Identity of Sanxingdui Culture
Many archaeologists are identifying the Sanxingdui culture with the ancient kingdom of Shu, and linking the artefacts found at the site to the early legendary kings of Shu. References to a Shu kingdom that can be reliably dated to such an early period in Chinese historical records are scant (they were mentioned in Shiji and Shujing as an ally of the Zhou who defeated the Shang), but accounts of the legendary kings of Shu may be found in local annals. According to the Chronicles of Huayang compiled in the Jin Dynasty (265–420), the Shu kingdom was founded by Cancong (蠶叢). Cancong was described as having protruding eyes, a feature that is found in the figures of Sanxingdui. Other eye-shaped objects were also found which might suggest worship of the eyes. Other rulers mentioned in Chronicles of Huayang include Boguan (柏灌), Yufu (魚鳧), and Duyu (杜宇). Many of the objects are fish and bird-shaped, and these have been suggested to be totems of Boguan and Yufu (the name Yufu actually means fish cormorant), and the clan of Yufu has been suggested as the one most likely to be associated with Sanxingdui.
More recent discovery at Jinsha is also assumed to be a relocation of the Shu Kingdom and continuation of the Sanxingdui Culture.
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