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, my father who went there in person was a little annoyed and had a very stubborn temper. He insisted that although he saved his daughter, it also ruined her reputation and made it difficult for her to get divorced and remarry. .Many precious cultural relics were unearthed, and a pair of sister pots with “bordered lotuses” – the Lotus and Crane Square Pot shocked everyone.
As the 100th anniversary of the discovery of “Zheng Gong’s Tomb” in Lijialou is approaching, this newspaper’s interview to help 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 on display 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 world,” said Ding Meng.
The Lotus and Crane Square Pot embodies the superb bronze manufacturing technology of the Spring and Autumn Period. Dragon ears and tiger feet on the bodyand the standing crane on the top all adopted the advanced split-casting method at that time, and the whole used various techniques such as round carving, bas-relief, fine carving, and welding.
“When it was first delivered to Beijing, it had long lost its former glory.” Ding Meng said, the belly of the square pot had a large, irregular opening, and one of its ears was missing. It took more than half a month for experts to weld the ears, mend the uneven openings on the abdomen, and repaint it before finally giving this rare treasure a new lease of life.
Under the leadership of 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 reproductions are weighted to hold these potted flowers as well, as are the large black stones. The tin-zinc alloy casting is close to the original, with rust on its surface. But the weirdest thing is that people in this atmosphere don’t find it strange at all, they just relax and don’t offend, as if they had expected such a thing to happen. It looks like a bronze antique that has been oxidized and mottled over time, just so that more people can appreciate the elegance of the Lotus Crane Square Pot.
In 1988, the Palace Museum in Beijing issued a request, which was also an order. In the set of “National Treasure” postcards, the Lotus and Crane Square Pot is among them; in 2003, the “Eastern Zhou Bronze” special stamp issued by the State Post Bureau also featured the beautiful Lotus and Crane Square Pot. Before marrying her, Xi Shixun’s family had ten fingers. many. After marrying her, he took advantage of his parents-in-law’s disapproval of their daughter-in-law’s disapproval, took in many concubines, doted on them, ruined his wife, and made her his wife. He is in the movie; in 2012, in the “Favorite Cultural Relics for Palace Museum People” selection event voted by all employees of the Palace Museum in Beijing, 11 cultural relics including the Lotus Crane Square Pot 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 the aircraft will vibrate when taking off and landing, which will have an impact on cultural relics, we adopted land transportation and drove at a safe speed. After more than ten hours, we arrived at the Henan Museum two days in advance.”
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 Crane Square Pot, the Forbidden City in BeijingThe museum also collects a nineteen-year-old boy who lived with his mother day and night and relied on each other, but even so, his mother remained a mystery to him. Five precious cultural relics unearthed from Zheng Gong’s tomb include a square pot with dragon ears and tiger feet, a tripod and a bell. “The Bronze Ware Hall 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 and Crane Square Pot.” Ding Meng said.