Although they already knew that in the tomb of Wu Zetian there were the Nine Cauldrons of Yu the Great and the Twelve Golden Men of Qin, which were replicas of the empress at that time, when Old Wang and Liu Yue saw with their own eyes those huge items placed in a crisscross pattern in the tomb, the two of them couldn't help but let out a strange cry and pounced on them.
However, when they approached these big guys, they stopped at the same time, took out white gloves from their pockets and put them on their hands.
Old Wang turned his head and glared at Liu Yue, "Xiao Liu, why are you wearing gloves? Hurry up and record everything here. If you don't, I, an old man, won't be able to touch these treasures!"
After being yelled at by Mr. Wang, Liu Yue took out his camera awkwardly and started filming the tomb.
Liu Yue was a student brought up by Mr. Wang, and could be considered half a disciple of Mr. Wang. When Mr. Wang spoke, Liu Yue dared not disobey.
Although Zhao Yong, who was standing by, didn't know much about cultural relics, he couldn't help but widen his eyes when he saw the nine green tripods and the twelve golden men. After a long while, he asked Yang Jing in a low voice: "Brother Yang, are these the legendary Nine Tripods of Dayu and the Twelve Golden Men of Qin?"
Yang Jing shook his head slightly and said, "Brother Zhao, this is just a replica made by the Empress Wu Zetian. The real Nine Cauldrons of Dayu disappeared as early as the Zhou Dynasty. As for these twelve golden men, they were also replicas made by Wu Zetian. The real twelve golden men of Qin were not made of gold, but bronze, and they were much larger than the twelve golden men in front of us. If they were the real twelve golden men of Qin, this tomb would not be able to accommodate them."
"Are these twelve golden men really made of gold?" Zhao Yong was a little shocked.
"Yes, although it is not a very pure gold, it is much purer than ordinary gold nuggets. Don't forget, it was Empress Wu Zetian who created these twelve golden figures."
Zhao Yong shook his head, as if he couldn't believe that these twelve life-size golden men were made of gold. After a long while, he asked, "Brother Yang, I don't understand these things, but I still don't understand why Wu Zetian spent so much gold to build these twelve golden men? And the nine large tripods."
"Haha, Brother Zhao, if we talk about this, it's like a child without a mother. It's a long story. You know Dayu, right?"
"Well, everyone knows this. When Dayu was controlling the flood, he passed by his home three times without entering. We learned this in elementary school."
"That's good to know. The Nine Cauldrons of Dayu were cast by Dayu according to legend, because Dayu was also the founding emperor of the Xia Dynasty, the first dynasty of China. At that time, there were two so-called national affairs, one was sacrifice and the other was military. Let's not talk about military affairs, let's just talk about sacrifice. In that era, sacrifice was a way to communicate between people and gods, representing the religious beliefs of the people. It was a way to gather the spiritual strength of a country's people and further constituted the cornerstone of the country's legitimacy. Therefore, the right to sacrifice and sacrificial vessels naturally became the symbol of the highest power of the country. Whoever controls these things has the royal power."
"In that era, tripods had many uses, one of which was for sacrifices. They were also used as ritual vessels to distinguish the status of nobles, such as the emperor had nine tripods, princes had seven tripods, and officials had five tripods. So, when Dayu established the Xia Dynasty, he divided the world into nine states and ordered the governors of the nine states to contribute bronze to cast nine tripods to symbolize the nine states. At the same time, he engraved the famous mountains and rivers and strange objects of the nine states on the bodies of the nine tripods, with one tripod symbolizing one state, and concentrated the nine tripods in the capital of the Xia Dynasty. From then on, these nine tripods became a symbol of the regime!"
"In the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, these nine large tripods were regarded as state treasures symbolizing the state power. They were synonymous with China at that time and also represented the supreme royal power! However, during the reign of King Xuan of Zhou, the Nine Tripods disappeared. After Qin Shihuang unified China, he could only make the Imperial Seal and the Twelve Golden Men of Qin because he did not have the Nine Tripods. Because the Nine Tripods not only represent the supreme royal power, but also have the important significance of suppressing the national destiny. Qin Shihuang did not have the Nine Tripods of Dayu, so he could only separate the functions of the Nine Tripods, using the Imperial Seal to represent the supreme royal power and the Twelve Golden Men to suppress the national destiny of the Qin Dynasty."
"So, whether it's the Nine Cauldrons of Dayu, the Twelve Golden Men of Qin, or the Imperial Seal, they are all symbols of royal power. At the same time, the former two are also important national tools used to suppress national destiny. Brother Zhao, do you understand national destiny?"
Zhao Yong nodded.
"That's right. National destiny sounds illusory, but we Chinese people believe in it. Although the Nine Cauldrons of Dayu and the Twelve Golden Men of Qin are imitations, they can still suppress national destiny. Just like our Liaoning and Guangdong aircraft carriers, they are also there to suppress national destiny. With those two giant ships, the security of our sea borders can be guaranteed. This is a manifestation of suppressing national destiny!"
"Brother Yang, you know a lot." Zhao Yong praised with a smile.
The tomb was very quiet, so Old Wang and Liu Yue heard what Yang Jing told Zhao Yong. Old Wang turned his head and gave Yang Jing a thumbs up and said with a smile: "What Xiao Yang said is very correct. In the minds of us Chinese, Dayu's Nine Cauldrons, the Imperial Seal and the Twelve Golden Men are the national treasures that suppress the country's destiny. That's why we took so much trouble to come here today."
Zhao Yong asked: "Mr. Wang, but I think these nine tripods and the twelve golden men seem very heavy. We can't get them out."
Old Wang patted one of the nine tripods and said with a wry smile, "Yes, these big guys are really heavy. For example, this smallest of the nine tripods is heavier and bigger than the Simuwu Large Square Tripod. I estimate that the weight of such a tripod is as much as 800 to 900 kilograms. As for those golden men, they are even heavier. They are truly heavy weapons. There is no way we can get these treasures out."
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
