Bashu Symbol Seal □ Li Houqiang Symbol Seal is a cultural characteristic of China. Among them, the Bashu symbol seal is the most mysterious, known as the "Ninth Wonder of the World" or the "Godbach Conjecture" in the archaeological world, and has not been cracked yet.

Bashu Symbol Seal

□Li Houqiang (Deputy Director of Sichuan Provincial Decision-making Advisory Committee and Professor of Sichuan Academy of Social Sciences)

Symbol Seal is a cultural characteristic of China. Among them, the Bashu symbol seal is the most mysterious, known as the "Ninth Wonder of the World" or the "Godbach Conjecture" in the archaeological world, and has not been cracked yet. The most prominent feature of seals like

is that the seal surface is mainly cast on tiger patterns, palm patterns, flower stem patterns, cirrus clouds, water waves and animals and plants, rather than Chinese characters (a few are mixed), which is very different from the Central Plains seal.

Since the Bashu symbol seal was unearthed in Baolun Courtyard of Zhaohua, Sichuan in 1954, more than 100 unique seals of this type of during the Warring States Period have been unearthed in more than 20 places in Sichuan, with locations covering east, west, south, north and middle Sichuan. More than 80 pieces were unearthed in , Xingjing County, Sichuan, the most concentrated and rich, so Xingjing County has become a breakthrough and main battlefield for breaking the Bashu symbol seal.

Bashu symbol seal refers to a seal with graphic symbols unique to the Bashu area on the seal, and its distribution is based on the Chengdu Plain and surrounding areas as the core area. Although there are few early discoveries of in the Warring States Period, they are relatively mature, and the shapes of the late Warring States Period are diversified and complex.

Sichuan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology Gao Dalun and others pointed out in the article "Research on Bashu Seal from an Archaeological Perspective" that Bashu Seal has nothing to do with the shape, size, burial style, number of burial objects, type, gender, etc. It is not a sign of the identity level and wealth of the tomb owner, but may mean that the owner is engaged in a certain profession or has a certain skill.

There are many copper ornaments in tombs where Bashu seals are unearthed in various places. They are very rare in tombs where unexposed seals are and should be related to seals. The views of scholars such as Gao Dalun are very inspiring.

To crack the symbol seal of Bashu, we use the "reduction method" (return to the economic and social conditions of the Warring States Period to think about it) and the "combination method" (research on weapons and seals, symbols and Chinese characters), which are actually historical materialism and dialectical materialism methods.

We found that the Bashu symbol is a "transitional figure character", which is neither a pure figure nor a pure text. It is in the process of transformation from the picture to the characters. It is equivalent to a fetus of six or seven months. It is a mixed product of Central Plains culture, Chu culture, Bashu culture, and foreign culture. It is by no means a kind of text. Therefore, the printed graphics are similar to "Japanese", which seems to know but do not know its meaning. It has both Chinese characters, foreign languages, "Hiragana", and "Katakana". Only Japanese in the world is mixed text. From this point of view, it seems that the "Japanese characteristics" originated from the graphic symbols of Sichuan, especially , Yingjing, .

"Bashu Symbol Seal" means that the owner is engaged in a certain profession or has a certain skill, which is equivalent to today's "driver's license", "accounting certificate", "engineer's certificate" or "working certificate". The seal with the word "king" is issued by the official, and the seal without the word "king" is private seal carving, similar to the seal and the Xiaoying Seal.

From this, we can answer the following six questions:

first, why hasn't the Bashu symbol been cracked for so many years?

The reason is that there are errors in the research method.

is a study from a single text perspective.

The study of Bashu symbol seals in the past few decades mainly discusses its appearance and shape, or studies the combination of graphic symbols, or discusses whether graphic symbols are text and how to interpret them, or discusses their nature, function, origin and flow from the perspective of seals. The general meaning of symbols is always studied from one aspect, without conducting comprehensive and comprehensive research.

In fact, these seals are extremely personalized, each one is different, the graphics are special and have no universal meaning, and their function is private seals and idle seals, similar to the personal idle seals of today's painters and calligraphers.

The second is to use today's high-tech "Internet" thinking to view and beautify the ancients.

In ancient times, productivity was extremely backward, without today's mobile phones and computers, without spacecraft and highways.

As long as we return to the production situation at that time, we will know that the gesture of Sanxingdui bronze ware standing people may be rowing (Yufu family), the sun god bird at Jinsha Ruins may be "fire roasted bird" (there is fire in the middle and four birds around), and the facial shapes of Sanxingdui characters may be wizard masks, etc. This explanation will of course disappoint and even anger many people! But the truth of history does not believe in tears.

Third, humans all go from having no text to having text, the order is from graphics-symbol-text. Oracle bone inscriptions are cultural products of the Shang Dynasty (about 17th century BC-11th century BC), and have a history of about 3,600 years.

According to the division of the five dynasties of ancient Shu by Professor Sun Hua from Peking University, we believe that it was Baodun culture (mainly Cancong , early summer), Yufu culture (maybe 4019 to 3819) and Sanxingdui culture (maybe 3819 to 3219) and Sanxingdui culture (maybe 3819 to 3219) ( It is mainly Yufu, Shang Dynasty), which dates from 3219 to 2919 to 2919, which was the Shierqiao culture and Jinsha culture (maybe Yufu, Du Yu, Shang late, and Western Zhou Dynasty), and from 2919 to 2519 to 2519, which was the Xinyi Village culture (maybe Du Yu, Kaiming, Eastern Zhou Dynasty), and from 2519 to 2119 to 2119, which was the Qingyang Palace culture (late Kaiming, late Bashu culture), and the five dynasties of Cancong, Baiguan, Yufu, Du Yu, and Kaiming were each for hundreds of years.

Jinsha Ancient City was between 3219 and 2669 years ago, mainly in the Du Yu era. A huge flood occurred between Du Yu and Kaiming. After the flood, the plague destroyed the ancient city of Jinsha in Du Yu's era.

When will Bashu have text? Dayu The Baodun and Yufu culture periods were graphic, the Shang Dynasty (3618 years ago) Sanxingdui culture periods were symbols, and the Zhou Dynasty (3064 years ago) Jinsha Culture period changed to text, but the Bashu symbols did not have time to evolve into ideographic characters. The ancient city of Jinsha was destroyed by floods and plagues, and was assimilated by Central Plains culture and Chu culture, so it did not form its own unique writing system.

Bashu symbol is a pattern carved into imitating natural phenomena (elements, animals, plants, clouds, water, valleys, etc.). It is in the early stage of pictographic characters and is not a real text (such as the oracle bone inscriptions of the Shang Dynasty). Because he encountered disasters and foreign cultural invasion in the evolution of ideologies, he "dead prematurely", died in his stomach and "miscarriage". This is the truth that Yang Xiong of the Western Han Dynasty said in "The Original Annals of King Shu" that ancient Shu "does not know words".

Because it does not have its own writing system and cannot convey and store important information in writing, ancient Shu was destroyed by the Qin State in 316 BC (the enlightenment period).

Qingchuan Warring States wooden slips (309 BC, Lishu) and 15 bamboo and wood bamboo slips at the ruins of Qu County, Dazhou, both show that Bashu had used the Central Plains Chinese characters before the Qin Dynasty.

. Cuba Shu does not have its own words, but it will not succeed if you want to interpret them today's Chinese characters.

Bashu seal used together with the Chinese character "king" and pattern

Second, why is the Bashu symbol mainly found in the warring state ship coffins?

seal is a product of the emergence of private ownership.

The Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period (770 BC-221 BC) was an era of great division. There were more than 140 countries of all sizes (vassal states), and the larger ones were seven (seven heroes), and the hundred schools of thought contend. Although Chinese characters have not yet been unified, the writing of various countries has been relatively systematic and mature. In addition, the production process of bronze ware has also reached a high level, and seals have flourished, and various seals have begun to appear in large numbers, taking on important social functions.

Due to the fact that countries competed for power during the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period, wars were frequent and a large amount of documentary intelligence was transmitted, so officials and power agencies in various places needed a unique form of sealing to ensure the authenticity and effectiveness of document information.

, the type of seal is used to be stamped on the sealing mud of bamboo slips. The material is mostly bronze, and there are also many jade seals. The seals widely used during the Warring States Period had no fixed pattern in texture, shape, style, even the number of characters used, and the arrangement of seals.

seal text is an ancient Warring States period text, engraved with the yin and yang methods. The structure is tight, the strokes are round and colorful, and the layout of the seal surface is staggered and orderly, harmonious and natural. Most of the ancient pre-Qin seals that can be confirmed today are from the Warring States Period, with about 6,000 ancient seals remaining, divided into two categories: official seals and private seals.The official seal is only about 300 square meters, and most of it is private seals.

The seal of the Warring States Period is a seal worn and used by officials. At that time, there was a system of giving seals to officials, resigning from officials and handing over seals, and dismissing from officials to collect seals. Each official had a corresponding official seal as a certificate of their identity level and exercise of power.

The remains of official seals include copper, jade, pottery and other textures, most of which are made of copper. The private seals of the Warring States Period are mostly copper. There are many types of copper private seals, with seals including square, rectangular, round, oval, semicircle, heart, crescent, rectangular and other irregular shapes. There are the formulas of nose, pavilion, snake, bird, beast, and hook. Private seals can be divided into three categories: name seal, casual seal, and animal seal. Some seals have names engraved on the face, while others only have single surnames or single names, ranging from 1-4 characters to the seal text.

Name seal preserves a large number of ancient surnames, with nearly 50 types of two surnames alone. Many surnames have long been lost, and some surnames are not recorded in the literature.

idiom seal or idiom seal. There are more than 120 types of idle seals, and there are 700 to 800 square meters of text, which are divided into:

① Self-cultivation category: respecting oneself, respecting oneself, upright, up and down, etc. This type of text contains many Confucian classics, reflecting the profound influence of Confucianism during the Warring States Period;

② Aspirations: success, success (knowledge), Wangsun’s right, etc., this type of seal text shows the author’s interest or ambition;

③ Auspicious language category: good, auspicious, rich, good official, thousand years, thousands of gold, great auspiciousness, etc. This type of seal text shows the author’s yearning for official positions, wealth, blessings and longevity.

The seal is mostly engraved with patterns on the surface, and there are also patterns engraved next to the seal text as decoration for the seal text. The shape of the seal in the figure is no different from the seal in the text. Yin and Yang patterns are seen at the same time, and are cast in many modes, with many auspicious animals such as tigers, phoenixes, deer, unicorns.

The Bashu symbol seal unearthed in Xingjing County include Chinese characters such as "king", "respect for things", "rich", "long live", and "feasible". This fully shows that it is a private seal of the Warring States Period rather than an official seal , which belongs to the category of self-cultivation and auspicious language. Because of the appointment of an official seal, resignation of an official seal, and dismissal of an official seal, it is impossible to be buried with the official seal.

ship coffin is a custom of the water transport nation. Sichuan is a province of thousands of rivers, so the Sichuan Basin has the most ship coffins. Xingjing County was once the location of Qingyi Qiang Kingdom and Minshan Kingdom. It had Qingyi River, Xinghe and Jinghe River. In ancient times, the King of Cancong, Chuzhuang, and Anyang Kings worked here, so the most seals of the word "king" were unearthed.

Those seals may be the symbols of the navy and the business name. The tomb owner with a seal is not necessarily an official, it may be a craftsman and technician, but the tomb owner with a ship coffin and a seal is definitely an official, mainly a great merchant and a royal relative.

The character "king" and pattern seal unearthed from Jianwei

Third, why are these symbols also on the weapons of the Warring States Period?

Weapons and seal culture are the same.

Doing business is the same as fighting a war. The ancient Bashu tribe (especially the Bashen people) were good at fighting and had assisted King Wu of Zhou in the fight against King Zhou of Shang. Fights often occur between the Ba people and the Shu people.

In ancient times, Chengdu was a major production site for weapons (bronze) and was mainly in , Guanghan and Qingbaijiang. The symbols of Bashu are mainly distributed on copper weapons, bronze musical instruments, bronze seals and other objects. Bronze ware is a valuable item, and only rich families have it, so seals are related to copper ornaments.

The typical Bashu symbols are tiger patterns, palm patterns and flower stem patterns, etc., which are the predecessors of Bashu characters. It is inferred that the Bashu symbol was born before the ancient Shu Kingdom enlightened dynasty , and was in evolution in the Shang (3618 years ago), Zhou (3064 years ago), Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period (2789 years ago), Qin (2240 ​​years ago).

More than 200 Bashu symbols "pictures" have been discovered, and more than 90% are engraved on copper weapons, and the years were between the Western Zhou Dynasty and the Western Han Dynasty in the 9th century BC. Soldiers are also a profession. Even those who fight, soldiers can also bring private seals and even weapons.

Carving the Bashu symbol on bronze weapons is to ward off evil spirits, blessings, and safe victory in wars. This is the product of the primitive religion of ancient Shu.

The "Chengdu Spear" unearthed in Xingjing County has Chinese characters "Chengdu" and "public", which means that the weapons cannot be owned privately and must be public property. The word "Chengdu" represents the production place.

Different animal patterns (tiger, dragon, bird, fish, etc.) on weapons represent different levels of power and different sizes. "Tiger" has the right to mobilize troops. During the Warring States Period, Chengdu's lacquerware was more famous and sold at home and abroad. It is found in the tombs of Haihunhou, Jiangxi.

There are Chinese characters such as "Wang Bang" on the Warring States lacquerware unearthed in Xingjing County. Shopping malls are like battlefields, and they also need to "fight", so merchants must have markings, which are seals.

is the fourth, why is it mainly concentrated in Xingjing County, Sichuan Basin?

The main reason is that in history, Xingjing was the location of the Bajin people, the birthplace of pottery, the location of the Minshan Kingdom and the Qingyi Qiang Kingdom, the production site of ancient bronze ware, the ancient postal place (Yandao Qiongyou), the ancient trade center, and the ancient battlefield of Shu and Qin.

seal originated from ceramics and was first used by Bazhe.

Chinese pottery was born in the early Neolithic Age and has a history of more than 8,000 years. The most primitive method of making pottery is to place bamboo baskets or ropes in the mold, then apply mud to the mold, and take it out after half drying, and the surface of the pottery will leave clear marks of the baskets or ropes.

Inspired by this seal, the ancestors later carved patterns on pottery shots, which became the origin of my country's decorative patterns and seal art, and the pottery classics were derived from this.

sand utensils and the ancient city are coexisted. The history of Xingjing sandware is far before Yixing purple sand. Just from the construction of Yan Dao (312 BC), King Huiwen of Qin has a history of about 2,300 years. In fact, the black pottery in Xingjing is a living fossil of ancient pottery 8,000 years ago, and pottery seals first appeared in Xingjing.

The Qin Dynasty ceramic seals are different from the Warring States Period ceramic seals. They basically use standard small seal characters, and only a few of them have the style of the Warring States Period calligraphy. The seven heroes of the Warring States Period were smoke, and Yandao’s ancient city was located in a corner, with the increase of business and travel, and Yandao was becoming increasingly prosperous.

Archaeological experts found that the raw materials, ingredients, shapes and production processes of pottery during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period had the main characteristics of Yingjing sandware. Southwest University for Nationalities Wang Mingliang pointed out in his article "The Unearth and Research Status of Bashu Seals" that a total of 42 Bashu Symbol Seals (now more than 80) were unearthed in Tongxin Village, Xingjing in 1985, which was the most concentrated time.

Guyandao City is an important post station on the Southern Silk Road and the starting point of the Yak Road. The ancient Yandao culture of Xingjing was earlier than the Sanxingdui culture of Guanghan. The initial residents of Xingjing were the Bajin people and the migrant, Zhuo, Qingyi and other tribes of the Diqiang system, as well as foreign Chu people.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period (770 BC-221 BC), King Zhuang of Chu was descended from King Zhuang of Chu. From the fifth to the fourth centuries BC, the Chu people established the Minshan Kingdom, which was vassalized in the Chu State, with Xingjing City as the center.

During the time when the Mingshanzhuang King was under the jurisdiction of King Minshan Village, the water and land transportation were very convenient, so it became a transfer station for Chu to transport gold from Lishui area. In the sixth century BC, Xingjing was already the copper smelting base of the enlightened dynasty of Shu, and it was also the center of the trading of bronze, yak and horses in the enlightened Shu.

starts from Chengdu and passes through Yandao to Yunnan, and can go directly to northern Myanmar and then transfer to India. The cliff carvings of the Eastern Han Dynasty "He Junzun Pai Pavilion" discovered in Xingjing County in 2004 confirmed the existence of this road, so Zhang Qian went on a mission to the Western Regions to discover Shu Bu and Qiong Staff in Daxia (Afghanistan).

"Shui Jing Zhu" and other historical records, when the Qin army invaded Chengdu, the Shu prince, King Anyang, led 30,000 Shu people to fight the Qin army in Yandao Ancient City, broke out, fled far away to Vietnam, and established the Ouluo Kingdom.

All kinds of tombs and unearthed cultural relics discovered from the Spring and Autumn Period to the Qin and Han Dynasties were mainly: a large number of bronzes, cooking utensils, seals, pottery, etc. A large number of lacquerware (boxes, flat pots, ear cups, swords), wooden tools (combs, castors, sticks), pottery (cans, cassias), bamboo tools (shells, baskets), etc. were unearthed from the Zengjiagou Warring States tomb group in Xingjing. The lacquerware found in

fills the gap in the proof of the physical objects that Sichuan has not been unearthed as a lacquerware production base. One of the lacquer box boxes has the word "Chengcao". Experts have identified that before Chengdu gets its name, it is called "Chengcao" and "Chengting", which provides rare physical information for the evolution of Chengdu gets its name, and it also shows that Xingjing and Chengdu have a close relationship.

Xingjing symbol seal is the certificate of soldiers, pottery technicians, copper miners, postal workers and merchants, and is a symbol of identity and skills.

Fifth, why do many Bashu symbol seals have the word "king"?

This should be the symbol of the official seal issued. The seal carved by privately owned self does not have the word "king". This seal is a private seal owned by people engaged in official activities.