My system is not decent

"I knew you would like it. If it wasn't too late, I would have an idea to copy a few more better cows based on the rubbings of the Five Bulls Picture." Zheng Yu said with a smile.

Chen Wenzhe nodded, this is a good idea.

"Zheng Yu is good at flattering. Didn't he just want to call you awesome? That's why you got so many awesome!" Zhang Yijie said with a look of disdain.

Zheng Yu didn't speak, just smiled.

Chen Wenzhe walked in and looked. These imitations are not simple, because their real ones are even more so.

Not to mention the Niuhu copper eucalyptus, this is a bronze ware of the same level as Siyang Fangzun and Ma Tafeiyan.

The bronze bull statue and another gilt bronze bull lying on its stomach are not simple either.

The Western Zhou Dynasty was the heyday of ancient Chinese bronze art, and Xishan, the ruling center of the Western Zhou Dynasty, was known as the hometown of bronzes.

The bronze bull statue now in the Shaanxi History Museum is one of its masterpieces.

The bull statue is 24 centimeters high, 38 centimeters long, and 10.7 centimeters deep in the abdomen. It is in the shape of a cow.

Niu Zun is extremely rare in wine vessels, and its design is extremely ingenious.

The cow's mouth is slightly opened, and the tongue is lightly sticking out. This is where the bronze statue is poured;
The tail of the ox is bent and drooping, and the end is connected with the body of the ox, which becomes the handle of the statue;

The most unique thing is the cover of the cow statue. There is a square opening on the back of the cow as the cover, and the cover button is a standing tiger. The cover and the back of the cow are connected by a ring button, which can be opened at will without falling off.

The belly, back and feet of the cow are decorated with gorgeous and smooth cloud patterns and Kuilong patterns, which are known for their solemn and magnificent artistic beauty.

Judging from the shape of the horns and the posture of the cow, it may be a buffalo.

This cow is definitely not simple, not to mention other things, it is just an artistry, which is better than many bronze wares.

However, if he was not mistaken, the lying gold-plated copper bull should be a national treasure known as the number one bull in Xixia.

Now the treasure of the town hall of the Xianing Museum is the gilt copper bull unearthed in the Xixia King's Mausoleum in 1977, known as "the first cow in Xixia".

The cow is 1.2 meters long and weighs 188 kilograms.

The gilt bronze bull is in a recumbent shape, with two horns on the top of the head, the angle is graceful, and the body is strong, even the back in the middle is faintly visible.

The gilt copper bull with wide open eyes seems to be resting on the ground after working for a day.

Suddenly listening to the master's call, they looked up at each other, with a strong sense of vividness.

The gilt copper bull is molded and cast, hollow inside and gilded on the outside, reflecting the superb level of Xixia bronze casting technology, it can be called a national treasure among national treasures.

To be honest, this number one cow in Xixia is also very legendary.

In 1038 AD, the Dangxiang clan established the Xixia Dynasty, which was called Xixia in history because it was located in the northwest of my country.

In 1227 AD, Xixia was destroyed by the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty, and cultural relics and classics were destroyed.

The once prosperous Xixia Dynasty was gradually buried in the dust of history and became a little-known "mysterious ancient country"...

In 1972, the state officially made the decision to excavate the Xixia Royal Tomb.

After several efforts, archaeologists finally entered the 21-meter-deep Xixia King's Mausoleum known as the "Oriental Pyramid", but found that the cultural relics had been looted by tomb robbers.

Seeing this scene, everyone was very frustrated.

A young archaeologist got angry for a while, and kicked the wooden door that had already decayed under his feet.

...

Suddenly, two golden ox horn tips "broke out".

When I dug it out, it turned out to be a gilt copper bull.

It turned out that the tomb door blown down by the tomb robbers happened to cover the "gilt copper bull".

Therefore, it escaped the eyes of the tomb robbers and has survived to this day.

Because of this episode, the gilt copper bull is also known as "a national treasure kicked out with one kick".

As a fine product of Xixia cultural relics, it is exquisitely crafted and known as "the first cow in Xixia". Now it is the "treasure of the town hall" of Xianing Museum.

In 1996, the National Cultural Relics Appraisal Committee identified it as a "national treasure".

Later, when I went abroad to exhibit in Italy, the domestic insurance value was [-] million.

Of course, if it were to be sold, it might not be worth [-] million yuan, but given China's current national conditions, it might be worth far more than [-] million yuan.

Not to mention other things, just the fine side of the copper bull is very amazing.

You should know that this gilt copper bull is 120 centimeters long, 38 centimeters wide, 45 centimeters high and weighs 188 kilograms.

The most important thing is that it reflects soft golden light all over its body. This effect is very gratifying at first glance.

Also, according to Chen Wenzhe's classification of artwork production levels, this kind of work must be at the master level.

Because whether it is demeanor or posture, this bull head is impeccable.

Its four legs are bent and kneeling; the head of the cow is raised high, with a calm demeanor.

The two corners are curved gracefully, the neck is wide and thick, and the physique is strong;
His eyes were piercing, but he was gentle.

It is not easy to make a big bull to such an extent that people can see that it is a copper bull sitting upright.

The "gilt copper bull" is very exquisite in workmanship, and it is molded and cast.

The abdomen is hollow, and the exterior is gilded all over, but due to too long time, most of them have fallen off.

Now we can only imagine its brilliance and splendor based on the faintly visible mottling.

Gilding is a very ancient metal processing technology. It started in the pre-Qin Dynasty and gradually matured in the Han Dynasty. It has been developed and used in subsequent dynasties.

Its production method is: first apply the gold-mercury mixture (commonly known as gold mud) evenly on the surface of the vessel with a "golden stick", and then bake it at an appropriate temperature to volatilize the mercury and retain the gold on the surface of the vessel;

After washing and grinding, it emits a bright gilt layer.

In the tombs of nobles in all dynasties, there are many gilded utensils as burials.

Due to the difficulty of the gilding process, only skilled craftsmen can complete it.

The discovery of this gilt copper bull in the Xixia Mausoleum shows that Xixia's metal casting technology and handicraft production are in sync with the development of the Central Plains and have a relatively high level.

Although cultural relics cannot speak, they can reflect history.

The Xixia people were mainly engaged in animal husbandry at first, so the livestock they raised were yaks, sheep, pigs and so on.

It was not until after Li Yuanhao founded the country that he tried his best to absorb Han culture and promote the development of farming civilization that the Xixia people began to raise cattle.

In the murals of the Yulin Grottoes in Dunhuang, there is a scene of "two oxen raising a bar" in the plowing scene in the Xixia farming picture that appears.

Under such a cultural background, it was possible for Xixia talents to create gilded bronze bulls.

Because at that time, the Xixia people had the same feelings for cattle as the Song people.

They cannot do without the labor of the cattle, nor can they do without the material results brought by the cattle.

The gilded bronze bull is the witness of this period of history, and also the witness of national integration and cultural integration.

It is definitely not easy to imitate such a copper bull, and it is still very vivid.

And most importantly, there are quite a few copper bulls of this level.

Big and small, golden and gray, they are all cattle!
Just judging from the demeanor of these bulls, one can tell that Zheng Yu is definitely paying attention.