From ancient Shu to shared heritage: The global meaning of Sanxingdui

Editor's note: Tan Jingyi, a special commentator for CGTN, is a former research management officer at Chinese Academy of History. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

The Sanxingdui site, located in Guanghan City, Sichuan Province, China, is a Bronze Age city dating back approximately 4,500-3,000 years. Since its initial discovery in the 1920s, a vast number of precious artifacts, including bronzes, jades, gold objects and ivory remains, have been unearthed. Together with the Jinsha Site and the Joint Tombs of Boat-shaped Coffins, Sanxingdui forms part of the broader "Archaeological Sites of the Ancient Shu State," which has been included on China's Tentative List for World Heritage nomination since 2013.

According to ancient Chinese historical records, an ancient kingdom, known as Shu, once flourished in the Sichuan Basin of southwestern China before being conquered by the Qin state in 316 BCE. Following its disappearance, the civilization itself faded into obscurity. The discovery of Sanxingdui has brought archaeological evidence into resonance with this historical memory, returning a lost civilization from 3,000 years ago to the global spotlight and revealing the authentic face of the ancient Shu culture.

The remarkable cultural relics unearthed at Sanxingdui, including the bronze standing figures, the bronze mask with protruding eyes, the bronze tree and gold masks, not only showcase extraordinary craftsmanship and technological achievement, but also reveal an artistic tradition distinct from those of other contemporary civilizations.

Through highly imaginative and expressive forms, these artifacts reflect complex belief systems, cosmological ideas and ritual practices, some of which resonate with descriptions recorded in ancient Chinese historical texts. Such a surreal art form is rarely seen in other civilizations of its time and represents a unique contribution to humanity's shared cultural heritage.

This creativity was deeply embedded in the technological development, social organization and spatial planning of ancient Shu society. The Sanxingdui settlement demonstrates mature concepts of urban planning. Its construction followed natural waterways and geographic conditions, while the city itself was functionally organized into a palace complex, an artisanal workshop area, and a ritual and sacrificial space, as well as multiple gates and road systems, forming a highly ordered ancient city structure. It is an outstanding example of adaptation to, and utilization of, the Chengdu Plain, suggesting sophisticated forms of social coordination and collective organization in Sanxingdui.

More importantly, Sanxingdui has broadened global perspectives on the origins and development of civilizations. For a long time, early civilization studies were inclined toward "diffusionism" or a "center-periphery" model, which held that civilizations spread outward from a few core cultural centers, such as ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia and ancient Greece.

In early Chinese archaeological research, a "core position of Central Plains civilization" interpretive framework also existed. However, Sanxingdui demonstrates that outside of the Central Plains, a highly developed regional civilization with distinct characteristics could also emerge.

Together with other early archaeological cultures across China, it participated in a broader interactive sphere that contributed to the formation of the cultural traditions later associated with imperial China. It may provide important evidence for the "pluralistic unity" of Chinese civilization, while also contributing to a broader shift in civilization studies, moving beyond single linear narratives toward perspectives emphasizing multiple centers and diverse pathways of development.

If the discoveries discussed above challenge a single answer to the question of "where Chinese civilization came from," Sanxingdui also raises new questions about "what constitutes civilization." Classical definitions of early civilization have long emphasized elements such as cities, writing systems, states and institutions. Yet Sanxingdui possessed a large urban settlement, advanced bronze technology, a complex ritual system and a highly organized social structure, despite the absence of any identified writing system.

Some scholars suggest that symbolic objects, such as sacred trees, may have functioned as carriers of knowledge and belief. This supports the view that writing was not necessarily the only medium for sustaining complex societies, and Sanxingdui has thus contributed to more open and pluralistic understandings of civilization.

Recent studies suggested that Sanxingdui was not an isolated civilization center but may have functioned as an important "resource hub" within Bronze Age exchange networks across Asia. Its technologies, artistic traditions and material culture reflect interactions extending from the Central Plains and Yangtze River basin to the Eurasian steppe and maritime regions associated with the Indian and western Pacific Oceans. These interactions may have been facilitated through networks such as the Eurasian Steppe Belt, the "Inner Asian Mountain Corridor," the "Crescent-shaped Cultural Transmission Zone" proposed by Tong Enzheng, and monsoon maritime routes linking the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia. Sanxingdui developed its distinctive character exactly through these processes of interaction and cultural exchange.

The significance of Sanxingdui may ultimately lie not in the mystery of its artifacts, but in the broader perspective it offers. By expanding understanding of what early civilizations looked like, it reminds us that diversity has long been a source of human creativity. In a world increasingly marked by fragmentation, such discoveries can provide a valuable foundation for dialogue among civilizations and for safeguarding the cultural heritage shared by all humanity.

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