In the silk exhibition hall of Mawangdui Han Tomb in the Provincial Museum, there is a kind of silk product-plain gauze clothing, which is famous for its thinness. Plain gauze clothing unearthed from Mawangdui 1 Han Tomb in Changsha 1972. It is vivid evidence of the superb textile processing in the Han Dynasty-"as thin as cicada wings and as light as smoke". These people think it's just an exaggerated modifier in literature, so it's so appropriate to use it.
In the early 1980s, this national treasure cultural relic was stolen, which shocked the whole country. Although the cultural relics were recovered dozens of days later, this incident sounded the alarm for the national cultural relics units. The case of plain gauze clothing being stolen is the only case of cultural relics being stolen since the establishment of Hunan Provincial Museum for decades, and the incident process is extremely dramatic.
A few days ago, the reporter found someone who works in the provincial museum and learned the ins and outs of the matter.
Cultural relics were stolen on rainy nights.
1983 One day, it rained all night the night before. Early in the morning, when the commentator opened the door of the exhibition hall, he was shocked-all the glass of the showcase was smashed and the cultural relics inside were missing. According to the final statistics, six display cases were smashed and more than 30 precious cultural relics were stolen, including plain gauze clothes and a batch of lacquerware.
"At that time, just reform and opening up. We have almost never heard of smuggling and theft of cultural relics, so we lack awareness of prevention. " The staff recalled. "Mawangdui Han Tomb is very famous. The Ministry of Public Security attached great importance to this cultural relic theft case and sent special personnel to supervise it. "
The investigation found that the thief climbed up the exhibition hall from a window several meters above the ground. "The police officer's conclusion to the thief is-bold, because the impact experiment shows that breaking the thick showcase glass will make a lot of noise."
In order to prevent these precious cultural relics from being smuggled out of the country, the public security department distributed photos of these cultural relics to the national customs, and the task force also stationed in the provincial museum. "Because the thief was familiar with the provincial museum during the investigation, he once suspected that there was a problem inside. At that time, all the staff of the provincial museum accepted the investigation. "
Cultural relics fly back by themselves.
Time passed day by day. "The national treasure was stolen, and the Ministry of Public Security solved the case within a time limit. Everyone in the task force was under great pressure." An expert working in the task force at that time told reporters. More than 40 days later, the Martyrs Park reported to the police and found a bag of things in the corner of the provincial museum, which was part of the stolen cultural relics. A few days later, on the parcel delivery counter of Wuyi Road Post Office, another unclaimed parcel was found, which read "Received by Hunan Provincial Museum". Open on see, plain gauze clothing and other cultural relics impressively. At this point, most of the stolen cultural relics "flew back" on their own.
But where is the criminal hiding? One day, an investigator learned by chance in the police station of Chiffon Garden that the police station had recently arrested a thief with a triangular scraper with a broken tip. The investigator immediately thought that a knife tip was found at the scene where the cultural relics were stolen. After comparison, the tip of the knife is exactly the same as the triangular scraper on the thief. Subsequently, the police found a number of stolen cultural relics in the thief's home. "Almost all the police in the city are looking for this person. I didn't expect him to be still in the police station. " The cultural relics were quietly sent back by the thief's mother under pressure.
Sound the alarm for national culture and cultural institutions.
The investigation found that the thief smashed the showcase that night, put the cultural relics into snakeskin bags, and then swaggered out of the reception room. Because the provincial museum was under construction at that time, and the personnel were very mixed, he did not attract the attention of the staff. "Plain yarn clothes were stolen, to some extent,' there is a silver edge behind the dark clouds'." In the early days of reform and opening up, the safety awareness of cultural and art institutions around the country was not strong, which sounded the alarm for museums all over the country. National Cultural Heritage Administration issued an urgent notice to strengthen safety work.
Since then, the Hunan Provincial Museum has rapidly expanded the establishment of security personnel, and the armed police force has also been stationed, and the safety awareness of all staff has been greatly improved. At the end of 1990s, the provincial museum built a new museum with a total investment of 65.438+0.2 billion yuan, of which the security system alone cost more than 65.438+0.00 billion yuan.
Textual research on textile processing in Han dynasty
People's understanding of the value of plain yarn clothing generally lies in lightness. According to experts from the provincial museum, the more important value of plain yarn clothing lies in confirming the developed silk production technology recorded in ancient books in the Han Dynasty.
More than 2,000 years ago, only China mastered the silk-making technology, and the Silk Road flourished. However, the level of silk development at that time was only "as thin as a cicada's wing" recorded in ancient books, lacking empirical evidence, so some people thought it was only literary exaggeration. More than 65,438+000 exquisite silk products unearthed in Mawangdui, including plain yarn clothing, have become the best evidence.
It is understood that every step of making a pixel gauze dress, from planting mulberry and sericulture to reeling and weaving, has strict requirements. After more than 20 years of research and application of modern technology, the project of "Research and Reproduction of Plain Yarn Dress of Mawangdui Han Tomb in Changsha" carried out by the cultural relics department finally produced a "Imitation Yarn Dress" with the same appearance as the original and weighing 49.5g-it still weighs 0.5g today, which is the closest product in the world. "It is conceivable how advanced the craftsmanship of the ancients was." The expert lamented.
Finally, if we insist on losing, I think the loss is immeasurable. Fortunately, there is still one thing alive in the world. Fortunately, archaeologists have found one, which is also a place to be thankful for.