Master Archaeologist

Chapter 126 Mrs. Mijia
Lost wax casting method, or lost wax casting method, is a production process in ancient China.

To put it simply, wax is used to make a mold first, and plastic materials (such as clay) are applied externally to form a whole mold.

Then reheat the casting mold to remove the wax and form a cavity casting mold.

Finally, the liquid metal is poured and cooled to obtain a shaped casting.

The objects cast by the lost wax method can be exquisitely carved and have the effect of hollowing out.

In the academic circles, it was widely believed that the exquisite bronzes of the Western Zhou Dynasty, especially those bronzes with hollow work.

For example, the tomb of Zeng Houyi.

The base of the Zeng Houyi tomb is composed of many intertwined dragons, which are connected end to end and staggered up and down, forming a hollowed-out multi-layer moiré pattern in the middle.

These patterns are difficult to manufacture with ordinary precision casting techniques.

However, the lost-wax precision casting process can take advantage of the fact that paraffin has no strength and is easy to carve, and can carve out the same paraffin handicraft as the desired Zenghouyi Tomb Zun with ordinary tools.

Then add pouring, coating, dewaxing, and pouring, and you can get the exquisite Zeng Hou Yi tomb plate.

Moreover, the utensils made by the lost wax casting method, the complex patterns on the body, and the hollowed out animal models are all natural.

There is no trace of chiseling or engraving, it is perfect!

This craft has been recorded in history books and has been used in all dynasties.

However, when was this craft born in China, and when did it first appear?

no one knows.

Even after the experts used the lost-wax casting method to re-engrave the Zenghou Yizun plate, they dare not say with confidence that this utensil must have been cast by this method.

Because no one is sure whether there is another craft that can make such exquisite copperware during the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period.

It's just that after the chaos of the end of Qin Dynasty, it was lost.

This is not a random guess, but there are really too many crafts that have been lost in the history of China, and they are too numerous to count.

Some have been recorded, and some have not even been recorded, and are roughly restored based on unearthed objects.

Some crafts can't even be restored.

There is a lot of debate in the academic circles about when the lost wax casting method was first born.

Some people think that it has already appeared in the Spring and Autumn Period, and some people think that it actually only existed in the Warring States Period.

Because there is no conclusive evidence to prove that this kind of casting process already existed at that time.

Even the cloud-patterned copper ban unearthed from the Chu tomb at Xichuanxia Temple in the middle of the Spring and Autumn Period is almost considered to have been cast by the lost-wax method.

But there has been a lack of stronger evidence that can prove that the lost wax method existed in the Spring and Autumn Period!
Until, Chen Han found many clear traces of wax flow on the bronze plate of tomb No. M33.

This irreversible new discovery makes the lost-wax casting method, which has been controversial so far, come to a conclusion.

"With this copper plate, it is enough to prove that the lost wax method existed in the Spring and Autumn Period!"

Upon hearing the news, Kong Jianwen happily ran over to check it out, holding this rather ordinary copper plate with a bright smile on his face.

"It seems that the lost wax casting method is likely to be a craft originated from Chu State."

"It was researched by the bronze casters of Chu State."

The earliest surviving bronze ware, which can be roughly determined to be cast by the lost wax method, is a copper ban with cloud patterns in the middle of the Spring and Autumn Period, and it comes from Chu State.

This copper plate with traces of lost wax casting is from Zeng Guo.

And Zeng You and Chu have been in a good state since the middle of Spring and Autumn.

Obviously, this copper plate must have come from the craftsmen of Chu State.

In other words, Zeng Guo sent craftsmen to Chu to learn it.

Therefore, in the later tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng, there were also many bronzes cast by the lost wax method.

"This can be regarded as a solution to an academic problem that has been widely debated in the academic world and is difficult to determine!" Kong Jianwen said happily.

Chen Han nodded, and just about to echo a few words, the mobile phone in his pocket rang.

He took out his phone and looked at it.

It was a message sent by a senior sister who is a Ph.D. student at the School of Archeology and Museology of Peking University.

"Chen Xuedi, we have made a big discovery, come quickly!"

Seeing this message, Chen Han's eyes immediately changed.

"Teacher! There is a big discovery at the Zaoshulin cemetery!"

"I'm going to see what's going on now!"

After saying these two sentences, Chen Han quickly rushed out, heading straight for the jujube forest cemetery next door.

At the same time, it was at the Zaoshulin archaeological excavation site less than one kilometer away from the Wenfeng Pagoda cemetery.

Several old professors with half-haired hair and glasses on average were surrounding several chime bells and bronze vessels, holding a magnifying glass, studying the inscriptions on them nervously and excitedly.

"Shuai Yu's blockade, to grow the summer."

"This corroborates the inscriptions of "Yu" and "Xia" on the handed down inscriptions of Bin Gongqi, Qin Gonggui, and Shu Yibo, which proves that the cognitions of Yu and Xia in different cultural regions of China during the Spring and Autumn Period are completely the same! "

"Look, on this copper fou, it says "Chu Wangfu followed Zhongmi to add fou! "

"This inscription once again proves that Zeng Guo and Sui Guo are indeed one country!"

"The king of Chu followed Zhongmi to add fou, and she is the Teng vessel, which means dowry!"

"This fou is a dowry item cast by the king of Chu for Mi Jia when she married in Sui country!"

"Mijia is also known as "Sui Zhong", "Zhong" indicates her ranking in the family, and "Sui" in the address generally represents the country and clan of her father or husband."

"Mi Jia is from the state of Chu, so Sui is naturally the state of Husband, then of course Zeng is the state of Sui!"

A group of experts and professors surrounded these bronze wares, which was full of excitement and joy.

Compared with the Institute of Archeology of the Academy of Social Sciences, there must be more experts at Peking University.

After all, it is an institution for teaching and educating people. The most indispensable thing is professors, and all the professors involved in the sub-disciplines of archaeology are complete.

There are those who study inscriptions, those who study tombs, those who study field archaeology, those who study Chinese culture, and those who study the history of Xia, Shang and Zhou...

The excavation of Mrs. Mijia's tomb can be regarded as a room for these experts and professors to develop.

Each word of the inscriptions on these bronze vessels can be studied for a long time!

"Look, there is an important inscription on this chime!"

An old professor who looked to be in his 70s or [-]s held a magnifying glass close to the chime, and said word by word:

"The grandson of King Yu Wen, the Yuan son of Mu Zhi, left the country in Zeng!"

"Is this new material about Zeng Guo being the successor of King Wen?"

"Can you compare it with the "Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Sun of Ji" and "Left and Right Civil and Military" in Zeng Houyu's tomb?"

Everyone immediately turned their heads to look at the inscription on the chime bell. There were three or four crosses, and it was quite nerve-wracking to distinguish.

However, the old professor who spoke out was Zheng Xian, a professor at the [Neolithic Shang and Zhou Archeology Teaching and Research Office], and the director of the academic committee of the academy.

He is a well-rounded leader in the study of inscriptions during the two-week period.

A professor in the middle raised his eyes and frowned: "The grandson of King Wen, the son of Mu Zhiyuan, does this mean that the first Marquis Zeng is the descendant of King Wen, the son of King Mu?"

"King Mu is already the fifth king of the Western Zhou Dynasty!"

"Isn't this the same as the inscription on the chime bell of Zeng Houyu unearthed in the Wenfeng Pagoda cemetery?"

"The first Nangong was ordered by King Wu to open up the Zeng Kingdom, right?"

The grandson of King Wen, this sentence is easy to understand, and it does not necessarily refer to the grandson of King Wen. In the Eastern and Western Zhou Dynasties, the word "grandson" sometimes only refers to descendants.

For example, "gongsun" and "wangsun" are all descendants of a certain monarch, and they do not specifically refer to grandchildren.

But the following sentence "Mu Wang Yuanzi" can be used to determine the scope of Mu Wang's son.

This doesn't match the inscription unearthed from Zeng Houyu's tomb!

Several professors frowned and became thoughtful.

Just as everyone was thinking, the door of the cultural relics storage room was opened from the outside.

A young man who stood at the door and listened quietly for a while walked in with a smile on his face.

"I know why."

"Because the King Wen and King Mu in this inscription do not refer to the kings of the Zhou royal family, but King Wen and King Mu of Chu!"

　One more chapter.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)