The "Yue" is not ordinary! It is a "private order" for ancient kings and princes

Knife, sword, halberd, spear, halberd, axe...How many of the ancient cold weapons can you name? Knife, sword, halberd, spear, etc. are probably more well-known, but axe may be unknown to many people. No wonder, "Axe" is indeed a special existence among ancient weapons. It is not only widely used, but also has a complex identity.

Traveling through the long river of history, every cultural relic is a messenger of time, telling stories from ancient times to the present. A special bronze axe with an animal face is on display in the Zhengzhou Shangdu Ruins Museum. On July 17, the reporter stood in front of the glass display case and tried to glimpse the majesty of the early "empire" through this bronze axe.

“Personal Customization” of Ancient Royal Power

"This bronze axe with an animal face was sent to the Kaifeng Cultural Relics Store by a farmer from Xinzheng County (now Xinzheng City) in Henan Province in 1965." Cultural Relics Volunteer Guide Cui Junping told reporters that this bronze axe was unearthed from the ancient city ruins of Wangjinglou in Xincun Township, Xinzheng County during the Xia and Shang Dynasties. Since 1996, the cultural relics and archaeological departments of Henan Province and Zhengzhou City have repeatedly excavated the ancient city ruins of Wangjinglou in Xincun Township, Xinzheng County during the Xia and Shang Dynasties. The Shang City part, from the perspective of stratigraphic relationship and cultural attributes of unearthed relics, belongs to the Erligang Culture of Zhengzhou, dating back to the early Shang Dynasty. This bronze axe with an animal face also dates back to the early Shang Dynasty and has now been designated as a national first-class cultural relic.

According to reports, this bronze axe is 33 centimeters long, 31 centimeters wide, 38 centimeters long, and weighs 4.27 kilograms. It is trapezoidal in shape, with a straight blade and a rectangular hole on each side of the blade for threading a rope to fix it on the long handle. The trapezoidal axe body and the straight blade edge, every detail reveals the wisdom and ingenuity of the ancients.

According to the "Records of the Grand Historian: The Basic Annals of Zhou", "Duke Zhou held a large axe, and Duke Bi held a small axe, to flanking King Wu". Duke Zhou and Duke Bi were of very similar status, but the axes they used were still of different sizes, indicating that the size of the axe was closely related to the identity of the user. This shows that axes also had different sizes in ancient times. Based on the analysis of bronze axes unearthed from tombs at other important sites, combined with the size of this bronze axe, experts and scholars speculate that the owner of this bronze axe may be the local military chief of the city of Wangjinglou.

The animal-face bronze axe has a prominent theme of bas-relief animal-face patterns. The brow bone is connected to the nose line below, dividing the animal face into two symmetrical parts. The towering and gorgeous animal eyebrows are composed of overlapping joint patterns and cloud patterns. The eyes are in the shape of the Chinese character "臣". The lower part of the pattern is symmetrically hollowed out in two places to represent the mouth of the animal face pattern. Two semi-circular tooth patterns represent teeth, and the two lower corners are vertical paws. From the overall perspective of the pattern, it is a patterned frontal image of a crouching animal. The towering animal eyebrows, the superposition of joint patterns and cloud patterns all show the superb skills of the craftsmen of the Shang Dynasty.

"This bronze axe with animal face pattern is huge in shape, magnificent in appearance and exquisitely decorated. It is a symbol of the royal power and military power of the early Shang Dynasty. Some experts believe that among the bronze axes of the Shang Dynasty seen so far, its size, shape, weight and exquisiteness are second only to the bronze axe unearthed from Fu Hao's tomb," said Cui Junping.

The "Power Code" of the Shang Dynasty

It is understood that the axe is a horizontally striking weapon with a handle that can be inserted into the handle and tied to the handle with a rope through two holes on the railing. It is a "splitting weapon" in ancient weapons. "According to expert research, this bronze axe was probably used in war. It is not only a practical weapon, but also a symbol of identity, status and power." Cui Junping said.

In the movie "Investiture of the Gods", the design of Yin Shou holding a yellow axe when he ascended the throne was not a whim of the director, but was based on historical data. "Records of the Grand Historian: Annals of Yin" records: "Xia Jie was cruel and licentious, and the vassal Kunwu clan rebelled. Tang then led the army and the vassal, Yi Yin followed Tang, Tang took the axe himself to attack Kunwu, and then attacked Ji." Shang Tang once personally held the axe to conquer and establish the Shang Dynasty, and the record in "Taiping Yulan" Volume 341 quoted from "Zi Lin" that "Yue is the king's axe" also directly shows the status of the axe.

The shape of the character "王" in oracle bone script and bronze inscription is actually the actual image of "钺". In the Shang Dynasty, the 钺 was not only a ceremonial weapon to show the majesty of the powerful, but also a symbol of law and an important tool for killing. It was held by the king who was in charge of the power of killing and conquering, and was a symbol of status and power. Therefore, the 钺 is the "weapon of the king" and has been a symbol of supreme power since ancient times.

In addition to the status of royal power, the axe also has the power to execute punishment. "Historical Records·Zhou Benji" records: "After King Wu defeated the Shang Dynasty, he "beheaded King Zhou with a yellow axe". After the victory of the Battle of Muye, King Wu of Zhou (Ji Fa) saw the body of King Zhou of Shang who had burned himself to death, and used the yellow axe in his hand, which represented the royal power, to cut off King Zhou's head and hung it on the white flag. "The Book of Rites·The King's System" states: "The princes were given bows and arrows before they went on expeditions, and were given iron axe before they killed." It can be seen that the axe in the Shang Dynasty was mainly held by the king who was in charge of the power of killing and conquering. It was not only a ceremonial weapon to show the majesty of the powerful, but also a symbol of law and an important tool for punishment and killing. It was the "weapon of the king" and a symbol of supreme power.

The past and present life of Yue

The evolution of the axe is like a wonderful epic. From the stone axe of the Neolithic Age to the bronze axe of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, every change has witnessed the progress of society and the development of civilization.

Literature has mentioned that the original stone axe was relatively heavy and was mainly used as a production tool. In the Miaodigou II period, social unrest intensified. In order to win the war, the two sides made the blade of the stone axe thinner and larger, and transformed it into a weapon and used it in the war. From the late Dawenkou period to the Longshan period, the level of productivity further developed, the social structure differentiated, and the power of the rulers was concentrated. The axe was integrated with the royal power in the sense of military power, and became a high-level ritual vessel symbolizing royal power.

"At the research center, experts also discovered that the axe was combined with sacrifice and became a symbol of divine power. The change in the material of the axe not only reflects the progress of social productivity and production technology, but also reflects its transformation from a practical tool to a ritual tool. It is a microcosm of the increasing complexity of society since the late Neolithic Age." Cui Junping said.

Since ancient times, it has been said that "the most important affairs of a country are sacrifices and wars". According to the data, from the perspective of ritual system, bronze ware is a symbol of aristocratic families and an indispensable treasure in the temple. As a symbol of power and majesty, the axe was given more hope and imagination by the rulers and casters in the society at that time. The bronze axe of the Shang Dynasty was complicated and fierce in shape, especially the large axe, with its huge size and carved animal faces, showing a terrifying and intimidating majesty. Therefore, it was gradually used for sacrifices and became a symbol of divine power.

When we walked into the museum and stood in front of this bronze axe with animal face, we seemed to hear the echo of the clash of swords thousands of years ago. Every swing of the bronze axe may determine the rise and fall of an era. It witnessed the glory of the Shang Dynasty and experienced the vicissitudes of history. Today, it is quietly displayed in the museum, becoming a bridge connecting the past and the present, allowing us to glimpse a corner of that distant era.