三星堆埋藏坑的组合铜器——三星堆神庙中沟通人神的供奉器具

Bronze Sets from Sanxingdui Burial Pits:Sacred Offerings in the Sanxingdui Temple to Communicate with the Deities

三星堆埋藏坑出土了一些由铜铸的奇异神兽、人物或神、盛酒容器(或仿盛酒器外形的器具)拼接在一起的组合铜器残件。它们自下而上的组合有两种形式:一是神兽(或人兽)、人物、酒器,二是神人、酒器。前一种形式已知有三件,表现的是地上的人们将巫师一类神职人员及祭品送上天界的场景,很可能是供奉器具,面朝神庙中三尊人首鸟身、凸目尖耳的大神摆放。后一种形式只有铜尊座倒立鸟足神顶尊一件,表现的是天上大神派遣使者自上而下接受地上人们奉献祭品的场景,在神庙中背对神像摆放在第一类组合铜器相对的位置。鉴于这些组合铜器的残件主要掩埋于凸目尖耳大铜面像所在的二号坑、邻近的八号坑和三号坑中,推测这种埋藏现象是这些神像与供奉器具在神庙中位置的反映。组合铜器是三星堆人宗教观念中连接天上神域与地上人世之间的纽带,也是理解三星堆祭祀场所即神庙内部空间像设和器具之间联系的关键。

Fragments of bronze artefacts in shapes of mystic animals,human figures,deities,or wine vessels(or objects modelled after wine vessels)have been unearthed from the burial pits at Sanxingdui.The fragments can be put together to form individual pieces composing of(from down to top)either mystic animals(or human-like animals),humans,and wine vessels,or heavenly man and wine vessels.For the first combination,three artefacts known so far depict scenes of sending persons who are associated with witchcraft or religious practices and offerings to Heaven.They were probably used as offerings and had been placed inside a temple to face three sculptures of deities with human heads,ornithic bodies,protruding eyes,and pointed ears.For the second combination,only one example has been found,with a bird-feeted heavenly man standing on a zun-vessel-shaped base and holding another zun on the head.It represents an envoy sent from Heaven receiving worldly offerings and should have been placed in front of the deity sculptures,facing the three aforementioned bronze artefacts.In view of the fact that most of those fragments have been found in pits 2(the pit is also found with giant bronze masks with protruding eyes and pointed ears),3,and 8,the burials likely reflect the locations of deity sculptures and offerings in a temple.In the Sanxingdui religious beliefs,these bronze sets served as links between deities and humans.They are also key clues to understand the relations between sacred objects placed inside a temple,that is,a sacrificial place,at Sanxingdui.