In 1968, a 13-year-old teenager accidentally picked up a jade seal and handed it to the museum free of charge without asking for any reward. Why, 45 years later, experts come back to the door?
The person who accidentally picked up the jade seal was named Kong Zhongliang, whose hometown was in Hanjiawan, Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province. The family is a very simple farmer.
When he was 13 years old, on his way home from school, he was passing by the canal when he accidentally saw a stone glowing with white light. Kong Zhongliang, out of curiosity, walked to the side of the canal and looked.
At that time, he didn't know what this thing was, but he thought that this thing was very unusual, and the more he looked at it, the more he felt liked it, so he put it in his bag and took it home to show his father.
Kong Zhongliang's father's name is Kong Xiangfa, although he is also an ordinary person, but he has a certain experience and vision, after seeing the white stone picked up by his son, he recognized it at a glance, he knew that this was a seal, and he also knew that it might be a cultural relic, and hurriedly told his son that we must protect it well and have time to hand it over to the state.
On the second day, Kong Zhongliang, under the leadership of his father, went to the Shaanxi Provincial Museum, and the experts were particularly surprised when they heard the news, and rushed to check it out.
The seal that Kong Zhongliang accidentally picked up was the finest Xinjiang Hetian mutton fat jade, which was carved with a lifelike tiger.
At the bottom of this seal, there are 4 seal characters engraved, and if you write it in simplified characters, it is "Queen's Seal". That is to say, this thing is not a jade seal dedicated to the emperor, but a seal used by the empress.
The four seal characters on the seal are neat and atmospheric, and at first glance, they are exquisite masterpieces. Among the many cultural relics of the seal category, it is relatively rare to be comparable to it in font, and it can even be described by the word rare.
The above tiger, looking at the craftsmanship and shape, should be from the hand of a famous artist in the Han Dynasty. Based on these clues, experts conducted a more in-depth investigation of the seal. Finally, a more detailed record was found in the "Han Guan's Old Yi": "Empress Yuxi, Wen and Emperor Tong." Queen's Seal, Golden Tiger Button. ”
After repeated research, experts finally determined that the seal that Kong Zhongliang picked up should be the empress seal that Liu Bang's wife Lü Yan once used.
According to historical records, this jade seal was buried in Lü Hou's mausoleum before and has been buried in the ground for thousands of years. As for why it will see the light of day again, it is not known.
Fortunately, this seal did not fall into the hands of the bad guys, but was accidentally picked up by Kong Zhongliang, who was a schoolboy.
When the father and son handed over the seal, the experts of the Shaanxi Museum were particularly excited, and the top leaders of the museum even said that they must provide some bonuses to Kong Zhongliang and his father.
However, Kong Zhongliang's father chose to refuse, saying that this is our country's national treasure, and it will have greater value by handing it over to the state, and the protection of cultural relics is the responsibility of each of our citizens.
Although the young Kong Zhongliang did not quite understand the meaning of his father's words, he knew that what his father did was right and was very supportive of his father's decision.
The leaders of the museum, knowing that Kong Zhongliang's father and son were unwilling to accept the reward, were particularly moved, and took out 20 yuan out of their own pockets to let the father and son go home as a travel expense.
This money in the relatively difficult 60s, in fact, is also a lot of wealth, when the two got this money, did not continue to shirk, but safely returned to their hometown.
After that, the family lived a peaceful life for decades. During this period, Kong Zhongliang had never seen the Empress Seal that he had once picked up.
Because of the age, Kong Zhongliang had even forgotten about it. I did not think that more than 40 years later, the experts of the Shaanxi Museum came to the door again.
Because of the arrival of experts, Kong Zhongliang's life has set off a wave. When he first met the expert, Kong Zhongliang did not know what had happened specifically, and after inquiring about it, he found that the original expert was looking for himself, or for the seal of that year.
According to experts, the Empress Seal that Kong Zhongliang picked up in that year was the highest-ranking and only Empress Jade Seal in the Two Han Dynasties, with extremely high historical research value and collection value, and had long been rated as a national cultural relic by experts from relevant departments.
For so many years, the Shaanxi Museum has always regarded this Empress Seal as a treasure of the town hall, and tourists often come from thousands of miles to visit. With this seal, the museum's fame has been significantly improved, and it has also created extremely high economic benefits.
The museum believes that Kong Zhongliang and his father donated such a precious treasure that year, but they did not get any material rewards, nor did they get the corresponding bonuses, which was a bit wronged by them, so they specially sent someone to contact Kong Zhongliang, hoping that he would participate in the public activities held by the Shaanxi Cultural Protection and Development Association.
When participating in this activity, Kong Zhongliang was interviewed by media reporters as a meritorious hero, and was also solemnly commended by the Shaanxi Museum.
This experience had a certain impact on Kong Zhongliang's daily life. He was particularly excited when he was interviewed, and even sighed and said that he really did not expect that there were still people who remembered me.
During this period, someone once asked Kong Zhongliang if he regretted handing over cultural relics free of charge before. If he had asked the museum for remuneration when he handed over the cultural relics, the money he could get would definitely be much more than the 20 yuan road fee. The fate of their family may even change as a result.
In the face of the inquiries and questions of the people around him, Kong Zhongliang replied without hesitation, saying that my life was indeed not particularly good, but I never regretted it. Donating seals for free before was something I should have done. In the future, if there is an opportunity, I will continue to protect cultural relics as always, and hope to contribute to the country's cultural relics work.
In an era of increasing competition, we do pay too much attention to interests because of the influence of the general environment. Some people even believe that things that are not beneficial cannot be done resolutely.
We do not deny that the current social environment has changed significantly from before. However, it must also be admitted that in the history of China, there are indeed many simple and kind people who can adhere to principles and will not violate the morality they have adhered to for many years for the sake of immediate interests.
These simple and kind people are like cornerstones to the country, and they make the whole country more and more prosperous. Their lives may not be particularly rich, but their spiritual world is certainly particularly rich.
Without these kind and simple people as the cornerstone, the future of the country is prone to problems. Therefore, we should fully respect these selfless dedication and recognize their historical contributions.