A big project that shocked the world.
1978, the suburb of Leigudun, Suizhou City, Hubei Province, was selected as the new site because of its remote location and confidentiality. This place was selected by the Radar Repair Department of the Air Force Logistics Department of Wuhan Military Region, Hubei Province. They began to act very quickly and effectively, trying to blast the mountain bag and level the land to build a new factory.
But what people never expected was that when the explosive was ignited, the soil was brown, which surprised everyone. The leaders at that time thought that this land was not simple and rushed to report it to the country. Experts from relevant departments came to investigate overnight and concluded that there is a big project here! We dare not neglect, and government departments also send professionals to clean up the excavation. In May 1978, 1 1, this large-scale excavation work that shocked the whole country began. After several days of efforts by professionals, this ancient tomb, which has been hidden underground for thousands of years, was unveiled.
This ancient tomb group is huge, with 23 female corpses, four tombs in the east, middle and northwest, and a large number of bronze ritual vessels, lacquerware, gold and silver vessels, pearl jade articles, various musical instruments, chariots and horses, weapons and costumes, inscriptions, etc. , are buried with the tomb owner, enough to prove that the tomb owner is prominent, not ordinary people. The expert discovered his identity after studying the inscriptions on bronze wares. The owner of this tomb was Ceng Houyi, the monarch of the State of Zeng. The king has been in power for about 30 years, and he is fascinated by vocal music research and has great opinions on military affairs.
The excavation of the tomb of Zeng Houyi is an important discovery in the archaeological history of China. Together with the Terracotta Warriors and Horses in Qin Shihuang's Mausoleum, it is listed as a treasure in archaeological history. In the tomb of Zeng Houyi, we can see the prosperity of the country during the Warring States period, which provides convenience for the study of ancient history today. The funerary objects in the tomb are even more valuable. Each one is an indispensable treasure of the Chinese nation. They are a part of five thousand years in China, witnessing the rise and fall of history, the replacement of the old and the new, and the rolling forward of the long river of history.
Brilliant achievements of Zeng Houyi's tomb
The tomb of Zeng Houyi is of great research value, and there are countless treasures unearthed in the tomb. One of the most famous is Ceng Houyi's chime. Specifically, Ceng Houyi's inscription on Cow Bell has no trace of lightness or thinness in font and strokes, and most of the inscriptions are written in wrong gold. As a push-button clock, it is rare to find a golden inscription, which has existed in all dynasties. Niu's writing style is full, and his calligraphy has a simple beauty. At the same time, his strokes are simplified.
Yong Zhong Ming is the most typical representative of Zeng Houyi's chime calligraphy, with a large number of words. Written in the flower style popular in Chu and South China. The calligraphy style is slender, the font is beautiful, the brushwork is fine and smooth, the calligraphy style is beautiful and decorative, but the layout is harmonious and regular, showing relative standardization. The lower floor is a bell from King Hui of Chu. Compared with 12 pieces of Yong Zhong, the inscription is slightly square, which also reflects the subtle differences between Zeng and Chu characters. The clock was given by King Hui of Chu, and calligraphy is a typical Chu style.
The obvious differences between the calligraphy style of the cast bell and the inscription of Yongzhong are as follows: the lines are neat, the posture is different from that of Yongzhong, and it is slightly square, smart and not exaggerated, but it is equivalent to a bell. The words *** 188 are engraved on the bell beam. On the middle beam and the lower beam, there are four or five characters on each wall clock, which varies with the direction of the bell mouth. Each character is decorated with vermicelli on a black lacquer lining. The font is irregular and the carving is simple. It is similar to the woodcarving of the trunk of Zeng Houyi's tomb, but the nib is sharper. Judging from the strokes of the characters, the radian is obvious. Obviously, it was written with a brush first, and then portrayed.
His calligraphy is quite similar to the famous Wei and Jin Dynasties. Because there were not many woodcarvings in the pre-Qin period, these characters are also very precious. The discovery of bells chimed by Zeng Houyi is one of the most important archaeological discoveries in the 20th century.
This set of 64 copper two-tone chimes (excluding the dart bells given by the King of Chu) adopts seven tones, which are hung on a curved copper-wood clock frame in three layers, ranging from five and a half octaves to twelve and a half tones, and can rotate in the palace. Music series can play music with five, six or seven tones, just like the popular C major. When Zeng Houyi's chimes were unearthed, except for the heaviest chime, all the bells were completely hung on the bell rack. This scene is of great reference value for objectively analyzing the status of the ritual and music system in various vassal countries during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, as well as the situation of "the collapse of ritual and music".
The metallurgical casting technology reflected in the tomb of Zeng Houyi is a peak of scientific development in the fifth century BC. More than 4,640 bronze ritual vessels, musical instruments and weapons were unearthed from the tomb of Zeng Houyi. The complexity of technical engineering is amazing, and its casting technology has reached the peak of pre-Qin bronze production technology. The funerary objects in the tomb are exquisite and small, and there are no traces of hand-making, which not only maintains the uniqueness of handicrafts but also shows them in public view, making people have to sigh the superb skills of craftsmen at that time.
The owner of the tomb of Zeng Houyi
As mentioned earlier, it was the monarch of Zeng. Before the excavation of the tomb of Zeng Houyi, historians argued endlessly about the existence of Zeng Guo, and there was no exact historical record to doubt the authenticity of Zeng Guo. The appearance of the tomb of Zeng Houyi proved the authenticity of Zeng Guo. In fact, the small country under the enfeoffment system in the Zhou Dynasty had close blood relationship with the royal family in the Zhou Dynasty. Their task is to maintain the rule of Zhou Tianzi and protect the southern land of Zhou Tianzi. They have rendered meritorious service for many years, so after their death, the funeral was grand and the whole country mourned.
In fact, no matter how Ceng Houyi lived, no matter how much wealth and land he owned, he would eventually be buried by a handful of yellow sand. How many things rise and fall and spread through the ages, in the long river of history, no matter who is destined to be just a passer-by, what can really spread through the ages and be admired and absorbed by future generations is the immortal Chinese culture, which, like the Yangtze River and the Yellow River, carries the deep feelings and national heritage of countless Chinese children.
The tomb of Zeng Houyi brought us the crystallization of the wisdom of the ancients thousands of years ago, extraordinary craftsmanship, and melodies that have been passed down for thousands of years, so that we can also hear voices from ancient times in the 2 1 century.