The cold weapons of ancient China are like bright pearls that will always shine in the long river of history.
They embody the wisdom of the working people in ancient China, telling the past of stone axes copper halberds and golden swords and iron horses, as if they want to tell all the experiences to people today.
Every time I look at the cold weapons lying quietly in the museum, I can't calm down inside. Some are already rusty, and some are as bright as new. However, no matter how different the appearance is, they cannot erase their protection of their master's life and their contributions in the war.
However, not all cold weapons have been baptized by war. Some have been labeled as noble since they were built. Their existence has also become a symbol of identity, and several swords are the most eye-catching.
As early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, swords had become a popular element. People with a slight status always had a habit of carrying swords with them, even a high-powered monarch was no exception.
For example, , the Goujian sword, known as the world's number one sword, is the portable sword of King Goujian of Yue, . It reflects the highest level of manufacturing of short weapon at that time, and is a treasure among bronze weapons.
For example, Zhanlu Sword , one of the top ten famous swords in ancient China, was written by famous sword-casting craftsmen in the Spring and Autumn Period, and later changed hands several times and finally fell into the hands of Qin Shihuang Ying Zheng.
When Jing Ke took the dagger of Mrs. Xu's card to assassinate Ying Zheng, Qin Shihuang ended Jing Ke's life with this sword, and the Zhanlu sword became an ancient sword with a story.
Since Qin Shihuang, the emperor's sword has become a standard configuration, especially the emperor who likes to fight in the south and north. His love for the sword is just like the current men's love for sports car .
Of course, in addition to wearing it themselves, some emperors will send their swords as a medium of communication. What we are going to talk about this time is a sword given to the Tibetan Living Buddha by Yongle Emperor .
The ancient sword is called Yongle Sword. It was once treasured in the Forbidden City. After being snatched away by Eight-Nation Alliance , it has now become the treasure of the Royal Ordnance Bureau Museum of the UK.
Zhu Di Sword given by Zhu Di
Ming Chengzu Zhu Di was the third emperor of Ming Dynasty . According to convention, only the founding emperor could be called "ancestor". It is obvious that Zhu Di was not qualified to be called "ancestor", but later a filial son appeared - Emperor Jiajing, who made Zhu Di the "ancestor".
Jiajing The emperor's father was just a vassal king. Because he had no children, the ministers supported Emperor Jiajing, the cousin of Emperor Wuzong of Ming ascended the throne. According to the regulations at that time, he had to recognize Emperor Wuzong's father first to be the emperor. In this way, he could only regard his own father as the emperor's uncle.
This made Emperor Jiajing very uncomfortable. he felt that he had to pursue his father as the emperor. As a result, this triggered the first large-scale etiquette conflict between Emperor Jiajing and his ministers.
The result was that Emperor Jiajing won, but this made him even more dissatisfied. He thought about enshrining his own father in the main hall of the Taimiao in the Ming Dynasty. The ministers discussed it and finally thought that they could only invite Zhu Di to Mingrenzong , which had only been the emperor for one year.
It was because he was afraid that Zhu Di would blame him, so Emperor Jiajing bribed Zhu Di directly on the temple name and listed him as his "ancestor".
However, even if Zhu Di was not posthumously considered the "ancestor", his actions could be called "Zuan". Taizong was Zhu Di's original temple name, which is naturally a recognition of his life.
Zhu Di was a horse emperor. After he ascended the throne, he directly created a prosperous era. He fought south and north, allowing the glory of Ming to radiate thousands of miles, and especially the jurisdiction over Tibet was more perfect.
Zhu Di conferred three great Dharma kings and five kings among the sects in the Tibetan area, and then several great national masters. The Zen master asked them to belong to the various sects in the Tibetan area, and thus strengthened their jurisdiction over this place.
Those who were enfeoffed can get the seals and treasures given by Zhu Di personally. It is also under this background that a living Buddha in Tibet can get the sword given by Zhu Di.
Ancient Sword was robbed
The Yongle Sword given by Zhu Di can be said to be a gift specially made for the Tibetan area. The sword body is 903 mm long, weighs 1.3 kilograms, and contains 2 kilograms of scabbard. The hilt of the sword is cast with iron, with dense dot-like protrusions at the hands, and a sword ridge in the middle of the sword body. Overall, it looks simple and classic.
The most obvious example is that this sword is used in its sword grid. The animal in the sword grid is the Buddhist auspicious beast "Qiong".
"Qiong" refers to a lion. In Tibetan culture, Qiong has a very high status and is admired by the locals. Zhu Di built this sword with Qiong as the sword pattern, which naturally took this into consideration.
Since Zhu Di sent out this ancient sword, it began a turbulent life. After staying in Tibet for many Spring and Autumn , it waited until Qing , and returned to Beijing again and was collected in the Forbidden City.
When the late Qing Dynasty, the Qing court's national strength was weak, and Western powers rushed to step into our sacred territory and acted unjustly. The most gritting thing was the Eight-Nation Alliance invasion of China. Countless treasures that originally belonged to China were also stolen at this time and were no longer seen.
This Yongle sword was also stolen at this time. As for which country's robbers stole the Yongle sword, there was no conclusion. It disappeared for decades and did not appear again in the UK in 1991.
The treasure of the town
The appearance of Yongle Sword attracted the attention of the Royal Ordnance Bureau Museum of the United Kingdom. This museum is very keen on collecting ancient ordnances, so Yongle Sword has also become a treasure that this museum is determined to win.
After consultation with the Yongle Sword holder, the two sides finally reached an agreement that the Royal Ordnance Museum of the UK invested 100,000 pounds to buy the sword.
You should know that money has a price, while treasures are priceless. Although 100,000 pounds were astronomical at that time, it was still a drop in the bucket for a museum.
After this, the Yongle Sword was treasured by the Royal Ordnance Bureau Museum of the UK and became the treasure of the museum.
If the cultural relics can speak, I believe this Yongle sword will definitely express dissatisfaction to the people of the country. After all, although life is stable there, it is not home after all.
It is really heartbreaking to think about it. It is our stuff, but after being snatched away by these robbers, it becomes theirs. So as masters, if we want to see our own stuff, we have to look at other people's faces. How sad!
The experience of Yongle Sword is just a small microcosm of the lost cultural relics in our country, and there are many cultural relics, and we still don’t know where they are.
The Qing court's bullying was the pain of our Chinese nation. The humiliation suffered a hundred years ago was like a sharp sword hanging above our heads, always warning us to work hard.
Nowadays, a century of time has passed, and our nation is no longer the Qing government bullied. Under the New China, we should also remember history. Only by not forgetting our original aspirations can we forge ahead, and only by not forgetting our history can we strive for success.
I believe that one day our things will definitely return to the embrace of the motherland.
References: "History of Ming Dynasty" et al.
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