Inherit For Three Thousand Years

After Xiao Yao returned to Hanzhou City, visitors from the family kept coming, until after the tenth day of the first lunar month, that did not stop.

During this period of time, he has been sorting out the treasures of Cuiping Mountain, selecting some fake antiques and low-value Wenwan, and preparing to dispose of them all in a while.

Those high-value antique Wenwans were also selected for sorting and storage. It is convenient to continue to collect them or sell them for cash in the future.

What Xiao Yao cares most about are those precious antiques worth more than 100 million yuan. Although the number of treasures in this batch is huge, the ones that are really valuable are the most precious antique wenwan. Although the number of precious antique wenwan worth more than 100 million is only a small part, the value occupies this batch of treasures. More than 80% of the total value.

After all the identifications are completed, there are 78 pieces of antique Wenwan worth over 100 million in this batch of treasures, with a total value of more than 21 billion. The added value of the remaining treasures is about 7 billion. The total value of the Cuiping Mountain treasure is about 280. 100 million or so.

A batch of treasures with such an amazing value, even for Xiao Yao, is a huge surprise!

Although the collection in the holy soul ring is rich in the enemy's country, it is after all the wealth that Panwu has accumulated in 3000 years, and this batch of treasures was obtained by Xiao Yao himself. This kind of surprise is naturally not the same.

Among the 78 most precious antique artifacts, two are very special. Although Xiao Yao doesn't recognize the value of these two cultural relics, they have special significance.

These two cultural relics are the snake and chicken heads among the 12 bronze beast heads in the Old Summer Palace.

The bronze statue of the heads of the twelve zodiac animals in the Old Summer Palace was originally part of the fountain outside the Haiyan Hall of the Old Summer Palace. It was a red bronze statue during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty.

The head of the bronze statue of the Chinese zodiac is shaped in a realistic style, with fine castings, and the folds and fluff on the animal's head are clear and lifelike.

The material chosen for the casting of the animal head was red copper refined by the Qing court at that time. The exterior color was deep and the inner content was refined. After a hundred years, it did not rust.

According to textual research, the bronze statues of the twelve zodiac signs were arranged in a figure eight shape on both sides of a pool in front of the Haiyan Hall of the Old Summer Palace. They were called "hydraulic bells" by the time.

Every day, the bronze statues of the Chinese zodiac will be sprayed in turn, representing different times of the day. At noon, the twelve statues will be sprayed at the same time.

The Haiyantang Zodiac Fountain is a fountain clock designed according to the Chinese Zodiac. Every hour, the zodiac clock belonging to that hour will automatically spray water.

At 12 noon, the zodiac signs are sprayed with water at the same time, and the design is extremely delicate. The main building of Haiyantang faces west, and there are eleven rooms on the upper and lower sides. There are stacked sprinklers on the left and right of the door. Under the steps is a large water fountain. The bronze statues of the twelve zodiac humans and animal heads are arranged in the shape of "eight" on both sides of the pond. At twelve hours every day and night, the zodiac signs take turns to spray water, commonly known as "hydraulic clock".

The portrait of the Twelve Lives was originally set on the 12 stone platforms on both sides of the fan-shaped water fountain in front of the fan-shaped pool in front of the Haiyan Hall in the Western Building of the Old Summer Palace.

On the south bank are Zishu, Yinhu, Chenlong, Wuma, Shenhou, and Xugou; on the north bank are Chou Niu, Maotu, Snake, Weiyang, Chicken, and Haizhu.

These portraits are all beast-headed human bodies, the head is made of copper, the body is made of stone, and the hollow is connected to a water spray pipe. Every other hour, the portraits representing that hour are sprayed with water; at noon, the portraits of the twelve births are in the mouth. At the same time, the fountain is gushing, which is a spectacle.

These bronze zodiac statues are 50 cm high and have fine carvings. They are among the finest pieces of Qing Dynasty bronzes.

In 1860, the British and French coalition forces invaded China and burned the Old Summer Palace, and the bronze statues of beast heads began to be lost overseas.

Xiao Yao does not personally recognize the artistic value of the twelve zodiac animal heads in Yuanmingyuan, but its historical significance cannot be ignored.

The artistic value of the bronze beast heads in the Old Summer Palace is indeed very high, which is beyond doubt.

During the heyday of Qianlong, the Qing dynasty was strong in national power, and the level of craftsmanship was at its peak. This is particularly evident on the bronze statue of the beast head of the twelve zodiac signs in Yuanmingyuan.

First of all, the copper used in it is an alloy copper specially refined for the palace. It contains many precious metals. It is the same as the copper used in the copper cranes displayed in the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace in Beijing. The color is deep and the interior is refined. It will not rust after wind and rain. , Can be called a must.

Secondly, it was carefully crafted by the craftsmen of the palace manufacturing office dedicated to the emperor. The casters were refined, and the surface was also carved with fine chiseling. The fine details such as animal hair were all chiseled and forged. The results are clear and lifelike, and the key parts of the nose, eyes, ears and the folds on the nose and neck are all very delicate, without a trace of sloppy, showing a very high level of craftsmanship.

The bronze statues of the animal heads of the Chinese zodiac are made by Chinese court craftsmen, and the designers are artists from Europe such as Castiglione Castiglione; therefore, the bronze statue not only has a strong traditional Chinese aesthetic taste, but also incorporates the characteristics of Western plastic art.

The artistic value of the bronze beast head cannot be ignored, but it is still not as good as a national treasure.

If you only consider the artistic value of the bronze beast head, even if it comes from the Old Summer Palace, the value cannot exceed 100 million.

But if you consider the human value of the bronze beast head and the historical significance it represents, its value is indeed inestimable.

The value of antiques is only part of its artistic quality, and for some special cultural relics, the human value and historical significance account for a larger proportion.

The bronze beast head is the cultural heritage of our Chinese nation for thousands of years. It also symbolizes the prosperity of our motherland. It is also a historical testimony of the Old Summer Palace being plundered and burned by the Allied Forces of the Eight Nations. Its historical significance is far greater than its artistic quality.

Because of the special historical significance of the bronze beast head, how to deal with these two cultural relics, he still needs to think carefully.

Although these 78 antique artifacts worth more than 100 million yuan are precious, they are just ordinary cultural relics after all, and they are not worth moving him. What really made him care about was one of the jade slips.

The value of this jade slip was not counted among the 78 precious cultural relics, otherwise, the value of this batch of treasures would not know how many times it would be doubled.

Because this jade slip is truly a priceless treasure, it can no longer be measured by money.

The material of this jade slip alone has exceeded the total value of all the precious writings in this batch of treasures.

The material used to make this jade slip had disappeared as early as the Western Zhou Dynasty, and it was rare even in the long life of Panwu.

The jade material of this jade slip is called Kongming God Jade, which is a special material specially used to make and store information in ancient times.

In ancient times, there were many materials that could store information, but Kongming Shenyu was one of the most precious.

Kongming Shenyu can not only store text information, but also store special information that cannot be expressed by text.