Copper galloping horses
In October 1969, Wuwei County, Gansu Province, found a large masonry tomb in the late Eastern Han Dynasty (186-219 AD), in which 231 precious cultural relics such as gold, silver, copper, iron, jade, bone, lacquer, stone, pottery and other precious cultural relics were excavated, and more than 28,000 ancient coins were unearthed, the most eye-catching of which was the honor guard composed of 99 bronze carriages and horse warrior figurines, including 39 bronze horses, 1 bronze ox, 14 copper cars, 17 samurai figurines and 28 slave figurines, which is the largest number found in China. The lineup and the most majestic Han Dynasty bronze carriage horse honor guard, in the front of the honor guard, taking the opposite step (commonly known as the turn) of the horse, is the world's attention to the copper galloping horse.
Ma Ta Fei Yan
The bronze galloping horse weighs about 7.15 kg, is 34.5 cm high, 45 cm long and 10.1 cm wide, and its overall shape is exquisite. The shape of the horse is galloping, the head is slightly left, the horse's head is majestic, the ears are sharp, the eyes are round, the nostrils are open, the head is hissing, the mane on the top of the head and the horse's tail behind it are flying backwards in unison, the round body is streamlined, the limbs are slender and strongly dynamic, the three-legged take off, gallop forward, the right hind hoof steps on a bird, the bird spreads its wings, looks back in amazement, and is setting off the galloping horse's leaping fast, as fast as lightning. The focus of the galloping horse's whole body is concentrated on the bird, which not only shows the speed of the galloping horse, but also cleverly uses the body of the bird and the spread wings to expand the area of the galloping horse landing, and skillfully integrates mechanical balance and sculptural beauty.
The Bronze Galloping Horse became famous
Today, this copper galloping horse with such a beautiful shape has been collected by the Gansu Provincial Museum after it was unearthed, and it is the treasure of the museum. On September 19, 1971, when historian Guo Moruo visited the Gansu Provincial Museum, he saw that the artistic shape of this object was beautiful, the casting process was exquisite, and its artistic and archaeological value was immeasurable, and he could not help but praise "this object is a world-class art treasure", and left an artistic treasure of "praising copper galloping horses in all corners of the world, and everyone arguing about golden robes". After that, it was recommended to go to Beijing to participate in the national exhibition of excavated cultural relics held by the Forbidden City, which stunned the historians and archaeologists once it was exhibited; it also refreshed the domestic hot search list and was listed on the first hot search list. In 1973, a trot has gone to the United Kingdom, France and other 12 countries, everywhere I went, stunned by the old iron, what is this modeling utensils, never seen before is to let foreigners open their eyes, naturally suck countless powder, have punched in the card to take pictures. In 1983, it was identified as a Chinese tourism symbol by the National Tourism Administration; its image appeared all over the country, commonly known as "immediately get out of the egg". In 1996, it was appraised as a national treasure level cultural relic by the expert group of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, and in 2002, it was listed by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage as one of the first batch of precious cultural relics prohibited from being exhibited abroad.
Such a strong background of national cultural relics, why the academic community on the copper galloping horse naming controversy will have such a big response? It is understood that the parties before participating in various competitions, originally there is no name, the reason why some people call it "Horse Flying Falcon" or "Horse Flying Swallow" and other titles, that is the result of people's bold speculation and argumentation for the birds under the hooves.
The naming of copper galloping horses is controversial
There has long been much debate about the naming of copper galloping horses and the birds flying under the hooves. There are mainly the following statements, one is the "copper galloping horse" theory. The shape of the copper galloping horse is extraordinary, it is high and hissing, the horse's hooves are in the air, and the style is galloping like a gallop, so it is called "copper galloping horse". Because it is made of bronze, it is also called "bronze galloping horse", which is also the earliest name for this bronze horse figurine; The second is "Ma Ta Fei Yan" said. Although the title of "copper galloping horse" is more intuitive and clear, Comrade Wang Yi, the former interim head of the Gansu Provincial Museum, believes that the subtlety of this bronze horse figurine is that it steps on a flying swallow under its hind hooves, and only the name of "galloping horse" is obviously not enough to express its romantic artistic conception, so it is called "horse stepping flying swallow" to show that the fastest bird is used to set off the horse speed, and the fastest bird in the bird is the flying swallow, and has received the approval of Mr. Guo Moruo. After that, the name spread widely; The third is the "horse tatting dragon sparrow" said. In response to the saying of "Ma Ta Fei Yan", some people have put forward different views, believing that the bird stepped on by the bronze horse figurine does not look like a swallow from the shape, but a dragon sparrow, so it is believed that it should be "Ma Ta Dragon Finch" or "Ma Chao Dragon Sparrow";
To this day, whether it is the "Ma Ta Fei Yan" theory, the "Copper Galloping Horse" theory, or even the later "Ma Ta Dragon Sparrow" and "Ma Chao Dragon Sparrow" and other titles, the academic community has been constantly debated about the naming interpretation of the Copper Galloping Horse. So far there has never been a single accepted conclusion, but people still habitually call it Ma Ta Fei Yan or Copper Galloping Horse. In order to avoid ambiguity, the official rules for the designation of collections are based on the unified criteria of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage (that is, the designation of historical relics generally includes three parts: era, style, and author; characteristics, ornaments or colors; category, shape or use. For bronze, the inscriptions are the main ones. Those without inscriptions, with their production characteristics, places of origin or mainly ornaments), are collectively referred to as "copper galloping horses". In my opinion, although the name copper galloping horse is concise and concise, it misses the bird under the horse's hoof, and the academic discussion on the naming of cultural relics is really a matter of benevolence and wisdom, old iron, what do you think?