In early 2013, a stone beast was dug out on , a Sichuan Grand Theater was built on Tianfu Square in Chengdu. This stone beast is carved from a whole piece of red sandstone. It is 3.3 meters long, 1.2 meters wide, 1.7 meters high, and weighs about 8.5 tons. Its ears, eyes, chin and nose are clearly distinguishable. The biggest feature is that the entire head is almost two-thirds of the length, and the part is decorated with auspicious cloud patterns, short and thick limbs, and round body. The image of a stone beast is difficult to match the animals we now know. Experts have not reached a consensus, saying that rhinos, stone lions, hippos and so on.
After investigation by many heavyweight archaeological experts, the carving period of this stone beast is roughly 2,000 years ago, becoming a major archaeological discovery that fills the gap in the history of Sichuan sculpture.
According to research, the stone beast is most likely one of the five water-town beasts of Qin Shu County of the prefect of Qin during the Warring States Period. This stone beast was also dug in 1973. Half of its head was exposed, the construction team asked the superior for instructions, and the superior asked for filling the soil and burying it.
After the stone beast was dug out this time, it was sent to the Jinsha Ruins Museum. Once the news came out, public opinion was in an uproar. Some people suggested that the stone beast should be buried back, otherwise it would definitely cause major floods or geological disasters. The official response is that the so-called use of the water-suppressing beast was a superstitious practice when productivity was low more than 2,000 years ago.
Perhaps it was a coincidence, half a year later, all places in Chengdu that had not seen floods for more than ten years were flooded. Continuous heavy rainfall since July 8, 2013 caused 900,000 people in Sichuan Province to be affected. On July 10, large-scale mountain collapses and soil and rock flows occurred. Those bridges that had survived the test of the Wenchuan earthquake collapsed one after another in heavy rain. According to statistics, more than ten bridges in Sichuan Province collapsed on the same day. Among them, the Baocheng Line Railway Bridge in Guanghan was washed down and two carriages fell into the river. That year, a large-scale continuous heavy rain occurred in Sichuan. The statement that "the 'water-suppressing beast' was poached, causing heavy rain in Sichuan to become a disaster" caused heated discussion on the Internet. Some rumor-mongers were arrested for this.
Recently, heavy rains have been falling in Chengdu. On the afternoon of July 11, 2018, a letter and reply picture from citizens with the title "Restore the Rhino from the Jinsha Ruins Museum" exploded the circle of friends of Chengdu citizens. Citizens called for the water-storing beast to be moved back to its original position! Officially, there is no scientific basis.
So are the natural disasters in Chengdu and even Sichuan all over the years related to the excavation of stone beasts?
Let’s first have a rough understanding of the stone beast designer Li Bing. Li Bing was a famous water conservancy engineering expert in the Warring States Period. During the reign of King Zhao of Qin, he was appointed as the prefect of Shu County (now Chengdu area). Guided by Taoist thought, Li Bing made great achievements in water control and built many water conservancy projects. The most famous of them is the Dujiangyan Water Conservancy Project built by Li Bing and his son. This project laid a solid foundation for the previous flooding of Chengdu Plain to become the country of Tianfu. Dujiangyan has become a famous scenic spot because of this. Li Bing died of illness at his post while building a water conservancy project in Luoshui Town, Shifang, Sichuan, and was buried on Zhangshan, Luoshui Town. Because of his outstanding achievements in water control, Li Bing was respected by later generations as the master of Sichuan. Later generations built Erwang Temple in Dujiangyan to commemorate Li Bing and his son. Emperors of all dynasties posthumously awarded him posthumous titles and gave him official sacrifices of extremely high standards.
Let’s take a look at the records of the stone beasts in the water-controlled water. "The Original Record of the King of Shu": "The river water is harmful. Li Bing, the Shu guards, made five stone rhinestones, two in the mansion, one under the city bridge, and two in the water. They are disgusted with (press) water essence, so they are called rhinos."
This stone beast is quite vivid, and it seems that the stone rhinestone is indeed used by Li Bing as a water-controlled water. As for whether this practice is effective, it cannot be seen that it is within us. It is subject to proof of time and scientific verification in the future.
This article comes from the original author of Zhi History Studio/Buwen
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