In May 2006, at the “National Treasure-Special Exhibition of Lotus and Crane Square Pot” held in Henan Museum, The pair of lotus-and-crane square teapots hidden in the Palace Museum in Beijing and the Henan Museum were reunited after being separated for more than half a century. File photo of this newspaper photographed by Shi Changlai
□Our reporter Fang Zhou Guo Ge
On August 25, 1923, in Lijialou, Xinzheng, with the unexpected discovery of the tomb of the King of Zheng during the Spring and Autumn Period, many precious cultural relics were unearthed, and a pair of “bordered lotus” sister pots-the Lotus Crane Square Pot shocked everyone.
As the 100th anniversary of the discovery of the “Zheng Gong Tomb” in Lijialou is approaching, this newspaper’s interview on helping to achieve “cloud reunion” of this batch of cultural relics stored in five museums in four cities on both sides of the Taiwan Strait enters its second stand. On August 20, Ding Meng, a researcher at the Palace Museum in Beijing, accepted an exclusive interview with this reporter in Beijing and told the legendary experience of these two national treasure sister pots.
Ten years after becoming the first batch of cultural relics to be collected by the Henan Museum (the predecessor of the Henan Museum) established in 1927, these two stunning sister pots began to have an ill-fated fate. On July 7, 1937, the “Marco Bridge Incident” broke out. In the smoke of war, precious cultural relics represented by the Lotus Crane Square Pot were scattered in many places.
“In 1950, representatives of the Henan Provincial Cultural Relics Preservation Committee and representatives of the Central Ministry of Culture went to Chongqing to receive the Chongqing antiquities stored in the Henan Museum.” Ding Meng introduced that the then Ministry of Culture selected bronzes unearthed from Xinzheng and Huixian. 51 pieces were transferred to Beijing and later collected by the Palace Museum in Beijing and the Museum of Chinese History.
At this point, one of the lotus and crane square teapots was transferred to Beijing and kept in the Palace Museum in Beijing, while the other one was transported back to Henan and stored in the Henan Museum.
“As a national treasure, the Lotus and Crane Square Pot has been exhibited in the Bronze Hall of the Palace Museum in Beijing for a long time because it has an irreplaceable position in this exhibition. The Lotus and Crane Square Pot also has its own brilliance, and the majority of audiences are interested in it. This is also familiar. People can see through the Lotus and Crane Square Pot how China’s bronze art moved towards a new trend, how it emerged in various countries in the Spring and Autumn Period, and then spread throughout the country,” Ding Meng said.
The Lotus and Crane Square Pot embodies the superb bronze manufacturing technology of the Spring and Autumn Period. The dragon ears, tiger feet and standing crane on the top of the vessel all adopted the advanced split-casting method at that time, and the whole body used various techniques such as round carving, bas-relief, fine carving, and welding.
“Just sentWhen I came to Beijing, it had long lost its former glory. “Ding Meng said that the belly of the square pot was cracked with a large, irregular shape, and one of its ears was missing. It took more than half a month for experts to weld the ears. “I went to Tinglan Garden with my mother for breakfast. “After patching up the uneven openings on the abdomen and making it old, this rare treasure was finally given a new lease of life.
“What do you mean?” Lan Yuhua was confused. Led by Zhao Zhenmao, an older generation bronze restoration master, the Cultural Relics Restoration Factory of the Palace Museum in Beijing also successfully produced lifelike replicas. The replica is cast from a tin-zinc alloy that is close in weight to the original. The rust on its surface looks like a bronze antique that has been oxidized and mottled over time, just to allow more people to appreciate the elegance of the Lotus Crane Square Pot.
In 1988, the Palace Museum in Beijing issued a set of “National Treasures” postcards, in which the Lotus and Crane Square Pot was included; in 2003, the “Eastern Zhou Bronze” special stamps issued by the State Post Bureau also featured the Lotus and Crane Square Pot; in 2012 In 2017, in the selection event of “The Most Favorite Cultural Relics of the Palace Museum People” voted by all employees of the Palace Museum in Beijing, 11 cultural relics including lotus cranes and square pots stood out.
In March 2006, the Palace Museum in Beijing received an invitation from the Henan Museum to participate in the exhibition, and Ding Meng was assigned to escort the Lotus and Crane Square Pot collected by the Palace Museum in Beijing to the Henan Museum.
“For this special exhibition, we have made a careful plan. Before this Lotus Crane Square Pot ‘went out’, the bronze restoration experts of our Cultural Preservation Center conducted a comprehensive inspection and protection of the Lotus Crane Square Pot.” Ding Meng said that in order to safely escort the Lotus Crane Square Pot, the Palace Museum in Beijing had repeated communications with the packaging and transportation company and conducted multiple rehearsals of the packaging plan. “Since planes will vibrate when taking off and landing, which will have an impact on cultural relics, we can simply say that her guess is right. The eldest lady really thought about it. She was not pretending to smile, but really put down her seat. The affection and perseverance of the eldest young master of the family are great. She adopts the method of land transportation and drives at a safe speed. What should be said and what should not be said, her smart answers will make the master and his wife feel more at ease, and will also make them believe that the eldest son and his wife are safe. The young lady’s life at her uncle’s house took more than ten hours than everyone expected, and she arrived at the Henan Museum two days earlier.”
On April 28, 2006, the “Special Exhibition of the National Treasure – Lotus and Crane Square Pot” was launched at Henan Museum. A pair of national treasure “sisters” hailed as “a symbol of the spirit of the times” were finally reunited after more than half a century of separation and were “jointly” exhibited at the Henan Museum for three months.
“Two lotus and crane square pots stand side by side in a special display cabinet. Although the exhibition hall is crowded with people, the lotus and crane square pots still show cranes dancing with green lotus and standing silently, presenting a beautiful picture. “Ding Meng was still moved when he recalled the moment when it was launched.
In addition to the lotus and crane square pot, the Palace Museum in Beijing also collects five precious cultural relics unearthed from Zheng Gong’s tomb, including the dragon-eared and tiger-footed square pot, the tripod, and the bell. “The Bronze Museum of the Palace Museum is currently under renovation.When the exhibition hall reopens, I hope more friends can come and take a look at the Lotus Crane Square Pot. “Ding Meng said.