PS: Documentation of the Twelve Bronze Figures

Historical Records. Qin Shi Huang Ben Ji "Qin Shi Huang 26 years (221 BC) "collect the world's soldiers, gather Xianyang, sell as Zhong Tie Jin 12, weigh 1,000 stones, and place them in the palace." Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo”

Historical Records. Suo Yin pressed: "In the twenty-sixth year, there were elders who saw Lintao, so they sold weapons and cast them like them. ”

"Justice" quotes the "Hanshu Five Elements Chronicles" cloud: "In the twenty-sixth year, there are adults who are five feet long, and their feet are six feet, all of them are uniform, and all twelve people are seen in Lintao, so they sell weapons and cast them like them." ”

Chen Zhi's "Sanfu Huangtu Proofreading" is one of the three auxiliary yellow picture scrolls: "Collect the world's soldiers, gather Xianyang, and sell it as Zhong Tie, high three zhang, and Zhong Xiao, all of whom are thousands of stones." ”

1. Documentation

Documentation of the Twelve Bronze Figures

Historical Records. Qin Shi Huang Ben Ji "Qin Shi Huang 26 years (221 BC) "collect the world's soldiers, gather Xianyang, sell as Zhong Tie Jin 12, weigh 1,000 stones, and place them in the palace." ”

Historical Records. Suo Yin pressed: "In the twenty-sixth year, there were elders who saw Lintao, so they sold weapons and cast them like them. ”

"Justice" quotes the "Hanshu Five Elements Chronicles" cloud: "In the twenty-sixth year, there are adults who are five feet long, and their feet are six feet, all of them are uniform, and all twelve people are seen in Lintao, so they sell weapons and cast them like them." ”

Chen Zhi's "Sanfu Huangtu Proofreading" is one of the three auxiliary yellow picture scrolls: "Collect the world's soldiers, gather Xianyang, and sell it as Zhong Tie, high three zhang, and Zhong Xiao, all of whom are thousands of stones." ”

"Sanfu Huangtu Proofreading" quotes the cloud of "Sanpu Old Things": "Cast Jindi people, in front of the palace." ”

"Chang'an Chronicles" quoted "Sanfu Old Things" cloud: "Qin is a bronze man." Standing in front of the Afang Palace, in front of the Daxia Hall of the Changle Palace. Youyun: "Sitting three feet high, Ming said: 'The emperor is twenty-six years old. At the beginning of the world, the princes were changed to counties, one law, and the same measure. ’”

Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Wei Zhi Dong Zhuo Biography "Cloud: Ten bronze people and Zhong iron are broken to cast small coins.

"Guanzhong Ji" cloud: Dong Zhuo is a bad bronze man, and the remaining two pieces are in the Qingmen. Emperor Wei Ming wanted to be Yiluo. Carrying to the city, it is unstoppable. After the stone season dragon migrated, Fu Jian migrated into Chang'an and sold it.

"On the Passage of Qin" cloud: "Pin Feng casts iron." Thought the Golden Man Twelve"

2. The weight and height of the bronze man

(1) The weight of the bronze man

There are several figures in the historical sources about the weight of the bronze man.

1. "Weigh a thousand stones";

2. "Zhong Xiao's are all thousands of stones";

3. Each weighs 340,000 catties;

4. Each weighs 240,000 catties.

Why are there four numbers, we say they are all estimates (when in fact there are only three numbers). Not exact figures. Presumably, such a large bronze figure cannot be weighed one by one, and the weight can only be estimated. The theory of a thousand stones is only a general reference. Twelve bronze figures are not the same size. It's not the same weight. The small one is a thousand stones. The big one should be bigger than a thousand stones. To be exact, there should be twelve numbers. Stone is the unit of weight in the Qin period, and one stone is one hundred and twenty catties. One catty in the Qin period was equal to 256.26 grams now, which is equivalent to kilograms according to the smallest figure of 1,000 stones. According to 240,000 catties, it is a kilogram today, and it is calculated according to 340,000 catties, which is a kilogram today. This means that the smallest bronze figure weighs more than 30 tons. The larger ones are more than 87 tons.

(2) The height of the bronze man

There are three sayings about the high historical records of the bronze man:

1. "High Sanzhang";

2. "Sitting three feet high";

3. "There are adults who are five feet long...... Cast and imaged. This means that there are two possibilities for the height of the bronze man, one of which is three zhang. It is 8.12 meters in the present day, and the other possibility is 5 zhang, which is 13.7 meters in the present day. Obviously, this number is not an exact number, but also an approximate number.

Qin Shi Huang was the founding emperor of the Qin Dynasty, the first unified dynasty in Chinese history------ The legend about him is widely circulated among the people. In the legend, he is not only a great hero who has made indispensable contributions, but also the pride of the Chinese nation, and on the other hand, he has almost become synonymous with tyrant and cruelty. In order to enjoy his conquest exploits forever, Qin Shi Huang made all kinds of feats that are still remembered in the world today, leaving many historical mysteries that cannot be solved for the world, and the casting of the Twelve Golden Men is one of them.

In Xianyang, the capital of Qin, in front of the Afang Hall of the Qin Palace, there are 12 large bronze people cast by bronze, because the copper is yellow, so it is also called the golden man. They were dressed in foreign costumes, each of which was very large and heavy, difficult to transport, and they were all carved with fine patterns, and all of them were proud, energetic, and heroic, guarding the palace of the King of Qin day and night. The size of the bronze man-made shape and the exquisite craftsmanship are rare in history. In this regard, there are many historical books documenting it. As according to the "Historical Records. Qin Shi Huang Benji records: twenty-six years...... Collect the world's soldiers, gather Xianyang, and sell it as Zhong * Jin Ren Twelve, each weighing a thousand stones, and move it to the palace. Jia Yi's "On the Passage of Qin" also has "Pin Feng casts iron, thinking that the twelve golden people are twelve" records the story of the twelve golden people.

3. The reasons for shaping the twelve golden people

There are two main theories around this issue.

(1) After Qin Shi Huang unified the whole country, King Yingzheng of Qin created the honorific title of emperor and called himself Shi Huang. However, due to the shadow of Lü Buwei's former autocratic power and the difficulty of the throne obtained through hard work, in order to realize his grand wish to declare that his descendants would be called the second, third, and even eternal generations, and inherit them from generation to generation, he was always worried and thinking about how to ensure long-term peace and stability and make the country pass on to all generations. In order to sit firmly in the world, one of the problems that must be solved is to confiscate and destroy all kinds of weapons of the scattered people, and only in this way can we prevent others from seizing power by force. So, he was always looking for a reasonable excuse to collect the weapons of the whole country, and the opportunity finally came. One day, accompanied by his ministers, Qin Shi Huang was watching the dancing lanterns and various jugglers. While he was enjoying the view, he suddenly saw a group of murderous samurai with swords and other weapons in their hands. When Qin Shi Huang saw it, he touched his long-standing heart disease. At this time, it happened that a farmer in Lintao sent a message, saying that he had seen twelve giants, and they also sang a nursery rhyme in the local area: Qu goes to one, manifests in gold, hundred evils, and Bai Ruisheng. After Qin Shi Huang heard this, he was happy. So he pretended to be a sign, saying that this was in accordance with the will of heaven, and ordered the collection of civilian weapons, concentrated in the capital Xianyang, and cast twelve bronze figures. In fact, Qin Shi Huang collected weapons and cast bronze figures entirely out of consideration for consolidating his throne.

(2) There's another version of the story. One day, Qin Shi Huang was resting in the palace of Afang. Suddenly, he dreamed that the weather had changed dramatically, that the sky was dark, and that there were ghosts and demons, and he was very frightened. Just when he was at a loss, suddenly an old man with gray hair and long hair came to him. This veteran is in good spirits and full of energy. He waved the dust whisk in the back and pointed to the maze and said: Only by making twelve gold people can you sit firmly in the world. After speaking, with a flash of golden light in front of him, the old Taoist disappeared. Qin Shi Huang also woke up from his dream. After he woke up from the dream, he would rather believe it than believe that it was nothing, and immediately ordered the weapons of the whole country to be received from Xianyang and cast into twelve bronze figures.

Fourth, the whereabouts of the twelve bronze men

Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Wei Shuliu. Dong Er, Yuan Liu Biography Sixth" contains: "(Dong Zhuo) Xi Shi broke the bronze man, Zhong Yu, and bad five baht coins. It is also cast as a small money, a big five points, no article, no meat and no wheels, and no grinding. ”

"Zizhi Tongjian" volume 59 "Emperor Xiaoling": "Dong Zhuo bad five baht money, but also minted small money, all of the Luoyang and Chang'an bronze people, Zhong Yu, Fei Lian, copper horses to cast it, from the cheap goods to expensive, grain stone to tens of thousands of money. ”

"Justice" quoted "Guanzhong Ji" cloud: "Dong Zhuo is a bad bronze man, and there are two left, and he is in the door." Emperor Wei Ming wanted to carry Yiluo to the overlord, but it was unacceptable. After Shi Ji Longtu's Ye, Fu Jian migrated to Chang'an and destroyed it. ”

"Pei Song's Note on the Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms" quoted "Wei Luo" and said, "It is the year, migrating to Chang'an, Zhu Zhongyu, camels, bronze people, and Chenglu plates." The disc folds, the bronze man is heavy, and he stays in the overlord. Dafa copper cast bronze man two, called Weng Zhong, sat outside the Sima Gate. Cast the yellow dragon and the phoenix emperor each one, the dragon is four zhang high, the phoenix is more than three zhang high, and it is placed in front of the inner hall. ”

The Book of the Later Han Dynasty also records that "the five baht coins were bad, and the small coins were minted, and the Luoyang and Chang'an bronze people, Zhong Xu, Fei Lian, and copper horses were collected to fill the casting." ”

The official history "Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms", "Book of the Later Han Dynasty" and "Zizhi Tongjian" all record that Dong Zhuo destroyed the bronze people to cast copper coins should be credible, and the "Xi" of "Xi Zhi Po Bronze Man" and "Xi Zhi Yang and Chang'an Bronze People" is the meaning of "exhaust, all", that is to say, the twelve bronze people were destroyed by Dong Zhuo's hands, and "Guanzhong Ji" is not an official history, and its credibility itself needs to be discounted, and the content of its narrative is also discussed. And "Wei Luo" said that there were 2 bronze figures, but they were cast, not that Dong Zhuo destroyed ten of the twelve bronze men as many people said, and left 2 to be brought to the city by Emperor Wei Ming. However, the official history only says "bronze people" and does not say "twelve bronze people" or "Qin bronze people", which also leaves something worth discussing: Is the bronze man destroyed by Dong Zhuo really the "twelve bronze people" cast by Qin Shi Huang?

Regarding the migration of the Twelve Bronze People, there is only a record of being relocated from Xianyang to Chang'an during the Han Dynasty, and there is no record of moving out of Chang'an before Dong Zhuo. And Dong Zhuo sold the bronze people to cast copper coins, not to mention the "Bronze Men of the Broken Bronze Figures" recorded in the history books, that is, if only a part of the bronze people were needed to mint the coins, it is estimated that it would be difficult to survive from Dong Zhuo, the 'Bronze Man Destruction God', with a goal as big as twelve bronze people.

In fact, these twelve golden figures were used by Qin Shi Huang to replace the incomplete Shenzhou Jiuding at that time, suppress the fortune of the princes, and at the same time maintain the heavy treasures of the Zhenguo of the Shenzhou Nine Heavens Enchantment. (To be continued.) )

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