The tripod in front of Wang Yu is called the "Western Zhou Dynasty Taibao tripod".
The Taibao Ding of the Western Zhou Dynasty is a bronze vessel of the Western Zhou Dynasty. It is 50.7 cm high, 35.8 cm long, 22.8 cm wide, and weighs 26 kg. It has beautiful patterns, unique shape, and exquisite casting technology.
The cauldron has four legs, two standing ears on the mouth, and two animals in relief on the ears. The three sides of the belly of the tripod are carved in the round and in relief, and the four sides of the belly of the tripod are decorated with banana leaf patterns and gluttonous patterns.
The four corners of the belly of the tripod have protruding ribs. The four column legs are also decorated with ribs, and the middle of the legs is decorated with a disk. The three-character inscription "Dabaozhu" is clearly cast on the inner wall of the belly of the square tripod.
The word "Dabao" should actually mean "Taibao", so this square tripod is called Taibao tripod.
Taibao is a title for an official in the Zhou Dynasty, whose main responsibility is to assist the King of Zhou. According to historical records, Zhao Gong is the Taibao and Zhou Gong is the Taishi.
Together they assisted King Cheng of Zhou. The Taibao Duke Zhao was named Xi. After King Wu of Zhou died, he and Duke Zhou supervised King Cheng of Zhou as elders.
This tripod is still of great archaeological significance, and in the Western Zhou Dynasty at that time, the tripod represented a symbol of status.
According to the ritual system of the Western Zhou Dynasty, it can be seen that the emperor was buried with nine tripods and the princes were buried with seven. In the Spring and Autumn Period, the phenomenon of nine tripods appearing in the tombs of princes was also common.
Some even exceed the number of Jiuding, which is not surprising, and the tripods that have been unearthed in other places have also confirmed this fact.
In the 23rd year of Daoguang's reign (1843) during the Qing Dynasty, a tripod from the Western Zhou Dynasty named Mao Gong Ding was dug out by Dong Chunsheng, a villager in Dongjia Village, Qishan County, Shaanxi Province, in the west of the village.
A well-known antique merchant came here and bought the tripod for 300 taels of silver. However, when the tripod was being transported, he was blocked by another villager, Dong Zhiguan, and the transaction was not completed.
The antique dealer bribed the county magistrate with a large sum of money, and Dong Zhiguan was arrested and imprisoned for hiding national treasures. The tripod was finally transported to the county government and was quietly taken away by antique dealers.
Zhang Shihu, son of Zhang Yanchang, happened to see this tripod. Later, Mao Gong's tripod fell into the hands of antique dealer Su Yinian.
In the second year of Xianfeng (1852), Chen Jieqi, a Beijing epigrapher and collector, bought it from Su Yinian and rewarded Su Yinian with 1,000 taels. This tripod was hidden deep in a secret room and was rarely known to the public.
After Chen Jieqi died of illness, his descendants sold the tripod in 1902 and it was owned by Duan Fang, the governor of Liangjiang. On November 27, 1911, Duan Fang was sent to Sichuan to suppress the road protection movement and was killed by the revolutionary army.
During the Republic of China, Duan Fang's descendants surrendered Mao Gong's Dingdian to the Hua-Russian Daosheng Bank founded by the Russians in Tianjin due to family fortunes.
British journalist Simon Simpson offered the Duan family US$50,000 to buy it, but the Duan family thought the money was too little and refused to part with it. At that time, some patriots strongly called for the protection of national treasures.
Mao Gong's tripod was transferred to Ye Gongchuo, a great collector who was the director of transportation of the Beiyang government at that time and later the director of the Chinese Academy of Chinese Studies, and was deposited in a mainland bank.
When the Anti-Japanese War broke out in 1937, Ye Gongchuo fled to Hong Kong, but Mao Gongding failed to take him away and hid him in his apartment in Shanghai.
Because Ye Gongchuo bought Mao Gongding under a false name, the Japanese were unable to find out its whereabouts. Ye Gongchuo asked his nephew Ye Gongchao to dedicate the tripod to the country one day.
Mao Gong's tripod changed hands several times and was even almost taken away by the Japanese military. Fortunately, Ye Gongchao protected it to the death and swore not to admit that he knew the whereabouts of the tripod.
In order to save his nephew, Ye Gongchuo made a fake tripod and handed it over to the Japanese army. After Ye Gongchao was released, he secretly fled to Hong Kong with Mao Gongding in the summer of 1941.
Soon, Hong Kong was captured by the Japanese army. Ye Jia asked his German friends to return Mao Gongding to Shanghai. Later, due to financial difficulties, Mao Gong's tripod was pawned to the bank, and the wealthy businessman Chen Yongren paid for it to redeem it, so that Mao Gong's tripod would not have to wander abroad.
In 1965, the National Palace Museum in Taipei was officially completed. The rare treasure Mao Gong's tripod became one of the treasures of the National Palace Museum in Taipei and was placed in the most eye-catching position in the Shang and Zhou Bronze Exhibition Hall.
And it is said that this showcase is an exhibit that will never be replaced. Later it became one of the two major commemorative medals of the National Palace Museum in Taipei.
The Gongding is 54 centimeters high, 27.2 centimeters deep, 47 centimeters in diameter and 34.5 kilograms in weight. It is named after the maker Mao Gong.
The tripod has straight ears, a hemispheric belly, and animal hoof-shaped feet. It is short, solemn and powerful. The rim of the tripod is also decorated with heavy ring patterns in the shape of a belt.
The whole shape is rich and dignified, the decoration is simple, elegant and simple, and has a strong flavor of life. It is a representative work of the tripod in the late Western Zhou Dynasty from religion to secular life.
The Mao Gong Ding was an important vessel in the late Western Zhou Dynasty. There is an inscription on the inner wall of the tripod, with 32 lines and nearly 500 words. It is the longest inscription on existing bronzes.
It can be said to have the most inscriptions among the bronzes of the Western Zhou Dynasty. It has a complete narrative and detailed records, and is known as "worthy of a Shangshu". It is an important historical material for studying the political history of the late Western Zhou Dynasty.
And at that time, there was not only the Mao Gong Ding, but also countless other tripods that appeared, but they were all short-lived. Many precious cultural relics were shipped away from China by various foreign countries at that time.
However, only a small part of it has been preserved so far, not counting those that have not yet been discovered underground.
The "Western Zhou Taibao Ding" in front of Wang Yu is one of them that can be added to the list. This should be able to inject fresh blood into my Chinese historical research on the Western Zhou Dynasty.
Xiao Yu, is this tripod one of the nine tripods? While Wang Yu was deep in thought, He Feng and Xiao Laozi came behind Wang Yu and asked.
Grandpa, this is not one of the Nine Tripods, but I feel that the value of this tripod is not much worse than the Nine Tripods, and its historical research value is not much worse than the Nine Tripods.
This tripod is called "Western Zhou Dynasty Taibao tripod". It was also a very famous tripod in the Western Zhou Dynasty. Later, Wang Yu named this "Western Zhou Taibao tripod". The situation was roughly explained to the two of them.
“nice guy”
According to Wang Yu, this "Western Zhou Dynasty Taibao Ding". Needless to say, I am more and more curious about what else is in this "Zhao Tuo Tomb".
At this time, Mr. Li, who came in front of several people, also exclaimed when he heard Wang Yu's story, and Mr. Li couldn't help but exclaimed.
At this time, Mr. Li also recognized the tripod in front of him. He had to say that the "Tomb of Zhao Tuo" in front of him really brought surprises to everyone again and again.
Haha, I think so too. So many cultural relics were discovered in just one "Zhao Tuo Tomb", and there are also many precious cultural relics.
I feel that as long as this "Zhao Tuo Tomb" is completely excavated, there may be many unexpected gains, He Feng said happily at this time.
Yes, there are actually some very precious cultural relics in this tomb, but there is no way to excavate them now. We can only wait for this incident to be over.
Wang Yu also said at this time, several people also knew what Wang Yu said, but they didn't say anything. Waiting for Zhu Bing's investigation results on this incident.
