Introduction: In the 1980s, when the father and son of Xin Decong, a farmer in Xiangtan, Hunan Province, accidentally dug up a bronze pig zun from the Western Zhou Dynasty while building a new house and digging the foundation, Xin Decong wanted to sell the pig zun for money, but his son insisted that this was a cultural relic that should be handed over to the state. Later, Xin Decong followed his son's advice and handed over the pig to the state. He was right to do so, not only rewarded, but also honored.
Dig into the bronze pig figure
In 1981, the family of Xin Decong, a farmer in Xiangtan, Hunan Province, prepared to build a new house. At that time, Xin Decong's family was still very poor, and the cost of building such a big thing as building a house was very large, in line with the principle of being able to save the province, he did not invite people to do the work that he could do by himself, and it was both father and son who did it together.
On this day, The father and son of Xin Decong were digging in the base of their new house with shovels and pickaxes. Suddenly, Xin Decong's pickaxe head was shaved into a hard object, and a muffled "bang" sound was emitted from the pickaxe head, and Xin Decong's hand was shocked and numb. He thought that he had cut the stone, so he used a pickaxe to pick up the soil on it, but he did not expect that a rusty artifact was revealed on the ground.
"What is this?" With curiosity, the father and son carefully dug up the artifact, and it took a lot of effort for the father and son to dig the artifact out of the ground. When the overall shape of the utensils was revealed, the father and son found that it was a pig cast in bronze, and the pig was also carved with many fine patterns, and the whole pig looked exquisite and very cute.
Father and son dug the bronze pig out of the ground, and Xin Decong said: "This thing is very heavy, if you get the waste collection station, you can sell some money." However, Xin Decong's son was adamantly opposed to his father's proposal, and although his son had no culture, his intuition told him that the bronze pig might be a valuable cultural relic. He advised his father: "This thing may be a cultural relic, and if it is sold to the scrap collection station, it will be a big loss." ”
What exactly is to be done with this bronze pig? The father and son couldn't make up their minds for a while, so they found clear water to clean the bronze pig and put it in the corner of the yard.
Cultural relics dealers buy at high prices
Hearing that Xin Decong's father and son dug a bronze pig in the foundation, the villagers all ran to see the liveliness. Some people thought that this bronze pig was a valuable antique, and Xin Decong had made a fortune this time; some people thought that the bronze pig was dug out of the ground, it may be a funerary product, and if it is placed in the home, it will stick to obscurity, and persuade Xin Decong to quickly dispose of it. Anyway, everyone has a consensus when they see the bronze pig - this bronze pig must be an old object.
The cultural relics dealers in the county town heard that Xin Decong had dug up a bronze pig and rushed to Xin Decong's house. After the cultural relics dealer circled the bronze pig several times, he told Xin Decong: "I bought this bronze pig, give you 1,000 yuan, sell it or not?" ”
You know, in the 1980s, an ordinary worker's monthly salary was only fifty or sixty yuan, and 1,000 yuan was equivalent to a worker's salary for two years. Xin Decong's family built a new house when it was time to use money, and he happily agreed to the cultural relics dealer's request to buy it.
Xin Decong's son strongly dissuaded his father from selling the bronze pig when he discussed the price with the cultural relics dealer, and he told Xin Decong: "This bronze pig must be a precious cultural relic, otherwise the trafficker could not have paid such a high price, if it is a cultural relic, it should still be handed over to the state." But Xin Decong could not listen to his son's advice at all, he insisted on selling the bronze pig to the cultural relics dealer, and negotiated with the cultural relics dealer to let him find a car tomorrow to pull.
Hand in cultural relics to be awarded
Xin Decong's son saw that he could not dissuade his father, so he rode his bicycle to the county cultural relics bureau, dug up a bronze pig by his father, and reported to the cultural relics bureau that some cultural relics dealers wanted to buy this bronze pig.
The staff of the Cultural Relics Bureau immediately accompanied Xin Decong's son to Xin Decong's home, and after carefully identifying the bronze pig, the staff of the Cultural Relics Bureau told Xin Decong: "This bronze pig is a precious cultural relic, you must hand it over to the state, selling it is illegal and you are going to jail..."
Xin Decong is a simple farmer, the reason why he wants to sell bronze pigs to cultural relics dealers, on the one hand, is because he does not understand the law, thinking that what he digs in his own house base belongs to himself, how to dispose of it, he has the final say; on the other hand, his family is indeed short of money to build a new house.
However, after hearing the news that the staff of the Cultural Relics Bureau said that the sale of cultural relics was to go to jail, Xin Decong dismissed the idea of selling bronze pigs and agreed to hand over the bronze pigs to the state. Later, after experts identified the bronze pig as a bronze artifact from the Western Zhou Dynasty, the Cultural Relics Bureau awarded Xin Decong with an honorary certificate and rewarded him with 200 yuan in cash. Xin Decong handed in the cultural relics with one stone and two birds, not only received rewards, but also received honors.
Western Zhou Pig Zun
So, what kind of cultural relics is the bronze pig that Xin Decong dug up at his own house base?
Let's take a look at this bronze pig from the Western Zhou Dynasty: it is 22.4 cm high, 39 cm long, and the material is bronze. This bronze pig is strong, flat on all fours, hips slightly upturned, the corners of the mouth are raised, the ears are upright, there is a hard pig sideburn on the back ridge, the tail is rolled up, and there is a round product on the pig's back, with a lid on it, the lid has a circle catcher, and the lid has a delicate thunder pattern along the rim.
According to the identification of experts, this bronze pig is a pig of the Western Zhou Dynasty, a wine vessel and ceremonial vessel used by the ancients in the process of sacrifice and life, and an indispensable funerary product among the nobles and princes in the Western Zhou Dynasty. In view of this, the cultural relics department conducted a second excavation at the xindecong family base, but no tombs or other bronzes were found. Experts believe that this pig statue may be a cellared cultural relic, not a funerary object.
The excavation of the Pig Zun in the Shang Dynasty shows us the superb bronze making technology of the Western Zhou Dynasty, and this bronze provides a rare physical material for experts to study the ritual system of the Western Zhou Dynasty and the development history of bronze ware. At present, this Western Zhou Pig Zun is in the collection of the Hunan Provincial Museum and is one of the "treasures of the town hall" of the museum.