Siyang Square Statue is the largest bronze square statue of Shang Dynasty in China, with a side length of 52.4 cm, a height of 58.3 cm and a weight of 34.5 kg.
Long neck, high circle foot, high neck, decorated with banana leaf pattern, triangle and animal face pattern on all sides, with the center of gravity in the middle of the statue, a sheep's head in each corner of the statue, and four curled corners in the shoulder. The head and neck of the sheep protrude from the statue, and the body and legs of the sheep are attached to the abdomen and the circle feet.
At the same time, Fang Zun's shoulders are decorated with dragons with claws and high-relief snake bodies. In the middle of the statue, where two sheep are adjacent, a pair of horned dragons poked their heads out of the table and snaked out from the right shoulders on both sides of Fang Zun in the middle of the former residence.
Extended data:
The cultural status of Siyang Fangzun;
Four sheep and four dragons represent the supreme weather in wine vessels with their relative shapes. Sheep become the object of bronze heavy objects, which has its unique symbolic significance. In the pre-Qin period, there were two kinds of generalizations about sheep's character: kindness and politeness; Soft outside and rigid inside. Sheep's habit of "kneeling and sucking milk" is regarded as kindness and courtesy, and even interpreted by later generations as a model of filial piety;
Soft outside and hard inside have also been extended to many sacred properties. Hao Tao, the legendary ancestor, worships sheep, and The Book of Songs, Zhao Nan, also has the saying that "the king of literature is in charge, honest and hearty, and his virtue is like a lamb".
The most popular or folk symbolic meaning of sheep is "auspiciousness". Sheep have been associated with auspiciousness since at least the Han Dynasty. The inscription "Houyi Wang Dayang Tan (Auspicious)" is common in inscriptions such as tiles and bronze mirrors in the Han Dynasty. Auspiciousness is sometimes directly written as "Auspicious Sheep".
The bronzes unearthed in Hunan, represented by the Four Sheep Fang Zun, not only retain the original totem worship, but also have the significance of replacing sheep as a sacrifice to the gods. At the same time, it also contains the expectation of the prosperity of livestock breeding such as sheep, and may sprout various ideas about sheep in later generations.
Baidu Encyclopedia: Four Sheep Fang Zun