However, in the early Shang Dynasty sites such as Yanshi Shangcheng, Zhengzhou Shangcheng, and Xiaoshuangqiao, which were excavated by the provincial procuratorate, no remains of horse bones or two-wheeled vehicles were found.

　　So, where did the two-wheeled chariot with two horses that suddenly appeared in the late Shang Dynasty come from?

The chariot unearthed in Central and Western Asia is earlier than the Yin Ruins

　　Looking at the archeology of the Eurasian steppe, a large number of horse bones, horse teeth, harpoons made of horse bones, and accumulations of horse manure were unearthed from the "Baitai Site" in Kazakhstan about 5,500 years ago. Residues of horse milk fatty acids were even detected on pottery. , which is the earliest known record of human domestication of horses, indicating that people at that time had already begun to domesticate horses.

　　The "Sintashta Site" in the southern Ural region of the Eurasian steppe, dated to around 2000 BC.

The earliest identifiable two-wheeled chariot with two horses was unearthed in the tombs of the site.

The "Ruchashin Ruins" located on the shore of Lake Sevan in Armenia in southern Transcaucasia, dated to about 1500 BC. Several two-wheeled chariots tied with two horses were unearthed from the tombs of the site, which are very similar to the chariots of the late Shang Dynasty.

At the same time, according to the documents recorded in the 18th century BC in the northern part of the Mesopotamia, an army composed of 1,400 people was equipped with 40 chariots; documents in the 17th century BC also recorded that 8 armies were equipped with 80 chariots.

In addition, the seal pattern unearthed in Syria shows a vivid scene of a soldier driving a two-wheeled chariot with two horses, shooting the enemy with a bow, and two people riding a two-wheeled chariot, driving and trampling the enemy.

These archaeological evidences show that, as early as the late Shang Dynasty, two-wheeled chariots driven by two horses had been popular in Central Asia and West Asia for a long time.

A two-wheeled carriage was unearthed from Tomb No. 11 of the Ruchashin site by Lake Sevan in Armenia.

Image source: Wang Wei's "The Origin of Horse-drawn Chariots in the Shang Dynasty"

　　Out of Central and Western Asia, and finally better than Central and Western Asia

　　If we compare these double-horse two-wheeled chariots in Central Asia and West Asia in detail with the double-horse two-wheeled chariots of the late Shang Dynasty found in China, we will find that the two have the same structure and are one Yu, two wheels, single shaft, single balance and double yoke have the same manufacturing and joining process of the main components, and all use bronze chariot and horse utensils, which shows that there is an obvious internal connection between the two.

Therefore, the double-horse chariots and domestic horses that have been prevalent in Central Asia and West Asia for a long time should be the source of the sudden appearance of domestic horses and double-horse chariots in the late Shang Dynasty. Current interpretations of archaeological finds.

　　However, it should be noted that the two-wheeled chariots driven by two horses used in the late Shang Dynasty were not simply introduced or imitated, but the basic framework of the two-wheeled chariots driven by two horses popular in Central Asia and West Asia. On the basis of their own needs, the main components such as the car body, car area, wheel diameter and gauge were greatly modified, and the style and size of their own chariot and horse equipment were shaped, and the highly developed bronze casting industry and many handicrafts in the late Shang Dynasty With the support of the military, more sophisticated chariots are produced, so that their effectiveness as military equipment and means of transportation can be maximized.

Judging from the remains of the Yin Ruins, the chariots made in China have far surpassed those in Central and West Asia in all aspects.

After entering the Western Zhou Dynasty, the structure of the chariot generally followed the commercial system and was improved again, becoming the prototype of the chariot in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.

　　In the formation and initial development of the early dynastic era in ancient China, the Shang Dynasty was a link between the past and the future, with far-reaching influence.

Introducing, digesting, absorbing, and innovating, these concepts were vividly reflected in the production of two-wheeled chariots driven by two horses in the late Shang Dynasty, and once again confirmed from one side that the origin and early development of Chinese civilization is a process of pluralism and unity .

　　Through the chariots of the Yin Ruins, we can get a glimpse of that era. It was because of the mutual promotion, learning from each other, and inclusiveness that the late Shang Dynasty achieved brilliance in the fields of politics, economy, and culture. The fire is perfect", thus creating a bronze civilization that shines through the generations to come.

(use up)

Brief introduction of experts:

　　 Yu Chenglong, a librarian and professor of cultural and museum studies, a famous bronze expert, a director of the China Yinshang Culture Association; former vice president of the National Museum Research Institute of China.

In September 2018, appointed by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, went to the UK as a bronze expert to identify the authenticity and other situations of the lost cultural relics in the Old Summer Palace and the late Western Zhou Dynasty bronze ware "Hu Ying".

Published "Ancient China in Cultural Relics • Xia, Shang and Western Zhou Dynasties", "Chinese Civilization - Essence of Cultural Relics • Xia, Shang and Western Zhou Dynasties", "National Museum of China Ancient Art Series • Ancient Chinese Bronze Art" and "National Museum of China History and Culture Series • Dozens of works (articles) such as "Zhen Gu Ze Jin——Oracle Bone Inscriptions Culture Exhibition".