W.T.F.B.C: The Ancient Shu

If anyone knows my (let’s just say) eccentric thinking patterns, they’ll know I’m profoundly into an ancient society called “the Shu.” The Shu were like if the Merry Pranksters, Pink Floyd, Amazonian shamans, Salvador Dali and the entire crew of Deep Space Nine time-warped to Ancient China and started a new civilization.

According to scholars, the Shu inhabited the plains of what is now Sichuan Province from 2,000 to 300BC (~Shang Dynasty, Egyptian New Kingdom, Olmec, Mayan times). What fascinates me is how they seemed to balance surreal art and sculpture, tribal music, mysticism, nature worship, Shamanism, controlled chaos, humor and so much more into their daily lives. While the Shang bloodlines were building a strong and austere dynasty hundreds of miles to the east, the Shu were performing pagan rituals, gilding bizarre masks and possibly riding elephants through their psychedelic cities. 

Check out these artifacts from the latest exhibit in Guangdong and see for yourself. 

By the way, W.T.F.B.C. is a new series about, well, the name is self-explanatory.

– Quiet Jr –

Ode to the Sphinx

Guardian of the Nile

How many mornings have you stood?

How many breaths have you taken?

How many wars have you watched?

How many worlds have you shaken?

For millennia you have stood

as Guardian of the Nile.

A job that robbed your beard and nose,

but not your placid smile.

– Quiet 2019 –