Page 210 - The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology: Celebrated Discoveries from the People’s Republic of China

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Bronze standing figure
Height 262 (103 'A)
Late Shang Period (?) (c. 1300-1100 BCE?)
From Pit 2 at Sanxingdui, Guanghan,
Sichuan Province
Sanxingdui Museum, Guanghan, Sichuan Province

Until the discovery of the underground army of
the Qin First Emperor (d. 210 BCE) near Xi'an (see
cats. 123-128), it was a commonplace that large-
scale human sculpture did not exist in ancient
China. This may continue to hold true for the
Bronze Age cultures of northern China, but it
cannot encompass the Sanxingdui culture of the
Upper Yangzi. This life-size, bronze standing figure 1
has become the signature object of the pits at
Sanxingdui. While unique in that context, it was
in fact found among more than fifty bronze heads
and more than twenty bronze masks, all closely
related in style to the standing figure. Many of
the individual heads and masks could have been
installed on torsos like that of the full-scale bronze
example seen here. The elite of the Sanxingdui
culture seem to have placed great importance on
anthropomorphic sculpture.
The figure stands atop a large, two-part base —
a plain cube with sloping sides at the bottom with a
small plinth supported by four animal heads above.
The animal heads face outward at a diagonal to
the plinth s corners and have exaggerated snouts, a
row of squared teeth in their upper jaws, large eyes
in pointed sockets, and horns or ears. The plinth
itself features conventional Shang motifs along its
edge: a single "eye" in a field of squared spirals
between circle bands. These motifs quote Shang
bronzes known in the north as well as in the Middle
Yangzi and Gan Yangzi regions.
The figure itself, however, offers few traits that
can be connected so directly to the imagery and
styles of the Shang. It stands squarely on two bare
feet, and the elongated body is hidden within a full-
length garment that masks the shoulders, chest,
waist, and hips. The figure's arms are raised at right
angles to the torso at shoulder level; the right is

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