During the Western Zhou Dynasty, China was still a slave society, and etiquette gradually rose. Ding, as an instrument for sacrificial ceremonies, banquets and other important occasions, has been endowed with noble significance. "Hiding gifts in vessels" is a description of Ding's new role at that time, and the owners of different Ding are also an important symbol to distinguish different identities.
Because of this, the ancient book "Three Years of Zuo Zhuan Gong Xuan" records that Zi Chu won the championship. Right: In Germany, not in Ding. It can be seen that the governors at that time had taken the size of the tripod as a hard indicator to measure each other's strength. So what was the biggest tripod in ancient China? What's its history?
From 65438 to 0939, China was in a turbulent era, and the chaos of the current situation made grave robbery increasingly popular. As the saying goes, the villagers living in Wuguan Village, Anyang City, Henan Province certainly know that the Old Yin Ruins are a treasure trove of geomantic omen, in which many ancestors' treasures are buried.
1one night in March, 939, villagers took advantage of the night and strong wind to dig up Wu Dafang Ding, a stepmother who shocked the world, in the farmland of Wu Yuyao's family in Wuguan Village, Houjiazhuang, Anyang City, Henan Province, more than 80 meters away from the southwest corner of the tomb of Wuguan Village.
However, because the tripod was too big and too heavy, the villagers couldn't move it and didn't want to return it in vain, so they sawed off a tripod ear as evidence to prove that it was found and then buried it again.
Later, due to the outbreak of the war of aggression against China, the Japanese heard about it and wanted to spend a lot of money to buy it, but they did not buy it. They only bought fakes provided by local villagers. After the end of War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression,1June, 946, Wu Ding, the stepmother, was unearthed again and sent to Nanjing as Chiang Kai-shek's birthday present.
However, due to the war, the ear of the tripod sawed off at that time had disappeared, which became the eternal regret of the largest bronze tripod in China. Here, some readers may ask, "The tripod we see is complete, and there is no shortage of tripod ears."
In fact, the stepmother Wu Er that we later saw in the exhibition was fabricated by people. After all, such a national treasure cannot be displayed in a broken image, and the reason for its absence is not a story worth showing off. The regret of history often makes people reluctant to touch too much.
On March 20 1 1, stepmother Wu Ding moved into the third floor of the new China National Museum, with a total weight of 875 kg, a height of 133 cm, a mouth length of 78 cm, a foot height of 46 cm and a wall thickness of 6 cm. Because of its huge shape and square appearance, it is also called "manger ding". It is the largest bronze tripod found in the history of China, so it is called "the largest bronze tripod in the world".
However, the original name of such a famous national treasure is not stepmother Wu Ding, but another name-Simu Wu Ding.
1959, the Museum of Chinese History was established in New China, and Wu Ding, the stepmother, was also transported from Nanjing to Beijing and placed in the new museum. Ding was named after Guo Moruo, a famous scholar at that time. He understood the "Simuwu" in the tripod as "offering sacrifices to the mother", so he named it "Simuwu tripod". People born in the 1980s and 1990s should have seen this name in their history textbooks.
From now on to March 20 1 1 year, the name of Baoding has not changed, and people are used to it. However, when Wu Ding, the stepmother, moved into the new China National Museum at the end of March 20 1 1, the name of this Ding appeared in everyone's field of vision and was reported by CCTV.
Originally, with the development of new China, some experts suggested that the word "heir" and "Hou" in Wu Ding's stepmother were the same word, and the word "Hou" specifically referred to the queen in ancient times. From Ding Zhu's own point of view, it was more in line with Ding Zhu's mother's identity. However, if we use the word "Si Muwu", we can only express the meaning of offering sacrifices to our mother, but we can't intuitively express the identity of Da Dingzhu's mother.
But if the word "four" is changed to "after", it will be different. Because Ding itself has the meaning of sacrifice, if the word "Hou" is used here, it can obviously reflect the dignity of Ding's main identity and the identity of the victim, killing two birds with one stone, and it is more in line with the original intention of the ancients. So although there is only one word difference, it reflects many differences in details.
In fact, these two appellations have their own reasons, but from the perspective of optimization, the appellation of "indefinite stepmother" is obviously better than "indefinite fourth mother", and its message is more intuitive and comprehensive.
However, the name Simu Wuding was remembered by a generation, when people also widely discussed to change it. After all, the name of a national treasure that has been called for half a century suddenly changed one day, which made people have an unacceptable psychological barrier.
Although the new title is more suitable for the actual situation and has more advantages in expression, some habits are difficult to change once they are formed. Even if the country renamed Baoding, many people will inevitably think of its original name when they see it.
Although these two names caused a lot of discussion at that time, from the perspective of cultural heritage and cultural relics protection, the name change of the country is obviously more conducive to cultural heritage and protection, so no matter whether the name is right or wrong, the meaning and value of this tripod in people's hearts will not change at all.
Perhaps, future generations will be as unaccustomed to the previous Ding name as we are to this new Ding name, so we really don't need to be too entangled in this aspect. As long as we know that Baoding will be better spread in the future through this name change, it seems that it doesn't matter what it is renamed.
So experts suspect that the casting process of stepmother Wu Ding is likely to be like this. In Shang dynasty, it has been proved that the vessel for smelting bronzes is a ceramic crucible, which is very similar to the helmet of ancient generals, so it is called "general helmet" by experts.
According to scientific estimation, each general helmet can melt12.7kg of bronze, and it takes more than 70 "general helmets" to cast such a behemoth as stepmother Wu Ding. You know, only a "general's helmet" was enough to cast an ordinary small and medium-sized bronze ware at that time, so the casting of stepmother Wu Ding was definitely a "big project" at that time.
The number of utensils used is not the most amazing place, but the number of people and technology needed in Baoding casting process is the most amazing. Because if you want to get this Baoding done at one time, at least hundreds of people need to operate at the same time and cooperate tacitly to complete the work. Such a complicated process has to make people marvel at the superb wisdom and pouring level of the ancients.
Stepmother Wu Ding is a treasure of Chinese civilization, with exquisite and solemn patterns and exquisite craftsmanship, which has always been admired by the world. Therefore, its value is extremely high, and all kinds of disputes and fog around it have also increased its importance in people's minds.
It has been more than half a century since Wu Ding, the stepmother, was first discovered and finally renamed as "moving to a new house". From the poverty and weakness of our country to the prosperity of our country, she has been silently watching the development of China. Perhaps, just like the noble meaning given to Ding by the ancients, the stepmother Wu Ding also symbolizes that China's national strength is getting stronger and stronger, and it will eventually win the world. After all, the confidence and glory of a big country are still worthy of the pride of the Chinese people.
In the years to come, we should always remember the glory of the motherland, devote ourselves to the great rejuvenation of China, and dare to be the "three pillars" of the country. Only in this way, when we walk in any country in the world, can we confidently say, "I'm from China!"
References:
A General History of China —— Published by Beijing United Publishing Company