September, 2019 is the 50th anniversary of the discovery of the national treasure "Copper Benma": In September, 1969, members of the 13th production team of the Fresh Commune in Wuwei County, Gansu Province discovered a tomb while excavating a war preparation tunnel in the south below the Leitai. At that time, the tomb was full of neatly arranged bronze chariots, horses and bronze figures. There was a coffin in the inner room, which contained two skeleton frames, and several pottery pots were piled up at the foot of the skeleton. In the dim light, some people regard these bronze chariots and horses as golden people, golden horses and golden carts.
There have been many arguments about the naming of the bronze galloping horse and the birds under the horseshoe for a long time. What is right and wrong?
Rare masterpieces in ancient Chinese bronze works of art
Tongbenma, now in Gansu Provincial Museum. The horse is 34.5 cm high, 44.5 cm long, 10 cm wide and weighs 7.15 kg. Its casting process is Fan casting horse body, and then casting it with ponytail, horse leg, flying bird under the hoof, etc., and iron core is sandwiched in the copper leg to enhance support and strength. The casting process was very advanced at that time. When it was unearthed, it was incomplete, with several holes in the neck with a size of 1 cm and a broken tail. After it was sent to the Palace Museum, it was carefully restored by Mr. Zhao Zhenmao, a famous bronze restoration expert.
The treasure of Gansu Provincial Museum, the bronze galloping horse of the Eastern Han Dynasty.
The shape of the horse is Pentium-shaped, with its head slightly tilted to the left, its horse head decorated with a lion’s share, its ears cut off, its eyes wide open, its nostrils puffed up, its head held high and its hips wide, its feet wide and its long tail fluttering, its tail knotted at the end, its three feet flying, and its right hind hoof stepping on a bird that spread its wings and looked back in surprise. There is a pit on the square tail of the bird, which should be a peregrine falcon. The galloping horse outlines the mane, beard, lips, nose, eyes and eyebrows with ink lines. The mouth and nose are painted with vermilion, the teeth are painted with white, the eyes are painted with round angle’s vermilion and the eyes are painted with white, and the finishing touch is black ink. Then, depending on the parts, colors are applied to enhance the vivid effect of expression. On the saddle side of the horse’s belly, traces of red and white paintings remain. Running on the horseshoe and stepping on the birds shows the rapidity of the horse. In the moment when the birds look back, they have surpassed the birds flying like meteors. The whole body focuses on the foot of the super-creeping bird, and the bird’s unfolded wings just play a role in supporting balance and accurately grasp the mechanical principle. The bronze galloping horse is exquisitely cast and ingeniously conceived, which is a rare masterpiece among ancient bronze works of art in China.
Farmers dig tunnels and accidentally discover ancient tombs.
Tongbenma was unearthed in Leitai, Wuwei County, Gansu Province. Leichang is 106 meters long, 60 meters wide and 8.5 meters high, covering an area of 124,000 square meters. There is a view of Leitai on the rectangular rammed earth platform. Because the statue of Leizu is enshrined in the back hall, it is called "Leitai".
In September, 1969, members of the 13th production team of the Fresh Commune in Wuwei County discovered a tomb while digging a war preparation tunnel in the south below the Leitai. At that time, the tomb was full of neatly arranged bronze chariots, horses and bronze figures. There was a coffin in the inner room, which contained two skeleton frames, and several pottery pots were piled up at the foot of the skeleton. In the dim light, some people regard these bronze chariots and horses as golden people, golden horses and golden carts. At that time, wang hong, the captain of the production team, told the members not to spread the news, and then put all the valuable things in it, including bronze men, bronze horses and bronze carts, into sacks, and transported them to the warehouse of the brigade with shelf carts to be sealed up. Without any protective measures and the participation of archaeologists, this ancient tomb was thus uncovered. At that time, it was a special period. Due to the neglect of cultural relics, the ancient tomb was seriously damaged, and the tomb was turned upside down. The traces of some perishable objects such as wood, lacquerware and silk were destroyed without a trace, leaving only broken pottery pots and residual copper coins, and some important materials with great research value disappeared.
Emergency protection of secretary of cultural relics cadre commune
Half a month later, the news of the discovery of the ancient tomb in Leitai reached the ears of Dang Shoushan, a cadre in charge of propaganda and cultural relics in Wuwei County Cultural Center. He immediately made an appointment with Zhang You, a political and legal officer in Jinyang District of Wuwei County, to go straight to Leitai to investigate the matter. According to Dang Shoushan’s memory, "I have been engaged in cultural relics for more than 10 years, and it is the first time to see a large tomb like this. There is a lot of money for paving the ground and some pottery in the tomb. In addition, there are smashed coffin boards and some human bones. " Dang Shoushan, who has rich experience, immediately came to the conclusion that it is impossible to have only a few pieces of pottery in such a large-scale tomb. A large amount of money for paving the ground shows that the owner of the tomb was very rich before his death, and his funerary objects should be very rich. A large number of important cultural relics may have been artificially transferred. They immediately reported to the commune leaders.
Sun Tianqing, secretary of the commune, also realized the seriousness of the matter after listening to the report. He immediately rushed to the fresh commune with Dang Shoushan and called a meeting of cadres and members. He learned that because two horses of the production team died suddenly not long ago, the brigade wanted to sell these bronzes to the scrap collection station and exchange some money to buy horses for production, so it was kept secret. Sun Tianqing immediately gave clear instructions: "These ancient cultural relics can’t be sold, let alone destroyed. The commune should report to the higher authorities." At this critical moment, in order to prevent a large number of cultural relics such as the bronze galloping horse from being destroyed artificially, the commune secretary can be said to have contributed.
After repeated mobilization by Dang Shoushan and others, and patiently explaining the important value of these cultural relics, the production team leader agreed to show them the cultural relics hidden in the warehouse of the brigade. Dang Shoushan was shocked when he saw these precious cultural relics. Due to improper storage, these cultural relics were seriously damaged. The tail of the bronze galloping horse was broken, and the halters and horseshoes of some horses were also broken. In order to avoid further damage, he immediately registered all the cultural relics in detail and transferred them to the Confucian Temple for collection and custody. At the same time, he made a special report to the relevant departments of Gansu Province.
After the cultural relics are cleaned up, they are all transferred to the provincial museum for preservation.
In October 1969, the then Literature and Art Office of the Political Department of Gansu Province and the Provincial Cultural Bureau appointed Yue Banghu, Zhang Xuezheng, Zhang Pengchuan, Hu Shoulan and Ning Duxue from the Provincial Museum Cultural Relics Team to form an archaeological working group to conduct archaeological investigation and comprehensive cleaning of Leitai tombs in Wuwei. After the archaeologists entered the ancient tomb, after detailed investigation, they first made clear the structure of the tomb (see Figure 2). The tomb door opened to the east and consisted of several burial chambers, including the front, middle and back main chambers. The front chamber was composed of a tunnel and a pyramid-shaped mound to the east, and the left and right ear chambers were symmetrical in the front chamber, while the middle chamber only had the right ear chamber, but there was no left ear chamber. Compared with other burial chambers, the back chamber was smaller and had no left and right ear chambers. According to the investigation to the members and the cleaning up afterwards, it is known that the positions of burial utensils and funerary objects are roughly as follows: at that time, the ceremonial figurines of bronze chariots and horses warriors and bronze galloping horses, Fang Chen arranged neatly in the right ear room of the front room and on the second floor outside the door, a pottery building courtyard was placed on the second floor of Nanbi, and a bronze cow was placed at the door of the left ear room of the front room. On the third floor of the middle room, there were beautifully designed and unique copper lotus branch lamps, copper pots, bronze statues and copper fuming stoves. The back room is small, which is the place where Fang Chen’s coffin was buried. Four stone turtles supporting the coffin bed are still there, and four turtle buttons with the seal of "General" have also been unearthed here. According to the statistics of all unearthed cultural relics, there are 231 buried cultural relics in the tomb, including gold, silver, copper, iron, jade, bone, lacquer, stone and pottery, including 17 bronze warrior figures, 28 handmaiden figures, 39 bronze horses and 14 bronze chariots.A bronze cow. Experts believe that these bronze chariots and horses and bronze figurines should be a guard of honor. In addition, there are more than 28,000 copper coins on the floor, which is simply an underground museum with rich reserves.
People can’t find more written records about the construction date of Leitai ancient tomb, but they can only analyze and judge it through the cultural relics in the tomb. At present, there are two views: First, most of the cultural relics in the tomb have the characteristics of the late Eastern Han Dynasty, and the official name of "Zuo Qi Qian Ren" and the organizational system of "Liangzhou Zhangye County" on the bronze horse inscription have only appeared in Han Dynasty documents. Therefore, some experts set the construction date of Leitai Tomb at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Second, other experts found new clues in the money laid in the tomb. Some "five-Zhu coins" without gold characters were unearthed in the tomb, and the word "baht" of "five-Zhu coins" in the Han Dynasty was beside gold characters. However, the "five Zhu Qian" cast in the Wei and Jin Dynasties did not have gold characters beside it. Therefore, it is considered that the Leitai ancient tomb should be built in the Wei and Jin Dynasties.
Schematic diagram of the plan and section of the tomb
Leitai Han tomb entrance
It is not difficult to see from a large number of funerary objects in the ancient tomb that the owner of the tomb had a very prominent position and identity before his death. Although tombs have been stolen many times in history, a large number of precious cultural relics have still been unearthed. Although there are no epitaphs and other historical records in this tomb, it has caused many difficulties in judging the true identity of the tomb owner. However, according to the specifications of the tomb and the majestic lineup shown by the unearthed bronze chariots and horses, there are also inscriptions on individual horses, such as "guarding Zhang Zhangye’s former wife Zhang Jun’s chariot and horses, and giving them to one person", and the inscriptions on the back of the figurines are "Zhang’s slave" and "Zhang’s gift", especially four.
On November 3 and December 12, 1969, Wei Huaiheng and Zhang Xuezheng from the Cultural Relics Team of the Provincial Museum came to Wuwei on the orders of the Propaganda Group of the Political Department of Gansu Province. The tomb entrance was searched and cleaned again, and a bronze unicorn was dug up at the entrance of the tomb, and some murals were cleared on both sides of the tomb entrance. During the cleaning process, two new stolen holes were discovered, and some small pieces of gold and silver and bone vessels were dug up in the mound under the stolen hole in the middle room, indicating that the ancient tomb had been stolen many times in the past. However, because the tomb raiders only know gold and silver vessels but know nothing about bronze national treasures, the ceremonial figurines of bronze chariots and horses have been well preserved to this day and eventually become the common heritage of mankind.
Later, the relevant departments of Gansu Province decided to transfer all the cultural relics unearthed from Leitai to the provincial museum for preservation, and the bronze galloping horse was also among them, because it was not exhibited in the museum at that time and the bronze galloping horse was not known to the outside world.
Guo Moruo was shocked by the vivid and wonderful "Flying Swallows on Horses"
Accompanied by Wang Yi, temporary director of Gansu Provincial Museum, Mr. Guo Moruo appreciated the bronze galloping horse.
On September 19th, 1971, when the historian Mr. Guo Moruo and his wife Yu Liqun accompanied the government delegation led by Prime Minister Binnu of the National Unity Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia to visit the northwest of China, they specially visited the Gansu Provincial Museum. Guo Lao and his party were warmly received by Gansu Provincial Museum, and the collection was introduced by Wang Yi, the temporary director of Gansu Provincial Museum at that time. Comrade Wang Yi followed Zheng Zhenduo (the first director of the Cultural Relics Bureau of the Central Ministry of Culture after liberation) in the early days of liberation, and died in a plane crash in 58. ) took over the cultural relics departments such as the Forbidden City in Beijing, and served as the office director after the establishment of National Cultural Heritage Administration. In 1962, he obeyed the national arrangement to support the construction of the northwest, and came to Gansu from Beijing to preside over the cultural relics work. He knew Guo Lao for a long time and was a cultural relics expert. Therefore, the province sent him to undertake the reception task. Comrade Wang Yi explained in an orderly way, and Guo Lao was full of enthusiasm, listened carefully and looked carefully.
Guo Lao is a knowledgeable archaeologist and a famous contemporary poet, writer, historian and epigraphist in China. Wherever he goes, he will try his best to inspect local cultural relics and enjoy unearthed cultural relics. His judgment and evaluation of some cultural relics is undoubtedly authoritative. Guo Lao looked at many precious collections, and he was particularly interested in these bronze ceremonial figurines unearthed in Wuwei for the longest time. The bronze galloping horse firmly attracted Guo Lao’s attention. He asked Comrade Wang Yi to take the "bronze galloping horse" out of the cabinet specially kept, and held it in his hand and watched it repeatedly for a long time from all angles. This is a galloping steed. One of its hooves swept on the back of a flying bird. The flying bird turned its head in surprise and looked back. A fantastic moment condensed into eternity.
Guo Lao, who has seen countless cultural relics, was deeply moved. He marveled at the impeccable posture and perfect sense of balance of his works, and sent out the feeling that "it is a first-class art treasure to take it to the world". He also said to the people present: "I have been to many countries and seen many statues of horses. The oldest of those statues is only a few hundred years, and I have never seen more than 1,000 years. However, our ancestors made such a vivid and wonderful bronze statue nearly 2,000 years ago, which has reached an unprecedented level in terms of artistic conception, superb technology level and structural mechanics. It is the pride of our nation." He said earnestly: "This is a large number of national treasures. There are too many national treasures here, and your responsibility is even heavier. Your task is to protect these treasures! If the protection is not good, we will be sorry for the people of the whole country, the party, our ancestors and our future generations! " Comrade Wang Yi asked: "Guo Lao, from the image characteristics and the ingenuity of the creator, we think that this bird stepped on the hoof of a bronze galloping horse is a swallow. The bird’s wings are slightly smaller than its body, and its arms are sharp and thin. When it flies, its arms are parallel to its body and are in a three-pronged shape, which is the reflection of the image of the flying swallow. The creator intends to use the fastest bird to set off the horse’s speed, and the fastest bird is the swallow. Can this shape be called’ flying on the horse’? " After a little thinking, Guo Lao even claimed that it was wonderful and gave a nod.
The beautiful shape of the bronze galloping horse makes people love it at first sight. Ordinary people will certainly think it is a good thing, let alone a cultural relic worker with certain professional knowledge. At that time, experts from Gansu Provincial Museum decided that the bronze galloping horse was a great cultural relic with high artistic value, which had long been treated differently. In the future, the bronze galloping horse became famous at home and abroad, and its value reached such a high level, which was unexpected by the comrades of Gansu Provincial Museum.
"Flying Swallows on Horses" is famous in the world.
On the second day after Guo Lao returned to Beijing, he immediately invited Wang Yeqiu, the then director of National Cultural Heritage Administration, to come home and gave him a detailed introduction of the bronze figurines, especially the bronze galloping horse, and agreed on the spot to transfer the bronze figurines to Beijing immediately to enrich the exhibition of unearthed cultural relics being held in the Forbidden City in Beijing. Two days later, when Guo Lao accompanied Premier Zhou to meet Japanese foreign guests in the Great Hall of the People, he also introduced Premier Zhou and said that he had agreed with Comrade Wang Yeqiu to transfer the unearthed cultural relics to Beijing for exhibition as soon as possible. The Prime Minister kept nodding and smiling while listening. And said humorously, "Well, you found the baby again. It is said that many people visited the exhibition of unearthed cultural relics held by the Forbidden City, and many foreign friends also went to see it. The response was very good and the impact was great. It is necessary to constantly enrich new content, and the effect will be better and the impact will be greater! " .
After the bronze galloping horse was exhibited in Beijing, it immediately shocked the historians and archaeologists, and caused strong repercussions at home and abroad. Some experts have published comments in influential newspapers, saying that the bronze galloping horse is "priceless".
In 1973, Wang Yeqiu, presided over by Guo Lao, was responsible for preparing a large-scale exhibition of historical relics for China’s foreign exchange. Originally, the bronze galloping horse was not selected for the exhibition. Later, at the repeated requests of French and British ambassadors to China, and coordinated by Foreign Ministers Chen Yi and Guo Lao, the bronze galloping horse participated in the exhibition in France and Britain.
In order to catch a glimpse of the China horse, there was a long queue at the entrance of the British Museum. The British audience praised it as "peerless treasure" and "talented China horse", and all the visitors were amazed. When exhibited in the United States, the bronze galloping horse jumped onto a huge poster and became the logo of the cultural relics exhibition. Foreign newspapers and periodicals rushed to report, praising the bronze galloping horse as "the highest peak in art" and "the bronze galloping horse has become an eye-catching star"; In the book "Foreign Devils on the Silk Road", the Englishman Peter Hoffcock said: "Although this’ Tianma’ has long since become extinct, its image has not been erased by sculptors and artists in the Han and Tang Dynasties. One of the most wonderful imitations is the world-famous bronze flying horse excavated by archaeologists in China in 1969 near Xi ‘an, the capital of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty on the Silk Road. " The bronze galloping horse shocked artists from all over the world, and since then, "riding a horse and flying a swallow" has become famous all over the world.
According to the statistics of "Unearthed Cultural Relics Exhibition" in 1975, from April 1973 to August 1975, with the glory of China’s history and the pride of the Chinese nation, Tongbenma toured 12 countries, including France, Britain, Japan, Romania, Austria, the former Yugoslavia, Sweden, Mexico, Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium and the United States, with more than 5 million visitors. For this reason, Guo Moruo wrote a heroic poem, "The four seas praised the bronze galloping horse, and everyone contended for the golden clothes." Guo Moruo was also regarded as the Bole of the bronze galloping horse from now on.
In 1973, "Copper galloping horse" was selected as the stamp "Cultural Relics Unearthed during the Cultural Revolution". In 1992, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications issued a set of JP32 commemorative postage postcards with copper galloping horse as the main picture. In 1977, the commemorative stamp of "China Tourism Year" was also issued with copper galloping horse as the main picture, which made it soar above the Great Wall, with profound implications and thought-provoking. In 1996, the United Nations issued a set of six stamps, including the bronze galloping horse, which showed the world the long-standing culture and art of China.
Foreign friends appreciate copper galloping horse.
Copper galloping horses in the exhibition hall of Gansu Provincial Museum
Past lives of Tongbenma
With the increasing popularity of the bronze galloping horse, the academic research on the bronze galloping horse has once become a hot topic. What kind of horse is it? Why didn’t this perfect shape two thousand years ago appear in the prosperous Central Plains, but in Wuwei, the ancient city of Liangzhou in the remote Hexi Corridor? What is the relationship between Dawan’s bloody horse and Guliangzhou, which is now Wuwei, Gansu?
According to historical records, the Han nationality has a long history of raising horses, but before the Warring States period, horses were mainly raised for pulling carts. In the Han Dynasty, Emperor Wudi, who had a rough mind, was determined to strengthen the cavalry in the army. When he learned that there were thoroughbred horses in the distant kingdom of Dawan, Emperor Wudi, who loved horses, immediately sent messengers to buy horses from the kingdom of Dawan with golden horses of the same size. But the Dawan people killed the messengers and took the golden horses away, and the angry Emperor Wudi sent sword of vengeance to the kingdom of Dawan. In 104 BC and 101 BC, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent Li Guangli, the general of the Second Division, to wage wars against Dawan State twice, forcing Dawan State to adopt the strategy of making peace and giving dozens of bloody horses and thousands of thoroughbred horses to the Han Dynasty. With the continuous arrival of good horses from the western regions, Wuwei has become an important horse breeding base. In the early years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, an official in charge of horses was specially set up in Wuwei. The official position was called "Pastor Garden" and the deputy position was called "Bi Mawen". The Monkey King in the The Journey to the West of Wu Cheng’en was named as a horse-herding horse-herding horse-herding horse-herding horse-herding official in Wuwei in Han Dynasty. It is precisely because there are too many good horses in Wuwei, so it is natural that the shape of the bronze galloping horse was born here two thousand years ago.
Li Xueqin, a professor of Tsinghua University and an academician of the International Asia-Europe Academy of Sciences, said: "The bronze galloping horse unearthed in Wuwei is a very special bronze ware. It is neither a practical object nor a funerary object specially made for human sacrifice. The image it symbolizes is the Tianma, which is known as the" bloody horse ". Looking through the ancient books of the Han Dynasty, no matter Historical Records or Hanshu, there are many records about the bloody horse. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty once named Dawan the "Tianma". The Biography of Dawan in Historical Records says: "Dawan is in the west of Han Dynasty, which is about one Wan Li. Dawan produces good horses, and the horses are bloody, and they are descendants of Tianma."
Painted Tianma Map of Tomb Murals from the Sixteen Kingdoms Period Unearthed in Dingjiazha, Jiuquan, Gansu Province
Some scholars have studied the pace of the bronze galloping horse. The bronze galloping horse steps on the bird’s back with one hoof, and the other three hoofs leap in the air, and the two legs on the same side leap in the same direction at the same time, which is invisible in the running of ordinary horses. This posture has a special term called "opposite step". According to legend, Dayuanma is a master of walking the opposite step. Therefore, some people think that the prototype of the bronze galloping horse comes from Dawan in the western regions according to the opposite-step modeling of the bronze galloping horse. However, some people think that the appearance of Tongbenma not only shows the fast and stable characteristics of Dawanma, but also has some characteristics of Mongolian horse. Its muscles are thick and its body is slightly stout, which shows that it is not a thoroughbred Dawanma. It should be that after the introduction of Dawanma by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, he crossed with Mongolian horses to form a China horse with a unique style, combining two horses with different shapes.
In 1977, a painted Tianma map was found in the tomb murals of the Sixteen Kingdoms period in Dingjiazha, Jiuquan, Gansu Province. A horse with a red mane and a red tail was flying in the clouds, which was surprisingly similar to a bronze galloping horse. When the bronze galloping horse was unearthed, archaeologists found that there were obvious traces of painting on its head and back. Nearly two thousand years have passed, and the color gradually falls off with the corrosion of the bronze surface, and the colorful patterns depicted on the bronze galloping horse can no longer be seen. However, today, people can still vaguely see the traces painted at that time in the eyes, lips and teeth of the horse, and see the painted patterns of galloping horse and clouds in other bronze horses. If the painted patterns on the bronze galloping horse don’t fall off, it may be like this.
The naming of bronze horse figurines is controversial.
There have been many arguments about the naming of the bronze galloping horse and the birds under the horseshoe for a long time. There are mainly the following statements:
One is"copper galloping horse"Say. The shape of the bronze galloping horse is extraordinary. It screams with its head held high, and its horseshoes fly like lightning, so it is called "the bronze galloping horse". Because it is made of bronze, it is also called "bronze galloping horse", which is also the earliest name for this bronze horse figurine;
The second is"Flying Swallows on Horses"Say. Although the title of "Bronze galloping horse" is intuitive and clear, Comrade Wang Yi thinks that the subtlety of this bronze horse figurine is that a flying swallow is stepped on the back of its hoof. It is obviously not enough to express its romantic artistic conception just by the name of "galloping horse". Therefore, it is called "galloping horse flying swallow" to show that the galloping horse is flying across the back of the swallow, and it has been approved by Mr. Guo Moruo. After that, the name has been widely circulated.
The third is"riding a dragon sparrow"Say. Some people have put forward different views on the saying that the flying bird trodden by bronze horse figurines is not like a swallow, but a sparrow, so it should be "Horse stepping on a sparrow" or "Ma Chao’s sparrow".
The fourth is"flying swallow"It seems reasonable to think that the above names, but it is not difficult to find that all of them have obvious characteristics of modern Chinese word formation after careful taste. The name "Fei Yan Xiang" is consistent with the characteristics of the Han Dynasty, no matter from the rigorous way of word formation or the accuracy of meaning. There is a bird at the foot of the bronze horse, and its symbolic meaning is concerned. When it comes to horses, people quickly think of galloping, and the speed of flying swallows is also beyond doubt. There are many poems in the past dynasties that used Yan to describe a good horse. For example, there is a sentence in Shen Yue’s poems in the Southern Dynasties, with the note: "Ziyan is a good horse." Emperor Wendi’s poem in the bamboo slips of the Liang Dynasty says, "The purple swallow jumps over the martial arts, and the red rabbit flies over the sky." In the second sentence, red means good horse, and purple also means good horse. Shan Li noted Xie Lingyun’s poem: "Emperor Wen has returned from generation to generation, with nine good horses and one flying swallow." In ancient times, the flying swallow under the bronze horse’s feet was undoubtedly used to describe the speed of a good horse, which made people know its meaning at a glance, so the bronze horse should be directly named "Ziyanzhu" or "Feiyanzhu", which is just the ancient meaning and the most elegant and appropriate;
The fifth is"Tianma"Say. People who hold this view think that the dragon finch is a fengshen, that is, Fei Lian. This is a divine bird, so how can it be the thing that a galloping horse treads on? In Zhang Heng’s Ode to Tokyo in the Eastern Han Dynasty, there is a saying that "the copper finches are winding and winding, and the horses are half Chinese." In other words, it is said that the dragon finch and Tianma in the palace are two corresponding bronze exhibits. Therefore, this bronze horse figurine is "Tianma". The Song of the West Pole Tianma in the Book of Rites and Music of the Han Dynasty once recorded that "Tianma can step on floating clouds and fly in the air", and galloping horses and flying swallows are exactly the image of "Tianma" swimming in the air.
Six is"Ma Shen-Tian Yi"Say. Like the previous statements, the "Tianma" theory has also been questioned. It has been suggested that "Tianma" specifically refers to Dawan bloody horse and related palace exhibits in the Han Dynasty. Emperor Hanming of the East set Fei Lian (the bronze dragon finch) and bronze horse (the bronze "big horse") in Luoyang. He personally traveled to Xi ‘an to meet him, even at the expense of marrying an imperial clan woman or making an army fight, and only then did he get a bloody horse, which was called "Tianma". Therefore, he wrote "Song of the West Pole Tianma", which was one of the ceremonies for the emperor to worship heaven, in order to praise the merits of the son of the Han family. No matter whether "Tianma" refers to a real horse or a bronze horse, it is only a symbol of royal dignity, and it is impossible for subjects to enjoy it. The Eastern Han Tomb in Wuwei advocates that the surname General is no exception. Therefore, this bronze horse figurine should be "horse god-Tian Yi". "Tian Xun" refers to the fourth star among the seven nights in black dragon, the East of the 28 stars in the sky, named "Fang", that is, "Tian Yi", also known as "Mazu God". Before the Qin and Han Dynasties, people regarded "Tian Zhi" as "Ma Shen". Since the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, horses were indispensable in campaigns, and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty paid more attention to raising horses, which led to the worship and sacrifice of Mazu Shen. It is natural that General Zhang, the owner of the Han tomb in Wuwei, rode on the frontier before his death to worship the horse god, and then buried the bronze horse god after his death.
things have come to a close
Although all the above statements are not unreasonable, all kinds of disputes continue. So far, there has not been a recognized conclusion, and it is still called the bronze galloping horse or the accustomed name of the flying swallow.
Tongbenma is the naming of cultural relics. According to National Cultural Heritage Administration’s unified standard for naming collections, the naming of historical relics generally includes three parts: time, style and author; Features, ornamentation or color; Category, shape or use. For bronzes, inscriptions are the main ones. If there is no inscription, it is mainly based on its production characteristics, unearthed location or decorative patterns. In the 1970s, when the Provincial Expo organized the unearthed cultural relics to attend the exhibition in the Forbidden City in Beijing, Chu Shibin, the staff who participated in the preparation of the exhibition at that time (who was the director of the Provincial Expo from 1984 to 1999), registered this cultural relic as "Bronze Running Horse" in the cultural relics file sent to Beijing according to the archaeological naming standards and the texture, shape and shape of the artifacts. Since the exhibition in Beijing, a bronze galloping horse has been used in the cultural relics field. The name of Tongbenma conforms to the naming standard of historical relics in National Cultural Heritage Administration, and it will be named "Tongbenma" in the warehousing registration card, collection archives and collection master register of Gansu Provincial Museum in the future. In 1996, the National Cultural Heritage Administration Cultural Relics Appraisal Group did not raise any objection to this name when confirming the first-class cultural relics collection.
The naming of cultural relics is also an academic issue. Once the naming of cultural relics is determined when filing, it is generally not changed unless there are obvious mistakes. The name of the bronze galloping horse has been used for nearly 50 years, and it has been recognized and accepted internationally and domestically, and has become a world-renowned cultural relic star. Of course, it is undeniable that although the name "Copper Running Horse" is concise and to the point, it is not satisfactory to have a horse without a swallow. The name of the bronze galloping horse used now does not affect the continuous exploration and research of all sectors of society. What people call it is allowed, and all sectors of society can participate in the research and express their opinions. This can not only provide valuable reference for the accurate naming of collection units, but also help to dig deeper and reveal the connotation and value of cultural relics. Swallow on Horse is its original name, which is full of poetic and romantic colors. With its appearance in the public eye, it has been accepted by people, and it has long been a conventional name. Although some scholars later thought that the naming was not accurate, they also proposed various new names, but none of them were heard. Only the name Swallow on Horse has been deeply imprinted in the minds of a generation because of its great spread and influence at that time, so it is still widely used by people.
However, no matter which name is finally adopted, this bronze horse figurine will eventually be "the peak of China’s ancient works of art", and its bold imagination and genius casting skills have left a rare work of art for the world.
In 1983, Tongbenma was identified as a tourist symbol of China by the National Tourism Administration. In 1996, it was appraised as a national treasure by National Cultural Heritage Administration expert group. In 2002, it was listed in the first batch of precious cultural relics prohibited from going abroad for exhibition by National Cultural Heritage Administration. This flying horse is not only an outstanding work of ancient craftsmen, but also a representative of many cultural relics in China and a symbol of ancient Chinese civilization.
(The original title of this article is "National Treasure Archives-Copper Running Horse")
