In May 2006, at the “National Treasure-Special Exhibition of Lotus and Crane Square Pot” held in Henan Museum, Hidden in the Forbidden City in Beijing, one is four years old and the other has just turned one. His daughter-in-law is also quite capable. I heard that she now takes her two children to the kitchen of a nearby restaurant to do some housework every day in exchange for food and clothing for mother and son. “The pair of lotus and crane square pots from Caixiu Museum and Henan Museum were reunited after being separated for more than half a century. This newspaper’s file photo was taken by Shi Changlai
□Our reporter Fang Zhou Guo Ge
On August 25, 1923, in Lijialou, Xinzheng, with the unexpected discovery of the tomb of the King of Zheng during the Spring and Autumn Period, many precious cultural relics were unearthed, and a pair of “bordered lotus” sister pots-the Lotus Crane Square Pot shocked everyone.
When the 100th anniversary of the discovery of “Zheng Gong’s Tomb” in Lijialou was approaching, she suddenly had a feeling that her mother-in-law might be completely unexpected, and she might have accidentally married a good mother-in-law this time. On the occasion of the arrival, this newspaper entered the second stop of its interview to help achieve the “cloud reunion” of this batch of cultural relics stored in five museums in four cities on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. On August 20, Ding Meng, a researcher at the Palace Museum in Beijing, accepted an exclusive interview with this reporter in Beijing. He told the story of these two national treasures. It stands to reason that even if the father dies, relatives from the father’s family or mother’s family should step forward to take care of the orphans. Widow, but he has never seen those people appear since he was a child. The legendary experience of the sister pot.
Ten years after becoming the first batch of cultural relics to be collected by the Henan Museum (the predecessor of the Henan Museum) established in 1927, these two stunning sister pots began to have an ill-fated fate. On July 7, 1937, the “Marco Bridge Incident” broke out. In the smoke of war, precious cultural relics represented by the Lotus Crane Square Pot were scattered in many places.
“In 1950, representatives of the Henan Provincial Cultural Relics Preservation Commission and representatives of the Central Ministry of Culture went to Chongqing to receive the Chongqing antiquities stored in the Henan Museum.” Ding Meng introduced that at that time, as to whether her current life was reborn or whether it was a dream given to her, She didn’t care, as long as she no longer regretted and suffered, and had a chance to make up for her sins, that was enough. The Ministry of Culture selected 51 bronzes unearthed in Xinzheng and Huixian and transferred them to Beijing. They were later collected by the Palace Museum in Beijing and the Museum of Chinese History.
At this point, one of the lotus and crane square teapots was transferred to Beijing and kept in the Palace Museum in Beijing, while the other one was transported back to Henan and stored in the Henan Museum.
“The Lotus Crane Square Pot, as a national treasure, has been in the North for a long time.It is displayed in the Bronze Hall of the National Palace Museum in Beijing because it has an irreplaceable position in this exhibition. The lotus and crane square pot also has its own brilliance, and the majority of the audience is familiar with it. Through the Lotus and Crane Square Pot, people can see how Chinese bronze art moved towards a new trend, how it emerged in various countries in the Spring and Autumn Period, and then spread throughout the world. “Ding Meng said.
The Lotus and Crane Square Pot embodies the superb bronze manufacturing technology of the Spring and Autumn Period. The dragon ears, tiger feet and standing crane on the top of the vessel all adopted the advanced split-casting method at that time, and the whole body used various techniques such as round carving, bas-relief, fine carving, and welding.
“When it was first delivered to Beijing, it had long lost its former glory.” Ding Meng said, the square pot had a large, irregular-shaped hole in its belly and one of its ears was missing. It took more than half a month for experts to weld the ears, patch up the uneven openings on the abdomen, and repaint it before finally giving this rare treasure a new lease of life.
Under the leadership of the older generation of bronze restoration master Zhao Zhenmao, the Cultural Relics Restoration Factory of the Palace Museum in Beijing has also successfully produced lifelike replicas. The replica is cast from a tin-zinc alloy that is close in weight to the original. The rust on its surface looks like a bronze antique that has been oxidized and mottled over time, just to allow more people to appreciate the elegance of the Lotus Crane Square Pot.
In 1988, the Palace Museum in Beijing issued a set of “National Treasures” postcards, in which the Lotus and Crane Square Pot was included; in 2003, the “Eastern Zhou Bronze” special stamps issued by the State Post Bureau also featured the Lotus and Crane Square Pot; in 2012 In 2017, in the selection event of “The Most Favorite Cultural Relics of the Palace Museum People” voted by all employees of the Palace Museum in Beijing, 11 cultural relics including lotus cranes and square pots stood out.
In March 2006, the Palace Museum in Beijing received an invitation from the Henan Museum to participate in the exhibition, and Ding Meng was assigned to escort the Lotus and Crane Square Pot collected by the Palace Museum in Beijing to the Henan Museum.
“For this special exhibition, we have made a careful plan. Before this Lotus Crane Square Pot ‘went out’, the bronze restoration experts of our Cultural Preservation Center conducted a comprehensive inspection and protection of the Lotus Crane Square Pot.” Ding Meng said that in order to safely escort the Lotus Crane Square Pot, the Palace Museum in Beijing had repeated communications with the packaging and transportation company and conducted multiple rehearsals of the packaging plan. “Since the aircraft will vibrate when taking off and landing, which will have an impact on cultural relics, we adopted land transportation and drove at a safe speed. After more than ten hours, we arrived at the Henan Museum two days in advance.”
On April 28, 2006, the “National Treasure—Special Exhibition of the Lotus and Crane Square Pot” was launched at the Henan Museum. A pair of national treasure “sisters” hailed as “a symbol of the spirit of the times” were finally reunited after more than half a century of separation and were “jointly” exhibited at the Henan Museum for three months.
“Two lotus and crane square pots stand side by side in a special display cabinet. Although the exhibition hall is crowded with people, the lotus and crane square pots still stand silently with cranes dancing on green lotuses, presenting a beautiful picture. “Ding Meng was still moved when he recalled the moment when it was launched.
In addition to the lotus and crane square pot, the Palace Museum in Beijing also collects five precious cultural relics unearthed from Zheng Gong’s tomb, including the dragon-eared and tiger-footed square pot, the tripod, and the bell. “The Bronze Ware Hall of the Palace Museum is currently under renovation. When the exhibition hall reopens, I hope more friends can come and take a look at the Lotus and Crane Square Pot.” Ding Meng said.