Chinese civilization has a history of 5,000 years, and in the long river of ancient civilization, many exquisite artistic creations have emerged, including various bronzes, porcelain, calligraphy and painting, handicrafts and so on.
In the centuries-long war before the founding of New China, many treasures belonging to China were exiled abroad, some were auctioned and redeemed at huge expenses, and some were still missing.
Bronze vessels were most prevalent during the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, which also reflects the superb skills of casting bronze in China as early as more than 3,000 years ago.
The King of Fang Qi
In today's Hunan Provincial Museum,
Storing a treasure known as the "King of Fang Wei", known as "Shang Dish Fang Wei"
。
This treasure, the body of the instrument has been in foreign countries for many years,
It was auctioned for $9.24 million
The lid was secretly hidden by a death row prisoner for many years.
This death row prisoner who had secretly hidden the "Shang Dish Fang Wei" was Zhou Pan, an important general of the Kuomintang army.
He served as a lieutenant general in the Fourteenth Corps of the National Revolutionary Army, and during the Kuomintang-Communist Civil War, he led the troops to "suppress the Communists" several times.
During the Liberation War in 1949, he organized Kuomintang troops to make enemies of the People's Liberation Army in the Yunnan region, and was eventually captured and sentenced to death.
1. Xiangjun career
In 1893, Zhou Pan was born in a small village in Shaoyang, Hunan.
Many senior leaders of the Communist Party of China were born in Hunan, because the hunan people were born with the spirit of "eating hard, enduring hard work, and dominating barbarism" in their blood, and the same is true of Zhou Pan, which doomed him not to be an ordinary person who could be satisfied with the life of a peasant.
In China at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the Eight-Power Alliance invaded China, the Boxer Rebellion failed, famine and peasant riots occurred one after another, so Zhou Pan was accustomed to the bloody scene of killing people and beheadings from an early age, which also laid the foundation for his later two-sided personality of not knowing how to pity innocent people and fight heroically with the Japanese army.
The flesh-and-blood teenager entered the Baoding Army Officer School with a passion for study.
Zhou Pan
This army school, founded in 1912 by Yuan Shikai, is the first regular army school in modern China.
Bai Chongxi, Ye Ting and others are all from the school
Zhou Pan entered the third cavalry battalion of the school in 1914 and joined the Xiang Army after graduating in 1916.
The term Xiangjun is the general name of the late Qing government for the local army in Hunan, and Zhou Pan's unit, also known as the Hunan Army, after graduation, he was assigned to the Sixth Regiment and a Company of the Second Division as an acting company commander, which was also the unit where Commander-in-Chief Peng Dehuai had stayed.
Students who graduated from the Army Officer School were assigned to become platoon leaders or probationary commanders as soon as they entered the army, which naturally aroused the hostility of veteran officers who were born in the military and were promoted by merit.
Therefore, many of the comrades-in-arms who were at the same time as Zhou Pan left the Xiang Army because they were excluded, and the company commander of Zhou Pan's company voluntarily resigned due to illness, and Zhou Pan smoothly took over the position of company commander.
From 1919 onwards, the main task of this unit was to expel the Beiyang warlord Zhang Jingyao.
Zhang Jingyao
At that time, among Zhou Pan's subordinates, a soldier named Peng Dehua, because of his bravery and good fighting, hard-working and hard-working, was deeply used by Zhou Pan, and promoted him all the way from a second-class soldier to a squad leader and platoon leader.
In 1921, Peng Dehua had become Zhou Pan's right and left arm, serving as acting company commander.
In Nan County, where he was stationed at the time, Peng Dehua was arrested for sending people to kill ou Shengqin, a famous local bully landlord, and successfully escaped during the escort period, Zhou Pan received the news and sent someone to give him twenty yuan to wrap up, and asked him to change his name to apply for the Hunan DaowuTang and return to the army after graduation.
Peng Dehua accepted Zhou Pan's suggestion, changed his name to Peng Dehuai, and returned to the Xiang Army after graduating from the Hunan Daowutang to serve as the commander of the First Regiment of the Independent Fifth Regiment, and the division commander of the Independent Fifth Regiment at that time was Zhou Pan.
Commander-in-Chief Peng Dehuai, in his later biography, often mentioned Zhou Pan's name about this period of time in the Xiang Army.
At this time, the boss and subordinates, in the future life path,
Because of different beliefs and choices, they parted ways, and since then one has become a founding marshal who has attracted everyone's attention, and the other has fallen into a damp and dark prison in Kunming, Yunnan Province.
2. Private collection of cultural relics
While Zhou Pan's troops were fighting against the warlord Zhang Jingyao, a farmer named Ai Qingyan in Qijiahe, Taoyuan County, Hunan Province, found a "black knot" while collecting manure on his hillside.
This "black bump" leaked out a round ass, and the dark lines were faintly shiny.
Ai Qingyan was an authentic poor peasant, and after digging up this boxy "black knot", he did not pay attention to it.
This "black knot" has a fat and deep body, as well as a matching square cover, because it is too heavy to be used in daily life, Ai Qingyan placed it as an ordinary old device in the courtyard.
This "black knot" was in the courtyard of Ai Qingyan and stayed quietly for five years.
It was not until a businessman passing by here accidentally saw this object and then informed his relatives and friends Shi Yuzhang, who ran an antique shop, that the story of the "black knot" was officially opened.
Shi Yuzhang, a shrewd businessman, came to Ai Qingyan's home and was deeply shocked by the "black knots" at the first sight.
With such a size, such a forging skill, and the momentum revealed in the tattoos all over his body, Shi Yuzhang immediately concluded that this thing would sell for a good price.
After seeing that the peasant uncle did not understand the value of this item, Shi Yuzhang asked him to buy this "black knot".
Although Ai Qingyan was loyal and honest, he also understood that no wronged boss was willing to make a loss-making business, so he let his son, with the lid of the "black knot", go to the local primary school to find the principal, and let the well-informed principal identify this thing.
After Shi Yuzhang heard the movement, he was afraid that this transaction would be adrift, after all, he still planned to make a lot of money on this thing!
So he took advantage of Ai Qingyan's lack of attention,
He threw four hundred silver dollars on the table and quickly left with the remaining "black knots" in his arms
Zhong Fengyu, the principal of Qijiahe Xinmin Primary School, is very knowledgeable and highly respected.
After seeing this "black knot", he also had difficulty making a decision for a while.
Ai Qingyan's son described to him the general appearance of the remaining utensils in the family, and after some consultation, Zhong Fengyu finally determined that this object was a bronze vessel of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, which was a precious cultural relic.
Ai Qingyan's son had not read for a few days, because he did not understand the value of this "black knot", and he did not hesitate for half a minute when Principal Zhong proposed that he was willing to buy this thing for 800 silver dollars.
After all, this money depends on the family to farm the land, and it will not be earned for three or five years, and he thinks that his father will agree to his own approach.
Zhong Fengyu can't wait to see the rest of the body, because according to the description, the height of the body can reach the knees of adults, which is nearly 50 centimeters or more in size, which makes Zhong Fengyu very excited.
After rushing to Ai Qingyan's home,
When he heard that the body had just been secretly taken away by an unknown person, he was immediately furious and indignant.
Zhong Fengyu found the local troops, hoping to find the other half of the cultural relics through the military forces, and the leader of the legion stationed in Qijiahe at that time was Zhou Pan.
But what Zhong Fengyu did not expect was that Shi Yuzhang, who took away the body of the instrument, also entrusted someone to find Zhou Pan and gave him 50,000 silver dollars, hoping that he could help find the cover of the instrument.
Zhou Pan saw that the two reacted so fiercely to this object,
So a "praying mantis catching cicadas, yellow finches behind" trick was staged.
He sent someone to report the matter to the division commander He Yaozu, and He Yaozu immediately sent someone to search principal Zhong's home to search for it, and then Zhou Pan sent his own cronies to inform Zhong Fengyu in advance.
Zhong Fengyu was afraid of being crowned with the crime of secretly hiding cultural relics, so he handed the lid to Zhou Pan, who gave him three thousand silver dollars as a fund for repairing the school building.
However, after getting the lid, Zhou Pan did not give it to Shi Yuzhang, let alone to the higher department, but took it for himself and hid it in his home.
Since then, the lid and body of this "black knot" have been separated from the two places, and it was not until 1949 that After Zhou Pan was imprisoned, he confessed that he hid treasures, and the existence of this "black knot" was known to the government.
And the body was not returned to Zhao until 2014, after the joint efforts of various departments.
3. Member National Party
In 1926, Zhou Pan's Xiang Army was incorporated by Chiang Kai-shek and changed to the Eighth Division of the National Revolutionary Army, and Zhou Pan joined the Kuomintang as deputy division commander and regimental commander of the First Regiment of the Eighth Division, leading the troops to participate in the Northern Expedition.
In the Northern Expedition, Zhou Pan's troops won many battles,
In 1927, he was promoted to commander of the 1st Division of the 35th Army.
As we all know, in 1927, the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party was officially broken, the Kuomintang wantonly hunted down communists, and the infamous Ma-Ri Incident that occurred in Changsha, Hunan Province, was led by Xu Kexiang, commander of the 33rd Regiment of the 35th Army, so the officers of the 35th Army at that time were very much in favor of Chiang Kai-shek's "Qing Communist" policy, and Zhou Pan was no exception.
In 1928, Zhou Pan became the commander of the Independent Fifth Division, peng Dehuai served under him, and Zhou Pan still trusted this former right-hand man as always.
However, at this time, Peng Dehuai, during his study at the Hunan Daowutang, had already come into contact with communism, had already become a communist, and secretly ambushed in the independent Fifth Division.
Peng Dehuai
Zhou Pan was a fish in the Kuomintang army, and in the face of Chiang Kai-shek's policies, he would only obey, seeing that many Communists were brutally killed.
Not only did he not have compassion, but he only used it as a stepping stone for his promotion.
In the face of the anti-communist sentiment of the Fifth Division, Peng Dehuai, who secretly planned the uprising, had to be cautious.
In early June, Zhou Pan received orders from his superiors to go to Pingjiang to "suppress the communists", Peng Dehuai led a regiment stationed in Pingjiang County, while another secret party member, Huang Gongluo, who was the vice principal of the military academy accompanying Zhou Pan's unit, followed the three regiments and stationed outside the city.
In early July, Zhou Pan went to Changsha for a meeting, just in time to encounter a Changsha Kuomintang agent who captured a traffic officer of the CPC's South China Special Committee.
After some searching, the Kuomintang agents only found a pass to buy a mimeograph machine, and before the agent could torture him, the captured CCP traffic officer had committed suicide by taking poison.
Coincidentally, Zhou Pan, because he often needed to check the management report of the military academy with the camp, suddenly recognized the font on this pass, which was the handwriting of Vice Principal Huang Gongluo.
Zhou Pan reacted immediately, knowing that the situation was not optimistic at this time.
He hurriedly asked his subordinates to send a secret telegram to the deputy division commander Li Huigen, ordering him to quickly arrest Huang Gongluo, but before the telegram could reach Li Huigen's hands, it was intercepted by Peng Dehuai.
Because the telegraphers under Zhou Pan at that time also had the eyeliner installed by the CCP in the Fifth Division.
Pingjiang Uprising
Then, before Zhou Pan arrived at Pingjiang,
Peng Dehuai, Huang Gongluo, and others had already led an uprising, and this rebel force was later the Red Fifth Army
And Zhou Pan was also demoted to a staff officer because of his ineffective management of the army.
Subsequently, in the War of Resistance Against Japan, Zhou Pan was transferred several times in the Kuomintang troops, but because of the Pingjiang Uprising, he was never held an important position again.
After the end of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Zhou Pan deeply felt that his military career might not be able to usher in a turnaround, and he did not want to spend any more time in the army, so he chose to retire independently and left the green camp in the army that had struggled for many years.
After hearing the news of the Communist Red Army one after another, especially about General Peng Dehuai, Zhou Pan was not only regretful, but also unwilling.
4. Sentenced to death
After the Liberation War broke out, Zhou Pan's mind came alive again.
As long as he can win back a round for the Kuomintang in the War of Liberation, he himself will be able to return to the peak again, and even get greater promotions.
However, Zhou Pan did overestimate his own abilities and was too optimistic about the situation the Kuomintang was in at that time.
In 1948, Song Xilian, commander of the Kuomintang 14th Army, who was also the deputy commander-in-chief of the Bandit Suppression in Central China, set up a corps command post in Changde, Western Hunan Province, appointed Zhou Pan as the director, and made him deputy commander of the 14th Corps, and incorporated bandit troops in the surrounding areas of Western Hunan Province.
Song Xilian
In November 1949, Zhou Pan, as director of the Kunming office of the Appeasement Office of the Xianggan-E Border Region, was captured by the People's Liberation Army advancing into the southwest and imprisoned in Kunming, Yunnan.
If he did not have this "second time out of the mountain", even if the political attributes were bad, he would not have to worry about his life.
However, it was because of the drive of power and because of the high self-esteem that they ended up in such a field.
After some investigation and trial, Zhou Pan's previous persecution of Communist Party members was rediscovered and he was eventually sentenced to death.
Zhou Pan's heart was like ashes when he heard the verdict of the trial, but he was not willing to end it like this, so the half of the "black knot" he had hidden in his home instantly appeared in his mind.
He asked the guards to meet with his superiors, claiming that he had a treasure to hand over to the state.
The reason why he felt that this treasure could save his life was because there was once an American who wanted to buy this item for 140,000 US dollars, and Zhou Pan asked for 500,000 yuan, and in the end, the two did not negotiate a deal.
Just one lid was offered for 140,000 US dollars,
Zhou Pan couldn't imagine how much it could be worth if he had the complete form of this thing.
After the superior leaders heard Zhou Pan's description, they immediately reported it to the Yunnan Provincial Cultural Relics Administration Bureau, and sent professionals to get the "black knot" cover under the leadership of Zhou Pan.
After the identification of the Cultural Relics Administration, this object is a Shang Dynasty bronze, according to the proportion of the lid, the full picture of this object is very likely to exceed 100 cm, and its craftsmanship is fine, in the bronze that has been excavated, very rare.
After Zhou Pan heard this news, he was overjoyed in his heart and thought that he could be regarded as a great achievement.
Perhaps it is precisely because such opportunistic, greedy, and fearful of death are proliferated in the Kuomintang troops that their fate of inevitable decay has been laid.
In 1952, Zhou Pan, who thought he would be pardoned, was executed in Kunming, and at the moment of the guillotine, he did not wake up, but regretted why he had to hand over cultural relics and cheapened the Communist Party in vain.
Fifth, the end of the Bibi to Zhao
After Zhou Pan handed over the lid of the instrument, the government department attached great importance to the search for the body of the instrument, and immediately sent someone to the home of Ai Qingyan of qijiahe to carefully inquire about the incident.
After finding Shi Yuzhang, who took the body of the instrument on his own initiative at that time,
Only to learn that this mercenary businessman sold to two Shanghai ancient players at a high price of 1 million oceans
The two knew it was no small feat because they were experts, and ten days later they shipped it abroad and sold it to oil tycoon Rockefeller for $800,000.
When Rockefeller heard that there was a lid on the object, he sent people to search around, found out about Zhou Pan's whereabouts, and offered him $140,000.
This person is the American who traded with Zhou Pan mentioned above, but failed to close the deal.
Because it was incomplete, Rockefeller transferred it to someone else, and the body circulated among collectors and was auctioned publicly at Christie's in New York in 2001.
This is also the first time that the whole picture of this rare treasure has been seen by the public.
Its body is covered with many exquisite patterns such as animal face patterns and hummingbird patterns, which are imposing and magnificent.
When the Shanghai Museum learned of the incident, it raised a huge amount of money to go to the United States, but was eventually auctioned by a French collector for $9.246 million, four times higher than the Chinese side, which is the highest record for Chinese bronze in the world auction market and is known as the "King of Bronze".
In 2014, Christie's auction house again auctioned the item publicly.
After the Hunan Museum learned the news, it officially sent a letter to the president of Christie's Auction House in Asia, and convened representatives from China's business, politics, cultural relics and other fields to form a team to negotiate the auction with Christie's.
With the Hunan delegation to New York, there was also a 3D printed lid model, and when Christie's saw the lid that fit perfectly with the body, it also understood the ultimate destination of this treasure.
In the end, the two parties agreed to sell at about half of the auction price.
The body of the instrument will be handed over to the Chinese representative, so that the body and the lid of the instrument will be merged into one, and it will be collected by the Hunan Provincial Museum and will not be auctioned forever
Zhou Pan was the epitome of many Kuomintang generals, and he could do whatever it took to gain his own interests.
Some heroic fighters also emerged in the Kuomintang army during the War of Resistance Against Japan, but these rays of humanity were blinded by power after the end of the War of Resistance, and the Kuomintang was eventually abandoned by the people.
The protection of cultural relics has always been an area of great importance to the state, and it is impossible to use the precious cultural relics hidden in private to offset the mistakes of the past.
This trick of "killing with things" also wiped out Zhou Pan's last dignity as a soldier.