Chi Shui yi zhu was shocked, who knows the relic in the palm of the hand.
--Lin Chaosong
The Qing Dynasty poet Lin Chaosong wrote in the poem "Sending Gifts to The Second" that he was the best at knowing treasures in his life, but there were also things that cultural relics were missing in the palm of his hand, and it was even easier for ordinary people to "encounter treasures without knowing". Especially in the last century, there were often farmers who cultivated in the field, dug up treasures or cultural relics and did not know it, but sold them as waste.
In 1980, there was such a fisherman in Chongqing, who fished out a large iron pillar in the river, but did not know He Baobao, and actually sold him as a waste product to the waste station, selling for a "high price" of 65 yuan. Later, I learned that I had sold a big treasure by mistake, what was going on? What did he buy wrong, and how much was that treasure worth?
In the last century, from 1980 to 1990, it was very common to buy scrap, and there were special people who would ride tricycles through the streets, with a big horn in the car, and loop "collecting waste". And they mainly recycle old household appliances, ironware, and waste paper. Among these wastes, the most valuable is iron, and many of the waste collectors weigh iron by the pound.
Chen Mou, who was born in the mountains of Chongqing, is a fisherman who lives every day by relying on fish and shrimp in the Jialing River. On a trip to the river to fish, a net was cast, and when it was pulled up, it was found to be extremely heavy. He was overjoyed, thinking that this time the harvest was full. It wasn't until it was pulled up that I found that there were no fish in the net, only a large iron pillar.
This iron pillar is about seventy-five centimeters high, about twenty-five centimeters in diameter, and there are some incomprehensible patterns on it, like some font. Chen Mou didn't know what it was, but thinking of such heavy iron, it should be worth a lot of money to sell waste. So Chen laboriously took the big iron pillar to the waste station and prepared to sell him as waste.
The owner of the waste station looked at this big iron pillar that was not good-looking and muttered, which was at least a hundred pounds. Later, under the partnership of the two men, the iron pillar was lifted up, and it was learned that the large iron pillar had ninety-seven kilograms, about two hundred pounds. The boss directly gave 65 yuan to Chen, and this 65 yuan was also worth a lot at the time.
In 1980, the wage of an ordinary worker was about 30, and 65 yuan was equivalent to two months' salary of a worker. And this incident was also spread by people in the streets at that time, so that the local cultural relics administration bureau learned of the news. They came to the scrap station to see what kind of large iron pillar it was, which could weigh up to two hundred pounds.
After careful observation at the scene, the staff of the Cultural Relics Administration bureau found that this iron pillar was not simple, and it was full of bird seals, indicating its origin, and it was indeed a cultural relic. According to the "Records of History", in 135 BC, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty began to pass through the southwest, send envoys to Yelang, and set up counties in Shudi. Later, in the southwest area, the construction of road bridges began, and this iron pillar was the pier of the local bridge. So the Cultural Relics Bureau bought this cultural relic with 200 fast, and later left it in the Sichuan Provincial Museum for safekeeping.
The "History of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty" records: "The cast iron ware of the county officials' drums is mostly a large instrument and is not given to civilian use. "This iron pillar was cast by local county officials, made of thick materials, not for ordinary people, and has been used for more than 2,000 years." This cultural relic has a special significance for the history of Chinese bridges, and is also an important study of iron smelting technology and bridge technology in the Han Dynasty.
Chen Mou did not know that the big iron pillar he sold for 65 yuan had such a big head. According to experts, the value of this cultural relic is at least 300 million. I don't know how Chen and the owner of the waste shop will feel after learning this news. Chen Mou's behavior is the same as that of the Chu people in "Han Feizi" who bought and returned the pearls. From this incident, we can also understand a truth, usually it is helpful to know more historical knowledge, otherwise even if a valuable treasure is in front of your eyes, you will not be able to see it, and you will not be able to eat it afterwards.