Collection of Wu Da Liang Codex:
From ancient times to the present, the end of the great collectors of cultural relics is mostly miserable, and the person who suffers the most from this fate should push Wu Dayi. The gathering and dispersal experience of Wu's cultural relics collection is almost written into the history of China's modern diplomatic humiliation.
Portrait of Wu Dacheng, a national hero and patriotic minister of the Qing Dynasty
Wu Dayi (1835 ~ 1903), the character Qingqing, the number Hengxuan, in his later years also known as The Zhai, wu county, Jiangsu Province. In the seventh year of Qing Tongzhi (1868), he entered the army, and was sent to Guangdong and Hunan to be an inspector, and was deposed in the twentieth year of Guangxu (1894). He loved the golden stone all his life and worked on poetry and painting. He is the author of "Shuowen Gushu Supplement", "Ancient Yu Tu Kao", "Weighing and Measuring Examination", "Ancient Records of the Collection of Confessions", "Records of the Jijin Collected By Hengxuan", "Collected Works of The Collected Works of Shu zhai", etc. He successively served as editor, Hebei Province, Taibu Temple Secretary, and Left Vice Capital Yushi. In the twelfth year of Guangxu (1886), he was promoted to inspector of Guangdong. In August of the thirteenth year of Guangxu, he was the governor of Shandong Province, Henan. In the eighteenth year of Guangxu, he was appointed as the governor of Hunan. At the beginning of the Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War, he led the Xiang army out of the customs to retake Haicheng, and was dismissed from his post due to military defeat.
In the twenty-first year of Guangxu (1895), the Qing court sent Li Hongzhang to Japan to negotiate, and after signing the Treaty of Maguan, which humiliated the country, China not only ceded land, but also paid 200 million taels of silver. The content of the treaty was harsh and the whole country was in an uproar. On May 25, Wu Da Li sent a sharp telegram to Zhang Zhidong, the governor of Huguang: "The compensation for the Wu claim is too large, the state is insufficient, and the courtiers should destroy the family to relieve the difficulties." With no savings, he plans to use 100 kinds of bronze ware, 100 kinds of ancient jade, 50 kinds of ancient mirrors, 50 kinds of ancient porcelain, 100 kinds of ancient bricks and tiles, 100 kinds of ancient clay seals, 100 kinds of calligraphy and painting, 1,300 kinds of ancient spring coins, 1,300 kinds of bronze seals, a total of 3,200 kinds, to Japan, please subtract one-twentieth of the indemnity. Please telegraph Hefei Xiangguo and negotiate with the Japanese envoys to make a point. This is all Japan Shinhi has, placed in the museum, but also a big view. He did not spend a penny to get it, China has this credit, a little relief of financial resources, Dayi to extend the rewards, in one fell swoop and three good preparations. If he allows it to arrive, that is, it will be played by my public, and I dare not ask for an award. Ancient artifacts and ancient springs were seen by The Japanese Wu Yang (former minister in China) and entrusted him to convey to the king that the matter may be harmonious. ”
On May 6, the twenty-first leap year of Guangxu, ten days after Wu Dayi's urgent telegram was sent, he had not yet received a reply from Zhang Zhidong, so he called Zhang Shi again to urge the matter. Telegram Cloud: "Just telegram and letter, want to appreciate." If Hefei is unwilling to discuss reductions, or if the envoys are unwilling to negotiate, can they beg the General Office of Electricity, entrust the Russian envoys, send telegrams to the Russian king, and yucheng will do his thing, so that the Wu will be reduced by one-twentieth. If there is a consensus, the 100 kinds of antiquities will be prepared and sent to the Russian king by the General Administration. Instead of exhausting my cream, it is better to reduce the compensation slightly. Therefore, please ask the public to play on behalf of the people, and the money for the retribution of the people of the ministry should be heard by the magistrate of origin, but the traces of his heart are known, and there is no other ear. The urgency of relieving the father is different from saving people from a well. Unexpectedly, Zhang Zhidong did not take Wu Dayun's move seriously, replied to the letter almost sarcastically and indifferently, laughed at his strange creation, and made him calm, and the matter of cultural relics offsetting indemnity ended.
Wu Dacheng's calligraphy is most famous for its seal calligraphy. He began to learn the Qin Dynasty small seal carved stone, and the calligraphy resembled Li Yangbing. Later, inspired by Yang Yisun, he combined the small seal with the Golden Script, and used this method to write the Analects, the Filial Piety Sutra, and the Letters. His seal book was uneven in size, elegant and simple, and was a kind of creation at that time. He had a profound study of the Jinshi script, which broadened his broad vision of the pre-Qin script and made his seal book draw a lot of nourishment from it. Wu Dacheng wrote seal books and liked to use lishu books. His book is horizontal and vertical, and also takes the Fa Han stele. Xingshu studied Zeng Guofan and was quite interested in Huang Tingjian.