Look at the Yellow River iron bull, appreciate the Tang Dynasty "cattle qi"

On the site of Pujindu on the east bank of the middle reaches of the Yellow River, 4 iron steaks are in two rows, facing the Yellow River, angry eyes, sideways ears, front legs pedaling, hind legs squatting, a "vicissitudes have not changed the temper of cattle, into and back with iron bones" momentum. They are nearly 1300 years old.

Tang Huancheng, a Chinese bridge expert, believes that they are different from the Qin Terracotta Warriors of Yang Junjin and Yao Diwei; they are also different from the Shakya Relics that preach The Dharma and show off treasures; and they are also different from the Zhenshui Stone Rhinoceros who talk about the five elements and are tired of victory. This is a concrete project construction, a great contribution of the working people of ancient China to the cause of bridges, metallurgy and sculpture in the world, and a priceless treasure in the history of bridges in the world.

Born out of national projects

Pujindu has a long history, is an important ferry port in the middle reaches of the Yellow River in ancient times, was once a passage for transporting grain, salt, iron and other materials, and has important strategic significance in political, economic and military aspects, and has been a place where soldiers and families of all generations must compete.

Yang Mengdong, chairman of the Yongji Municipal Federation of Literature and Literature, said that before the Pujin pontoon bridge was a bamboo rope boat pontoon bridge, using wooden stakes as anchors, it was easy to wash away the pontoon bridge after the yellow river ice thawed in the spring, which not only hurt the people and money, but also brought inconvenience to cross-strait traffic. By the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty was strong in national strength, pig iron production was very rich, and there were conditions for engineering to be used as pontoon anchors.

Therefore, in the twelfth year of Tang Kaiyuan, Tang Xuanzong poured out his national strength and sent Zhongshu Ling Zhang to preside over the construction of a new Pujin pontoon bridge, cast 4 iron cattle on both sides of the strait as fixed anchors, and changed the "bamboo cable boat" to "iron cable boat".

In traditional Chinese culture, the cow is the god beast of zhenshui, and these 8 iron cows were born with the good wish of guarding the Anlan of the Yellow River.

For a time, skilled craftsmen gathered here, the voices of people boiled, the smoke and dust rolled, and the iron ware group represented by iron bulls was cast in full swing. They use yellow wax sculptures to paint the clay on the outside of the wax mold, bake it with fire, and when the mud mold is dried, the wax liquid is discharged, and then the drainage outlet is blocked, and the fiery molten iron is poured into the torrent, and when the molten iron solidifies, the mud fan is broken, and the iron cow is smoothly formed.

It is estimated that the four iron bulls each respect between 45 and 75 tons, about 300 cm long, about 110 cm wide, and about 150 cm high. The rear of each cow has a horizontal shaft, 220 cm long, with different ornaments on the shaft head. This batch of iron is low-sulfur and low-silica ash mouth iron, which is the product of charcoal smelting and casting.

"This is a national project, whether it is casting technology or sculpture art, it represents the highest level at that time and is the pride of the Chinese nation." Liu Yongsheng, an archaeologist who was in charge of the archaeological excavation of Iron Bull, said.

Stick to the post for 500 years

"The shape of the iron bull is very realistic, and the shape of our local Jinnan big yellow bull is selected, which looks thick and simple, and has the momentum of The Tang Dynasty." Wei Huiping, director of the office of the Pujindu Site Museum, said.

And the iron bull is also matched with the iron man, the iron mountain, the iron pier, the seven-star iron pillar and so on. Among them, the most interesting is a tall iron man, with different shapes and expressions, which is extremely vivid. Each iron figure is about 1.9 meters tall, some of which are well-defined, with large eyes, high cheekbones, rich lips, bare chest and shirt, and an apron underneath; some wear typical Tang Dynasty costumes. Their hands are in the shape of a grip, their fists are holes, and they may have been holding "tools" at that time. Their identities are not yet certain.

These iron cattle are no ordinary cattle, and the structure and function of the inclined pillar piles under them are a model of ancient bridge engineering. Underneath each iron bull, there are 6 long iron pillars connected to the body of the cow, with an inclination of 35 to 45 degrees, firmly rooted in the ground. The pillar piles all appear in the opposite outstretched "out foot" at a distance of about 1.5 meters, which increases the resistance of the front and back, left and right, up and down movements, and ensures the stability and sturdiness of the upper iron bull, so that it can withstand the horizontal pull from the pontoon.

However, in the face of the terrifying waves of the Yellow River, the iron bull will inevitably have ups and downs. During the Song Dynasty, 8 large iron cattle were swept away by the water and fell into the silt at the bottom of the river. In order to rebuild the pontoon bridges, the outstanding engineers of the time, Huai Bing and monks, used buoyancy to salvage them. This story was later compiled into textbooks, and Iron Bull became a household name.

Experts have verified that under the continuous maintenance of the Pujindu pontoon bridge, the 8 iron bulls on both sides of the Yellow River stuck to their posts for about 500 years, until the pontoon bridge was destroyed by the Jinyuan war, and they unloaded their shoulders.

Protect the legacy of the Tang Dynasty

Zhou Jingzhu, the prefect of Puzhou in the Qing Dynasty, recorded in the "Kaiyuan Iron Bull Inscription" that on the bank of the Yellow River outside Puxi Guo, there are iron cattle four, cast from Tang Kaiyuan, and the fourth is in the Qin Dynasty, which is divided from east to west, and is used to maintain the river bridge. And jin yuanshi, the bridge was ruined, and the cattle survivor was as it was, reading for more than a thousand years.

In the face of the great iron bull that has gone through vicissitudes, Zhou Jingzhu pondered the leisurely feelings of the past, strengthened the protection of cultural relics, and built a green brick guard wall to protect the relics of the iron cow.

As the saying goes, "Thirty years of Hedong, thirty years of Hexi", it happened at the foot of the iron bull in this land. As the Yellow River was diverted westward, the iron bull gradually disappeared into the mud and sand in the 1930s and 1940s.

Fan Wanglin, the former director of the Yongji Museum, firmly believes in the existence of the iron bull. He went deep into the Yellow River beach to investigate, visited the people, and officially searched for the iron bull in 1988. More than a year later, the four iron bulls on the east bank of the Yellow River, together with the iron man, the iron mountain, the iron pillar, etc., were unveiled, and Fan Wanglin had mixed feelings and shed tears of excitement. At present, the iron group on the west bank of the Yellow River is still sunk in the mud and sand.

Due to the proximity to the Yellow River, the air is humid, the underground water is constantly seeping, and the iron cattle after excavation are seriously corroded and rusted. The protection of the Iron Bull has attracted the attention of governments at all levels. The first archaeological excavations were carried out in 1991 and a second from October 1999 to April 2000.

In 2001, the "Pujindu and Puzhou Ancient City Ruins" was announced by the State Council as a national key cultural relics protection unit. In 2005, the protection project of the Pujindu site was completed, and the iron artifact group was raised by 12.2 meters on the original excavation site for conservation display.

Today, the Pujindu Site Museum has installed surveillance, and more than 30 staff members are guarding the iron artifacts 24 hours a day. Whenever it rains or snows, the staff will wipe the water off the iron cow for the first time; if the cultural relics drop a little iron slag, they must collect it; Wei Huiping insists on writing a work log, taking photos, and recording the changes that occur on the big iron cow.

"The protection of iron cultural relics is a world problem, and we are guarding them within our capabilities, hoping to have reference value for the protection and restoration of iron bulls." Wei Huiping said.

Author: Wang Xuetao

Source: Xinhua Daily Telegraph