The Paper reporter Shao Ke
The Xicheng Canal was dug in the Song Dynasty. As a canal connecting the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal and the Yangtze River, it is the main channel for water transportation out of the Yangtze River. Like blood, it has promoted Jiangyin for thousands of years. continues to evolve.
This urban section of Xicheng Canal, which carries the history of Jiangyin, also continues to witness the modern development of Jiangyin city. The Xicheng Canal Park project, which started construction in July 2019, plans to build the largest belt-shaped canal urban park in Jiangyin along the Xicheng Canal.
What is unexpected is that the construction sites on both sides of the canal, which are under construction in full swing, have become "gold-digging grounds" for cultural relic pilferers and sellers: excavator drivers and "professional treasure hunters" at the construction site are frantically stealing artifacts that are as old as the canal's history. Long-term ancient tombs. Cultural relics such as Song Dynasty Longquan kiln official kiln porcelain were sold through underground cultural relics trading networks.
The Paper News recently learned from the Jiangyin police in Jiangsu that the Jiangyin police recently cracked a major case of illegal excavation and reselling of cultural relics under the supervision of the Ministry of Public Security. The entire criminal gang of illegal excavation and reselling of cultural relics was eliminated, 58 suspects were arrested, and porcelain, There are more than 1,100 cultural relics of various types including lacquer woodware, gold and silverware, etc. 32 first-level cultural relics, 13 second-level cultural relics, and 49 third-level cultural relics have been identified. In particular, there are two first-class cultural relics - Longquan kiln celadon-glazed Ke-style furnace and celadon-glazed eight-sided cup. They are exquisitely crafted and well-preserved. They are rare in existence and are very precious.
The suspect identified the excavation site. The pictures in this article are all provided by the police
Cultural relic dealers
In December 2020, Jiangyin police received a report from the masses: two men took a taxi from Jiangyin to Jiangxi and were suspected of reselling cultural relics.
Gao Yuchao, a police officer from the Criminal Police Brigade of the Jiangyin Municipal Public Security Bureau, told The Paper that the Jiangyin Municipal Bureau quickly set up a task force, and criminal investigation, network security and other police departments collaborated to carry out investigation work.
The police identified the two men as Tang Mouhua and Zhou Moufang, who have been engaged in underground cultural relics trading in Jiangyin for many years. The two men had repeatedly mentioned terms such as "Longquan Official Kiln" and "antiques", and were indeed suspected of reselling cultural relics. The task force immediately launched further investigation into Tang and Zhou.
During this period, Tang Mouhua's behavior showed that he was extremely sensitive and alert. After seeing on the news that the public security organs carried out a special operation to combat cultural relics crimes, Tang Mouhua, an antique shop owner, took the initiative to donate a "Liu Jie Epitaph" stone tablet to the Jiangyin Municipal Museum. The stele is made of bluestone and is slightly damaged. The inscription has 24 lines and more than 460 words. The owner of the tomb, Liu Jie, had a prominent status and was closely related to Wang Anshi, Su Song, Wang Ling and other celebrities in the Northern Song Dynasty. The stele was later identified as a Class III cultural relic. At the same time, Tang Mouhua also repeatedly claimed to the outside world that he would "never touch unearthed cultural relics again" in order to confuse the police's investigative sight, and the police work reached a deadlock for a time. The
task force immediately adjusted its investigation thinking and decided to expand the gang structure from the outside. Yang, Zhao and several other cultural relic dealers who had close contacts with Tang and Tuesday people emerged, and an underground cultural relics trading network gradually became clear.
Yang is an antique shop owner. Because his father is in the construction industry, he knows a lot of excavator workers. He buys antiques and antiques and resells them to earn the price difference, or he acts as a middleman in antiques transactions and collects commissions. Zhao Moudong was once the director of a private museum. In the Jiangyin cultural relics circle, he was called "Director Zhao".
After nearly four months of investigation, at the end of March 2021, the police learned that Yang and Zhao had recently planned to sell a plum vase just unearthed in Sichuan to Hu Mouliang, a cultural relic dealer from Jiangxi. Because the criminal transaction of cultural relics is extremely hidden and the hiding place of the cultural relics is difficult to find, the task force decided to arrest the suspect during the transaction.
On the evening of April 3, the task force arrested three criminal suspects who were trading at Yang's residence in one fell swoop, and seized 550,000 yuan in stolen money and a plum vase on the spot, which was later identified as a Song Dynasty blue and white glaze with floral patterns. The plum vase is a third-level cultural relic.
The breakthrough of the entire case was opened.
Reselling "Zhang Xianzhong Jiangkou Shen Yin"
Shi Lianghong, captain of the Criminal Police Brigade of Jiangyin Public Security Bureau, said that after the first round of closing the network, the task force quickly organized a project consultation based on the preliminary investigation and preliminary trial, and launched a full-chain crackdown.
At this time, with the arrest of Zhao Moudong, the Criminal Police Corps of the Jiangsu Provincial Public Security Department received a report that Zhao Moudong was suspected of reselling "Zhang Xianzhong Jiangkou Heavy Silver" silver ingots . The Criminal Police Corps of the Jiangsu Provincial Public Security Department forwarded this clue. , Jiangyin police randomly launched an investigation along the lines.
The 16 "Zhang Xianzhong Jiangkou Heavy Silver" silver ingots recovered by the police
After investigation, in February 2017, Zhao Moudong and others went to Deyang, Sichuan to purchase 16 "Zhang Xianzhong Jiangkou Heavy Silver" silver ingots for 880,000 yuan, including 3 ingots. It has been resold, and the remaining 13 tablets are buried in the vegetable plot in my yard. At present, all 16 silver ingots involved in the case have been recovered, and 5 second-level cultural relics and 11 third-level cultural relics have been identified.
Police investigation also found that in March 2021, cultural relics dealer Hu Mouliang purchased two powder boxes from Cao, a "professional treasure hunter" from Jiangyin, on the introduction of Yang. The task force traveled to Beijing, Anhui and other places and seized two powder boxes, which were identified as and 5th generation - celadon engraved cover boxes from the Northern Song Dynasty. They were classified as second-class cultural relics and third-class cultural relics respectively. In order to find out the source of the cultural relics, the task force quickly attacked and captured Cao. After investigation, in March 2021, Cao used metal detectors, shovels and other tools to rob ancient tombs and steal powder boxes, ancient coins and other unearthed cultural relics at a construction site in Canal Park in Jiangyin City.
A celadon-glazed octagonal lamp from Longquan kiln in the Song Dynasty that was stolen and resold.
Based on the information already known, the task force focused on the clues that Tang Mouhua and Zhou Moufang went to Jiangxi to resell cultural relics. They found that the cultural relics that Tang and Zhou went to Jiangxi to resell may be from a building on the bank of the Xicheng Canal in Jiangyin City. An eight-sided lamp from the Song Dynasty was just unearthed at the construction site and was very profitable. The task force immediately closed down Tang Mouhua, Zhou Moufang and other related persons involved in the case.
resold at ten times the price
Tian Xiaojun, a police officer from the Criminal Police Brigade of Jiangyin Public Security Bureau, introduced that Tang Mouhua and Zhou Moufang confessed that in December 2020, they purchased several Jiangyin local unearthed cultural relics for more than 160,000 yuan through the introduction of others. Two of the pieces of porcelain (Bafangzhan and Li-type furnace) were resold to Yan Moujun, a cultural relics dealer in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi, for a high price of more than 1.6 million yuan.
The suspect’s confession shows the cultural relic dealers’ favor for “unearthed cultural relics”. According to Tang Mouhua, when he sold the Li-type furnace to Yan Moujun, Yan Moujun said that he wanted to try the glaze, “because the unearthed porcelain will absorb it immediately if sprinkled with a little water, so Yan Moujun sprinkled a little on the furnace. The water was not sucked out quickly, so Yan said it was a bit controversial. I understood what he meant. He wanted to buy the unearthed product, but he was afraid it was fake." Tang Mouhua said that he told Yan Moujun that he could take it for testing. If it was fake. Can be returned.
In order to trace the source of cultural relics, the task force went to Suzhou, Changzhou, and Tongren, Guizhou, and arrested four criminal suspects from Guizhou, including Zhou Moufei and Zhou Mouming, who were suspected of robbing ancient tombs. The police found that in November 2020, four criminal suspects discovered two tombs (identified as tombs from the Song Dynasty) during construction work at the Jiangyin construction site. They used excavators, shovels and other tools to excavate multiple times and stole more than 30 pieces. Buried cultural relics (including 2 first-level cultural relics, 4 second-level cultural relics, 5 third-level cultural relics, and many other precious cultural relics), the excavated wooden coffins, tomb bricks and other burial furniture were buried nearby, and then the cultural relics were They were resold to Tang Mouhua and others and the stolen goods were divided among them. According to the police, after the suspect identified the excavation site, the cultural relics department has intervened to carry out rescue excavations of the ancient tombs.
27-year-old Zhou Moufei confessed that he had been driving an excavator for seven or eight years. In November last year, when he was operating an excavator at the construction site, he felt that he had dug a coffin. Zhou Mouming and others who were with him found something and took it out. They thought it might be worth some money, so they discussed selling it. Zhou Moufei said that we often see people on construction sites taking probes to "hunt for treasure" at the construction site.
A "treasure hunt" tool for suspects involved in the case.
Police officer handling the case Gao Yuchao said that excavator drivers have communication groups, and they often exchange some newly dug "things" in the group. There are also cultural relic dealers who contact excavator drivers in the group to purchase them.The aforementioned cultural relic dealer Yang also said that on some construction sites during urban construction and development, there will be ancient life sites, ancient tombs, etc. The first person to contact them is the driver of the excavator. If they dig something, they will deliver it to them. They are resold in antique markets or by collectors. He sometimes buys some antiques from the excavator master at the construction site, and then sells them at a higher price to earn the price difference.
Eradicate "cancers"
Shi Lianghong, head of the Criminal Police Brigade of Jiangyin Public Security Bureau, said that in order to achieve a full-chain attack, the task force followed the principle of "investigating the source of the cultural relics involved in the case and tracing their whereabouts", targeting the residences, warehouses, vehicles and antique stores of the persons involved. The suspected cultural relics seized were traced back to their origins, and multiple rounds of centralized operations were carried out. Several professional exploration and illegal excavation suspects were arrested, and a number of cases of illegal excavation, reselling, and theft of local cultural relics unearthed in Jiangyin were uncovered. The illegal excavation cases uncovered by the
task force all occurred on construction sites developed and constructed in Jiangyin City in recent years. Especially after the Xicheng Canal Park project, a key municipal construction project, was launched in 2019, illegal excavation personnel colluded with excavations at many construction sites on both sides of the canal. The pilot committed a crazy crime.
Gao Yuchao introduced that during the handling of the case, the Criminal Police Brigade of Jiangyin Municipal Public Security Bureau hired city museum experts as consultants for the task force. Cultural relics experts worked with the police and participated in the entire process of recovering cultural relics, which provided a preliminary basis for determining the authenticity of suspected cultural relics and the preservation of cultural relics involved in the case. , providing professional support for appraisal work. Diao Wenwei, consultant of the task force and associate researcher of Jiangyin Museum, told The Paper that in order to identify two pieces of Longquan kiln porcelain, he and the police from the task force went to Shanghai to find authoritative experts in the relevant fields at Fudan University. The experts saw that they were so complete , the exquisite Longquan kiln official kiln black body porcelain was very exciting. Diao Wenwei gave an example. The lacquerware recovered this time has complete inscriptions. After reading it, you can know where it was made and who made it. The "advertising" words are also on it. These lacquered wooden wares play a very important role in studying the commodity economy of the Song Dynasty.
Diao Wenwei said: "These cultural relics were excavated by archaeologists, and their value is even greater. If the ancient tombs were robbed, many things would be destroyed, and a lot of historical information would be lost. It is heartbreaking. This time Jiangyin police finally eradicated the The "cancer" of the cultural relics trading industry chain hidden underground, and such good cultural relics have been recovered."
The relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Public Security said that the special operation to combat cultural relics crimes has been carried out for more than a year. As of November 30, public security agencies across the country have recovered. 2,704 various cultural relic crime cases were detected, 585 cultural relic criminal gangs were eliminated, and 5,368 criminal suspects were captured, including 22 fugitives with Class A wanted orders from the Ministry of Public Security; nearly 61,000 cultural relics were recovered.
The above-mentioned person in charge also said that cultural relics are entities that connect ancient and modern times, carrying splendid civilization, which not only represent the country's "hard power" but also embody the nation's "soft power"; they not only have important historical, artistic and scientific value, but also Regarding the international voice of academic research, cultural relics protection is of great significance to the country and nation. Public security agencies across the country will actively work with cultural relics departments to continue to increase efforts to combat and prevent cultural relics crimes, and continue to improve and improve the long-term mechanism of strict prevention, strict management, strict crackdown, and strict governance, so as to open roads, attack and prevent at the same time, and promote special operations to enter a new era. stage.
Source: The Paper
