A Gu Jian has become the treasure of the town hall of Zhejiang Museum

The Zhejiang Museum has a very precious cultural relic-the bronze sword of the King of Yue.

Rong Geng, Chen Rentao, Chen Mengjia, Ma Chengyuan, Lin Yun, Yin Difei and other historians, ancient philologists and archaeologists have verified the name "The King of Yue" as the son of sentence Jian, as mentioned in Historical Records. This conclusion has been recognized by academic circles.

whether it's Yu and the author's purpose, the name is a bit confusing to read. No wonder! "Those who aim at mental illness" was the wuyue dialect at that time. The purport, pronounced as "Zhu Ji" (zhū jī), is the surname of the King of Yue; "Yu Qian" is a name, pronounced as yú shì (with the same sound as "hence").

And "Fu Yu" is the urgent pronunciation of "Those who aim at it" in Chinese original sound. That is to say, in the Central Plains, people read the words "those who aim at it" together faster, that is, "Fu and".

Fu, pronounced as shí (sound the same as "food"); And, today simplified as "and". Because the names of Wu and Yue are omitted in bronze inscriptions to varying degrees, it often leads to differences in ancient books and records, and ancient books and records often record the wuyue dialect with the Chinese original sound, which easily leads to different writing. Therefore, there are many different ways to write the name of the King of Yue in ancient books handed down from generation to generation, which really makes people nod.

For example, Yuejueshu writes "Yu Yi", which is a homonym for "Yu Qian"; The writing of Wu Yue Chun Qiu is "Xing Yi", and "Xing" is an incorrect word of "Yu", that is to say, the two words look almost the same, and it is easy to make mistakes if you are not careful. In addition, Zuo Zhuan is written as "Yi Ying" and Zhu Shu Ji Nian is written as "Lu Ying", which is either an incorrect writing of "Tai Yu" or a homonym of "Tai Yu".

The King of Yue aims to be Gou Jian's son, but there are not many records about him in the history books. He is much inferior to his father in terms of martial arts and fame.

According to the Chronicle of Bamboo Records, the King of Yue aimed to reign for only six years (from 464 to 459 years ago). Although he was in office for a short time, there were not a few Yue kings who were unearthed and handed down from ancient times. According to Dr. Shi Xiejie's Collection of wuyue Characters, there are about 21 pieces, and the specific figures are Zhong Si, Ge Er, Mao Si and Jian Xi.

These eleven bronze Gu Jian are collected in China History Museum, Palace Museum, Shanghai Museum, Jingzhou Museum in Hubei Province, Soochow Museum in Suzhou and Shouxian Museum in Anhui Province. At the same time, a few are collected by overseas private collectors.

However, among all the swords of the King of Yue, neither the integrity of appearance nor the preciousness of value are comparable to this bronze sword of the King of Yue collected by Zhejiang Museum. Perhaps unexpectedly, Zhebo, the treasure of the town hall, was bought from a stall in an antique market in Hong Kong with great pains and pains.

One day in late September, 1995, Mr. Ma Chengyuan, then the curator of Shanghai Museum, received a fax photo from Hong Kong. This fax was sent by Mr. Ma's friend, saying that a bronze Gu Jian was found in the antique market in Hong Kong. It looked like a genuine one, but he was not sure. He wanted to ask Ma Chengyuan to help him identify it.

Ma Chengyuan saw from the photo that the two sides of this sword lattice were inlaid with a large number of turquoise to form beautiful patterns, and were cast with the inscription "Bird and Insect Book with Wrong Gold". Bird and insect script, also known as bird seal script, is a kind of picture text with the image of bird head. On the basis of seal script, it changes the original font to make it spiral and bend like a bird or a worm.

The book of birds and insects is mostly engraved on bronze vessels, which has little practical function. It is an artistic word used for decoration, and few people can recognize it from ancient times to the present.

Ma Chengyuan is an expert in bronze ware, and has a deep research on ancient Chinese characters. Years of practical work have given him the opportunity to contact many bronzes engraved with bird seal, so he recognized at a glance that the inscription of bird seal on this sword case is "King Wu (Yue)" on one side and "The author aims at the bow" on the other.

Ma Chengyuan immediately became excited. If the textual research is correct, this sword should be a personal sword for the son of Gou Jian, the King of Yue.

Ma Chengyuan was very cautious and asked Cao Jinyan, deputy director of Zhejiang Museum, for verification. Mr Cao Jinyan is also an expert on bronzes and ancient Chinese characters. After seeing the photos, he agrees with Ma Chengyuan's judgment very much.

On October 4th, Ma Chengyuan rushed to Hongkong and finally saw this Gu Jian after many twists and turns.

The body of this sword is golden-yellow, and it is well preserved. The whole sword is intact, free from rust, sharp and chilly. The attached lacquer scabbard is as complete as new, black and shiny, and the silk winding on the hilt is well preserved. Its exquisite degree and historical value are far superior to many unearthed famous swords of the King of Yue.

Through conversation, Ma Chengyuan learned that this sword was stolen and smuggled out of the country by domestic cultural relics dealers, and after several twists and turns, it was finally bought by Hong Kong cultural relics dealers at a high price.

The seller in Hong Kong is an extremely shrewd businessman. When he saw that Ma Chengyuan was very keen on this sword, he decided that it was a rare treasure and casually raised the price to HK$ 1 million. HK$ 1 million was simply sky-high for Zhejiang Bo, which collected only tens of thousands of yuan for cultural relics at that time. Even if it was spent on food, it would be impossible to get it out.

At this time, many overseas buyers expressed their wish to buy this sword. One Japanese antique dealer even offered HK$ 1.5 million and decided to negotiate with the Hong Kong seller on October 7th.

At the critical moment when the national treasure is about to be lost overseas, Cao Jinyan conveyed to Ma Chengyuan the unanimous decision of several responsible persons of Zhejiang Museum: No matter how much it costs, this sword must be rescued! Zhejiang is the hometown of Yue, and the King of Yue aims to return to the place where it was born. Ma Chengyuan immediately borrowed HK$ 1, from a friend in Hong Kong, paid the down payment in advance, and took the sword back to a friend's home for preservation on the same day. On the basis of the reputation of the Shanghai Museum, he persuaded the Hong Kong seller to make an exception and allow the sword to be brought back to China first.

On October 16th, the King of Yue aimed to reach Shanghai safely. The sword was returned, but the funds have not been settled. The seller in Hong Kong requires that one million Hong Kong dollars must be paid before October 31st, otherwise, the sword will still be taken back.

On October 19th, Yue Wangjian returned to Zhejiang Provincial Museum. The whole museum immediately took action, and a proposal calling on enterprises to participate in the rescue of the rare national treasure Yue Wang Jian was drawn up within half an hour. After approval, it was quickly distributed throughout the province.

The news media in Zhejiang paid great attention to this matter, and publicized it through various media such as television, radio, newspapers and periodicals, which soon aroused strong repercussions in the society.

The rare Gu Jian haunts the hearts of thousands of Zhejiang people in Qian Qian. "The more you fight, the more you win." This is the common wish of Zhejiang people.

under the direct concern and questioning of relevant leaders of Zhejiang provincial party Committee and provincial government, on October 31st, Hangzhou Iron and Steel Group agreed to pay RMB 1.6 million to redeem this sword and donate it to Zhejiang Provincial Museum, so that King Yue could return to his hometown.

On January 3rd, 1996, Hangzhou Daily reported: "The rare sword of Yue Wang created by ancient Yue ancestors, which is more than 2,4 years ago, has been exhibited to the public in Zhejiang Provincial Museum since January 3rd, 1996 (it was donated to the country by Hangzhou Iron and Steel General Factory with a capital of 1.6 million yuan). This Yue Wang Jian has been specially treated and placed in a plexiglass box filled with nitrogen. "

It is not only the first time in Zhejiang Province, but also rare in the whole country to rescue the lost cultural relics at the expense of enterprises. This righteous act of Hangzhou Iron and Steel Group is of milestone significance in the history of cultural relics protection in China.

wuyue was good at casting bronze swords in ancient times, but the registered trademark of Hangzhou Iron and Steel Group today is "Gu Jian brand". The story of Millennium Gu Jian and famous modern enterprises can really be described as "a thousand-year marriage with one sword".