Sichuan Museum - Ancient Sichuan

Sichuan Museum - Ancient Sichuan - Gallery Two

Ancient pottery from Sichuan, China, reflects a rich and distinctive cultural lineage, particularly evident in the archaeological finds from the Chengdu Plain and the Sanxingdui and Jinsha sites.

Dating from around 2500 to 800 BCE, pottery in this region was not only utilitarian but also deeply symbolic, often used in ritual contexts and burial practices. The Sanxingdui culture, associated with the ancient Shu kingdom, produced pottery alongside extraordinary bronze and jade artifacts. These ceramics were often found in sacrificial pits, suggesting their role in ceremonial offerings and spiritual rites.

The pottery styles of Sichuan evolved through various phases, marked by changes in form, decoration, and production techniques. Early ceramics were typically handmade and featured geometric designs, fish and bird motifs, and stylized masks—possibly representing mythic figures like Cancong, the legendary founder of Shu. Later periods saw more refined techniques and the emergence of specialized craft production, indicating increasing social complexity. Scientific analyses, including X-ray fluorescence and neutron activation, have revealed diverse clay sources and firing methods, underscoring the technological sophistication of these ancient potters.

What sets Sichuan pottery apart is its divergence from the dominant ceramic traditions of northern China. While northern cultures like Yangshao and Longshan emphasized painted and black pottery, Sichuan's ceramics were more sculptural and often integrated with bronze and jade in ritual assemblages. The artistic style of Sanxingdui, in particular, was so unique that it astonished researchers, with some considering its bronzes and associated pottery more remarkable than the famed Terracotta Army. These artifacts not only illuminate the spiritual life of ancient Sichuan but also challenge conventional narratives of Chinese art history, revealing a vibrant and independent cultural sphere in the southwest.

Entering Ancient Sichuan - Gallery Two

Bronze mao (left) and Bronze sword (right)
Western Han Dynasty (202 BCE - 8 CE).

Copper coin model (left)
Western Han Dynasty (202 BCE - 8 CE).

Bronze copperplate (right)
Xinmang (9-23 CE). Unearthed from Shuangjiang Village, Jiangkou Town, Pengshan District, Meishan City, Sichuan Province.

Pottery room
Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 CE).

Pottery room
Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 CE). Unearthed from Tomb No. 10 at Mumashan, Shuangliu District, Chengdu City, Sichuan Province.

Pottery room
Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 CE).

Made of clay pottery, it has a five-ridged, gray-tiled roof, similar to a palace.
Under the lintels are two sets of trusses supporting the railings.
On the right side is a small singing figure, and in the middle is a small figure playing the zither (there should have been a small figure on the left as well, but it's now lost).
A limited number of steps lead up to the corridor on the left side of the downstairs.
A small singing figure stands on the corridor.

Pottery room
Han Dynasty (202 BCE - 220 CE). Excavated from Tomb No. 10 at Mumashan, Shuangliu District, Chengdu, Sichuan Province.

Pottery room
Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 CE).

Pottery room
Han Dynasty (202 BCE - 220 CE).

Pottery room
Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 CE).

Pottery figurine
Han Dynasty (202 BCE - 220 CE).

Arsenal portrait brick (left)
Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 CE). Unearthed in 1978 in Majia Township, Xindu County, Sichuan Province (now Xindu District, Chengdu City).

The armory is built on a platform.
To the left is a five-ridged room, atop which stands a Vermilion Bird.
Inside, a weapon rack is set up, upon which two spears and three lances are placed horizontally.
A bow hangs from the left pillar.
Immediately to the right of the armory is a room containing three tables stacked on top of a table, with two people standing before them.

Bronze sword (center)
Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 CE).

Pottery warrior figurine holding a shield (right)
Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 CE).

The term "buqu" originated from a military formation from the Han Dynasty to the Three Kingdoms period, and later came to refer to the private soldiers of powerful landlords.
This specialized armed force was a product of the Eastern Han Dynasty's landowner economy.
The buqu worked in peacetime and attacked in wartime, fulfilling the dual role of both soldier and farmer.

Pottery well
Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 CE).

Pottery horses
Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 CE).

Wang Xiaoyuan stone tablet
Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 CE). Unearthed from Xipu Village, Pixian County, Sichuan Province.

All four sides of the stele are carved with relief designs or figures.
The upper portion of the front features standing male and female figures, as well as a female figure with an eye, topped by a sword-shaped Vermilion Bird.
Below, thirteen lines of official script inscription read: "On the fourth day of the seventh month of the second year of Yongchu, the late Gongcao was replaced by Xiaoyuan. Alas, the ancestors of Xiaoyuan, who were from Guandong, Qin, and Yi, were highly skilled in military affairs. They became heroes and nobles of the Han Dynasty and moved to Liang, where they established their home and career on the sunny side of this mountain."

Pottery figurine with shovel and dustpan
Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 CE). Unearthed from a brick tomb at Baozishan, Xinjin District, Chengdu City, Sichuan Province.

Pottery dog (left)
Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 CE).

Pottery dog (right)
Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 CE). Unearthed from Tianhui Mountain, Tianhui Township, Chengdu, Sichuan Province.

Pottery pig (left)
Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 CE).

Pottery brown pigpen (center)
Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 CE).

Pottery pig (right)
Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 CE). Unearthed from Hongqi Taoyuan, Mianyang City, Sichuan Province.

Pottery Pheasant (8), Pottery Wild goose (9), Pottery Hen (10), Pottery rooster (11) and Pottery rooster (11)
Han Dynasty (202 BCE - 220 CE) and Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 CE).

Pottery farmland
Han Dynasty (202 BCE - 220 CE). Unearthed from the Baozishan Cliff Tomb in Xinjin City, Sichuan Province.

Pottery pool
Han Dynasty (202 BCE - 220 CE). Unearthed from a cliff tomb at Tianhui Mountain in Chengdu, Sichuan Province in 1957.

A pool is a man-made reservoir equipped with gates to regulate water flow and irrigate rice fields.
Unearthed Han Dynasty agricultural pottery and stone artifacts clearly demonstrate the interdependence of rice fields, canals, and ponds: nearly all rice fields were connected to canals, and about half had adjacent ponds and fisheries, ensuring water availability for agriculture and enriching agricultural and sideline production.

Figurine of labor
Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 CE).

Pottery standing figurine with a hoe (reproduction)

Pottery cooking figurines
Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 CE).

Pottery figurine heads
Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 CE).

Pottery figurine with mirror (left)
Han Dynasty (202 BCE - 220 CE).

Pottery figurine with mirror and shoes (center)
Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 CE). Unearthed from Tianhui Mountain, Chengdu, Sichuan Province.

Pottery figurine with mirror (right)
Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 CE). Unearthed from the Jiudaoguai Cliff Tomb in Taojiadu, Shuangliu District, Chengdu, Sichuan Province.

All kinds of music and dance pottery figurines
Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 CE).

Money tree bases
Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 CE).

Money tree base
Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 CE). Unearthed from Cliff Tomb No. 3 in Tianhui Town, Chengdu City, Sichuan Province.

Money tree bases
Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 CE).

Money tree
Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 CE).

The money tree consists of a pottery base and copper branches.
The branches are divided into five layers, each housing the Queen Mother of the West, the Heavenly Horse, the Vermilion Bird, the Jade Rabbit, the Blue Bird, and musicians.
The base is molded from brown clay pottery in a conical shape, smaller at the top and larger at the bottom, with a circular hole through the center for the money tree.
A mythical beast is carved in relief on each of the base's top and bottom.
The upper beast has bulging eyes and its head stretched forward, while the lower beast has wide-open eyes and its head bent downward.

Fangxiang (a mythological image) pottery figurine
Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 CE). Unearthed in Huangshui Town, Shuangliu County (now Shuangliu District), Sichuan Province in 1974.

Fang Xiang is a legendary deity who drives away plague ghosts and mountain and river monsters.
The Fangxianglu unearthed in Sichuan have unique regional characteristics.
They often have a large head and a slightly smaller body, a prominent high bun on the top of the head, ears sticking out of the wind, open mouths and eyes, long tongues and fangs, and hold axes and snakes in their hands, with strange appearances.

Blue and white porcelain bowl with The Red Cliff Ode
Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

«Wen Chibi, also known as Dongpo Chibi, Huangzhou Chibi, and commonly known as Chibi Park, is located northwest of Huangzhou. The name "Chibi" comes from the ochre-red color of the rocks, which resemble city walls. In 1080 AD, the writer Su Shi, while exiled to Huangzhou, visited Chibi and composed the poems "Preface to the Chibi" and "Postscript to the Chibi," which gave it its name.»

Pottery figurine with fish (left)
Three Kingdoms Period (220-280 CE). Unearthed from Tujing Cliff Tomb in Zhongxian County, Chongqing City.

Pottery sending meal figurine (right)
Three Kingdoms Period (220-280 CE). Unearthed from Tujing Cliff Tomb in Zhongxian County, Chongqing City.

Pottery sending meal figurine (left)
Three Kingdoms Period (220-280 CE). Unearthed from Tujing Cliff Tomb in Zhongxian County, Chongqing City.

Pottery cooking figurine (right)
Three Kingdoms Period (220-280 CE). Unearthed from Tujing Cliff Tomb in Zhongxian County, Chongqing City.

Bamboo carving pen holder with Make three calls at the thatched cottage
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

The outer bamboo carving depicts the story of Zhuge Liang's three visits to the thatched cottage: Zhuge Liang dozes at a table, Liu Bei courteously seeks talent, Guan Yu sighs with regret, and Zhang Fei glares.
Surrounding the scene are towering pines, their needles clustered in clusters.
The artist, using a knife instead of a brush, accurately captures the characters' personalities.
Below is the seal script in relief: "Zhong Qian."

Three Kingdoms figurine shadow play
Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

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Sichuan Museum - Ancient Sichuan - Gallery Two