The guests are always full, and the national wine is never dry. This is a famous couplet in ancient times. Was there a kind of wine glass in ancient China? After it is filled with wine, will the wine in the glass never be "dry" when guests drink from it?
When many readers see this, they think that Xiaoyi Sou is talking drunkenly. In fact, Xiao Yisou is a teetotaler and speaks very clearly.
Li Bai once wrote such a poem: Cormorant spoon, parrot cup, a hundred years and thirty-six thousand days, three hundred cups a day! Liu Bing of the Ming Dynasty also wrote Jingmen Fu, which contains a red cormorant spoon and a green parrot cup. This sentence.
In the poems of Li Bai and Liu Bing, there is a Nautilus Cup. In recorded history, the Nautilus Cup was the kind of wine glass that could never be finished.
Some readers said, let’s not mention Liu Bing, let’s talk specifically about Li Bai. Li Bai is Li Da’s vernacular. His white hair is three thousand feet; the gods caressed my head, knotted my hair and imparted immortality; flying down three thousand feet, it is suspected to be the Milky Way. Falling in the sky; aren't these poems things without shadows?
However, some objects described in Tang poetry may seem unreasonable, but they actually exist. For example, Bai Juyi's poem "Liao Ling" arbitrarily wrote: "It should be like a forty-five-foot waterfall in front of the bright moon in Tiantai Mountain. The article is wonderful, and the ground is covered with white flowers and frost."
Twill is a kind of clothing. How can it be like smoke, moon, water, and frost? However, after the plain gauze clothes of Mrs. Xin Zhui were unearthed in Mawangdui, contemporary people know that in front of the lightest, most transparent and most elegant clothes in the world, Bai Juyi's poems cannot be described in too many words.
Whether they are archaeologists or ancient writers, they all have a strong desire, that is, if they are lucky enough to unearth a Nautilus cup in an ancient tomb, let everyone understand the secret of "drinking often" .
This opportunity finally came in 1965. There is an Elephant Mountain in Nanjing, and there are many ancient tombs under the Elephant Mountain. In order to avoid persecution by tomb robbers, Nanjing's cultural relics department organized manpower to conduct protective excavations of these ancient tombs.
Among these ancient tombs, the most valuable cultural relics unearthed are those of Wang Xingzhi and his wife. According to their epitaph, Wang Xingzhi was originally from Nanrenli, Linyi Township, Langya County. A middle- and lower-level official of the Eastern Jin Dynasty died on October 18, the sixth year of Xiankang.
A number of Jin Dynasty cultural relics were unearthed from Wang Xingzhi’s tomb, two of which are worth mentioning. One is the epitaph of Wang Xingzhi and his wife. Some people call the calligraphy on the epitaph: strong and vigorous, dignified and elegant. This pen is straight and straight, with a gentle spirit and expresses ancient clumsiness.
This epitaph has also become an excellent sample for the Chinese calligraphy circle to study the calligraphy of the Jin Dynasty.
The next thing is the focus of this article, which is a broken conch. This conch has been broken in half, exposing the cavities at the end of the conch. It is unusual to find conches in ancient tombs in the non-coastal city of Nanjing. What's even more unusual is that the conch's shell has a complete smooth copper edge embedded in it. What is this conch vessel made of? All the ancient cultural relic experts present at the time were puzzled.
If one person doesn’t understand, it doesn’t mean that experts from all walks of life in Nanjing don’t understand. Nanjing Museum then held a "Zhuge Liang" meeting. Nanjing marine biologists, famous writers, literature and history experts, and archaeologists gathered at the Nanjing Museum to talk freely in order to understand the specific use of this conch.
Historical experts said: This conch should be a musical instrument. Falun and snail are both musical instruments. What else can be done without the conch as an instrument?
Archaeologists said: Is this conch a container for holding things?
And the writer said: I think there are many articles behind this conch.
Finally, the marine biologist stood up and spoke. He told everyone that this conch was extraordinary. Its name is Nautilus and it is native to the coral reef waters of the Indian Ocean. After the conch dies, the body does not sink but floats on the sea surface. The nautilus's shell is beautiful. It was a display piece for nobles in ancient coastal areas. Its wonderful shape, beautiful colors and unique textures all have a dazzling wealth. As soon as the marine biologist finished speaking, a writer stood up. He said excitedly, could it be the legendary Nautilus Cup?
Experts searched for information, found books, eliminated the false and retained the true, and finally agreed that this conch was the legendary Nautilus Cup.
In fact, the secret of not drinking in the Nautilus cup is not an unsolvable problem, because the Nautilus is huge and can hold several kilograms of liquor. Therefore, it is difficult to finish a small amount of liquor.
The most mysterious thing is that there are more than 30 naturally divided cavities on the nautilus's shell, but they all have interconnected small holes. Although you can drink wine, you can't drink it all in one gulp. You need to drink it slowly. Therefore, we have the reputation of "never ending" wine glasses.
The revelation of the secret of the Parrot Cup is tantamount to eliminating a problem in the archaeological world. In fact, from this imported product, we also see the importance of the Maritime Silk Road. If a country wants to be strong, it must trade with the world, not only by land but also by sea. Only in this way can we exchange needed goods, absorb wealth, develop rapidly, and win the future!