"National Treasures" in the National Treasure Yu Qian guarded the national treasure is not one, a total of ten pieces, and because it is a bronze ware of the Shang Dynasty and the Zhou Dynasty, it is also known as the Shang Zhou Ten Offerings, because of the special status of Confucius, so many emperors will come to sacrifice Confucius, sacrifices need ceremonial utensils, so the Confucius House collects a lot of precious ceremonial utensils, and this group of Shang Zhou Ten Offerings has a different meaning.
What is Shang Zhou Ten Offerings?
The Ten Offerings of the Shang Zhou Dynasty, also known as the "Ten Instruments of the Shang Zhou", are Mu Ding, Shu Ji, Zi Zun, Ya Zun, Bo Yi, Pan Chu Dun, Bao Gui, Gluttonous Food, Feng Dou, and Four-legged Mane, of which three pieces of Muding, Ya Zun and Book Ofe were made during the Shang Dynasty, and the remaining seven were made in the Zhou Dynasty, these ten ceremonial vessels were elegant in shape, exquisitely decorated, and had a heavy foundation, which were originally bronze ceremonial vessels of the Shang Zhou Period collected by the court, which were rare and exquisite in bronze ware.
Among the ten offerings of the Shang Dynasty, muding and Yazun in the Shang Dynasty period are the most precious, and Feng Yunpeng, a cultural relics appraisal expert of the Qing Dynasty, has appreciated these two cultural relics and also evaluated them, Feng Yunpeng praised Muding for "looking at the light, dazzling and amazing, true and the most precious treasure of the world, allowing the crown of ancient artifacts", Yazun "can be compared with Muding", The President of the Republic of China Yuan Shikai's son Yuan Kewen, which is also a collection, also admired these two cultural relics, he once commented that Muding "is the crown of ten instruments, true qi treasure also", Yazun "vermilion brilliant, ancient artifacts are full of beauty". During the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, many literati once recorded and painted the Ten Confessions of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties.
Why did the Qianlong Emperor give the Shang Zhou Shi to supply the Confucius Palace?
The "Ten Offerings of the Shang Zhou Dynasty" treasured by the Confucius Palace was given to the Confucius Temple by the Qianlong Emperor when he personally worshipped Confucius in Qufu for the 5th time. Today, the "Ten Offerings of Shang Zhou" is displayed in the Confucius Museum in Qufu, and people from all walks of life can enter the museum to see it.
The Qianlong Emperor has personally visited the Temple of Literature in Beijing 11 times and the Confucius Temple in Qufu 8 times to worship Confucius, which is unique in Chinese history, so why did the Qianlong Emperor go to Qufu many times to sacrifice Confucius, and why did he give the "Ten Offerings of Shang Zhou" to the Emperor?
From the analysis of historical records, there are at least two reasons.
First, the Qing Dynasty was a minority Manchu into the Central Plains, although the Establishment of the Qing Dynasty, but after all, the number is small, the culture is not as good as the Han people in the Central Plains, so the rulers of the Qing Dynasty actively sought cooperation and compromise with Han intellectuals to consolidate the legitimacy of their political power, the most meaningful measure is to honor Confucius and follow the policy of the emperors to Confucianism, Kangxi and Qianlong have both gone to the Temple of Confucius to worship Confucius.
The Qianlong Emperor was even higher than the specifications of the previous emperors, not only the largest number, but also very high specifications, the imperial gift of Shang Zhou Shi offerings, the Qianlong Emperor's mother also came together, before that, Qianlong had awarded the Jingshi Taixue "Zhou Fan Tongding Zun and other ten things", Taixue is the highest national institution in ancient China, the Qianlong Emperor has given ceremonial instruments, and Confucius, as the world's readers and even the emperor's teacher, should get higher ceremonial instruments.
Second, the Qianlong Emperor came to the Confucius Mansion many times to sacrifice Confucius, and the reward for the Shang Zhou Ten Instruments was in the 5th time, in addition to rewarding the touch of the Jingshi Taixue, the main willingness was to be dissatisfied with the ceremonial instruments displayed in the Confucius Temple, Qianlong issued it when he sacrificed Confucius before, the ceremonial instruments displayed in the Confucius Temple were all made during the Han Dynasty, the age is not long enough, the appearance is not elegant enough, not enough to express the reverence for Confucius, so he selected ten pieces of cultural relics in the collection of the Imperial Palace to give to the Confucius Temple to match the status of Confucius' respect. Qianlong's respect for Confucius is evident.
As for why it is necessary to choose the artifacts of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, and the Zhou Dynasty has the most artifacts, it is because the Qianlong Emperor believed that Confucius devoted his life to restoring the Zhou rites, and Confucius had "Zhou Jian in the second generation, depressed and wenzai!" I'm from the week" discussion. The use of artifacts from the Shang and Zhou dynasties, especially the Zhou Dynasty, to sacrifice Confucius is most in line with Confucius's ambitions.