Daomu Biji

I looked at this bronze tree and was so surprised that I forgot to ask Lao Chu what it had to do with the "great benefit". I just circled around it, watching it closely, and sighed incessantly.

Bronze trees are relatively rare cultural relics. In my memory, except for the ones unearthed in Sanxingdui, they don’t seem to be found elsewhere. I also learned a little about it from documentaries. The archaeological community has not yet concluded the cause of this. There are many theories, but from casting In terms of craftsmanship, apart from its large size, this bronze tree has no merits. Obviously, such a huge project can be done well, and aesthetics does not matter.

If you look closely, you can see that the surface of the bronze tree is not smooth. It is engraved with cloud and thunder patterns, symbolizing the divine nature of the bronze. Lao Itch asked me what exactly these carvings are used for? I told him that the decorations on bronze vessels were continuously developed based on the idea of ​​serving ritual vessels. To be honest, they were used to scare the lower class people and add some mysterious color, which had no practical effect.

Thinking of this, I asked Master Liang casually: "By the way, you are well-informed. Do you know where this thing is used? I know that generally bronze vessels are food vessels, wine vessels, water vessels, and some Musical instruments and weapons, these things don’t fit into these categories, right?”

Master Liang thought for a while and said to me: "Little Brother Ang, what you are talking about are all small items. For such a big thing, it is probably a sacrificial vessel. It was something from around the Shang and Zhou dynasties. It was specifically used for sacrifices. It is too old. It’s beyond my knowledge.”

Around the Shang and Zhou dynasties, Shang was more than 600 years ago, and Friday was 122 years ago, which added up to more than 1,100 years. If you add the Xia dynasty to the left and right, it was more than 400 years ago. Accounting for almost half of the entire recorded history of China, this judgment is tantamount to not saying anything. I asked him if he could be more precise, which period of Shang and Zhou dynasties?

Master Liang spread his hands and said there was nothing he could do: "This thing can't be seen with the naked eye, so I can only guess for you. Look at the thunder pattern at the bottom and the cloud pattern at the top. That means the sky and the earth are opposite, and the rust color is more black and gray. Maybe. It is one of tin bronze, lead-tin bronze and lead bronze. The Western Zhou Dynasty has the highest possibility, about 50%. I can’t tell you the other 50%. You also know the rules of our industry. I know one These are already pretty good. If I go into more details, I can only make nonsense."

There is a dividing line between dynasties in the business of making antiques. A large number of antiques were produced after the Song Dynasty. There are few antiques before the Tang Dynasty, and there are almost none in the Shang and Zhou dynasties. The industry does not know much about this kind of thing. Master Liang does Not bad, much better than me.

I heard him say so much, but still had no idea, so I continued to ask him: "Then according to the Western Zhou Dynasty. Can you judge whether Xitong's bronze craftsmanship can theoretically cast such a thing?"

Master Liang said: "I can't even answer this question. I only know that at that time, bronzes had to be made from pottery molds (pottery molds). Theoretically, as long as the pottery molds could be made, it would be possible to cast finished products. However, this The thing is too big and I’m afraid it can’t be made using traditional crafts.”

Lao Itch asked him: "Master,

Do you think this thing is a relic of some prehistoric civilization? I saw it in the newspaper. Iron nails were found in some coal mines hundreds of millions of years ago. This thing is so big, people at that time probably couldn't make it, right? "

Master Liang shook his head: "Two young masters, I really don't think so. The period from 1000 BC to the first year of AD is called the Age of Miracles in history. Many impossible things were built during that time, such as the Great Wall. , the Pyramid, the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang, the Tower of Babel, if you want to say that this bronze tree cannot be cast, it is difficult to say. After all, our ancestors were already able to cast bronze at that time. The emperor gave an order, and the people below were blinded. It’s not impossible to work hard and use it for decades.”

What Master Liang said makes sense, but why is this thing in this mountain? Shouldn't the sacrificial vessels be placed on the altar?

I thought about it over and over, but I couldn't come up with a reason. Instead, I remembered another thing, and asked Lao Itch: "I said Lao Itch, but you didn't even mention it if I didn't tell you. What are your great benefits? We I didn’t see anything good all the way down, and it’s the end here. Don’t tell me that the good thing is this copper tree? We are not rag collectors, although this tree is enough for a thousand rag collectors in a lifetime..."

Lao Itch said: "I knew you would mention it. Do you think I lied to you? Who said there is no road? There is still a long road." As he said that, he took out a few rubber labor gloves from his pocket, handed them to us, and said : "Bring this with you!"

I was confused and asked him why he gave me gloves and why he was talking about hygiene after that.

Lao Itch said: "What about hygiene? Didn't I tell you? Don't touch this copper tree casually. Bring this with you to be safe when climbing."

When I heard this, I became anxious: "Wha... what? Do you still have to climb up?"

Lao Itch said: "We've already reached this point. What's the big deal if we climb a few steps? There are so many sticks here, it's like climbing stairs. It doesn't take much effort. If you want to see something good, just come up with me. Make sure you’re satisfied.”

I don't mind climbing up a section, but Master Liang has just been roasted by the fire and is exhausted. If he goes up the tree again, I'm afraid his life will be sealed. If he collapses in a place where he can't go up or down, we still have to take care of him. He really doesn't have the spare energy.

I turned my head and wanted to tell him that if he didn't wait for us below, the two of us could just go up, but I saw that Master Liang had already put on his gloves, rubbed his face vigorously, and then patted me: "It's okay, finally - Guan, why don’t you go and see it!”

I saw the firm look in his eyes, and knew that he could not be persuaded to make useless attempts, so I tied my backpack tightly, raised the torch and said to Lao Itchy: "Then I will accompany you one more time. You think about it, if you are fooled Me, I'll kick you down in a moment."

Lao Itch rolled his eyes at me and did not refute. He was the first to step on the branches on the copper tree and started to climb. Master Liang and I followed behind, following the order in which he set foot all the way up.

The branches on it are neither too tight nor too dense, and it is quite easy to climb up. As we climb, Lao Itch reminds us not to let our skin touch the copper tree. We should treat the tree as a large piece of metal that is connected to high-voltage electricity, and we must pay attention at all times. Next action. Unfortunately, this only increased our psychological pressure. Our movements became more and more unnatural, and our hands and feet became stiff unconsciously.

Against the bronze tree wall, I could see more clearly. These outstretched branches are cast at the same time as the trunk, and the joints are flawless. Not a trace of forging marks. However, what surprised me was that the gaps between the cloud and thunder patterns on it were very deep, as if they were carved all the way to the depths of the torso, and I couldn't see what was inside the carved grooves.

By the time we climbed to about 17 or 18, we were all sweating and panting like cows because we paid too much attention to the movements. I looked down and found that I couldn't see the pit on the bottom. I could only see the faint light of another torch next to the door. At such a height, it looked like a bottomless abyss. At this time, Lao Itchi stopped and gestured for us to take a rest.

Master Liang immediately squatted down as if he had been granted amnesty. He was so tired that his sweat was light. My feet were trembling and I could hardly stand still. I sat on a branch with my feet dangling in the air and it was very unstable. I couldn't rest well at all.

Seeing that we were too nervous, Lao Itch threw the dry food to us and let us chew it in our mouths. He said to us: "You can't do it like this. There are still hundreds of meters here. With this physical strength, we may have to stay." Let’s spend the night in the tree, how about, Old Wu, tell us a dirty joke to relax?”

I was so tired that I didn't want to speak, so I cursed: "Go away, aren't you tired? Look at your calves trembling. If you want to tell dirty jokes, I don't have the strength."

Lao Itch took a bite of the tortilla and said, "I'll tell you what I want to say, but you have to answer a question first. Lao Wu, you said we discovered this thing. If we notify the government, can we name it after us?" "

I really didn’t know anything about this. I turned to look at Master Liang. Master Liang waved his hands while gasping for breath: "Master Itchy, have you ever heard of something called Cheng Wang Er Mazi Fang Ding, Zhao Tugen A three-legged goblet? Historically, the discoverers of national treasures have been farmers and construction workers. It would be interesting to name them after them. We don’t mean to discriminate against working people, but Chinese names are not like foreigners, so just use them. Yes, don’t you feel so cold?”

Lao Itchy thought for a while and felt that it made sense, and asked again: "Then at least give me the right to name it, right? Whoever discovers an island can be named by the first discoverer?"

Master Liang said: "There seems to be such a rule, but I haven't really studied it."

I asked Lao Chu, "Why are you asking this? You haven't made enough money yet, but you still want to gain fame and wealth. You don't think about how a person with nothing to do can find a place like this. It's not clear what you do." "

Lao Itch said: "I think this thing is quite interesting. What do you think of a name for such a big copper pillar? You guys should also think about it, so that we can have the same caliber when bragging about it in the future."

I didn't want to have these boring thoughts at this time, so I said to him: "You are the first to find out, and it's your turn. I'm not in the mood like you."

Lao Itch looked at it and said: "When I saw this thing, one word came to my mind. How about you look at this pillar and call it 'I love a piece of firewood'?"

I said in a displeased manner: "Have you watched too many unhealthy movies? You love Ichijo Chai. With this name, do you believe that someone will give you a thunderbolt when you go out?"

Lao Chi smiled immediately, and Master Liang shook his head happily. With this smile, he finally relaxed.

After we finished eating, we regained a lot of strength, and Lao Chu urged us to continue on our way. I raised my feet and was about to leave, when I suddenly noticed something was wrong underneath. I took a closer look, huh? Why was the other torch beside the door extinguished?

Lao Itch frowned: "Could it be that the wind here blew it out?"

I shook my head and said no. This torch is so big, many times more powerful than the one I work in. There is no way it could be extinguished by the wind. Something must have happened down there.

Just as he was thinking about it, suddenly the whole copper tree shook slightly, as if it had been hit by something. Master Liang took a breath of cold air and asked quickly what happened?

Lao Itch made a silence gesture to us, then made a trumpet-shaped hand and put it on the copper wall. Upon hearing this, his face changed drastically and he whispered to us: "Damn it, something seems to be coming! "