In 1959, an airport was being built on the western outskirts of Tunxi City, Anhui Province. When the land was leveled, two similar mounds were excavated, revealing traces of cultural relics. The project party immediately informed the local cultural relics department of this news, and archaeologists determined that it was a tomb of the late Western Zhou Dynasty after on-site research.
After rescue excavations, the two tombs were cleaned up, and 102 cultural relics, including bronze, ceramics, jade and so on, finally saw the light of day. It should be known that the bronze ware of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties is very precious and has always been the heavy weapon of the country. A total of more than 20 bronzes, which are relatively rich in discovery, make experts very happy. However, one of them has puzzled archaeologists.
This is because its appearance has never been seen before. It is divided into two parts, the lower part is an empty square seat, 21.5 cm long and 20 cm wide, the four corners take a circular arc transition, except for the bottom and top of the four walls slightly bulging. The four walls and top are decorated with double-hooked cloud patterns, which are still smooth and rustless after thousands of years.
The most puzzling thing is the upper part, where five juxtaposed columns stand side by side, cast together on a short column base in the shape of a roof ridge. These five bronze cylinders, the height is generally the same, about 16.5 centimeters, the thickness is basically the same, even the spacing is not much different. This was the result that the experts at the scene at that time looked at each other, even if they went south and north to see a lot of knowledge, but they never saw such a strange thing.
Because it is rare in the world, the shape is very exquisite, and the preservation is also very good, it is named "Western Zhou Cloud Pattern Five-Pillar Instrument" and listed as a national first-class cultural relic. The name is based entirely on its shape, which, while accurate, is unsatisfactory. Although sixty-one years later, people have not yet determined its use, but there is some speculation.
The first guess is to assume that it is an instrument. In general, artifacts like these are carefully protected from any collision. But in order to uncover the functional use of this cultural relic, the cultural relics department invited music experts to carefully try to test the sound. However, the result was a great disappointment, and the sound of the knocking was very messy, and there was no musical beauty at all. Moreover, after the study of experts, the five bronze columns themselves do not have any pronunciation effect. So, the speculation as an instrument has basically been ruled out.
At present, it is most recognized as a knotted rope seat. In the era when there was no written record, the ancestors of the mainland were knotted ropes. If there is a major event in the group, it is hung on the utensils with knotted ropes. Of course, there were already writings in the Western Zhou Dynasty, but most of the people, including the nobles, were illiterate, and it was entirely possible to continue this way. In addition, after the advent of writing, the knotted rope vessel gradually evolved into a ritual instrument. Therefore, it is possible that this artifact will be passed down in this way.
At the time, the artifact was so confusing that its use is still unclear to this day. However, in the age of technology, people were surprised to find that it had a very similar relationship with wireless routers. The previous wireless router only had one or two antennas, but gradually increased to five, which is more similar to this artifact. No wonder some netizens joked that the Western Zhou Cloud Pattern Five Pillars are crossed things.