"Yo, this king of Nanyue is still a monarch who loves barbecue skewers!"

Jiang Yu, a researcher at the Guangzhou Institute of Archaeology, was lying on a pulley plank, holding a square bronze in both hands, and his expression was full of ridicule.

In his hand was an "oven".

That's right, it's the oven in modern thinking.

This square copper oven has a slightly rectangular plan, a slightly concave middle, upturned corners, and a certain arc on the bottom surface.

At the bottom of each of the four corners is an owl that "lifts" the entire oven.

It's beautiful, special, and fun.

It's a pity that a clay pot was stacked on top of this oven and the oven was deflated.

However, even if it is deflated, it can be seen that there is a cloister-shaped abutment on the four sides of the oven, supported by copper pillars, a pavement, and a piercing system on both sides.

It shows that when this oven is in use, it can be hung with iron chains, not placed on the ground and then grilled.

It is supposed to set up a fire on the ground, and then use wood as a support to put the grill on the fire for cooking.

Unfortunately, the rust of this oven is also very bad, and the decoration on the oven has been corroded, leaving a patina.

Only on the flat edge, there are still some pan claw lines.

It's the four owls that "lift" the oven are quite good-looking, very cute.

Owls, in fact, are owls.

This thing has been unearthed in large quantities in the tomb of the woman, and a large number of bronzes in the shape of owls have also been found in the bronzes unearthed in the Chinese and late Shang cultures.

Some experts and scholars have deduced that the owl is also an owl, which was in the Shang Dynasty and may be the so-called "Xuanniao".

As we all know, businessmen think that their source is "the Divine Destiny Xuanbird, descending to give birth to businessmen".

A woman named Jian Di, after swallowing the eggs laid by "Xuanniao", became pregnant and gave birth to a son named Qi. Qi, that is, Yan Bo, is the legendary ancestor of Shang.

In ancient China, it was a common phenomenon to use myths and legends to describe the origin of their tribes.

It is a means of exaggeration, adding theological color to the ruler, maintaining authority and dominance.

Since then, the merchant's totem has been the Xuanniao.

However, the shape of the Xuanniao in different Shang culture periods is also different.

Just like the dragon, it has no feet and horns from the very beginning, and is similar to loaches and snakes, and after many evolutions, it has become a common dragon image in later generations.

Some scholars also believe that the so-called "Xuanniao" in the Shang Dynasty may have been born from an owl, that is, an owl.

Because the owl is a kind of "evil bird" in later generations, that is, after the Shang, Zhou, Qin and Han dynasties, it is not a mascot.

However, in the Shang Dynasty, and even in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period to the Qin and Han dynasties, the owl was not a "vicious bird" and frequently appeared in bronzes.

In particular, there are a large number of objects in the shape of owls in the tomb of the woman.

This suggests that at that time, the owl was a sacred, even highly sought-after animal, that would appear on bronzes.

After all, that era was still a totemic period, and different tribes had different totemic animals, which would appear in large numbers in the form of totems on bronzes.

It is worth mentioning that the totem of the Qin State, or the tribe surnamed Win, is also related to the Xuanniao, which is caused by the "Xuanniao Eggs"

It is composed of three parts: "Offering with both hands" and "Seedlings".

But the "Xuanniao" in the Qin totem is not an owl, but a harrier, that is, a sparrowhawk, an animal that resembles a sparrow and an eagle.

Historical Records. Qin Benji said: "Spend a lot of money on Zuo Shun, train birds and beasts, and train birds and beasts more in uniforms, which is for Boyi." ”

Da Fei is the ancestor of the Qin people, and the ancestor of the harrier people, and the green harrier is the protector of the Qin people.

Because when the Qin people were engaged in agricultural work, they needed to domesticate the blue harriers to help them guard the ripening of the grain.

Agricultural production capacity can not be harvested, all depends on the protection of the blue harrier.

Therefore, the totem of the Qin State is composed of three parts: "Harrier", "Worship with Both Hands" and "Seedlings".

However, in the eyes of the Qin people, the green harrier is also a "Xuanniao", and their own interpretation of the totem is "Xuanniao Eggs".

Although the Qin State was established relatively late, the old winner is a proper ancient eight surnames, which is after the emperor.

Boyi, the ancestor of the winning surname, and the ancestor of the Shang Dynasty and the ancestor Yu of the Xia Dynasty are all characters who existed in the same era.

This shows that the three tribes, at least culturally, should be of the same origin, and their concept of "Xuanniao" should be the same.

So why is the winner's Xuanniao, and the Shang Dynasty's Xuanniao, obviously not an animal?

As a result, a conjecture was born.

Perhaps "Xuanniao" should be a general term in ancient times, rather than a separate description of a certain type of bird.

As long as the tribe thinks that this bird is the guardian god, it can be called "Xuanniao"!

Therefore, many scholars believe that a large number of owl-shaped items appeared in the tomb of the woman, which shows that in the Shang period, the "owl" was the Xuanniao of the Shang tribe!

In other words, the merchant has always regarded the "owl" as the patron saint and totem of his tribe.

As for why they did this, that's up to the question.

At least in the Shang Dynasty oracle bone inscriptions, words such as "Dream Owl Bird" and "Shou Xiao and (You)" express that the appearance of owls is an auspicious omen in war.

As a warlike people, the merchant gave the "owl" the meaning of "good luck in battle", which may be the reason why the owl became a black bird.

The topic comes back.

In the tomb of the king of Nanyue, it is a very special thing to find a bronze vessel in the shape of an owl.

The bronzes in the shape of owls are mostly seen before the Qin and Han dynasties.

To be precise, it is mostly seen in the Shang Dynasty.

Several well-known owl-shaped bronzes are from the Shang Dynasty.

For example, the [Shang Dynasty Bronze Owl] in the collection of the Shanxi Museum.

For example, the Henan Museum's [Women's Good Owl Zun].

As well as the jade, stone, pottery, and bronze ware of the Shang Dynasty, there are exquisite owl shapes.

However, after the Shang Dynasty, in the Zongzhou period, the culture of the owl god worshiped by the merchants also disappeared.

However, the "phoenix" culture worshiped by the Chu people began to gradually become the mainstream of bird worship at that time.

In the Qin and Han dynasties, most of the bronze and lacquered wood ware needed to carve or paint birds, and most of them chose "phoenix birds".

After all, Liu Bang is from Chu and has been influenced by Chu culture.

And in Chu culture, the phoenix is the real divine bird!

Owl? It's unfamiliar!

Therefore, the Western Han Dynasty utensils are mostly phoenixes for birds!

In the early days of the Western Han Dynasty, the Nanyue Kingdom was able to have bronzes in the shape of "owls".

Although this owl is only four tool birds that "lift" the oven.

But it's also extraordinary!

The Nanyue Kingdom was in the Lingnan region and was influenced by a large number of Chu culture and Wuyue culture.

Even if the ruling class of Nanyue was all outsiders from the Qin State, how could they not get along with the Shang culture?

Zhao Tuo's family, if he doesn't worship the phoenix, he actually played the "owl", the sacred bird in the Shang culture?

What's going on?

Anyway, the archaeological elites of the Guangzhou Institute of Archaeology didn't come up with a reason.

This is also expected to become an unsolved mystery in the tomb of the king of Nanyue.

However, for those who do archaeology, the unsolved mystery or something belongs to the fact that there are more lice and no itching.

Dig a big grave and don't make a few unsolved mysteries that are unsolved and unsolvable.

I'm embarrassed to tell my peers when I go out, what kind of heavyweight tomb I dug up!

It is only these unearthed artifacts that I don't understand and can't figure out that this tomb is of great significance and cultural influence!

Fu Pu, the director of the Guangzhou Institute of Archaeology, would like to have more of this special cultural relic!