Legend

Qingzhou Museum has a pair of tall iron cranes from Hengwangfu in Ming Dynasty. Ming Xianzong's seventh son, Hengwang Zhu Youkun. In the twenty-third year of Chenghua (A.D. 1487), he was named King Heng. In the 12th year of Hongzhi (A.D. 1499), he went to Qingzhou to build the first permanent palace.

This pair of iron cranes was originally stored in Tieheguan, Shijiadian, Yunxiahe Township. It weighs about 3 tons and is 4.2 meters high. The crane is cast in sections, the legs and turtles are solid, and the crane body is hollow, which is a typical external mold internal mold casting process. Both iron cranes have inscriptions cast on their chests. According to the inscription, these two cranes were cast by the subordinates and concubines of Hengwang in the 12th year of Wanli (1584) and 15th year of Wanli (1587) respectively.

The crane has a long neck, high feet, a slightly open mouth, and its feet stand on the turtle's back. The tortoise landed on all fours and lay prone on the ground. The back of the turtle is decorated with gossip patterns, which means that the turtle and crane will live longer, healthier and longer. The crane as a whole looks lifelike, motionless and motionless, as if it were barking.

Its inscription is:

Songshi of Shijiadian in the south of Qingzhou is a guest of Wang Fu (son-in-law of imperial clan prince and county king). When and when will Wang Zhiyi's guests be tested?

It is said that the birth of this pair of iron cranes is related to Zhang Sanfeng, an ancient legend in China. So what special significance does this have for the casting of iron cranes? What is their relationship with Zhang Sanfeng?

The system of enfeoffment of Wang with the same surname established by Zhu Yuanzhang, the ancestor of Ming Dynasty. Respectively guarding the country's main border fortress. Hengwangfu, located in Qingzhou, Shandong, has a long history. The fourth generation of Hengwang Zhu was named, A.D. 1584. On his first day in office, King Zhu Heng Zai Feng asked his servant to put up a notice on the city wall. I ordered officials at all levels in Qingzhou, Shandong Province to carefully look for a man named Zhang Sanfeng. At the end of the announcement, he promised that anyone who found success would be rewarded with 22 thousand gold. Who's Zhang Sanfeng? Why did you go looking for him?

Zhang Sanfeng was a Taoist priest named Junbao in the Ming Dynasty. Because his clothes are dirty, he does things casually. The people also gave him a name, and he was sloppy. Legend has it that Zhang Sanfeng has a turtle-shaped crane back, big ears and round eyes. In other words, he has big ears and eyes, eyebrows, beard and hair, all of which stand like steel needles. The turtle-shaped crane's back shows that Zhang Sanfeng is suffering from severe Luoguo disease, which is quite different from the charming image of Zhang Sanfeng in modern film and television dramas. There are many ancient folklore about Zhang Sanfeng. For example, whether it is cold or hot, he travels around in light clothes. Among many legends, the most famous one is that he is proficient in immortal magic, and most emperors in the Ming Dynasty believed in Taoism very much. They are eager to have the legendary Daoism. Being able to live forever, Zhu Yuanzhang and his four sons called the world for many times to send people to look for the legendary fairy Zhang Sanfeng. As the son and grandson of the Dragon King, Zhu certainly dreams of becoming a fairy one day. So he began to look for the legendary Zhang Sanfeng.

There is also a story about the whereabouts of Zhang Sanfeng. One year, Qinzhou suffered a great disaster. There was no harvest in the fields, and people didn't have enough food. An old man in rags fell on the side of the road, next to a dying crane. A villager named Songshi passed by and saw the old man and the crane fainted. He couldn't bear it, so he cooked the last handful of millet left at home into porridge for the old man and the crane to drink. The old man and the crane, who were full of porridge, woke up. I saw him recover in the blink of an eye. Look dignified, there is a bun in the middle of the head. At this time, the energetic old man spoke. He told Songshi that I was a notorious sloppy Zhang Sanfeng. Thanks for saving my life. Say your wish and I will try my best to help you realize it. Songshi only heard the name of the fairy Zhang Sanfeng from villagers. He turned and ran away when he saw a real person standing in front of him. Where can I hear the latter words? The villagers later asked Songshi where Zhang Sanfeng finally went. Songshi can't say clearly anymore.

I met Zhang Sanfeng, a fairy, in Qinzhou. And saved Zhang Sanfeng's life. It soon spread to the capital, and Zhu was more convinced that Zhang Sanfeng, who traveled around, would reappear in Gyeongju in order to thank the kindness of a bowl of porridge, so he ordered people to build a Taoist temple to commemorate it as a sign of piety. Zhu also specially ordered craftsmen to cast a giant crane unparalleled in the world, which was enshrined in the Taoist temple. Why do you want to be an iron crane to attract Zhang Sanfeng? Directly according to the legend. Isn't it more direct to cast a statue of Zhang Sanfeng in his image? This is because there is a folklore. Zhang Sanfeng's mother had a dream on the night of delivery. In my dream, a crane flew from the East China Sea. Left it on the roof of his house. I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my stomach after waking up. Zhang Sanfeng was born in one meal. Just then, there was the chirping of cranes outside the window. There is indeed a crane parked on the roof. Since then, the news that Zhang Sanfeng was a child sent by a crane has been passed down from neighborhood to neighborhood.

Besides, when Songshi, a villager, saw Zhang Sanfeng, the crane was always with him. Therefore, in order to attract Zhang Sanfeng, Zhu taught him the art of immortality one day. And decided to throw the iron crane Zhu in the Taoist temple for longevity. This move is also unconventional and meticulous. But in the Ming dynasty, it was necessary to complete such a huge iron crane. It is quite difficult for him to stand in the same place in order to cast a giant iron crane. Zhu found five uncles of Qingzhou's famous goldsmith. The family received a death order. If there is a slight mistake in the casting process and it is not completed as scheduled, everyone will feel guilty and be severely punished.

This worried Wang Shangzhi, who had never cast such a huge iron product. The casting method using bronzes has never been successful. The traditional manufacturing process is to build a mold and use clay as a model. That is, the mold, and then ... the mold is filled with molten iron for casting. After cooling, the mold broke, leaving solid iron. But the iron crane is too big. The temperature is difficult to control, and the crane can never be fully formed. So the previous casting ended in failure. The news reached the ears of Heng Wang. Zhu was furious and sternly reprimanded: the iron crane must be completed within the time limit. Otherwise, all craftsmen have to bear the responsibility and their heads are in danger.

Wang Shangzhi came home trembling, sleepless all night, thinking hard, but couldn't figure out a solution. Is cast iron crane really an impossible task? Just before dawn, Wang Shangzhi suddenly saw some bold mice sneaking into the room and climbing up his lampstand along the legs of the table. I want to steal lamp oil to eat, but the pillar of the lampstand is too small. If all the mice get on the lampstand, the lampstand will definitely fall down. Smart mice use pyramid schemes. One holds up the other and lets the mouse on it eat lamp oil with its tail. Seeing this, Wang Shangzhi slapped his thigh. Say hello.

It turned out that he was inspired by these mice who ate lamp oil. The problem was solved by the method of sectional casting. Then the five sections are glued together with hot molten iron, and finally a complete iron crane is made. The iron crane was finally cast successfully.

But at that time, Zhu only asked craftsmen to make one, but what we see today is a pair. Is the second iron crane also cast by Wang Heng? Check the historical data, this pair of flying iron cranes. Cast in Wanli 12 and Wanli 15 respectively. There is a difference of three years. What happened in these three years?

Maybe it's a trick of fate Before the Iron Crane could find Zhang Sanfeng, King Zhu could teach him the magic of immortality. The year after the Iron Crane was written, he fell ill and died. Died in the west. Water under the bridge. This ridiculous quest for immortality should have ended long ago. Who knows those empresses who believe in the art of immortality are not reconciled. Three years after the death of King Heng. That is, in a.d. 1587, Wang Shangzhi was ordered again. Made an identical iron crane. In order to continue to seek Zhang Sanfeng for longevity. In this way, the cranes became a pair. What's more strange is that this time, the concubines cast one on each side of their feet. There is a gossip box in the back. In the ancient mythology of China, the son of a dragon is a spiny spiny spiny spiny spiny spiny spiny spiny, and its appearance is similar to that of a tortoise. Carving and casting are mostly used to carry stone tablets, but here he is holding a crane. I mainly want to say congratulations on the longevity of tortoise and turtle. Therefore, the thorn fern and crane, two mascots representing longevity in people's hearts, are combined. Pray for the longevity and health of turtles and cranes.

Take a closer look at this pair of slender graceful ones. They crawl at the foot of the crane, which is the head that carries and shuttles through the deep sea. It seems that I want to see the outside world, but I am afraid of being bitten by a crane standing on my back. The expression is interesting and extremely vivid. Looking at the iron crane standing on the body, head held high and neck bent. Looking forward to it, there is a faint expression of spreading your wings. This is an iron crane sculpture of a pair of turtles. It embodies the superb and outstanding iron column skills of the working people in ancient China. And rich aesthetic imagination. It is a rare national treasure of iron column art.

Today, the pair of iron cranes still stand tall in Qingzhou, Shandong Province. After more than 400 years of wind and rain, it is still well preserved. Maybe only they can truly live forever.

In the thirty-third year of Guangxu, Zhang and France revised Yidu County Records (Volume 13);