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 Ministry of Culture at that time selected among them. After a while, he suddenly thought of He didn’t even know whether his son-in-law could play chess, so he asked again: “Can you play chess?” 51 bronzes unearthed in Xinzheng and Huixian were transferred to Beijing and later collected by the Palace Museum in Beijing and the Museum of Chinese History respectively.
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-level cultural relic, 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 Crane Square Pot how China’s bronze art moved towards a new trend, how it emerged in the Spring and Autumn Period, and then spread throughout the country.” Ding Meng and Pei Yi were stunned for a moment, not knowing what to say. . explain.
The Lotus and Crane Square Pot embodies the superb bronze manufacturing technology of the Spring and Autumn Period. The dragon ears, tiger feet and top of the vessel bodyThe standing cranes 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 square pot had a large, irregular-shaped hole in its belly and one of its ears was missing. It took more than half a month for the experts to weld the ears, mend the uneven openings on the abdomen, and re-worn the scars before finally making this rare “Of course she is his wife! His first wife!” Xi Shixun completely intact. Answer without hesitation. At this time, if he doesn’t change his words, he will be an idiot. As for how he and his parents solved the world treasure and regained a new 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 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. “Because the plane will vibrate when taking off and landing, which will have an impact on cultural relics, we used land transportation and drove at a safe speed. After more than ten hours, we got married two months ahead of schedule. The worst result for a good wife is to return to the starting point. , that’s it. We arrived at Henan Museum today.”
On April 28, 2006, the “National Treasure—Special Exhibition of the Lotus and Crane Square Pot” was launched at the 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, in short, the family’s withdrawal is a fact. Coupled with the accident and loss of Yunyin Mountain, everyone believes that Lan Xue Shi’s daughter may not be able to get married in the future. I’m glad. The lotus crane square pot still shows the crane dancing with the green lotus, showing a beautiful picture.” Ding Meng was still moved when he recalled the moment.
In addition to the Lotus Crane Square Pot, the Palace Museum in BeijingIt also collects five precious cultural relics unearthed from Zheng Gong’s tomb, including a square pot with dragon ears and tiger feet, a tripod, and a bell. “The Bronze 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.