Simu Wuding is a rare and precious bronze cultural relic in the world. This is the largest and heaviest tripod ever unearthed. The tripod weighs 832.84 kg, is 133 cm high, has a mouth length of 1 10 cm, a width of 78 cm, a foot height of 46 cm and a wall thickness of 6 cm. The tripod is big enough to be a manger, so people call it the manger tripod.
The decorative pattern of Simu Wuding is exquisite and solemn, and its craftsmanship is exquisite, which has always been respected by the world. Its value is therefore higher. Exquisite dragon patterns and gluttonous patterns are cast around the tripod body, which adds a sense of grandeur to the cultural relics themselves. Gluttony is a legendary delicious beast. Cast on bronze ware, it means a good year, good luck and plenty of food and clothing. Earrings, commonly known as tiger bite patterns, are on the left and right sides of the ears and look like tigers. The tiger's head bypassed the upper part of its ear and opened its mouth to face each other. There is a head in the middle of the tiger, which seems to have been swallowed by the tiger. There are two fish shapes on the ear. The cicada pattern cast on the foot shows a well-defined cicada body. There are three inscriptions "Simuwu" on the long wall of the abdomen of the cauldron. At present, there are three theories about how to interpret these three inscriptions: (1) It is generally believed that the Ding was cast by the Shang King to sacrifice his mother Wu.
"Division" is interpreted as functional division, litigation division and code division. Another explanation is that this is the name of a clan. (3) The third explanation interprets "Si" as a shrine. "Temple" means offering sacrifices. Others interpret "Si" as the queen's "Hou". Who is "e-mom"? According to the earliest speculation, mother Wu is the spouse of Wu Yi, the mother of Wen Ding, and the author is Wen Ding. Oracle Bone Inscriptions recorded that Paigui was the spouse of Wen, but Di Yi's spouse was not recorded. Therefore, Comrade Chen thinks that "E-mother" may be the spouse of Di Yi. Based on this, it can be inferred that the artifacts in the late Yin Ruins are great (Chen's "Yin Dynasty bronze wares" can be found in the Journal of Archaeology, Volume 7 1954, page 30). Another view is that "Wu Mu" may refer to the legal spouse of Wu Ding or Zujia. Therefore, the performers may be Zu Geng, Zujia, Yan Xin and Kangding. In this way, the tripod is a relic of the early Yin ruins (archaeology 1977No. 1).
Si Mu Wu Ding is the representative work of bronze wares of Yin Dynasty in China. Someone qualitatively analyzed its alloy composition by spectrum. The results show that the composition of Dading is basically the same as that of general bronzes in Yin Dynasty. People also used chemical analysis precipitation method to quantitatively analyze copper, tin and lead. The results show that the alloy composition of the big top is: copper accounts for 84.77%, tin accounts for 1 1.64%, and lead accounts for 2.79%. This analysis is similar to that of Zhou Li? The records of "Flower King Gong Ji" that "Jin Xi Liu is divided into one" are basically the same.
According to the observation and analysis of archaeologists, the casting method of cauldron is considered as the core assembly method, that is, the clay mold is first made of soil, then the ceramic mold is turned over, and then the ceramic molds are put together and poured with copper liquid. Judging from the casting marks, Simu Wuding was cast by twenty molds. The excellent casting technology of Simu Wuding marks the development level of bronze casting technology in Shang Dynasty.
In the late Shang Dynasty (about14th century BC-1century BC), the most famous four-legged Fang Ding was unearthed in China. Height 133 cm, length 1 10 cm, width 79 cm and weight 832.84 kg. Standing ears, column feet, rectangular abdomen, decorated with gluttonous patterns, the inner wall of the abdomen is cast with the inscription "Si (or after release) mother Wu". Unearthed in Wuguan Village, Anyang City, Henan Province 1939. In the late Shang Dynasty, the king of Shang Dynasty made a royal bronze ritual vessel for his mother. The other is that he is Shang Zhouwang, one is Geng, and the other is made for his mother. This tripod is magnificent, and it is the largest and heaviest ancient bronze found in China. Now in the museum of Chinese history.
Unearthed legend:
1March, 939, during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression period, the Wu brothers and sisters who were repairing the tomb found something in the underground cooked soil. At that time, the Japanese lived in the airport three kilometers away from Wujiacun. I was afraid that the Japanese devils would know that everyone would secretly dig at night. After three nights, I finally dug up the bronze ware known as the "big furnace". This day is:1March, 939 19, and Simu Wuding was unearthed in the Wu family in the northwest of Junjiazhuang, Anyang. Post-survey: height 133 cm, length 1 10 cm, width 78 cm and weight 875 kg. When unearthed, an ear was missing, and "Simuwu" was cast on the ventral side.
1948 On May 29th, Simu Wuding was first exhibited in Nanjing. Chiang Kai-shek visited the scene and took photos in front of a tripod. Later, the Kuomintang government intended to transport the tripod to Taiwan Province Province, but it was too heavy to carry, so it gave up the idea. After the founding of People's Republic of China (PRC), 1959 entered the Tibetan Museum of Chinese History.
Simuwu has ears, a square stomach and empty legs. There are decorative patterns in other places except for the rectangular plain surface in the center of the tripod body. On the exquisite Yun Leiwen, the main decorative patterns of each part have their own forms. The tripod body is mainly decorated with gluttony around the square surface, and the four sides are decorated by the door, with the bull's head on the side and gluttony on the bottom. There are two tigers on the outside of the tripod ear, mouth to mouth and head inside. The ears are decorated with fish lines. The decorative patterns of the four tripod feet are also unique, with an animal face on each of the three strings. The words "Simuwu" are cast on the inner wall of the tripod. According to textual research, Simu Wuding should be a heavy weapon of Shang royal family. Its modeling, ornamentation and craftsmanship have reached a very high level, and it is a masterpiece of the peak period of bronze culture in Shang Dynasty.
Ding is the representative of bronze culture in China. In ancient times, the tripod was regarded as a heavy weapon for the founding of the country and a symbol of state and power. People in China still have a sense of tripod worship, and the word "tripod" has been endowed with extended meanings such as "honor", "honor" and "grand", such as keeping promises, making famous, helping each other at its peak and so on. Ding is also a ritual vessel for meritorious service. In the Zhou Dynasty, monarchs or princes and ministers had to cast a tripod at major celebrations or receive awards to show their achievements and record the grand occasion. Ding was endowed with sacred color, which originated from the legend of Jiuding. Ding was originally an ancient cooker, equivalent to the current pot, used to stew fish and hold fish. Xu Shen said in Shuo Wen Jie Zi: "Ding, three feet and two ears, the treasure of five flavors." There are three-legged tripod and four-legged Fang Ding. The earliest tripod was made of clay, and later there was a bronze tripod made of bronze. Legend has it that Yu Xia once collected the gold of nine animal husbandry and cast Jiuding under Jingshan Mountain to symbolize Kyushu, and carved fascinating figures on it to alert people and prevent them from being hurt. Since the legend of Zhu Yu's nine cauldrons came into being, the cauldron has developed from an ordinary cooker to a national heavyweight vessel. From Shang Dynasty to Zhou Dynasty, "Dingding" was the capital or established a dynasty. The country was destroyed, Ding moved, Xia dynasty was destroyed, Shang dynasty was prosperous, Jiuding moved to Beijing, and Shangdu. With the demise of Shang Dynasty, Zhou Chaoxing and Jiuding moved to Beijing.
There is an allusion to "winning the championship" in history, which comes from "Three Years of Zuo Zhuan Gong Xuan", to the effect that Chu Zhuangwang came to Luoyang to crusade against foreign enemies and inspect the army on the territory of the Zhou Emperor. The king sent a doctor to comfort him, and took the opportunity to ask about the size. Wang Yue: The government is virtuous, the tripod is small and heavy, the monarch has no way, and the tripod is big and light. The Zhou Dynasty made a tripod for the Central Plains, and its power was a godsend. The weight of the tripod is not appropriate. Chu Zhuangwang won the championship, which means replacing the Zhou Dynasty. The result was severely reprimanded by the king's angel. Later, the plot to usurp the throne was called "winning the championship." Ding is the witness of civilization and the carrier of culture. According to the legend of Zhu Yu Jiu Ding, it can be inferred that China had bronze smelting and casting technology as early as 4000 years ago; The bronze ding of Shang Dynasty unearthed underground proved conclusively that Shang Dynasty in China was a highly developed bronze age. The "Simuwu" Dafang Ding collected by China History Museum is a bronze tripod in the late Shang Dynasty. Rectangular, four legs, height 1.33cm, weight 835 kg. This is the largest bronze ware in Shang Dynasty. Ding belly has the word "Simuwe", which was cast by Shang Zhouwang as a sacrifice to his mother Wu. Da, Da and Mao He unearthed in the Qing Dynasty are all famous bronzes in the Western Zhou Dynasty. The inscriptions on bronze wares such as Ding recorded the laws and regulations of Shang and Zhou Dynasties and historical facts such as conferring titles, offering sacrifices and conquering. And handed down the seal script of the Western Zhou Dynasty to later generations, forming a bronze calligraphy art with high aesthetic value. Ding is therefore more valuable and becomes a more important historical relic than other bronzes. Li Zehou, an aesthetician, believes that Chinese bronzes, with their unique tripod as the core, are thick and solid, with hideous and mysterious patterns and deep carvings, and are the most aesthetic bronze works in the mature period of China bronze art.
Although the word "Ding" in modern Chinese characters has undergone many changes, such as Oracle Bone Inscriptions, bronze inscriptions, Xiao Zhuan, etc. Up to now, it still retains the style and physical characteristics of "Ding", which is almost integrated with its characters and has rich cultural connotations.
The Simuwu Dafang Ding unearthed in Anyang, Henan Province represents the peak of ancient bronze casting technology in China and is known as the ancient bronze culture in China.
A great miracle, its casting mystery has always been concerned by people. A few days ago, news came from Nanjing Museum that Nanbo will copy the Dafang Ding and solve the mystery of the statue of Simuwu.
1939, Simuwu Dafang Ding was unearthed in Wuguan Village, Anyang, Henan Province. At that time, in order to protect it from being plundered by the Japanese, ordinary people tried their best to hide it, and later gave it to the Central Museum at that time, which is now the Nanjing Museum. 1949, which was placed in the underground warehouse of the museum and surrounded by bricks. 1959, the China History Museum was established, and Dafang Ding was "borrowed" for exhibition, becoming a cultural relic in the collection of the China History Museum. "Now Dafang Ding belongs to the Museum of Chinese History and can't be returned to us. Next year is the 70th anniversary of the Nanjing Museum. We want to bring together the cultural relics related to the museum, so we want to take the opportunity to copy one. At the same time, we also hope to take Linyi as an opportunity to uncover the mystery of Dafang Ding's casting. " According to the Nanjing Museum, it will take about twenty or thirty days to cast the Simuwu Dafang Ding with modern technology, and even it is not difficult to cast a bronze ware several times the size of the Simuwu Dafang Ding. However, under the historical conditions at that time, there were too many difficulties to overcome in casting such a huge bronze ware with dignified shape and exquisite decoration. Therefore, completely simulating the casting method of the ancients is the most direct means to understand the casting process at that time, which in itself is a very challenging work. China's research on bronzes began in the Song Dynasty, when it was called "epigraphy".
All researchers are from the perspective of social science. Judging from the three aspects (art, writing and craft) that must be possessed in bronze ware research, the research on craft is relatively weak, especially the explanation of casting technology of some bronzes, which is likely to lead to the misunderstanding of bronze ware technology research. The casting process of Simuwu Dafang Ding has been studied several times in China, but it only focuses on the inference of the phenomenon reflected by the Ding itself, and does not involve the clay casting process itself. In a sense, copying Dafang Ding is making up for a blank in bronze ware research.