A priceless national treasure, intact in the tomb of the woman
"Ning", is the cooking utensils used by the ancients, similar to the modern steamer, divided into two layers, the middle waist is tightly bound, the lower part is the mustache, generally is three hollow bag feet, can store water, the upper part is the bottom of the retort, used to place food, in order to let the water steam steam; between the upper and lower layers, there is a hole in the grate.
The triple retort consists of a rectangular retort and three large retorts. The shape of the frame resembles a forbidden, the face has three raised trumpet-shaped circles, and three large retorts can be placed; the abdominal cavity is hollow, the flat bottom, and there are six flat short feet under it; the outer sole has a cross-shaped casting seam; the shelf surface is decorated with three groups of dragon patterns, which are divided into three circles, the dragon head is made a side shape, the heads at both ends are facing down, and the head in the middle is facing up; there is a beast face and a dragon in front of the dragon at one end, and the tail of the dragon is decorated with diamond pattern and small triangle pattern; the four corners of the shelf surface are respectively decorated with the cow's head pattern, the cow's mouth is outward, and the wall around the circle mouth is decorated with a triangular pattern and a cloud pattern. There are also fine patterns on the four walls of the shelf: the two sides of the long side are decorated with five groups of dragon patterns and six large circular fire patterns, the two are separated from each other, and the lower side is decorated with 10 large triangular patterns; there is a dragon in the middle of each of the two sides of the short side, and the two sides are decorated with large circular fire patterns, and the main patterns are all based on thunder patterns; there are two inscriptions on the inner wall of the middle circle, The retort shape is larger, the diameter is three or three centimeters, the open mouth, the lower abdomen is sharply closed, the bottom is concave, there are three fan-shaped holes at the bottom, the semicircular hollow ears of the beast's head; there are two thin ridges under the mouth, and there are two groups of dragon patterns decorated with swimming shapes, each group of two dragons, the heads are opposite, and the thunder pattern is the ground; on the upper and lower sides of the dragon body, they are filled with circular fire patterns respectively; the inner wall under the mouth and the outer wall under the two ears of the three retorts have two inscriptions respectively.
It can steam out the same or different foods of the three retorts at the same time, and can move the position, which is easy to use, and is an innovation of cooking utensils. The steam column retort is actually a steam pot, and the chicken is steamed in a steam pot in Kunming, which is a delicacy, and the same cooker has appeared more than 3,000 years ago, which is enough to show that the Yin people are also deliberately seeking refinement for food.
Even-square Yi: Copper square Yi was first seen in the Shang Dynasty, the shape of the vessel is a square straight wall, there are also rectangular, the lower part has a square circle foot, the upper part has a roof-shaped cover, there are buttons on the cover, and the body has a straight abdomen, a curved abdomen, and an ear next to the abdomen. Individual utensils resemble two Yi connected into one, and the mouth is rectangular, called "even square Yi".
The lid of this piece resembles a roof, with symmetrical short column buttons at both ends, and seven square and seven pointed lids on each side of the long side, which coincide with the notches of the body. The lid and body are decorated with gluttonous patterns, quilt patterns, bird patterns, triangular patterns, etc. In the late Shang Dynasty and the early Western Zhou Dynasty, the shape of Fang Yi changed, with a shallow neck, a slight bulge in the abdomen, and inscriptions on some utensils.
The bronze ware group in the tomb is not only a fine work of art, but also a manifestation of the ritual system of the Shang Dynasty. The bronze ware with the inscription "good woman" is a relatively complete group of ritual vessels. The bronze ritual vessel with the inscription of "Simu Xin" should be a sacrificial vessel made by the children for the good of the woman. Most of the bronze ritual vessels with other different inscriptions are wine vessels, and large wine vessels are equipped with ten goblets and ten jue. It is probably the sacrificial vessels that the nobles or Fang Guo dedicated to this famous queen, and these are also important materials for the study of the ritual system of the Yin Dynasty.
Weapons have Ge, Yue, arrowhead, etc., two pieces of casting "good woman" inscription of the big bronze Yue is eye-catching, a pattern for two tigers to capture the human head, the tiger is like a small tiger, the image is vivid. A similar pattern has been seen on the ears of the "Simu Wu" Dading. It seems to have a deterrent effect.
Da Tong Yue: The Da Tong Yue is a cold weapon used for slashing in ancient China. It consists of an axe body and an axe handle. The body of the axe is made of stone, copper or iron, and the handle is wooden. The axe is similar to the axe, but the difference is that the shape of the axe is thin, the blade is wide and rounded. Yue is mainly used as a symbol of military power, therefore, most of the Yue is well-cast, and the Yue body is engraved with human face or animal face ornamentation, and the image is hideous and gorgeous, giving people a kind of deterrent.
Xinjiang green jade: There are many pieces of jade unearthed in the tomb, most of which are complete or slightly incomplete. It is mainly green in different shades, but there are also brown ones, and there are very few white jades. When the staff of the Anyang City Jade Carving Factory looked at the jade, some people proposed that the tomb was mostly Xinjiang green jade, and later verified by a number of experienced people, it was determined that the tomb of the woman was mainly Xinjiang jade. Scientifically identified, most of them are tremolite, but there are also actinolite. Tremolite is compatible with Xinjiang jade, and the hardness of the identified specimen is 6 degrees on the Mohs scale. The discovery of Xinjiang jade in Yinxu is of great significance.
There are many types of jade, including cong, bi, huang and other ritual utensils, as a ceremonial guard of honor, such as ge, yue, spear, etc., as well as tools and ornaments. The jade ritual vessel is extremely important for the study of the ritual system, and the ritual jade is mainly Cong and Bi. "Zhou Li, Da Zongbo": "Cangbi Litian, Huang Cong Lidi". Although this is a reflection of the concept of the Zhou Dynasty, the use of jade tools for rituals has appeared in the Neolithic Age, and the Liangzhu cultural materials are the most systematic. Although the times are different and the archaeological culture is different, the sacrifice with cong and wall should be in the same line.
Ivory cup: three ivory cups, two pairs, one of which is shaped like a goose, the whole body is engraved with a double line of delicate gluttony, dragon, bird and other patterns, its mouth, eyes, eyebrows, nose and body inlaid with turquoise, the pattern is engraved with a fine "back" pattern as a backdrop. On one side of the cup, there is a bird and a dragon pattern, and its eyes, beak, feathers, claws, eyebrows and body are also inlaid with turquoise. Another ivory cup with flowing tigers, 42cm high, diameter 10.6~11.2cm, wall thickness 0.9cm, is the highest ivory cup in existing history, beautiful shape, exquisite carving, can be called a national treasure.
Seashells: More than 6,800 seashells excavated in the tomb have been identified as cargo shells, one Arabian silkworm (also known as Arabic silkworm) and two red snails. Seashells were produced in Taiwan and the South China Sea (coastal Guangdong, Hainan Island, and south of Dongshan in Xiamen, Fujian), reflecting the direct and indirect connection between the Shang Dynasty and the East China Sea and the South China Sea, which is extremely important evidence.
Ornaments: The number of ornaments is the largest, there are more than 420 pieces, most of them are wearing jade ornaments, a small number are inlaid jade ornaments, and a few are ornamental items. The jade people are the physical materials that study the hairstyles, headdresses, and clothing of the people of the time. All kinds of animal-shaped jade are decorated with myths and legends of dragons and phoenixes, monsters and beasts with animal heads and bird bodies, and a large number of bionic animal images, with wild beasts, domestic animals and poultry birds as the majority, such as tigers, bears, elephants, monkeys, deer, horses, cows, sheep, rabbits, geese, parrots, etc., as well as fish, frogs and insects. Jade carvers are good at grasping the ecological characteristics and habits of different animals, and the carved animal images are full of life, such as a deer looking back, showing an alert look, while the praying mantis with its head tilted to one side appears leisurely and vivid. In addition to jade, there are also works of art carved from turquoise, malachite, and green crystals, as well as agate beads.
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