Introduction: In 1986, Ma Tafeiyan was rated as a national treasure level cultural relic, and in 2001, it was included in the first batch of cultural relics list prohibited from being exhibited abroad. Ma Ta Fei Yan is also known as the Eastern Han Copper Galloping Horse and The Horse Chao Dragon Sparrow. It is a cultural relic excavated in 1969 and collected in the Gansu Provincial Museum. When Ma Tafeiyan was unearthed, archaeologists (Guo Moruo) saw this cultural relic and directly said that this cultural relic would cause a sensation when it was brought to Beijing. After that, sure enough, this cultural relic quickly caused a national sensation and directly became a national treasure level cultural relic. However, because the front shape of Ma Ta Feiyan is too unrestrained, although it is a national treasure-level cultural relic, it is never easy for people to look at the front, and the external display map is generally based on the side shape.
In 1969, subject to the imperialist nuclear threat and nuclear deterrence, the mainland began to prepare for war on a large scale, and many places responded to the government's call to start digging air raid shelters. Villagers of the Fresh People's Commune in Wuwei County, Gansu Province, were digging an air raid shelter when they suddenly found a hard stone. After the villagers cut the stones, they found a wall made of bricks, and after digging the wall, the villagers found a super large burial chamber. After the captain of the production team knew, he quickly organized the villagers to enter the tomb, and inside the tomb the villagers found a batch of copper galloping horses. Although the villagers strictly blocked the news, some people still sent the news back to the commune and reported it to their superiors, requesting that an archaeological team be sent to carry out rescue excavations.
To tell the truth, at that time, the copper galloping horse did not cause much of a sensation, and the reason why it caused a sensation was because of Guo Moruo's evaluation. After Guo Moruo saw the copper galloping horse, he was greatly impressed by the superb skills of the ancients, because the copper galloping horse had the potential to gallop and at the same time conform to the principle of mechanical balance, and it was really valuable that the ancients could do these two things. Guo Moruo thought that this was a rare treasure, gave a very high evaluation of this, and said excitedly:
These two things can cause a sensation when they are brought to Beijing, and you will publicize them well, and I will also publicize them to you when I go back
。 Because of Guo Moruo's celebrity effect, when the copper galloping horse was exhibited in Beijing, people were lamenting the realism and exquisiteness of the copper galloping horse.
Moreover, under the research of archaeologists, the history and principle of the copper galloping horse have gradually begun to show, but the controversy has also begun to become more, and the most controversial controversies are mainly:
What is a horse? What kind of horse is this? What dynasty to belong to.
1: What is the horse stepping on?
The Copper Galloping Horse has two names, namely: Ma Ta Fei Yan and Ma Chao Dragon Sparrow. Guo Moruo believes that the horse is stepping on a swallow, so he calls it Ma Ta Fei Yan. Some scholars have opinions on this, the tail of the bird under the copper galloping horse is not forked, and it is obvious that it is not a swallow. And the full name of this horse is the Eastern Han Copper Galloping Horse, which is recorded in the Eastern Han Dynasty's "Tokyo Fu":
Dragon sparrow, Pegasus half-man.
Some scholars believe that the ancients wanted horses to be faster, so when casting copper galloping horses, the "dragon sparrow" element was integrated into it, so it should be called "horse super dragon sparrow". Xinhua News Agency once reported:
The Ma Chao Dragon Sparrow was designated as a graphic symbol of mainland tourism
It can be seen that there are many people who recognize the name of "Ma Chao Dragon Sparrow". There are also other claims, such as stepping on crows and stepping on birds, but this statement is not very credible.
The main controversies are "Ma Ta Fei Yan" and "Ma Chao Dragon Sparrow".
2: What kind of horse is this?
There are four ways to say this, which are:
Pegasus, Divine Horse, Purple Swallow, Teller
。 The first theory is Tianma, the Introduction of Tianma during the Period of Emperor Wu of Han, the copper galloping horse is similar to the shape of Tianma, so it should be the "Tianma" introduced by Emperor Wudi of Han; the second is the Divine Horse, Du Fu once wrote poetry"
Star Entanglement Treasure School Golden Pantuo, Night Riding Heavenly Donkey Chao Tianhe
Among them, Tiansi is the "Matsu God" in the Twenty-Eight Stars, combined with the above dragon sparrow, it is likely that the ancients hoped that the horse could be stronger, so it was integrated into the factors of pegasus and dragon sparrow; the third theory is Emperor Wendi of Han"
Purple Swallow
", because the shape is more similar, but the Purple Yanxiao is a royal horse, this tomb is not a royal tomb, it should not be built according to the emperor's specifications, after all, it does not conform to the etiquette system; the fourth theory is "Teller Horse", Tang Taizong has six horses, Andel Horse is one of them. The running posture of the copper galloping horse is similar, and the Teller horse is produced in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and is a special horse.
3: What dynasty does it belong to?
Because the tomb unearthed the inscriptions of "Western Han Dynasty Five Baht Money" and "Shouzuo Riding Thousand People Zhangye Chang Zhang Jun", the archaeological team believed in the report that it was the tomb of the Eastern Han Dynasty, which is the official statement and has strong credibility. Some scholars have questioned this as a product of the Western Jin Dynasty. For the tomb owner, the archaeological team believes that it should be a general of the Western Han Dynasty, and scholars believe that it should be a thousand-man official (Zhang Jun) in Wuwei County.
Summary: Combined with the above statement, the author feels that the copper galloping horse is likely to be a "dragon sparrow that treads", "the breed is "Teller Horse", and the dynasty is the Eastern Han Dynasty. Because of the frequent wars in the Eastern Han Dynasty, the northwest was very restless, and during this period, the "Western Liang Iron Horse" became very important. The owner of the tomb was a cavalry general of the Western Han Dynasty, and he led the "Western Liang Iron Horse", so his horse should be a special horse (Teller) in the Western Liang region. And he also hoped to use cavalry to make meritorious achievements, so he integrated the element of "Dragon Sparrow" into the copper galloping horse, indicating that he hoped that the speed of the horse would be faster, and the cavalry combat effectiveness of the Western Liang Iron Horse would be higher, so that he could make meritorious achievements and defend the Eastern Han Dynasty. Finally, the Copper Galloping Horse is not just one, there is a batch. The tomb owner formed a cavalry phalanx (dozens of cavalry) to let the Western Liang Iron Horse accompany him forever.
The content of the copper galloping horse is probably so much, of course, finally to show you the front shape of the copper galloping horse.
Is this frontal shape too bold? It is precisely because it is too unrestrained, so the external exhibition and publicity pictures are generally side shapes, and it is never easy to show the front, after all, the front is really a bit funny.