石家河文化：东亚自创的青铜文明

Shijiahe Culture:The Bronze Civilization by Self Created in East Asia

中国青铜技术本土起源,是长江中游上古大文明的贡献。从最早认识氧化铜矿和发明还原法,到了石家河文化常用氧化铜与硫化铜搭配着冶炼,并自行原创发明了锡铜以及锡铅铜三元合金技术。少量发现的铸造的小型铜器直接显示,石家河人熔铜并用铜液铸造,应归类为青铜文明。石家河文化考古遗址中已可见相对完整的冶铜操作链及相配套的工具和器物。包括用来打碎矿石、洗选矿、研磨矿料粉、鼓风、冶炼、熔铜液、锻造、铸造、加工铜器等等。大部分工具的性质与其它古文明冶铜工具颇为相似,但石家河冶铜技术最独特具代表性的工具是胎很厚的陶质炼虹。厚重而夹粗砂的炼缸陶片经常见于石家河文化冶炼遗迹,并伴出大量炭末、烧土和各种灰烬坑,里边偶尔还会发现炼渣。但是由于长江中游的冶炼技术已足以从矿料全部提炼出铜,所以石家河文化炼渣富含硅、铁、铝而很少会检测出铜。在石家河文化社会中,已将冶炼上升到精神层面,在祭坛上进行与冶炼相关的礼仪,与之相关的还有祭坛设置与安排,如摆放套虹。在其精神文化中,炼缸内部被视为全新生命产生之处,因此炼缸内部空间充满神秘意义。石家河人亦随葬炼缸或用炼缸做瓮棺,寓意转化与永生。从石家河文化中期以来,因冶铜需求和规模增加,发展出可以批量生产的固定式熔铜炉以及长条形龙窑式炼铜装置。同时,因矿业、冶铜业走向专业化,冶铸技术深入矿区,在歹山边安排专业化聚落。在矿区定居的工匠社会为冶铜技术进一步创新和突破做出了重大贡献;同时,专业工匠们在寻求和实验不同炉壁材料的基础上,从炉壁査化现象观察到硬陶制作方法,从而在无意中开启了另一场新的材料技术革命。石家河时期东亚其它地区都没有同等程度的技术,正是石家河青铜文明奠定了其后高度发达的商青铜文明的基础。因此,“中国青铜文明外来”的理论恐要被商榷。

Early Chinese bronze technology originates from the Ancient Civilization of the Middle Yangtze Region.Earliest metallurgy began from the recognition of oxidized copper ores and the invention of the reduction method of smelting.It then evolved into the combination of oxidized and sulfide ores for copper smelting in the Shijiahe Cul-ture.The tin bronze and tin-lead-copper alloy technology was invented independently.Therefore,the Shijiahe Cul-ture should be classified as a bronze civilization.The complete copper smelting operation chain and matching tools are found in archeological sites of the Shijiahe Culture,which include tools for crushing ore,washing ore dressing,grinding mineral powder,smelting,melting,forging,casting,processing copper tools and so on.Most tools are quite similar to those from other ancient civiliza-tions;for example,hammerstones,stone anvils,mortars,scoops,abrasive plats,pestles,tampers,tuyers,crucibles,a-mong others.However,the smelting vat or(vat furnace)is a unique and representative tool of the Shijiahe copper smelting technology.Thick and heavy coarse sandy pottery pieces are often found in smelting ruins of the Shijiahe culture,accompanied by a large amount of charcoal,burnt soil and ash,and occasionally smelting slags.However,since the smelting technology of the Shijiahe Culture was sufficient to fully extract copper from the mineral materials,the smelting slags are rich in silicon,iron and aluminum,but copper is rarely found.Copper smelting took on a spiritual meaning in the Shijiahe society.The rituals related to smelting were carried out on the altars.In the Shijiahe spiritual culture,the interior of the smelting vat was regarded as the birthplace of a new life and everlasting rebirth.In their funerary beliefs,smelting vats also had a mysterious meaning,and were used to make funeral urns for transformation and eternal life.From the middle era of the Shijiahe Culture,due to the increasing demand and scale of copper/bronze smelting,a fixed-type furnace and a long-shaped dragon-kiln-type device capable of mass production had been developed.At the same time,as the mining and smith works became more specialized,the metallurgical industries went deep into the mining area,and specialized sites were arranged at mines.Metallurgical craftsmen settled in the mining area,creat-ing their own new society and making significant contributions to the further innovation and breakthrough of bronze smelting and casting technologies.Professional craftsmen also experimented with different furnace wall materials,and cre-ated stoneware and the earliest porcelain production method.This inadvertently started another new material technology revolution.Other parts of East Asia did not have the same level of bronze technology concurrently with the Shijiahe Culture.It was the Shijiahe bronze civilization that laid the foundation for the highly developed bronze civilization of the Shang.Therefore,it is necessary to review the theory of"Western influence"as definitive in the establishment of Chinese bronze culture.