What is the origin of Simu Wuding?

The origin of bronze culture in China can be traced back to the Neolithic Age in primitive society, and its real development peak appeared in Shang Dynasty and Western Zhou Dynasty, especially the making of sacrificial containers represented by Ding in Shang Dynasty, which was the most famous. The bronze tripod, originally a pottery tripod in primitive society, was originally a daily food container, and later developed into an "artifact" for offering sacrifices to the heavenly emperor and ancestors, and was shrouded in a mysterious and majestic color. This Simuwu Dafang Ding is the most famous masterpiece of Shang Dynasty.

Ding is an ancient cooker in China. As early as 7000 years ago, the ceramic tripod appeared. The bronze tripod was the most important ritual vessel in Shang and Zhou Dynasties. In ancient times, Ding was the representative of aristocratic status. Ancient records contain the system of useful ding, namely, the emperor Jiuding, the vassal seven ding, the doctor five ding, the yuan scholar three ding or one ding. In addition, Ding is also a symbol of state power. "Zuo Zhuan" contains: "Jie lost his virtue and Ding moved to business; The Shang and Zhou dynasties were tyrannical, and Ding moved to Zhou. " The tripod is mostly a three-legged round tripod, but there are also four-legged Fang Ding, and the Simuwu tripod is a four-legged generous tripod.

Simu Wuding is a bronze Fang Ding used for royal sacrifice in the late Shang Dynasty (about 65438+ 1 1 century). It is named after the word "Simuwu" in the abdomen.

Simuwu Ding is majestic, tall and heavy, also known as Simuwu Dafang Ding. The tripod height is 133cm, the mouth length is 1 10cm, the mouth width is 79cm, the weight is 832.84kg, the abdomen is rectangular, the ears are straight (only one ear is left when found, and the other ear is supplemented according to the remaining ear), and there are four cylindrical tripod feet under it, which is the largest and largest one found in China at present. It is also the only largest ancient tripod in the world.

Si Muwu has a square stomach and empty legs. The tripod has a rectangular body, a thick mouth edge and a straight outline, showing an unshakable momentum.

The center of the tripod is blank and plain, and the sides are covered with animal face patterns and dragon patterns typical of Shang Dynasty. These animal face lines, also known as gluttonous lines, are mysterious animal images based on animals such as tigers, cows and sheep, which are created through comprehensive exaggerated artistic treatment.

Except for the rectangular plain surface with no ornamentation in the center of the tripod, there are ornamentation in other places. On the exquisite Yun Leiwen, the main decoration of each part has its own form. The tripod body is surrounded by square plain noodles with gluttony as the main decoration. At the junction on all sides, it is decorated by the door, with the bull's head on the side and the gluttony below. There are two opposite tigers carved on the side of the tripod ear. The huge mouth is open and opposite, and the mouth contains a head, and the ear is decorated with fish patterns. This decoration evolved into an auspicious pattern of "two dragons playing with pearls" in later generations. It is generally believed that this horrible artistic image of cannibalism shows the deterrence of nature and God, and exaggerates a sense of spiritual oppression to show the supreme authority of the ruling class. It is also speculated that the man is a virgin who presides over divination. He put his head into the mouth of Dragon and Tiger to show off his courage and magic and make people obey his orders. Because Zhen people at that time appeared with two beasts in their hands, you can often see such patterns in bronzes and Oracle Bone Inscriptions. The decorative patterns of the four tripod feet are also unique, with an animal face on each of the three strings.

Simu Wuding embodies the height of bronze smelting and casting industry in Shang Dynasty. Its modeling, ornamentation and craftsmanship have reached a very high level, and it is a masterpiece of bronze culture in the heyday of Shang Dynasty.

The tripod body and tripod feet of Simu tripod are integrally cast, and the tripod ears are cast after the tripod body is cast. To cast such a tall bronze ware, the required metal material should be above 1000 kg, and there should be a larger melting furnace. According to the determination, the content of copper in Smerdy is 84.77% and lead 1 1.64%, which is basically consistent with the ratio of copper and tin recorded in ancient literature. Simu Wuding fully demonstrated the production scale and technical level of bronze casting industry in Shang Dynasty.

The excavation of Simuwu Dafang Ding is legendary. 1March 939 19 Unearthed from Wupei Wenjia Cemetery in Wuguan Village, Anyang City, Henan Province. When Japanese militaristic forces launched the war of aggression against China, Anyang was occupied by the Japanese army.

1939 In the middle of March, Pally Wu's cousin was looking for treasure in his grave. When the probe reached more than ten meters underground, I felt something hard. When you pull out the probe, you can see there is copper rust on it. He quietly returned to the village to discuss with Pally Wu. Both of them are hesitant to dig or not. "Excavation may destroy ancestral graves; If you don't dig, if the Japanese who have occupied Anyang hear the wind, they may dig themselves. " On second thought, Pally Wu decided not to let the Japanese dig. That night, when I was digging nearly 13 meters underground, there was a cock crow. It's dawn In order to avoid being discovered by the Japanese, fill in the pit and wait until the evening to dig. After two nights of continuous excavation, a bronze tripod with one ear missing revealed the whole picture. Pally Wu directed everyone to build a shelf with three logs, hung a pulley as a pulley, and tried his best to pull the tripod out. This tripod is the national treasure Si Muwu Dafang tripod, which became famous in the world later.

One night a few days later, the largest antique dealer in China made a special trip from Beiping to Anyang. He wants to buy this tripod for $200,000. But because the tripod is too heavy and big, it is difficult to move. In order to facilitate transportation and not be discovered by the Japanese, Yin Qing Jr. made another request to cut the tripod into ten pieces. According to the small requirements, the villagers bought a saw blade and sawed it off. "Fortunately, the tripod is particularly strong, and the saw blades are broken and not cut into pieces. I saw only one ear, so I had to give it up. Later, I tried to hit it with a hammer and missed it. Ding finally escaped the fate of' catamaran'. "

Because we were inseparable, the tripod was buried underground to avoid being found by others. However, the Japanese army soon got the news and sent troops to surround the Wu family and forcibly dig. However, due to the wrong location, Dading escaped. Knowing that the Japanese wouldn't come back, Pally Wu immediately asked people to transfer the cauldron to the East Room and bury it under the sink. He also found an antique copper chamber pot wrapped in several layers of cloth and hid it under the bed. A few days later, the ghost hand came again. I mistook the bronze chamber pot for a treasure, and the bronze chamber pot saved the national treasure.

Pally Wu expected that the Japanese would not stop there, so he chose to leave his hometown and wander around. After Pally Wu left, the Japanese came several times. After they confirmed that Pally Wu had escaped, they thought that the treasure had also been robbed, so they didn't stop it. Pally Wu has been gone for ten years, and Ding has been buried in his home.

1June, 946, the Kuomintang Anyang government dug up Ding and placed him in the county government. At the end of the same year 10, in order to celebrate the 60th birthday of Chiang Kai-shek, Chairman of the National Government, the garrison sent it to Nanjing as a birthday present, and Chiang instructed it to be kept by the preparatory office of the Central Museum. /kloc-in the summer of 0/948, the tripod was first exhibited in Nanjing. Jiang personally visited it and took photos in front of it. After the liberation of Nanking, the Ding, originally destined for Taiwan Province Province, was intercepted by the PLA. After the establishment of People's Republic of China (PRC), the tripod was kept in Nanjing Museum, and 1959 was handed over to China History Museum, which became the treasure of the museum. Now in the National Museum of China. The emblem of the National Museum is the graphic and design of Simuwu Dafang Ding.

According to textual research, Simu Wuding is a heavy weapon of the royal family in Shang Dynasty, which was cast by Zu Geng or Zujia of Shang Dynasty as a sacrifice to his mother. From the analysis of Si Muwu's three-character inscription, the so-called priest is the sacrifice, mother is the mother, and ewe is the name and title. Experts found that several ewes were mentioned in Oracle Bone Inscriptions. So what kind of person is this mother? Which generation of Shang kings cast this cauldron?

Looking at Shang Ding again, Ding in each period has different shapes. As far as Fang Ding is concerned, the early Fang Ding had a deep abdomen, slender legs or a thin height; In the late Shang Ding period, the abdomen became shallow and the legs became thicker and shorter. According to the proportional relationship between tripod legs and tripod bellies, experts judged that Simu Wuding should be closer to the characteristics of the second phase of Yin Ruins. But the answer is still vague, and it is impossible to determine which Shang king it is.

Heavenly stems and earthly branches is the title of the business name. In this way, you will find people with the same title at different times. Oracle Bone Inscriptions mentioned that if the spouse is "E", * * * has four Shang kings. They are Dading, Wuding, Zujia and King Wuyi. Dading era is not within the twelve Shang kings of Yin Ruins; King Wu Yi belongs to the third stage of Yin Ruins, and the shape of Simu Wuding is not consistent with the artifacts of this period. Then all that's left is Wu Ding and Zujia Wang.

Comparing the alloy proportions of Simu Wuding unearthed from the tomb of Fuhao and Simu Wuding, it is found that the alloys of the two are very similar. Then, Simu Wuding is probably an artifact of the same generation as the "Fu Hao". History books and Oracle bone inscriptions all record that "Fu Hao" is the Queen of Wuding. Wuding also has a queen whose temple number is "E".

In this way, most of the research evidence and expert opinions tend to think that the "E" of Simuwu should be the queen of Wuding King, so the person who cast this tripod should be the son of E, the Shang King of two generations, Zu Geng or Zujia.