Sanxingdui and Jinsha form the core site complex of an early regional state—the ancient Shu kingdom—established by its people on the Chengdu Plain. Together, they represent the pinnacle of the Bronze Age achievement in the upper Yangtze River region of China, serving as tangible testament to the historical accounts of the ancient Shu kingdom in Chinese records. Spanning thousands of years, the ancient Shu civilization has left behind a remarkable array of precious artifacts, including gold, bronze, jade, stone, and ivory. These relics illuminate a society with distinct theocratic beliefs, profound cosmological views, masterful craftmanship, and the evolving trajectory of its social development.
Sanxingdui and Jinsha form the core site complex of an early regional state—the ancient Shu kingdom—established by its people on the Chengdu Plain. Together, they represent the pinnacle of the Bronze Age achievement in the upper Yangtze River region of China, serving as tangible testament to the historical accounts of the ancient Shu kingdom in Chinese records. Spanning thousands of years, the ancient Shu civilization has left behind a remarkable array of precious artifacts, including gold, bronze, jade, stone, and ivory. These relics illuminate a society with distinct theocratic beliefs, profound cosmological views, masterful craftmanship, and the evolving trajectory of its social development.
The gold craftsmanship of the ancient Shu civilization stands in a class of its own. At Sanxingdui and Jinsha, artisans employed masterful techniques—hammering, chiseling, gilding—to create objects, whose intricate motifs embody the royal authority and spiritual beliefs of the ancient Shu kingdom. Unearthed in 1986 from the Sanxingdui sacrificial pits, the gold scepter served as the definitive insignia of ancient Shu kingship. Over a decade later, the Sun and Immortal Birds Gold Ornament, discovered at Jinsha in 2001, still gleamed brilliantly after three millennia—today, it endures as the emblem of China’s cultural heritage. Ancient Shu goldware was never merely decorative but deeply tied to ritual sacrifice and dynastic succession. The fish-bird-arrow motifs on the gold scepter and the fish-shooting pattern on the gold crown band subtly echo the legend of the Yufu dynasty. Meanwhile, the swirling pattern of the Sun and Immortal Birds carries the ancient Shu people’s sun worship More than exquisite artifact, each piece of gold objects serves as a code of power and a totem of belief—engraved in gold by the ancient Shu people.