Now Changsha City Chengnan Middle Road Maple Shore Lane, Hunan Provincial Remote Sensing Center that area, before the liberation of the local people called the bullet depot, it is because of this place, in the Sino-Japanese Changsha Battle period is a Kuomintang army arsenal, there have been many fierce battles, around can often pick up bullets and shells, so the local residents habitually call this place "bullet depot", this name to the liberation after the arsenal was dismantled is no longer used, so the "bullet depot" as a temporary place name used for a very short time, Now the locals in Changsha don't know the name.
But the name "bullet library" will still be mentioned from time to time, it is more famous in the archaeological community, only because it is related to a rare cultural relics lost overseas, this national treasure cultural relics are called "bullet library Chu Shu Book", its discovery, loss process, has become the eternal headache of the Chinese people, think about it makes people angry, strangle the wrist and lament.
One day in September 1942, Changsha, which had experienced two Japanese attacks and raids, was in a depression and chaos. Changsha's famous "Tufuzi" (tomb robber) Ren Quansheng, with the same luggage Guangyuan, Su Chunxing, Hu Dexing three people, came to the southeast suburbs of Changsha bullet depot, here is an ancient tomb they had previously explored, they first used a fifteen-meter-long probe, chiseled through the 8-meter-deep sealing soil and wooden coffin layer, at that moment, the pungent swamp smell gas spewed out, Ren Quansheng lit it with fire, and the flame was as high as several feet.
Ke Qiang at the scene of the tomb robbery
With the phenomenon of "fire caves", it shows that the ancient tomb is well sealed and graded, and there must be treasures inside, and several people have dug down the robbery holes with their hands and feet, and pulled out many objects from the tomb, including bronze swords, pottery, wooden lacquerware, and a strange-looking "handkerchief" contained in a bamboo basket, with some vague words on it.
Although Ren Quansheng is a master of tomb robbery, he has no understanding of the value of cultural relics, and in his eyes, only copper, pottery, and wood are worth a little. They sold these valuable antiquities to the "Tang Maosheng" antique shop on The East Railway Station Road outside LiuyangMen in Changsha City, and when the transaction was about to be negotiated, Ren Quansheng said to the boss Tang Jianquan: "There is also a handkerchief, if it is a head, I don't want money to give it to you." ”
But Ren Quansheng never expected that the silk veil that he called the "handkerchief" was actually one of the rarest national treasures in the world, the "Chu Tomb Book"! It not only has unparalleled cultural relics value, but also has extremely precious historical, cultural and artistic value.
Tang Jianquan, the owner of the antique shop, was originally a door-to-door tailor, known as "Tang Tailor". In 1927, he opened the "Tang Maosheng" tailor shop, which also engaged in antiques; in 1931, he specialized in the antique business, and he also knew a lot of antiquities.
Tang Jianquan, who was a little clever, felt that the silk in his hand was certainly not very valuable in the antique market, but these tatters would have a certain value to archaeologists and could sell for a price, so he contacted Shang Chengzuo, a paleographer and professor in Chongqing.
Shang Chengzuo could not open his body for a moment, so he entrusted his friend Shen Juncang in Changsha to understand the situation.
Shen Yuncang came to the "Tang Maosheng" antique shop, tang tailor took out a silk veil, it was wrapped in a layer of newspaper layer by layer of white paper, there are not many large pieces, many small pieces, judging from the folding of the newspaper, it is estimated that there are many people who have seen this "broken goods", and perhaps every time you open the newspaper to read it, the book has been damaged once.
Shen Yuncang wrote to Shang Chengzuo about what he saw, and said that the silk was broken into such a way that it would be impossible to restore it to its original form in the future, and it should be carefully considered.
After Shang Chengzuo, who was shy in his pocket, learned of the situation, he and the Tang tailor repeatedly negotiated in the letter, at this time, halfway killed a "Cheng biting gold" who knew the goods, and cut off the silk halfway.
This man's name was Cai Jixiang (born in 1898), a famous antique dealer in Changsha at that time, with a solid family, proficient in literature and history, and high ability to appreciate antiquities.
For a few years, Cai Jixiang went to Shanghai to do business, opened a department store, and made a lot of money. He bought two small buildings, he could not live in it, the rest was rented to others, and as a result, he clashed with the tenants because of the rent problem, and was arrested by the Japanese gendarmerie, and he used his cultural relics to dredge up a Japanese and French consul in Shanghai before being released. He never dared to stay in Shanghai again and returned to Changsha.
In March and April 1943, Cai Jixiang returned to Changsha from Shanghai, learned that Tang Maosheng Antique Shop had antiquities for sale that had just been unearthed, quickly rushed over, saw this batch of cultural relics stolen by Ren Quansheng, and without saying a word, directly offered Tang Jianquan a price of three thousand yuan (counterfeit currency), and the silk bunting was merged back together with the bamboo wedge, lacquer plate, and lacquer sheath copper sword containing it.
Cai Jixiang was rewarded with the treasure because he knew that the ancient silk books (i.e., the Book of Bowen) preserved in the tombs of the Chu and Han Dynasties were very rare, and almost every one of them was a national treasure.
The so-called Book of Silk refers to the writing written on the 帛, the original meaning of the book is white silk fabric, that is, the primary silk fabric of the true color; as late as in the Spring and Autumn Warring States Period, the silk fabric has been generally referred to all silk fabrics, the Han Dynasty generally called the silk fabric as the silk fabric or the silk, or collectively called the silk book, so the book is also called the book, before the paper became the main writing carrier, the Chinese ancients were mainly "bamboo of the book"; "bamboo" refers to bamboo Jane, of course, there are wooden Jane and the like, "帛" refers to silk, because the price of the silk is far more expensive than the bamboo Jane, and it is certainly a high-ranking official and noble person who can afford it.
Because it is light and soft, it is easy to carry pens and scrolls, and the length and width can be changed at will, making it more suitable for painting and writing. Compared with bamboo and wood, the advantages are more prominent. Since the Warring States period, the use of drapery to paint and write has been increasing, and later paper was invented by imitating drapery.
When Cai Jixiang first got the book, he found that only one piece of the more complete book was folded into several layers, and there were many small pieces of broken books, wrapped in newspaper and placed in a bamboo basket.
On top of this complete book, there is also a thick layer of white plaster mud and filth, and it contains a lot of water. At the same time, the book was buried in the tomb for more than two thousand years, so that the color was abnormal, the texture was seriously decayed, the hand was broken, and it was not easy to uncover several layers of folding.
But these problems can not help the cultural relics restoration master Cai Jixiang, he has his own methods.
First, he placed the book on top of a piece of copper silk cloth of one inch and sixty mesh, soaked it in gasoline, and then slowly washed the dirt and filth on it with a brush, and gently unfolded the book layer by layer, fortunately without great damage.
Then, put the book stall on top of the copper silk cloth and wait for the gasoline to evaporate before removing it. Then Cai Jixiang ran to the Rao Ji Framed Painting Shop on Sanzheng Street, asked the famous pastemaker Lao Wang to help him dye an old silk of the same size as the book and bring it to his home, and the two spent most of the day to frame the book.
Cai Jixiang's successful restoration of this book has become a big treasure in Cai Jixiang's private collection. It is the earliest ancient book unearthed on the mainland so far, and it is the only written material in the pre-Qin era, and later, people called it the "Bullet Library Book" or "Chu Shu (缯) Book", and its value is incalculable.
On June 19, 1944, the Japanese army captured Changsha, Cai Jixiang had to take his family to leave his hometown and run around, on June 26, when Cai Jixiang's family took refuge in Xingmazhou, they encountered Japanese soldiers who wanted to insult his wife and eldest daughter, and they both were humiliated and jumped into the pond to commit suicide; Cai Jixiang always carried an iron bucket in the process of fleeing, which contained bullet magazine books, and he hid in Xiangxi and conducted a difficult examination of baoshu. In 1945, the study book "Examination of the Late Zhou Shu Shu", which condensed Cai Jixiang's painstaking efforts, was completed.
Cai Jixiang took the sample with hope to find the relevant departments of the Nationalist government at that time, hoping to publish it, but in the turbulent period of war and chaos, the result can be imagined, he ate a big closed door soup.
At this time, Cai Jixiang's family had fallen, and he was not willing to let the results of his painstaking research in the war and chaos be shelved, so he paid for himself and took out all his savings to publish the book; it immediately caused a huge response from the Chinese and foreign archaeological circles, and they were surprised by the rarity of the bullet library books and the rich information they contained.
For the first time, the "Examination of the Late Zhou Shu Shu" published the information of the Chu Shu Shu, indicating the exact location and examination of the excavation of the Shu Shu. First look at the "Late Zhou Shu Examination" record fragment: "The book is stored in bamboo, folded and upright, but when it is unearthed, the natives do not know how to love, resulting in more than half of the damage, so there are many fragments in the pipe, but this is complete and can still be displayed." The silky nature of the book, because of its age in the soil, has become dark brown, and it is almost mixed with the text. Fifteen inches long and eighteen inches horizontal, ink books, words like fly heads, and even strokes. ”
The book is square, the whole book is more than 900 words, the ink book, for the Chu script, the text is mainly in the middle of the book, there are two paragraphs, a paragraph of 13 lines, a paragraph of 8 lines, the writing direction of the two paragraphs of text is opposite. There are 12 god figures around the book, with strange shapes, there are human head bird body, human head beast body, three gods, ear snakes, etc., the god statues are all inscribed with the name of the god, and a paragraph is attached; the four corners of the book are depicted with blue, red, white and black pictures of plants, and the images are first outlined with a thin pen, and then filled with color.
The content of the Book of Chu is divided into three parts, namely celestial phenomena, catastrophes, four-hour operation and lunar taboos, and its content is rich and complex, not only recording the myths, legends and customs circulating in Chu, but also containing the ideological content of the five elements of yin and yang, and the induction of heaven and man.
The ancient chu shu not only has the value of ancient religious thought, celestial consciousness, calligraphy and painting art research, but also has historical value for the study of the Warring States Chu script and the ideological culture of the time.
Cai Jixiang's "Late Zhou Shu Shu Examination" is the founding work of the study of chu shu shu, its publication, the social response is very warm, but there are also many voices of doubt, especially some people say that the photos of the book are too blurry, there are many words on it that are vague and unclear, so cai Jixiang's conclusions lack clear persuasion, and the real situation is indeed the case.
Feeling this, Cai Jixiang decided to take some clearer photos of the book for everyone's reference and research.
In the summer of 1946, Cai Jixiang came to Shanghai with the book and stayed at the Wugong Hotel on The Fourth Road, hoping to use Shanghai's high-tech infrared photography technology to leave a clearer research photo for the book, and perhaps also show some of the original unrecognizable text.
In addition to the collection of antiques, at this time Cai Jixiang has been shy, this time to Shanghai, he specially brought two other pieces of ancient Chinese ware, sold it to the largest antique shop in Shanghai at that time, Jin Caiji, used to make coils, and at the same time took the book to Jin Congyi, the owner of the Jin Caiji shop, to look at it, and asked him to find a photo studio with infrared photography to make a clear book photo.
At this time, another character appeared, and he was the American John H. Cox.
In 1901, some of the alumni graduated from Yale University in the United States initiated the Yale-China Association, which aimed to run hospitals and schools in China and listed them as the China-Yale Project. In 1904, when Changsha opened its port, the Yale-China Association selected Changsha as the preferred target for medical development, schooling, and missionary work.
In 1935, Ke Qiang was sent by the Yale Society to teach at the Yale-China Church School in Changsha. Under the influence of his teachers at the same school (such as the famous antique collectors Qian Wuchao and Zuo Chenling in Changsha at that time), Ke Qiang also fell in love with antique collection. While teaching, he collected artifacts and sometimes even slept in the cemetery so that he could get the artifacts first.
At that time, a national defense highway was being built outside Changsha City, and various tomb robbers ("Tufuzi") were very active, and Ke Qiang collected a large number of cultural relics in Changsha and had contacts with Cai Jixiang and others. In 1939, Ke Qiang held an exhibition of cultural relics unearthed in Changsha at the Yale University Art Museum, and Shang Chengzuo also published the book "Notes on The Antiquities of Changsha" based on the contents of this exhibition.
In 1942, Ke Qiang enlisted in the army as a lieutenant in the Marine Corps, under the orders of the U.S. intelligence service, and operated in the Shanghai area.
When Ke Qiang heard that Cai Jixiang had arrived in Shanghai, he was taken by Fu Peihe, a clerk of Jin Caiji, to visit Cai Jixiang at the Wu Palace Hotel; Ke Qiang saw Cai Jixiang and said very warmly: I heard that your wife was forced by the Japanese Kou to commit suicide by throwing herself into the river, and I am very sorry. He also took out 20 US dollars as a memorial, but Cai Jixiang resolutely refused to accept it.
Ke Qiang saw Cai Jixiang's "Late Zhou Shu Shu Examination" on the table, so he took it and looked at it and praised it. He saw that there were many □□ in the paintings, so he asked what those meant, and Cai said that they were vague words on the book. Then, Ke Qiang asked if the book was brought to him, if he brought it to him, saying that he could use an infrared camera to illuminate the unclear words; at that time, Cai Jixiang was wary, he said that he did not bring it, and then Ke Qiang and they left.
The next day, Ke Qiang came to Cai's residence again and said that he had seen Jin Caiji's boss Jin, and Boss Jin said that he had seen the book, why not show it to him; he also said that he had an infrared camera, which could clearly illuminate all the blurred text.
Speaking of this, Cai Jixiang still had some hesitation, and Fu Peihe encouraged him to say that there was nothing at a glance, and it was difficult for Ke Qiang to eat it.
Cai Jixiang, who could not hang on to his face, had to take out the book, Ke Qiang said good after reading it, turned to Cai and said, with his infrared camera to ensure that he can take a clear picture, if you don't believe it, you can go to his apartment to try to take a picture.
At the same time, Fu Peihe also tried his best to approve, they are all old acquaintances, Cai Jixiang thought for a moment, and also agreed to try it.
When he arrived at Ke Qiang's apartment, Cai Jixiang did see two cameras; Ke specifically said that this was the latest infrared camera in the United States, and the photo effect was very good; but Ke Qiang tried to take a few photos of the book, shook his head repeatedly, and said that this lens was still not working, and deliberately showed cai Jixiang the results of the photo.
Cai Jixiang looked at it carefully, a little unclear, and said what to do now.
Ke said: Mr. Cai don't worry, I have a good friend who specializes in infrared photography, tonight I went to his house to borrow a good lens, to ensure that I can take a clear picture of the blurry words, but you have to put the book here, and when the photo is ready tomorrow, you will take it back, please rest assured!
At that time, Cai Jixiang was anxious to illuminate the vague text clearly, so he left the book to Ke Qiang.
The next day, Cai Jixiang and Fu Peihe went together to get books and photos.
Ke Qiang Cai said with a smile: Mr. Cai, I have been busy for a night for your book photo, the borrowed footage is still not good enough, and it is not clear, it just so early this morning that a friend of the COLONEL of the US Air Force (Frederic D. Schultheis) returned to San Francisco to resign, so he asked him to take it to the United States; because the time is too hurried, it is too late to inform you, fortunately, as long as a week, it can be sent back.
Hearing this, Cai Jixiang's scalp was numb, he felt that things were not good, and he lost his temper and said to Ke Qiang: You are a person who is very unauthentic in your work, and each thing has its own master, and you will entrust others to the United States without my consent. You'll have to return the book to me right away.
Seeing this situation, Ke Qiang quickly apologized: Mr. Cai, don't be angry, I am also kind, anxious to take pictures of the book for you, it's okay, my friend will definitely send the book and the photo back after about a week. If you are not at ease, you can write a contract, set a price for the book, if it is not returned or an accident occurs on the way, you will compensate according to the contract, temporarily pay US dollars and one thousand yuan as a security deposit, I don't know what Mr. Cai intends?
Fu Peihe pulled Cai Jixiang outside the door and said softly: Mr. Cai, now that his copy has been sent to the United States by him, what will he ask him to return to you? Also, now the Yankees are Chiang Kai-shek's red man, Ke Qiang is the first intelligence officer sent by the United States to receive Shanghai, in Shanghai is powerful, foreigners are ruthless, but as the saying goes, good men do not eat immediate losses, he now promises to set up a deed to you, and a thousand dollars as a guarantee, I advise you to be more than less, less than now.
Fu Peihe swallowed the phlegm, raised his voice and continued: Now you have received a deposit of one thousand dollars and a contract from him, and if he does not return the letter to you after a week, you can compensate him by contract for the cost of the book. I also know that this Warring States painting is a very valuable ancient book. As for the cost of the book, it may be tentatively set at ten thousand US dollars. If he doesn't send you back the book, he can claim the remaining nine thousand dollars for the cost of the book. In this way, you will not suffer losses, and you will not offend people. If you agree, I'll help you discuss and discuss with Ke Qiang.
Under the inducement of Fu Peihe, Cai Jixiang also felt that there was no other better way, so he had to agree.
Fu Peihe then entered the room and talked with Ke Qiang for a while; Ke Qiang agreed, but he said that he would not write other Chinese characters except for Ke Qiang, and asked Cai Jixiang to write a contract manuscript first.
Cai Jixiang immediately wrote a manuscript, roughly saying that he received a copy of the book, tentatively set the cost of the book to be TEN thousand us dollars, and now paid a deposit of 1,000 US dollars. If the book is in an accident on the way to and from the United States, or if it is not returned, according to the cost of the book, in addition to the security deposit of 1,000 US dollars, it will be compensated for 9,000 US dollars. This evidence. The next book is the year, month, and day.
Fu Peihe read it to Ke Qiang, and Ke Qiang immediately agreed, saying: There is no need for any more praise, I can sign below.
He signed two Chinese characters of Ke Qiang under the contract, signed his English name, and took out a thousand dollars from the cabinet on the spot, along with the note and handed it to Cai Jixiang.
Cai Jixiang, who was forced to be helpless, had to accept it, and then returned to the hotel where he was staying unhappily.
After a week, Cai Jixiang invited Fu Peihe to Ke Qiang's apartment and returned the book. Ke Qiang said to Cai Jixiang: The book has not yet been sent, perhaps because this kind of photo is difficult to shoot; Mr. Cai, please don't be in a hurry, sooner or later it will always be sent.
Since then, Cai Jixiang has gone to inquire every two or three days. Ke Qiang sometimes replied that he had written to ask, or that the maid replied that he was not at home. In this way, I don't know how many trips I have been.
Until one day, Ke Qiang's servant told Cai Jixiang that yesterday Mr. Ke's family sent a telegram saying that his father was dead, and That Mr. Ke had flown back to the United States this morning.
Hearing this, Cai asked the maid Ke Qiang when he would return to Shanghai, and the maid replied: I don't know.
It was only then that Cai Jixiang understood that this book had been stolen by this bandit gang, Jin Congyi, Fu Peihe, and Ye Shuzhong, three antique ghosts, in the name of infrared photography!
In this way, the national treasure Chu Shushu was tricked into the United States, initially hidden in the Yale University Library, and later photographed.
Cai Jixiang has lived in Shanghai for more than a month in order to write books, and his pockets have been exhausted, and he can no longer continue to live, so he can only return to Changsha with his head down.
Since then, Cai Jixiang has written to the United States many times to inquire, but to no avail.
Later, Cai Jixiang found out that Wu Cunzhu, the son of Wu Ailuo, the manager of The Xiang'e Printing Company in Changsha at the time, was studying in Colombia in the United States and was a student of Ke Qiang.
He immediately wrote a letter to Wu Cunzhu, asking him to ask Ke Qiang about the whereabouts of the book. After a long time, Wu Cunzhu replied to the letter, saying that he had met with Ke Qiang, but Ke Qiang never mentioned the return of the book, but said that the price of 10,000 US dollars set in the agreement at that time was too high, and he was only willing to pay 6,000 US dollars, hoping that Cai would lower the price.
Cai Jixiang immediately wrote to Wu Cunzhu, saying that the book would not be sold under any circumstances, and asked Ke Qiang to send the book back immediately, and he would return the deposit of $1,000. Later, Wu Cunzhu wrote back, saying that Ke was vague about the return of the book, unwilling to reply, and unwilling to pay according to the agreement.
Cai Jixiang, who has been wandering the rivers and lakes for decades, was completely tricked by Ke Qiang.
Since 1949, Cai Jixiang and Ke Qiang have severed all ties.
At the beginning of the liberation, Cai Jixiang handed over the contract signed by Ke Qiang to the Provincial Public Security Bureau, Yuan Renyuan, vice chairman of the provincial government, and Chen Yuxin, chairman of the Provincial Cultural Management Commission, but they did not accept it and asked him to keep it himself.
In 1951, Cai Jixiang entered the cultural management committee and resolutely donated all the cultural relics in his home to the state, including many precious cultural relics. Such as ribbons, hooks, Eastern Han pottery houses, chicken coffins, copper lords, copper square pots, Tang and Song porcelain, thousands of rare ancient coins, jade, talc, seals, lacquered wood, etc., the variety is numerous, the variety is complete, the preservation is intact, and people are praised.
In 1955, Cai Jixiang, as an observer of the Provincial People's Congress, told the story of the Ke bandits' deception at the meeting, and the Provincial Bureau of Culture sent cadre Jiang Jincai to inquire about the contract, and Cai Jixiang handed it over to the Provincial Bureau of Culture for preservation.
In the same year, in order to verify the authenticity of Cai Jixiang's description, the Hunan Provincial Museum sent Gao Zhixi to Beijing to find Wu Cunzhu to confirm; at that time, Wu Cunzhu was a professor at Peking University, and Gao Zhixi did not see Wu Cunzhu himself, but after Wu Cunzhu knew Gao Zhixi's intentions afterwards, he specially wrote a supporting material, and handed over the correspondence with Cai Jixiang from 1946 to 1948 to Gao Zhixi through the personnel department of the school, indicating that what Cai Jixiang said was indeed true.
In 1963, Ke Qiang in the United States sold the book to Dai Runzhai, a famous Chinese collector who ran to the United States after liberation, for $100,000; Dai Runzhai sold the book to his friend Arthur M. Sackler, a rich American man, for $500,000, and collected it in his private Sackler Art Museum, which became the treasure of the town museum.
In 1973, at the suggestion of Ren Quansheng, the Hunan Provincial Museum carried out archaeological excavations of the tomb of the bullet Kuchu that was stolen by him in 1942, and in addition to the ones that were taken away in 1942, there were pottery such as Ding, Dun, pot, spoon, and za, bamboo and wood utensils such as ge, comb, and bamboo mats, a grain grain green jade bi tied with brown silk bands, and some broken silk, square hole yarn, geometric brocade, hemp fabrics, etc. Surprisingly, archaeologists also found a painting on the partition under the coffin cover of the tomb, that is, the famous "Figure Driving Dragon Painting", which was listed as one of the first national treasures banned from overseas exhibition, and this ancient painting was unearthed and was a major event in the history of mainland painting. It is one of the two oldest paintings we have been able to see so far. Paintings are so precious, and the value of the same tomb book of a higher rank than it is even more obvious.
In 1974, Cai Jixiang wrote to Shang Chengzuo, saying that although nearly 30 years had passed, he still hoped to fight a transnational lawsuit and recover the Chu Shu for the motherland, when Ke Qiang was still alive.
In 1982, Gao Zhixi went to the United States to attend an academic conference, and only then did he see the original Chu Shushu on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and measured it to 38.5 centimeters in height and 46.2 centimeters in width.
Later, when Gao Zhixi was the deputy director of the provincial museum, he sorted out the materials written by Cai Jixiang, as well as Wu Cunzhu's certificates and correspondence at that time, and handed them over to the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, hoping to find a way to recover the Chu Shu through the national level, but then there was no follow-up.
When Dr. Sackler died in 1978, he wrote a eulogy, making it clear that he wanted to return the Book of Chu to China. It is difficult to see this news from the outside world, because it was published by Sackler in the print of the medical community.
In 1986, the Sackler Art Museum of Peking University, which was donated by Sackler, broke ground, and Sackler stated that once the new museum was completed, it would give a great gift to the Chinese cultural relics community, that is, donate the most complete main part of the bullet library book and a fragment back to the North Sackler Art Museum, but Mr. Sackler died soon after, and no one has mentioned this matter since then.
Mr. Sackler
In April 1990, the "Eastern Zhou Chu Cultural Seminar" was held at the Sackler Museum of Art in Washington, D.C., which was the most recent exhibition of Chu Shushu, and since then, it has been difficult for ordinary people to see its authentic handwriting. Now it is almost impossible for Chinese people to see its original, at most you can look at takumoto!
On May 27, 1993, the Sackler Museum of Peking University was officially opened, and the Chu Shushu that the Chinese people had been waiting for did not return at all, and it was once again tricked.
In the United States, shushu has taken infrared photographs twice. The first was taken by the Friar Museum of Art, the second was taken by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, with the guidance of the Australian scholar Noel Manard, commissioned by the Aktoko Experimental Company; the second time the photographs, text and images were very clear, and the effect was better than the first.
Chu Shu rubbings
After the publication of the clear photos of chu shu, its unique cultural and archaeological value not only fascinated domestic scholars, but also amazed foreigners such as the United States, Japan, and Australia, and further studied it.
Zeng Xiantong, a professor at Sun Yat-sen University, said: "Almost no Chinese cultural relics have attracted as widespread attention from the academic circles at home and abroad as it, and the study of it has lasted for a long time"; since the 1940s, scholars from China, Japan, the United States, Australia and other places have come and gone, carried out continuous research on the Chu Shushu, and written a series of heavy academic research works.
Most of the treatises on the Chu Shu book focus on this complete book in the United States. Actually unearthed along with the complete book, there are fragments of the book belonging to other books (including the One in the United States). Professor Li Xueqin of Peking University once pointed out that there are at least 4 original books in the bamboo barrels produced by the bullet library, but only one is generally complete.
In 1997, on the occasion of the 55th anniversary of the excavation of the Chu Shu Shu, Shang Chengzuo's son Shang Zhi (who was also a professor at Sun Yat-sen University) donated a fragment of the Chu Shu Shu that his father had treasured for 55 years and was excavated from the same tomb as the Chu Shu Shu to the Hunan Provincial Museum.
This fragment is currently the only Chu Shu book in China, the longest fragment is 4.6, the widest part is 2.7 centimeters, there are 17 characters on it, ink book, with Zhu Lan boundary is 4 lines. Among them, there are clearly recognizable ones: "Left Ping Car, Xiang Xingguang". "No rain", "two". The rest only see the remaining strokes, fragments of this book, through infrared photography, the photo is enlarged, the text is clear, and the pen is exquisite.
Even this fragment of the book, although it is a small text, provides us with precious astronomical history materials from more than 2,300 years ago that are missing from the history books, and many famous scholars at home and abroad, such as Shang Chengzuo's father and son, Rao Zonggu, Li Xueqin, Li Zero, Yi Shitong, He Linyi, etc., have written articles to introduce and explain.
As early as 1964, Mr. Shang Chengzuo said in the article "Outline of the Warring States Chu Shu Shu" published in the 9th issue of "Cultural Relics": "There are still some remnant books that Xu Zhenli showed me before he died. According to Mr. Xu, it was part of Cai Jixiang's hands. The residual text is clearly legible, there are two paragraphs of Zhu Column and Ink Column, the words are written in the column, and the words are larger than this book."
Professor Lin Wei Naifu of Kyoto University in Japan and Dr. Mannard of the Australian National University published a fragment of the book, which was originally glued to the complete book (and the fragment of the United States), and concluded that the nature of the fragment book was the confession of the tomb owner.
Regarding the content and nature of the book, many well-known scholars at home and abroad have expressed their views, but their views are not consistent. In the academic history of the study of the Chu Shu, starting from Cai Jixiang, Shang Chengzuo, Chen Mengjia, Li Xueqin, Yan Yiping, Jin Hengxiang, Rao Zongyi, Zeng Xiantong, etc., almost all scholars who studied the Warring States script, have worked the Chu Shu. Among them, the most persistent and thoroughly researched is probably Professor Li Zero.
Professor Li Zero
Li Zero, a professor in the Department of Archaeology of Peking University, is an expert in the study of Chu culture, in order to study this pair of books, he immersed himself in the study of 38 years, Chu Shu shu throughout most of his academic career, he repeatedly read the Chu Shu book, he said in the preface to the huge work "Changsha Bullet Library Warring States Chu Shu Shu Study": "I read the Chu Shu Shu, read intensively, mainly seven times. One was in 1980, once in 1985-1988, once in 1989-1990, once in 1993, once in 2001, once in 2007, and once in the present. It lasted for more than 30 years. I read from my youth to the old and the young, the big and the small, the mistakes are many, and the gains are also considerable."
According to the deciphered text by Professor Li Zero, one talked about some immortal things, the second was about the same as feng shui, such as the taboo of the month, and the third was about the Yin and Yang family's kanyu, as well as as astrology and other metaphysics, but this was at best only some of the meanings, and the meaning of the book had not yet been fully understood by him.
However, there is still a big debate about the specific meaning of the Chu Shu after deciphering, most of them recognize that the Chu Shu and the Classic of Mountains and Seas belong to the mathematical literature, and some experts believe that the four directions represent the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter, and the 12 patterns are the gods who control the seasons, and so on.
The wisdom of the ancient Chinese is difficult to understand, what the meaning of these pictures and texts represented in ancient times, today's people are afraid that it is difficult to fully understand, some scholars comment that this Chu Shu book is comparable to the sheepskin ancient scroll found in the Dead Sea, is a veritable Chinese version of the "Dead Sea Scrolls".
In general, this is the earliest surviving book on the mainland, the content is extremely complex, full of gods, regions and other ghost gods, it provides extremely valuable first-hand information for people to study ancient Chinese history, philosophy, literature, mythology, painting, customs, natural phenomena, and social phenomena.
According to the International Association of Museums, the total number of cultural relics exported by China is about 1.64 million, distributed in more than 200 museums in 47 countries such as the United States, Japan, Britain, and France, many of which have become the treasures of their town museums; and the Chinese Cultural Relics Society believes that the total number of cultural relics flowing out of China is more than 10 million, which is more than six times that of the museum collection, which is really shocking, and most of them go out through illegal channels, which is an eternal pain in the hearts of the Chinese people.
With the growing strength of the mainland, in recent years, from time to time, there is good news of the return of cultural relics, but it is still sparse and countable, and the pursuit of cultural relics is still a long way to go. Cultural relics like the Chu Shu that have been deceived, with solid evidence and orderly transmission, we believe that there will be a day when they will return to China, and we hope that it will return soon.
In addition, the next article said: Chu Shushu was wronged to go to the United States in this way, and after Ren Quansheng, who dug it out, learned of it, he regretted it and never did the tomb robbery again, and later joined the archaeological team and made a lot of merits for the country. Stay tuned to read.