Dian people have strong religious beliefs and customs. In ancient Dian people’s sacrificial places, copper pillars were often erected as symbols of gods. On the covers of the shell containers unearthed from Shizhai Mountain in Jinning and Lijia Mountain in Jiangchuan, there are scenes of “murdering and sacrificing pillars”.
The copper pillar stands in the middle of the sacrificial place, the height of the pillar is about the height of two people, and the diameter is similar to the waist circumference of a person. There is a round seat under the column. Those who participated in the sacrifice surrounded the copper pillars, or offered offerings, or knelt beside the pillars and made prayers. On the side there is an officiant sitting on shoulders, and beside it stands a card on which a naked person waiting to be killed is bound.
In 1955, the excavation of the ancient tombs in Shizhai Mountain, Jinning, Kunming City, Yunnan Province began. It is said that this is the cemetery of the King of Dian and his servants. After 14 large-scale archaeological excavations, more than 50 ancient tombs were cleared, and more than 4,000 cultural relics were unearthed, including the sensational “Dian King’s Seal”.
The discovery of “the seal of the king of Dian” directly confirmed the historical fact that “Emperor Wu bestowed the king of Dian with a jade seal” recorded in “Historical Records: Biography of Southwestern Yi”.
Among the many unearthed cultural relics, there is a bronze ware that makes people feel cold all over: this is a bronze drum-shaped shell container, with 52 figures, 1 pig and 1 dog cast on the surface of the drum, and a pair of snake-coiled columns standing in the center. Stand on top of a tiger.
On the right side of the column and in front of the column are three naked people with their arms tied behind their backs or wearing shackles, which are used as sacrifices for sacrifices. Next to it is an aristocratic woman riding a 4-person shoulder car, which may be the female slave owner who presides over the sacrificial ceremony.
This lifelike bronze sculpture reflects the mysterious sacrificial culture of the ancient Dian Kingdom. According to the use and shape of the bronze ware, experts named it the “Bronze Shell Storage Vessel for the Scene of Killing a Pillar in the Western Han Dynasty”. The shell storage device was used by the nobles of the ancient Dian Kingdom to store the ringed seashells that flowed into Yunnan from the Indian Ocean.
To put it bluntly, it is a piggy bank, which symbolizes power, identity and wealth. However, such a bloody picture is carved on the piggy bank. Thinking about it makes me shudder.
The cultural connotation of ancient Dian bronze shellware is extremely rich. Its shape, decoration and its function are related, which comprehensively and concentratedly reflect the development level of productive forces, social organization structure and spiritual outlook of that era. Encyclopedia of Dian history.
In 2013, the “Copper Shell Container for the Scene of Killing and Sacrificial Pillars in the Western Han Dynasty” was included in the “Catalog of the Third Batch of Cultural Relics Prohibited from Exit and Exhibit”, and it was prohibited to go abroad for exhibition.
This reserve vessel, in which 52 figures were cast for sacrifice, is the key. Hence it was named “Bronze Shell Receptacle for Curse League Scene”.
And this sacrificial activity turned out to be the scene of “King of Dian killing people and offering sacrifices”. In the middle is a witch presiding, and the snake on the pillar is devouring people. There is also an execution column, which is offering sacrifices to living people. Some of the people around were playing songs and dances, some were slaughtering livestock, and the onlookers watched calmly.
It can be seen that this kind of sacrificial activity, which seems extremely cruel today, was very common at that time.
