Chinese civilization has a long history, with a history of 5,000 years and countless splendid treasures. However, with the change of dynasties and the changes of the years, many treasures of the country have had a bad fate and disappeared into oblivion. They are either lost forever by the smoke of war, stolen by powerful men, or buried deep in the ground and never see the light of day. The whereabouts of these heirloom national treasures have become unsolved mysteries in the long scrolls of history, allowing future generations to reminisce. Today, let's lift the dusty curtain and explore the ten most legendary national treasures that have been unaccounted for to this day, appreciate their former style, and feel the vicissitudes of time.
When it comes to the Empress Dowager Cixi, people may think of an imperial empress dowager who combines power and extravagance. She has included countless rare treasures in her life, and the famous one"The pearl of the Empress's night", it is well-known in the capital and famous all over the world.
According to the records of the Qing Palace, this night pearl is full of lushness, like a pigeon's egg, and can emit a faint green light at night, placed indoors, can illuminate several zhang away. Legend has it that wearing this bead can ward off evil spirits and ensure safety. The Empress Dowager Cixi loved this treasure and regarded it as a treasure. In 1908, when Cixi was dying, the eunuch Li Lianying put the night pearl in Cixi's mouth, so that she died with pearls, and was buried in the tomb of Cixi in the Eastern Tomb of the Qing Dynasty.
In 1928, the Beiyang warlord Sun Dianying openly excavated the tomb of Cixi in order to replenish his military salary. Sun Dianying once claimed that Cixi had a huge night pearl in her mouth, which was made up of two pieces of pearl, held in her hand, which could reflect the magnificence and be priceless. However, where the night pearl of Cixi went after Sun Dianying's tomb was looted has become an unsolved mystery.
There are various theories circulating in the market, some people say that Sun Dianying dedicated the Night Pearl to Zhang Zuolin, who was powerful at that time, to curry favor, and some people say that Sun Dianying gave the Night Pearl to his side room when he fled**, and there are also rumors that the Night Pearl eventually fell into the hands of the Japanese or Americans. What the truth is, it is difficult to verify. The whereabouts of the pearl of Cixi's night are probably only known to the person concerned. As the most prestigious national treasure of the late Qing Dynasty, the mysterious disappearance of the Cixi Night Pearl adds a touch of suspense to that turbulent history.
The Old Summer Palace, once the summer palace of the Qing Dynasty emperor, is known for its exquisite architecture and ingenuity"The Garden of Ten Thousand Gardens"。Among them, the most prestigious is the bronze statue of the head of the 12 zodiac animals in front of the Haiyan Hall of the Old Summer Palace. They were designed by the famous Italian court painter Lang Shining, and they are a masterpiece of Chinese and Western art. The head of the beast is about 16 meters, using the most advanced casting technology at that time, cast in bronze, inlaid with various colored gemstones, meaning auspicious wishes.
The 12 zodiac animal heads stand under the eaves of the corridor of Haiyan Hall, and together with the Great Water Law, they form a group of magnificent waterscape fountains. Every birthday and festival of the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, he would feast on the princes and nobles here, which was pleasing to the eye. However, when the Second Opium War broke out in 1860, the British and French forces sacked the Old Summer Palace and looted this group of national treasures. Some of the bronze statues of animal heads were melted down, while others were plundered to Europe as trophies, where they were sold in auction houses and museums.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, ** began to vigorously pursue the cultural relics and treasures lost overseas. With the unremitting efforts of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, seven animal heads of cows, monkeys, tigers, pigs, rats, rabbits and horses have returned to the motherland. Five of them are now in the collection of the Palace Museum, weaving glorious memories of the Ming Dynasty. However, there are still 5 dragons, snakes, sheep, chickens, and dogs whose whereabouts are unknown, and their whereabouts are a mystery. Twelve beast heads, it is difficult to reunite. For every Chinese, the bronze statue of the beast head in the Old Summer Palace is not only a group of jade sculptures, but also an untouchable painful memory.
Emperor Qianlong was a poet and a collector. In his lifetime, he accumulated countless treasures, the most famous of which is the name"Nine Dragons Sword"of the Blade. It is reported that this sword is about 5 feet long, and the hilt of the sword is carved with a nine-dragon pattern, implying the supreme of the Ninety-Five Dynasty and the prosperity of the four seasons. The blade is made of stainless steel, and the blade is extremely sharp. The scabbard is wrapped in precious shark skin and inlaid with rubies, sapphires and other jewels. In the luxury, it reveals majesty and domineering.
After Qianlong's death, according to his last wishes, the Nine Dragons Sword was placed in the burial tomb and accompanied the monarch into the Spring Road. What is less known is that there is not only one tomb of Qianlong. He domineeringly chose Yuling in Longquanguan, Yi County, Hebei Province as his resting place, and at the same time built a Chongling Mausoleum in the Rehe Summer Resort, intending to deceive tomb robbers and escort his own mausoleum. Unfortunately, Yuling, Yixian County, which Qianlong painstakingly managed, still could not escape its doom.
In 1928, the Hebei warlord Sun Dianying"Refurbishment of the garden"In the name of it, troops were sent to surround Yuling and dig day and night. Sun Dianying said afterwards that the Yuling underground palace was full of dazzling colors, gold, silver and jewelry, but the Nine Dragons Sword was the most eye-catching. The sword body is shining, and the Nine Dragons carvings are lifelike and breathtaking. However, after Sun Dianying ransacked the Qianlong Mausoleum, this unparalleled sword disappeared and returned to darkness.
There are many rumors about the whereabouts of the Nine Dragons Sword. Some people say that Sun Dianying dedicated it to the people to curry favor with him, and there are also sayings that the sword was hidden by Sun Dianying, and later it was coveted by Dai Li, the head of the Kuomintang military command, and Sun had to give it at a low price. But soon, when Dai Li took a plane to Chongqing to report to Chiang Kai-shek, he encountered a plane crash, the plane was destroyed and people died, and the sword was gone. The mysterious disappearance of the Nine Dragons Sword makes people think about it and wonder what they can't understand.
Speaking of ancient heirlooms, I have to mention the ancient treasures that have been recited through the ages"and Shibi"。According to the "Historical Records", a man named Bian He found a strange piece of jade in the barren mountains, and he concluded that it was a rare treasure, so he wanted to offer it to the king of Chu. However, fate made people, Bian He went through several twists and turns, went through hardships, and finally died in the process of dedicating himself to the king of Chu and following King Huai. Since then, He's Bi has changed hands several times and finally fell into the hands of King Zhao.
After King Zhaoxiang of Qin took charge of the Qin State, he was ambitious and bent on annexing the Six Kingdoms and dominating the world. He learned that Zhao Guo had a piece of beautiful jade, and he had coveted it for a long time. Therefore, he sent people to exchange fifteen cities for Heshibi. King Zhao was full of doubts and sent the general Lian Po to lead the army to escort He's Bi. When King Qin Zhaoxiang saw Baoyu, he was overjoyed, but in the name of the covenant of the city, he turned the gun and seized Lian Po. Lian Po was angry and took the general of Qin to the border, so as to blackmail the king of Qin. King Qin had no choice but to cede the land and pay compensation and release people for jade. That's what makes people famous"Finish back to Zhao"Allusion.
Since then, He's Bi has changed hands several times, and it is said that it has been collected and played by the first emperor, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Wang Mang and other emperors. During the rebellion of the Eight Kings of the Western Jin Dynasty, it was rumored that He's Bi fell into the hands of Sima Rui. Until the end of the Tang Dynasty, the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, after the Tang Dynasty Zhuangzong Li Cunmian defeated Tongguan, burned the palace in anger, and Yonghe Bi ** died. He Shibi has also been missing since then, and has disappeared into the dust of history.
Regarding the disappearance of He Shibi, there are different opinions in the historical circles. Some people believe that the He clan was lost in the war of the change of dynasty, or was pocketed by a powerful person who hid the treasure and buried deep underground; Some people also speculate that He's Bi may have been buried in an imperial mausoleum, and he was buried underground with the king. Some scholars have theorized that as a national treasure during the Warring States Period, He's Bi was probably taken to Xianyang after Qin Shi Huang unified the Six Kingdoms, and was eventually buried with the First Emperor in the Tomb of Qishan. I'm afraid only time will tell the answer to this puzzle.
In the field of paleoanthropology, the Peking Man skull fossil can be called an ancient treasure. In 1929, the famous paleontologist Pei Wenzhong found a fossil ancient human skull in Zhoukoudian, which was 500,000 BC and 200,000 years old Homo erectus skull after many researches, and named it"Pekingese"。This discovery caused a sensation in the scientific community at home and abroad, becoming the earliest evidence of human activities in China and even Asia, filling the gap in the genealogy of human evolution.
Unfortunately, after the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War, the fate of this rare treasure changed dramatically. In 1941, the sound of iron hooves of the invading Japanese army approached Beiping City. In order to preserve these national treasure-level fossils, scholars such as Gu Jiegang and Pei Wenzhong decided to secretly ship them to the United States. In early December, the fossilized skulls were carefully boxed and loaded onto trains overnight. However, when they arrived near Shanhaiguan, the Japanese army set up a card to search, and the skull of the Peking man disappeared and its whereabouts were unknown.
The mysterious disappearance of the Peking Man skull has become a major unsolved case in the archaeological community in the 20th century. Rumor has it that the skull was stolen by U.S. soldiers in a box and hidden in the basement of a museum in the United States. More scholars tend to suggest that the skull was intercepted by the Japanese during transit and subsequently sunk into the Bohai Bay. It is also speculated that the Japanese army brought it back to Japan, where it is now in a Japanese museum. There is no way to verify the truth. The disappearance of the Peking Man skull is a microcosm of the looting of Chinese civilization and a great loss to the entire world cultural heritage community.
In 221 BC, Qin Shi Huang ruled the world and established an unprecedentedly powerful centralized empire. In order to demonstrate the supremacy of imperial power, he ordered the disarming of the world, and the bronze weapons were melted into twelve golden figures, up to more than zhang, and each respected up to 100 stones. The twelve golden men are mighty and extraordinary, implying that the twelve states of the world are subservient to the feet of the King of Qin. The history book "Yanzi Spring and Autumn" contains:"King Qin Zhao cast twelve gold people, thinking that the town of Guan Liang showed that the world was not opposed. "
After the fall of the Qin Dynasty, the whereabouts of the twelve golden men became a mystery. In the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, Zhang Liang entered the Qin Palace, only to see the ruins and broken walls, the scene was desolate, but there was no trace of the Jinren. Sima Qian did not mention anything in the "Historical Records", and he did not seem to know about these important weapons of the country. It was not until the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty that Cui Yan, the minister of Wei during the Three Kingdoms period, vaguely mentioned it in the article "Political Commentary"."Shuyun Qin has twelve golden people, and the terrain is dangerous"。So, where did these priceless giant gold men go?
There are three theories in the field of historiography about this. The first is that the Jin people were buried with the underground palace of the mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, and they are still waiting to be excavated under the vast loess. In 2002, a batch of copper parts were found in the terracotta warriors and horses pit of Qin Shi Huang, suspected to be fragments of gold figures, which further strengthened this speculation in the academic community. The second theory says that the Jin people were dug up and destroyed by Xiang Yu. After Xiang Yu captured Xianyang, he hated the Qin Dynasty so much that he burned the Qin Palace, excavated the tomb of the First Emperor, destroyed the temple, and burned the classics. The third speculation is that after Liu Bang, the founding emperor of the Western Han Dynasty, became the ruler of Xianyang, he melted and minted gold figures into gold bars and coins to enrich the treasury and reward soldiers.
Either way, the twelve golden men of Qin have disappeared in the smoke and clouds of time. These majestic golden giants sounded the death knell for the corrupt rule of the Qin Dynasty. In a sense, their disappearance, like the dramatic collapse of the Qin Empire, became a timeless footnote to the rise and fall of history.
Wang Xizhi, the founder of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, is also a peerless figure in the history of calligraphy. His hand-me-down calligraphy "Orchid Pavilion Collection Preface" is a milestone work in the history of calligraphy in China and even the world. "Lanting Collection Preface" was created in 353 A.D., Wang Xizhi was invited by a friend, and Xie An, Sun Sui and other 41 literati and scholars gathered in the Lanting Pavilion of Huiji. This popular article, with a hearty penmanship, expresses the sigh of the impermanence of life, the insight into the changes of fate, and the longing for the unity of heaven and man, accompanied by smooth and free calligraphy, which can be called the perfect combination of calligraphy and literature.
After the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the original handiwork of "Lanting Collection Preface" changed hands several times, and it is said that it was collected by emperors such as Taizong of the Tang Dynasty and Huizong of the Song Dynasty. However, unfortunately, the original trace of "Lanting Collection Preface" mysteriously disappeared in the late Tang Dynasty and was nowhere to be found. Song Huizong personally copied it, although it was like a god, but it was not a genuine work. Since then, the whereabouts of this book has become a hot topic of discussion among literati and writers after dinner.
There are all kinds of rumors about the disappearance of "Lanting Collection Preface". It is said that Tang Taizong forgot to return it after enjoying the game, and was burned by the palace maid as waste paper. It is also said that during the Tang Dynasty Xuanzong, the "Lanting Collection Preface" was included in the inner house, and later due to the Anshi Rebellion, the palace shook fire and turned into ashes. There is also a wild history that the "Lanting Collection Preface" was rewarded to the meritorious heroes by Tang Taizong or Tang Xuanzong, and then framed into the painting scroll, and the color faded over time without being discovered. In short, there are different opinions.
Although the original works have been lost, the artistic value and humanistic spirit of the "Orchid Pavilion Collection Preface" have never faded with time. Since the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the exquisite brushwork and majestic momentum of this national treasure have infected and influenced generations of calligraphers and become an eternal classic of Chinese culture. Although its authentic works are unknown, the meaning of its smooth ink and exuberant freedom is engraved in the cultural genes of every Chinese and stands on the spiritual monument of national rejuvenation.
The Yongle Canon, the most vast encyclopedia in ancient China, can be called the culmination of Chinese civilization. It is compiled by the Ming Dynasty Emperor Zhu Di's edict ministers, gathering the wisdom of scholars all over the world, such as the subset of scriptures and history, astronomy and geography, medicine and divination, Buddhism and morality, all-encompassing, a huge work, the whole book is as many as 22,937 volumes, about 370 million words, the culmination of ancient and modern wisdom, known as"A masterpiece of the ancients, a treasure of the future"。
At the beginning of the Yongle ceremony, Zhu Di made fine woodcuts, engraving printing, exquisite binding, many skilled craftsmen day and night, it took more than a year, three sets of originals, each set is color printing, gold wire fence, and equipped with rosewood bookcase. The three sets of originals are divided into Nanjing, Beijing, and Jinling. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Yongle Grand Ceremony has been stored in the inner mansion and regarded as a treasure. During the Qianlong period, Rehe, Shengjing, and Yangzhou successively engraved copies, and the version of the Yongle Grand Ceremony was expanded to six sets.
However, the sky is unpredictable. In 1860, the Second Opium War broke out, and the British and French forces invaded Beijing and burned the Old Summer Palace. The fire was not extinguished for three days, and the two originals and some copies of the Yongle Ceremony were reduced to ashes. In 1900, the Eight-Nation Coalition sacked Beijing again, and the remaining Yongle Ceremony was scattered. Today, there are more than 400 loose copies of various editions of the Yongle Canon, which are stored in libraries, museums and private collections in China, the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, Japan and other countries.
The Yongle Canon is vast, condenses the most extensive academic content of ancient China, is the culmination of traditional Chinese culture, and is an encyclopedia for a comprehensive understanding of ancient China. However, due to the long period of time and frequent wars, most of the versions of the Yongle Ceremony have been scattered and destroyed, and the truly intact Yongle Ceremony has no chance of future generations. It is difficult for us to get a glimpse of this immortal masterpiece of human civilization, and this cannot but be said to be a huge loss to the Chinese civilization and the treasure house of human knowledge.
The supreme symbol of the emperor's power is the jade seal. Since Qin Shi Huang unified the six countries and established the first centralized empire, the jade seal has become a sacred thing that symbolizes the orthodoxy of imperial power and the unification of the country. Qin Shi Huang specially sent Prime Minister Li Si to take the beautiful jade of Lantian and ordered good craftsmen to carve it carefully. This jade seal is green and warm all over, and it is engraved"Ordered by the sky, both longevity and eternal prosperity"Eight simple and vigorous characters, the pen is vigorous and powerful, and it is done in one go. From the Qin Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty, this jade seal has been passed on to successive emperors and witnessed the ups and downs of the dynasty.
However, in five dynasties and ten countries, the world has changed again, and smoke is everywhere. In 907 AD, Zhu Wen captured the eastern capital of Luoyang, and imprisoned Emperor Ai of Tang, who was carrying the jade seal of the country, in another palace, and then killed him. Zhu Wen stole the country to stand on his own, founded the country, and became the first secession regime in the five dynasties. After the fall of the Later Liang, the jade seal of the country was obtained by Li Cunmiao, the Zhuangzong of the Later Tang Dynasty. In the fourth year of Tongguang in the Later Tang Dynasty, the Khitan went south and captured Tokyo, and the Later Tang Dynasty perished. Li Cunmiao knew that the general trend had gone, so he ordered to burn incense and bathe left and right, wear a dragon robe, hold the jade seal of the country, and hang himself.
The whereabouts of the jade seal are then unknown. Folklore says that during the war after the fall of Tokyo, the jade seal was stolen and thrown into the Luoshui River, sinking to the bottom of the river. Some people also say that the whereabouts of the jade seal are a mystery, left to the people, and was collected by a powerful person and buried deep underground. The history is changing, disputes are eternal, and the jade seal of the country has disappeared into oblivion and has become a legendary story.
Despite its unaccounted for, the jade seal has become a microcosm of China's thousands of years of imperial rule. It has witnessed how many evergreen dreams of the foundation and how many rises and falls of the changing dynasty. Although the jade seal is gone, the great unified imperial power it symbolizes is deeply rooted in the smoke and dust of history, allowing future generations to hang on and wake up. The Chinese nation has gone through ups and downs since Qin Shi Huang unified the six countries, but it has its own endless spiritual inheritance. This spirit is not only condensed in a beautiful jade, but also engraved in the heart of every Chinese son and daughter, and has become the spiritual soul of national rejuvenation.
Jiuding, symbolizing the supreme authority of the Son of Heaven, is the totem of the Chinese nation and the artifact in ancient Chinese legends. According to legend, in ancient times, the world was governed, and the barbarians came to the dynasty, and Dayu cast the bronze ware into Jiuding. Jiuding symbolizes Kyushu, which is stored in the national capital and becomes a symbol of power orthodoxy. In the third generation of the Xia and Shang dynasties, the emperors all regarded Jiuding as a national treasure and guarded it.
The last appearance of Jiuding can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. At that time, the Zhou family was in decline, and the princes were vying for hegemony"Compete for Jiuding"。In the late Warring States period, the rise of the Qin State, Shang Ying changed the law and worked hard. The state of Qin was like a bamboo, united the five countries to attack Qi, and the state of Qi was not supported, and sued Zhou Tianzi. Zhou Tianzi gave Qi with nine tripods, and the Qi country was revitalized and finally won. Since then, Jiuding's whereabouts are unknown, and the fog of history has disappeared.
Regarding the disappearance of Jiuding, there are different opinions. There is a theory that after Qin Shi Huang unified the six countries, Jiuding naturally fell into the hands of King Qin and became a symbol of imperial orthodoxy. After the death of Qin Shi Huang, as a funeral object, he was buried in the underground palace of the Qishan Mausoleum. So far, the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang is still strong, and there is no revelation about the whereabouts of Jiuding.
Another view is that Jiuding disappeared before the fall of the Zhou dynasty. The Zhou Dynasty declined, the rites collapsed, and Jiuding had long existed in name only. According to the "Historical Records of Zhou Benji", in the fifty-ninth year of King Zhou, the Qin general Bai Qi invaded Haojing, Zhou Tianzi surrendered, the Qin army burned and killed, and the whereabouts of Jiuding are unknown. Sima Qian wrote in the "Historical Records":"Or it is said that Jiuding has been destroyed in the Zhou period, or it is still there, in Qin, Qin is extinguished, or it is said that Ding has entered Wei. "This passage shows that there were different opinions about Jiuding's disappearance at that time, and there was no consensus.
Jiuding, the sacred symbol of Chinese civilization, its whereabouts are a mystery, and it has affected the hearts of future generations for a long time. The disappearance of Jiuding is a sign that the ancient Chinese legend has come into reality, and it also indicates that the Zhou Dynasty has exhausted its vitality and a new era of unification is coming. Although the dynasty changed hands, Kyushu was stationed for a long time. Every descendant of Yan and Huang still adheres to the cultural genes cast by Jiuding, the fire civilization, and the pursuit of a harmonious and prosperous era of great unification.
The above ten national treasures are all treasures of Chinese civilization for 5,000 years. They condense the wisdom of our ancestors and symbolize the dignity of the nation. Although they were either lost due to war, coveted and stolen, or even buried deep in the ground, they have never faded with time. The disappearance of these national treasures is not only a traumatic wound for Chinese civilization, but also a spiritual totem that inspires future generations to forge ahead.