To talk about this largest "mirror" in the world, we have to go back to Qilu in 1978.
The reason why Chen Wenzhe knows this must be because he is from Qilu.
It is impossible for him not to know about something that is so famous and brings glory to the people of Qilu.
The discovery of this mirror was also by chance, at the time when the Jiaoji Railway was being expanded.
When we were repairing a large earth mound, we unexpectedly discovered many ancient tomb bricks;
No need to ask, there must be an ancient tomb down here.
According to local people, this should be the tomb of an ancient "consort".
However, as the archaeological team's excavation progressed, this view was quickly overturned.
The reason is also very simple, because before the main tomb appeared, the first thing that appeared in front of everyone were five large-scale "funeral pits";
The main tomb has not yet been found, but more than 1,000 precious cultural relics of various types have been unearthed from the "burials" alone.
The weight alone is less than 120 kilograms, but the thickness is only less than 1 centimeter.
In any case, from the technical content of the "Shu Xiang Rectangular Bronze Mirror", we can see how weak the "Qi State" was two thousand years later;
No expert has done an experiment on this today, and they must imitate the "Shu Xiang Rectangular Bronze Mirror" with the same material and the same shape, but the thickness of the "mirror" made today is much more than 1 cm;
We need to ensure that the reflected "human form" is not too deformed, and at the same time reduce the thickness of the entire mirror to the maximum. Such technology is difficult to produce even today.
But this ancient tomb is from the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period;
Let's talk about the decline of "Qi State". Taking Liu Fei as an example, historical records record that he had "one hundred thousand households". After that, Qi State was also the best among the princes.
Just a small mirror. As for banning overseas exhibitions?
After Liu Bang conquered the world, the "King of Qi" here became the fiefdom of his eldest son Liu Fei.
And it is difficult to ensure that the image in the mirror is still an "abnormal" human form.
And the degree of curvature of that metal piece was no longer the thickness of a "bronze mirror" in ancient times;
Speaking of which, no one understands. Today's mirrors are still 1 centimeter thick. How come a mirror from ancient times has become "post-tech"?
Those still seem to be enough to explain the decline of "Qi State".
Almost the entire Qilu is within the sphere of influence of the "Qi State".
This shows that the smelting skills of the "Qi State" craftsmen at that time even reached the world's top level.
And there are not many national treasure-level cultural relics like that in the country?
The "bronze mirror" has a large area and must be convex, so that it can reflect the basic outline of a person. At the same time, the bronze mirror is destined to be extremely thick;
After all, its material is relatively smooth "bronze". It must be made of the same material. Even if it is polished using "modern machinery", it will be difficult to break in such a small volume.
Speaking of "Qi State", if we go by historical records, the first generation king should be Jiang Taigong in "The List of Gods".
At the very least, it can prove that some of the craftsmen in your country in ancient times were really powerful.
To put it bluntly, it is not a container like a "basin" for water.
Before that, there were also "prisoners" made of pottery, bronze and other styles.
It was not until the Qin Dynasty that the "bronze mirror" in the true sense appeared.
However, as long as you understand the situation, you will completely understand that such a low-tech bronze mirror is still difficult to copy, and you will also know why it is a treasure and why it can be exhibited abroad.
Of course, "Liu Fei" is already from the Han Dynasty.
It is precisely because of such low technical difficulty that experts call it "post-tech";
However, looking at the "Shu Xiang Rectangular Bronze Mirror", it is obvious that it is a very small dressing mirror.
Just in 2002, the country promulgated a list of 64 national treasure-level cultural relics that are "prohibited for overseas exhibition", and the "Dragon Pattern Rectangular Bronze Mirror" was among them.
To be fair, let's talk about the thickness and pattern of the "Dragon Pattern Rectangular Bronze Mirror", but its 1.2-meter-high "mirror polishing" is not a project with very low technical difficulty;
That ancient mirror is called "Shuxiang Rectangular Bronze Mirror" today.
That's all. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, because bronze itself was relatively brittle, even the knives and swords used in war were less than 1 cm thick.
Let's do a simple experiment. Take a piece of common rough metal and look at it. What it reflects is mostly a deformed image.
With the unearthing of an ancient bronze mirror, the world has gained a new understanding of the subtle issues surrounding Qi;
It is even less difficult to carve patterns under such a "thin" bronze, and it is even very easy for the entire bronze mirror to break.
Archaeological experts inferred based on the cultural relics found in the tomb that this should be the ancient tomb of a king of the "Qi State" during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period;
Let’s start with the origin of “mirror”. The earliest ancient people tidied their clothes without mirrors. Instead, they used water as a mirror, which was called “jian” in history.
Although it weighs less than 100 kilograms, its thickness is only 1 centimeter;
But judging from the "dragon pattern rectangular bronze mirror", the earliest bronze mirror should not have appeared in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period;
An ancient tomb of this size is obviously not something that a "consort" level person can enjoy.
Seven, its own weight and mirror thickness will reach a level that cannot be predicted.
Not to mention, it is necessary to not only ensure the "abnormal image", but also make it a beautiful square, and at the same time ensure its thickness of 1 centimeter.
For the time being, based on historical records, even in the Qin and Han Dynasties, the so-called "bronze mirrors" were still very large and rarely round, which had nothing to do with their bronze material.
Mirroring the World - Among the ancient bronze mirrors, as long as they are relatively unknown, they all appear in a collective museum in the countryside behind you. Is that a small or big achievement? Of course.
Perhaps no one doubts this. This is because today’s mirrors are rarely flat “glass mirrors”;
That can boost the spirit of the Chinese people. God allows some people who have been kneeling for a long time to straighten their waists a little. How can it be a bad protection?
A treasure of that level is considered the pride of your country even now.
If it's not a lot, I mean, it's just a bronze mirror, isn't it a national treasure?
Its height is 116 centimeters, equivalent to about 1.2 meters.
But if you want it to show an "abnormal" image, the metal sheet must be bent to a certain extent.
Of course, archaeologists, historians, and even cultural relic restoration experts, we still have questions to this day about how craftsmen two thousand years later used pure handcrafts to create such a small "walking mirror."
It is that 1 centimeter thickness that experts call "super late technology";
The "bronze mirror" must be made smaller, because it was difficult to polish the mirror surface with the technology at that time.
He must have understood the situation, but he just knew that it was the smallest ancient bronze mirror in the world, so there was no doubt about it.
Of course, the back of the "dragon pattern rectangular bronze mirror" does not have a very simple decorative pattern.