As early as the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, our ancestors began to use bronze ware, and also applied it to military warfare. In the excavation of cultural relics again and again, the expedition team members found many valuable cultural relics, providing us with reliable historical information for understanding the fascinating past.
In today's Danjiangkou City Museum, there is a bronze sword stored, and its cultural relics value can be compared with the Yue Wang Gou Jian sword. However, what really makes people talk about it is the owner of this bronze sword and the past of the wind and moon behind him.
In the 1970s, due to the construction of the Danjiangkou Reservoir, many ancient ruins under the stretch of mountains were submerged. In ancient times, Danjiangkou belonged to the early Chu state and had a certain level of administrative center, so in the 1970s and 1980s, it was the place that many archaeologists most "yearned" for.
In the winter of 1999, the water level of the Danjiangkou Reservoir ushered in an unprecedented decline, and a piece of ancient tomb ruins was exposed to the world. The Hubei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and the archaeological team of the Danjiangkou Museum also formed a joint expedition to determine that the ancient tomb is a warring states tomb, and also excavated a cultural relic of great historical value - a bronze sword.
Aerial photography of the ancient tombs
This bronze sword is about 40 cm long, with a head, no hoops, and a lattice, and the sword body section is diamond-shaped, which belongs to the typical Zhongyuan style sword. The sword is embedded with animal face patterns and gems, and when it is unearthed, it is cold and cold. Even after a thousand years, it is still visible in exquisite beauty and is a rare gem.
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, objects made of bronze were not only the use of attributes, but also the attributes of status. To be able to use a sword of this level, at least it must be the level of the monarch.
So, which monarch is it?
After further cleaning and restoration, the characters on the bronze sword were gradually revealed, which were written in the inscription of the golden wrong bird seal (the golden mistake refers to a gold decoration process that uses gold wire or gold pieces to inlay patterns, patterns or words on the surface of the bronze, which was very mature in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period): "The sword of Cai Hou (gān)".
The Zhou Dynasty implemented a system of sub-feudalism, and these small feudal states formed the Zhou Dynasty. The monarch of the Zhou Dynasty called himself King, that is, the Zhou Tianzi. Its vassal states were called princely states, and these monarchs were called hou.
Therefore, the owner of this sword should be the monarch of the Cai Kingdom, and the name should be "鳱".
Judging from the specifications of the sword and the content of the inscription, this Cai Hou should be the monarch of the Spring and Autumn Period, but the experts are very puzzled when they read the historical materials, and there is no record of the Cai Guojun with the "salamander" in the history.
So why is this sword so carved?
Some experts have analyzed that the "bird" on the right side of the word "鳱" may be to match the "text decoration" added to the inscription of the golden bird seal, so to take the word "鳱" apart, the owner of this sword should be called "dry".
So did the State of Cai in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period have a monarch called "Gan"? The answer is still no.
Could it be that things are just getting into trouble? Of course not, although the Chinese characters used by our modern people generally retain the ancient usage, there are also individual scripts that have changed with the changes in the social and cultural environment.
For example, the word "dry" actually refers to a kind of dance equipment in ancient times. As it happens, in the historical records, Cai Guo did have a name related to dance, that is, Cai Aihou.
Portrait of Cai Aihou
Ancient people also took words when taking names, and generally chose two words with related meanings, which was particularly popular in the Spring and Autumn Period. Like Ran Geng, a disciple of Kong Sage, the name of the cultivating word Zi Niu.
Cai Aihou, the name of the dance, according to the Spring and Autumn Period people choose the style of two words related to each other, and the experts finally locked in the owner of this sword is Cai Aihou.
However, after unveiling the mystery of the master of the sword, the experts are more curious?
This Cai kingdom should be in Henan, why does the sword of the cai state appear in the territory of the chu state?
Generally speaking, the monarch's sword and man are not separated, and there is a saying that "life and death are buried". But sometimes there are also some unexpected things that lead to the "separation of human swords", like Cai Aihou encountered such an "accident". However, this matter is not very honorable to say, it is a peach-colored news about Cai Aihou.
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, there was a Chen Guo, and Chen Zhuang had two daughters, the eldest daughter married to cai guo, and the younger daughter married to The State of Xie. Chen Zhuang's original surname was Concubine, so the younger daughter was called Concubine after taking her husband's surname.
Statue of Lady Shi
Once, when the concubine returned to her mother's home (also said to be married), she needed to pass through Cai Guo. Cai Aihou had long heard that her sister-in-law was born delicate, and she wanted to see Fang Rong but did not have a chance. Cai Aihou took the opportunity of his sister-in-law's provincial relatives to pass by his own doorstep, and he had to see his sister-in-law to see him, or he would not let anyone go.
The concubine could not, so she had to agree to her brother-in-law's request. As a result, who knew that this Cai Aihou disregarded human morality, and after seeing the beauty of his sister-in-law, he salivated and put on a big green hat for his own lianxihou. At the banquet, in front of everyone, he used his hands and feet on his sister-in-law, who was already married, and completely disregarded the face of The Princess.
Of course, Xi Hou couldn't swallow this breath, but Cai Guo and himself were evenly matched, and he really didn't have the upper hand when he fought. And for a woman to send troops, in the end, some "divisions are unknown".
In a fit of rage, Xi Hou made a wrong decision, that is, to borrow the hand of the Chu State.
The Marquis of Xi sent emissaries to King Wen of Chu and said, "The state of Cai refuses to pay tribute to the state of Chu because it looks down on the king. Ask the king to pretend to send troops to attack our country when the time comes, and then I will ask Cai Guo for help. Cai Guo will definitely help me fight against the Great King, and then the Great King can take down Cai Guo in one fell swoop. ”
Is this a good thing to help yourself annex other countries? King Wen of Chu was overjoyed and immediately agreed.
In 684 BC, King Wen of Chu sent troops to pretend to be a cut, Cai Hou sent troops to rescue, Chu soldiers attacked Cai, and Cai Guo fell.
In this fight, Cai Aihou was captured, not to mention his sword? Therefore, experts speculate that this sword may be a reward from King Cai Wen to those who had made meritorious contributions to the destruction of Cai Guo at that time. At that time, the trophy was the highest honor as a reward. Therefore, when this man was buried, the sword of the monarch was also buried as a funerary object.
So, is the story over here? Of course not. In the final analysis, the reason for this war of annihilation is that Cai Aihou coveted the beauty of his sister-in-law. So how beautiful is this little sister-in-law?
At that time, the matter of Cai Aihou flirting with his sister-in-law was well known, and how King Wen of Chu did not understand the little thoughts of Hou Xie. After destroying the Cai Kingdom, King Wen of Chu also thought, how beautiful does this concubine really look?
After Cai Aihou was captured, he held a grudge and began to design revenge on Hou Hou. Knowing that this King Wen of Chu was also a lustful person, as soon as Marquis Cai Aihou saw King Chu Wen, he boasted in front of him how beautiful and beautiful he was.
King Wen of Chu became more and more curious, and the itchy worms in his heart were all hooked up by Cai Aihou, and finally he came to the country under the pretext of a parade, and had to bring his daughter-in-law out to meet him.
Ancient women paid attention to many, and after marrying people, they did not see men with foreign surnames. King Wen of Chu's request was simply unreasonable. But what can be done? Whoever lets himself be beaten, people want to see their daughter-in-law, they can only honestly bring it out.
Only to see that this concubine was like autumn water, her face was like a peach blossom, and her jade skin was ice muscle, and King Chu Wen, who had seen countless beauties, saw Xi Concubine, and his soul was immediately taken away.
This King Wen of Chu was not a righteous gentleman, he turned over and over to think about the concubine and couldn't sleep, and finally found a reason to send troops to the country.
Originally, the state of Xi and the state of Cai were united, and they were able to restrain and compete with each other with the state of Chu. However, this Cai kingdom was destroyed by the Chu state, and the power was already unbalanced, and the Chu state destroyed the country as easily as pinching an ant to death.
Xi Hou couldn't have imagined that when he designed to destroy Cai for a woman, it was because this woman had become a subjugated monarch. Concubine Xi originally wanted to commit suicide by jumping into a well, but in order to save the life of Xi Hou, she had no choice but to marry King Wen of Chu.
After being captured, Xi Hou became a gatekeeper of the capital of the Chu state, and Xi Concubine was greatly favored by the King of Chu in the Chu Palace, and gave birth to two sons in three years.
Even though thousands of pets were gathered in one, Concubine Xi was still reluctant to speak to the King of Chu. After a long time, the King of Chu was also very curious, and no matter what, he had to tell the truth.
In the end, Concubine Xi had no choice but to speak: "I am a woman and a Taoist family, and I have served two husbands successively, but in the end I can't die for my husband's observance of the festival, what face do I have to talk to people?" ”
Fast forward to autumn, and the city is filled with the aroma of osmanthus flowers. One day, King Chu Wen, who was quite interested, went out hunting, and it took two or three days to leave the palace. Concubine Xi took the opportunity to sneak out of the palace and came to the city gate to meet the Princess who was guarding the gate.
However, after three years, it has become a matter of human beings, and the two people hugged each other and cried. While crying, Concubine Xi said, "I have not been disloyal to the King, but to save the King's life." Moreover, he also thought that he would be able to see the king again in his lifetime. Now the concubine's wish has been fulfilled, and her death is blind. ”
After saying this, the concubine hit the wall and died. Seeing his beloved wife disappear in front of his eyes, and thinking about his own situation, he suddenly lost all his thoughts, and he also crashed into the city and followed his wife.
Two days later, king Wen of Chu, who had returned from hunting, was also touched by their feelings after hearing about the two people, and buried the marquis and the concubine together on the Peach Blossom Mountain outside Hanyang City with the courtesy of the princes, so that this pair of mandarin ducks could be a long-term couple in the next life.
Through the story of Cai Aihou and Xi Hou, we can also see that in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the nations looked like gods and were inseparable, and whether they were friends or enemies between them was completely dependent on their own powerful relationship. Of course, sometimes even for the sake of the small things of the sesame green beans, but paid a heavy price, so that innocent people pay a huge sacrifice.
In this lingering and compassionate love, the sacrifice is the greatest, and the most regrettable thing for future generations is that it is Mrs. Xi's concubine.
"Zuo Chuan Zhuang Gong Ten Years": Marquis Cai Ai married Chen, and Marquis Xi also married Yan. Concubines will return, pass by Cai. Cai Houyue: "My aunt also." "Stop there, Furbin. When Hou Hou heard this, he was angry, and made the King of Chu Wen say, "Cut me down, I ask for help from Cai and cut it down." Chu Zi went from there. In the autumn of September, Chu defeated Cai Shi Yu Xin and returned with Cai Hou's sacrifice.
"History, Volume 35, Guan Cai Shijia Fifth": Eleven years after the Marquis of Sorrows, at the beginning, the Marquis of Sorrows married Chen, and the Marquis of Qi also married Chen. Lady Xi will return, over Cai, and Cai Hou is disrespectful. Fu Hou was furious and asked King Wen of Chu: "Come to cut me down, I will ask for help from Cai, Cai will come, Chu can have merit in striking." "King Wen of Chu obeyed, and Cai Laihou returned.
Nine Factions News: "The Treasure of Shiyan Town Hall A Spring and Autumn Monarch Sword Restores the Miserable Life of "Lady Peach Blossom" (2021-06-15)