The place where the Zilong Tripod was unearthed and who its owner is are all a mystery, so there must be a lot of controversy surrounding the Zilong Tripod.
For example, its origin, the origin of Zilong Ding has not yet been confirmed.
There is also the year of its production, which is not easy to date.
A history professor at Shendu University pointed out that through morphological analysis, the age of Zilong Ding should be later than the late Shang Dynasty, close to the end of the Shang Dynasty.
A researcher from the Dahai Museum wrote an article pointing out that the Zilong Tripod is a masterpiece of the early Western Zhou Dynasty.
"After King Wu conquered the Shang Dynasty, the Zhou people took over the foundry industry and craft slaves of the merchants. As a result, the bronzes cast during the early Western Zhou Dynasty still retained their original patterns."
In this regard, some people have pointed out that there are actually many similarities between the bronzes of the early Western Zhou Dynasty and the bronzes of the late Yinxu period.
There are both inheritance and certain differences between them.
Zilong Ding should be assigned to the period of Emperor Yi, Emperor Xin (Zhou) of the late Shang Dynasty or King Wu of the early Zhou Dynasty.
Of course, in the opinion of some experts, this difference is also transitional.
The chronological classification of the late Shang Dynasty is relatively recognized by scholars. In fact, even if it was cast in the early Western Zhou Dynasty, the Zilong Ding can be regarded as the largest round tripod of that era.
The Zilong Cauldron is the largest round bronze cauldron discovered in the late Shang and early Zhou dynasties.
After confirming the age, it can truly correspond to the "square and one round" shape of the Simuwu Dafang Ding (the largest square ding in the Shang and Zhou dynasties).
The origin of the largest "Shang Dynasty round tripod" has not yet been solved. An inscription with the word "dragon" is a thousand-year mystery.
Encountering such a meaningful imitation bronze tripod, Chen Wenzhe had to go back and take a look.
Even if he knew that this was not a real cauldron, he still wanted to see how it was copied.
Although we can't see the historical picture of the bronze tripod, it would be good to take a look at the manufacturing process.
Unexpectedly, when I looked at it like this, I really saw some interesting things.
Because through this imitation, he saw the real thing, and even saw the creation process of the bronze tripod.
We can't see the real bronze tripod, but it would be good to see some historical fragments.
It was June 2004, and a piece of heavy news spread from Neon to China.
The largest "Shang Dynasty bronze round tripod" to date appeared at a private exhibition!
Cultural relic experts know nothing about this cauldron, so its "mystery of life" has not been solved to this day.
When the giant cauldron was born, you can imagine the sensation.
In June, a private exhibition of ancient Chinese cultural relics was being held in the Art Club of Neon Osaka.
The organizer is a Neon collector named Sengoku Weiji. Two days before the exhibition started, two Chinese guests came to Sengoku Weiji’s home.
When the two entered the living room, the first thing they saw was a huge bronze tripod placed in the room!
This bronze tripod is 103 centimeters high, 37 centimeters wide, and 43 centimeters deep.
The animal face patterns on the neck and three legs of the vessel are powerful and solemn, and the ears, which are about 22 centimeters higher than the bronze tripod body, add majesty to the entire tripod.
Such a majestic and huge bronze tripod is unique among the bronze tripods unearthed in China over the years. How could it appear in the home of a Neon man?
What surprised the two Chinese guests even more was that there was a two-word inscription on this bronze tripod, which read "Zilong"!
Therefore, this bronze tripod was called "Zilong Ding"!
These two Chinese guests are not ordinary people. They are the most famous bronze appraisal experts in China.
This time I went to Neon because of the rumors about this big cauldron.
Two experts who have seen countless heavy bronze artifacts and excavated countless large bronze tripods unanimously believe that this tripod is a masterpiece of the late Shang Dynasty. They suggest that the national level find a way to bring the national treasure home!
According to some international law conventions, in order for a national treasure to be returned to the motherland, relevant evidence must be submitted to prove that this thing was lost from the country through illegal means...
However, this one makes the experts in trouble!
It turns out that according to the neon collector Sengoku Weiji, the place where the Zilong Tripod was unearthed should be Hui County in Nanhe Province, China!
In the 1920s and 1930s, Neon launched a war of aggression against China. There was a Neon company called "Yanaka Co., Ltd." that was engaged in reselling Chinese cultural relics.
During that period, many Shang and Zhou cultural relics unearthed in Hui County, Nahe Province were resold by this neon company to Neon and overseas, causing a huge loss of Chinese cultural relics!
"Zilong Ding" was probably collected by neon collectors at that time.
However, the bad thing is that even if you know this information, you have no substantial evidence!
Therefore, the hope of trying to recover the national treasure by pursuing legal recovery is very slim!
China can only launch the second plan: purchase!
During the tug-of-war of purchase negotiations, Zilong Ding wandered from Neon to Xiangjiang, and was collected by a Xiangjiang buyer for the second time.
This time, the Chinese side was determined to get this important national weapon, and they sent many authoritative experts one after another to verify its authenticity while negotiating with the buyers in Xiangjiang.
In April 2006, the Zilong Tripod was collected for joint project operations by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage and the Ministry of Finance.
They spent a total of nearly 48 million to finally return the Zilong Tripod to the motherland, and it is now collected in the National Museum of China.
Now that things have reached this point, everything is going relatively smoothly.
However, the following series of mysteries about this giant cauldron have just begun...
Due to its huge size and exquisite shape, the Zilong Cauldron is unprecedented!
Together with its stepmother Wufang Ding, it is also known as the "Double-walled Bronze Ware of the Shang Dynasty"!
Undoubtedly, the Zilong Tripod is one of the top bronze tripods in my country.
But there are many mysteries on this bronze, such as the truth about the "dragon".
Also, who is the owner of such a precious giant tripod?
Why was it unearthed in Huixian County instead of Anyang Yinxu, a royal tomb of the Shang Dynasty?
All experts who have appraised the Zilong Cauldron are all shocked by its majestic kingly aura!
Everyone believes that the owner of such a heavy bronze vessel can only be the "King of Shang"!
However, the royal tombs of the late Shang Dynasty have long been known, located in the Yin Ruins in Anyang, Nanhe!
And what is the reason why the "King's Important Weapon" was unearthed in Huixian, which is not well known by people?
The "mystery of Zilongding's life experience" has become a hot topic in the archaeological community.
In fact, Hui County in Nan Ha Province is not an ordinary place!
According to the "Huixian Excavation Report" written by the Chinese Scientific Archeology Institute in 1956:
"Huixian County is located in the hinterland of Yinwei Ji. Due to its dense population, tombs can be seen everywhere. Nowadays, there are thousand-year-old ruins such as Liulice, Guyu Village, Mengzhuang, and Yuqiu."
That is to say, Huixian County has been an important place in Gyeonggi Province since the Shang Dynasty, and many royal nobles of the Shang Dynasty lived there!
The ruins discovered at that time also included the cemeteries of nobles from the Shang Dynasty, which may well contain the original hiding place of the "Zilong Tripod".