(Reporter: Li Baibing Soning) Recently, according to CCTV reports, Italy returned 796 sets of Chinese cultural relics and artworks, which is the largest return of Chinese cultural relics and artworks in the past 20 years. In the video screenshot of CCTV News, the reporter saw that there were two cultural relics and cultural relics collected by the Weinan City Museum that were very similar in shape, they were Han painted cocoon-shaped pots and samurai figurines.
Han painted cocoon-shaped pot
Samurai figurines
To this end, the reporter interviewed the staff of the Weinan City Museum and asked about it.
According to the staff of the Weinan Museum, the reason why the above cultural relics are very similar in shape is because they belong to the same Cultural Relics of the Han Dynasty, and they also witness the history and culture of the "Silk Road".
1. Weinan City Museum collection of Han painted cocoon-shaped pots
In the Western Han Dynasty, the silk weaving industry was very developed, when the popular cultivation of silkworms, mulberry fields everywhere, the designers were inspired by the cocoon, called "cocoon-shaped pot"; because the shape of the vessel is like a duck egg, also known as "duck egg pot".
The shape of this cocoon-shaped pot is huge, giving people a sense of simplicity and thickness. Cocoon-shaped pots in ancient times are very individual utensils, the Qin and Han Dynasties are mainly for eating utensils, storage vessels and other practical utensils for life, to store water or hold wine, the appearance is chic and beautiful; secondly, all kinds of ming utensils made for martyrdom.
Cocoon-shaped pots were originally produced in the Qin State, when the Qin army marched to fight, soldiers not only had to carry weapons, but also carry grain and grass and drinking water, cocoon-shaped pots are necessary tools, both can hold water, can also hold wine, easy to carry. According to relevant information, cocoon-shaped pot utensils can also be used as military listeners in addition to life. During the Warring States period, the warring states competed with each other for supremacy, and the western nomads often invaded, and the soldiers buried it deep in the ground and stuck their ears to the place where the pot was buried, which was used to listen to the horseshoe of the enemy cavalry in the distance, in order to infer the movement of the enemy army, and was known as the "eavesdropper" more than 2,000 years ago.
The vessel has a lip , short neck , circled feet , and a transverse long oval abdomen. Originally produced by the Qin state during the Warring States period, it was later popular in the Western Han Dynasty, with pot belly or painted clouds and geometric patterns.
2. The Weinan City Museum holds samurai figurines
This maid is gray pottery, with a single hair and a towering bun, wearing a long robe, one hand is raised to make a staff shape (the staff is lost), the other hand is drooping, the feet are standing, the whole is standing, the body surface is painted off, and it is a Han Dynasty style warrior maid.
Pottery figurines occupy an important position in ancient sculptural artworks, is a kind of ancient tomb sculpture artworks; the use of figurines is to enable the deceased to continue to live as before they were alive in the underworld, so the figurines are really loaded with various information of ancient society, which is of great significance for the study of ancient public opinion systems, military arrangements, lifestyles and even Cultural exchanges between China and the West, and is indispensable for understanding the precious materials of the history of ancient Chinese sculpture art.
In the course of the struggle against the Xiongnu, the rulers of the Western Han Dynasty gradually realized the importance of the Western Regions, especially after Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty ascended the throne, he learned from the mouths of the Xiongnu descendants that the Dayue clan that moved west had the intention of revenge on the Xiongnu, but suffering from no one to help them, they decided to communicate with the Western Regions, and wanted to unite with the Great Moon Clan to attack the Xiongnu and "cut off the right arm of the Huns". Unexpectedly, at this time, the people of the Great Moon Clan, because the new land was very fertile, the property was rich, and it was far away from the Xiongnu and Wusun, the danger of foreign enemies being harassed had been greatly reduced, and they changed their attitude. When Zhang Qian made suggestions to them, they had no intention of taking revenge on the Xiongnu.
Zhang Qian's expedition failed to achieve the goal of establishing an alliance with the Great Moon Clan to attack the Xiongnu, but the actual impact and historical role it played were great successes. Qin Shi Huang built the Great Wall to protect the Central Plains, but its western boundary was only Lintao, and the vast western region beyond the Jade Gate was still within the reach of China's political and cultural forces. Zhang Qian made his first mission to the Western Regions, bringing China's influence to the west of the Onion Ridge. Since then, not only have the ties between the western region and the hinterland been increasingly strengthened, but China's direct exchanges with Central Asia, West Asia, and even southern Europe have also been established and strengthened.
It is understood that the basic exhibition of the Weinan City Museum is themed on the theme of "The Story of Weinan Suitable for China" and is divided into eight independent units: Wuhua Tianbao - The Geographical Environment and Natural Resources of Weinan, Ancient Roots--Weinan in the Prehistoric Period, Pre-Qin Memory--Weinan in the Xia, Shang, and Zhou Dynasties, Gyeonggi Heavy Land-Weinan in the Qin and Han Dynasties, The Land of Longxing -- Weinan in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, Where the National Pulse Is Located -- Weinan in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Customs and Elegance -- Weinan in the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties, And Fenghuo Qindong -- Modern Weinan. Under each unit, different subsections are set up, taking the times as the background, selecting famous people, representative events, and major achievements as "points", and stringing "lines" with "points", highlighting the cultural characteristics of each era in Weinan region.
At present, in the basic exhibition of the Weinan Museum, a total of 485 cultural relics (groups) of various types are exhibited, mainly the cultural relics of various county museums in weinan area. According to the chronological order, from the Paleolithic Age and the Neolithic Age, through the Shang Zhou, Qin and Han Dynasties, Wei and Jin Southern and Northern Dynasties, Sui Tang and Song Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, until the modern period of Weinan; combined with the characteristics of the cultural relics of various counties, through some important cultural relics, the culture of different regions is displayed, so that the cultural relics of various cities, districts and counties in weinan can be well protected and displayed in the Weinan Museum.