As early as 2002, this cup was listed on the first list of 64 cultural relics prohibited from being exhibited abroad, and alongside them were the national treasures of the world' only products, such as Hou Da Fangding, Zeng Houyi Chimes, Sanxingdui Bronze Sacred Tree, Qin Shi Huang Copper Carriage horse, and MaWangdui tunic. Whether it is from the perspective of protection means or attention, it is impressive, and therefore in the hearts of many people, these cultural relics are national treasures among national treasures, unparalleled treasures in the world.
In the Hangzhou Museum, visitors can see a cup, and perhaps some tourists will say: "Similar to my cup", "Many restaurants are using it", "Well, I used such a cup yesterday" and so on.
Illuminated by the light, this transparent crystal glows pale pink. Look closely at this cup, it is not pure white, but a little light amber, there is no grain on the surface, the surface can be seen to be polished, there are some natural cracks on the cup, and some flocculent natural crystals can be seen at the bottom and middle. However, this humble-looking cup is a practical vessel made of high-quality natural crystals, and it is also from the Warring States period!
In 1990, the Warring States Tomb in Shitang Village, Banshan Town, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, was excavated. In the collection of Hangzhou Museum, Zhejiang. This cup is a national first-class cultural relic, and China's first batch of cultural relics are prohibited from going abroad (border) to exhibit cultural relics. Crystal products have been unearthed in the prehistoric period, that is, the age of the ape man. As the world's leading producer of crystals, China's history of crystal use dates back to the Peking Ape Man 600,000 years ago. Neolithic sites and tombs have also been accompanied by several excavations of crystal artifacts. However, being regarded as a national treasure level crystal cup is indeed relatively rare. The first thing we have to admit is that this cup is indeed very modern, or very common in modern times, if we do not explain in advance we may really think that it is an ordinary glass cup of tens of dollars. But it is indeed quite rare that the craftsmanship and shape of the Warring States period can be so. It is the treasure of the Hangzhou Museum, the capital museum, and it is one of the first 64 cultural relics banned from going abroad (abroad) for exhibition announced by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage in 2002. Simply put, it is a unique and rare top national treasure, unique and unique in the sea.
As for the specific age, according to the analysis of the style of the artifact culture, in addition to the local Yue culture, there are also many elements of the Chu state. It is speculated that the date may be after the Chu state destroyed the Yue state (306 BC). The wood in the tomb was dated carbon-14 and is also dated around 250 BC. However, for decades, there have been thousands of ancient tombs excavated by archaeology, and not every ancient tomb or even the tomb of high-ranking officials and dignitaries can have this unique treasure. When the staff dug to a depth of more than a meter, a touch of crystal color appeared in the dirt, and after more than half an hour of cleaning, they dug out the artifact and found it to be a confusing "glass". By chance, coincidence, and luck, a rare crystal cup was unearthed.
"Freshly unearthed Warring States Crystal Cup"
The cup is 15.4 cm high, 7.8 cm in diameter and 5.4 cm in base diameter. Open flat lips, the cup wall is obliquely straight in the shape of a Warring States crystal cup trumpet, the bottom is round, and the circle foot is skimmed, similar to the glass we use today. The whole body of the cup is plain and simple, transparent and unvarnished, the whole instrument is slightly amber, the surface is polished, and there are sponge-like natural crystals in the middle and bottom of the vessel. This cup that looks very crossed, at that time also attracted a lot of controversy, many people suspected that it was put in after the fact, or that many years of soil activities think that renovation and other yin and yang errors will appear, of course, through analysis, it was found that the Warring States Crystal Cup is made of a whole piece of high-quality natural crystal, which is rare in China, and it is a relatively large piece of early crystal products unearthed in China, and the general items unearthed before are pendants and other small pieces.
Who is the owner of the tomb of this great tomb
Some people believe that after Qin Shi Huang unified China, he was the highest chief executive stationed in Hangzhou. Du Zhengxian believes that the era of the tomb owner should be earlier than the Qin unification of China: "I guess the tomb owner should be the highest official sent by the Chu state to our Hangzhou area after the chu dynasty was destroyed. Legend has it that in the early and middle period of the Warring States, the King of Yue followed the example of the nations in conquering the Central Plains and attacking Qi from the north. At that time, the contradictions between Qi and Chu had become superficial, so the King of Qi sent emissaries to lobby the boundless west to conquer the Chu State, thinking that it was a disaster. Wujiang did indeed listen to the words of the envoys and raised an army to the west to cut Down Chu. Unexpectedly, the king of Chu Wei had already made preparations, led a large army to attack the Yue state, killed no borders, and won the land of Wu Yue, and at the same time, the Northern Road army defeated the Qi army in Xuzhou, laying the foundation for the position of the Chu state in the Yangtze River Valley at that time. After the territory was expanded, there must be a military and political commander stationed, and the king of Chu sent officials to the land of Wuyue to carry out administrative orders and garrison the people. The magistrate sent to Yuhang at that time may have been quite good at drinking, and he had a treasure in his wine vessel, a crystal cup. In the Zhou Dynasty, wine vessels were not only drinking utensils, but also important ceremonial vessels in many cases, and this crystal cup was naturally regarded as the heart meat by the magistrate, so that on the day he returned to the loess, he also had to take this treasure with him.
Du Zhengxian also put forward the basis for speculation: "First, the tomb passage of this tomb is facing the mountain, and I checked the information at that time, and there are more tombs of this type in the Chu Country. Second, facilities such as two-story platforms and drainage ditches in the tomb are rare in the Yue cultural area of the Warring States period, but they are obvious in Chu culture. In addition, the most important thing is that many artifacts excavated in this tomb are more obvious in the style of the Chu State. For example, the original porcelain excavated in the tomb is basically a ceremonial instrument, such as chimes, which is similar to the ceremonial instruments of the Chu State. However, unlike the Chu state ceremonial vessels, which are all bronze vessels, the ceremonial vessels unearthed in this tomb are all primitive porcelain. There are also lacquerware, many of which are cultural characteristics of the Chu state. Some technical means also confirm this view. Du Zhengxian said: "Through the analysis of charcoal, original porcelain C14, thermal exhaust and so on, the dating is basically the Warring States period. Pollen analysis of the soil in the crystal cup is basically more than 2500 years old. Du Zhengxian concluded: "Based on the analysis of these factors, I believe that the owner of the tomb should live in the period of the Warring States Chu Dynasty. ”
The shape of the crystal cup
The crystal cup is 15.4 cm high, 2 cm high, 7.8 cm in diameter and 5.4 cm in diameter at the bottom. Open mouth, flat lip, obliquely long straight wall, deep abdomen, rounded bottom, circle foot outer skimming. Indeed, its shape is very modern, except that the cup wall is slightly thicker, the shape is simple, and the style is no different from modern glassware.
"Modern, simple and generous, cracked cup"
This cup, which looks like a modern glass, is actually made of a whole piece of high-quality natural crystal carving, slightly amber, there are some natural cracks on the cup, and some flocculent natural crystals can be seen at the bottom and middle. As for the specific process, it is actually made by borrowing the processing method of jade. After entering the Warring States period, with the improvement of jade processing tools and technology levels, it became possible to grind and drill holes and polish curved surfaces such as crystals, which are both hard and brittle. The crystal cup is the craftsman of the Warring States period who used a whole piece of high-quality crystal to process it time-consuming and laborious, and it is not "crossed", let alone modern glass firing. This cup should not have been used to drink water at that time. Crystals were very valuable items at the time, and the crystal cup was supposed to be a symbol of wealth.
The Crystal Cup has three mysteries
When it comes to the study of crystal cups, Mr. Su Bingqi believes that there are three mysteries, one is the material, one is the core, and the other is the polishing technique.
This crystal cup is made from a whole piece of crystal, and how to core it is a problem. First of all, the crystal is very hard and difficult to process; secondly, the cup is a sloping wall, wide above and narrow below, which leads to more complex processing. Another problem is polishing. The polishing of the outer wall is relatively simple, but because of the wide and narrow characteristics of the crystal cup, the hand cannot reach in, and the inside part is difficult to polish. How the ancients polished the inner walls and bottoms so smoothly and smoothly is also a problem.