In 2003, the image of an old man living in Luoyang City, Henan Province (China) fishing on the banks of the Anyang River was very familiar to the local people. This was his hobby after retirement. Therefore, he often sat on the riverbank almost all day.
However, one day, the old man unexpectedly caught a big fish after lowering the hook. It took him a lot of effort to pull the animal to the shore. But it was not a fish. From a distance, it looked like a big turtle. However, after examining it closely, the old man discovered that the turtle was not moving. It was actually a block of iron or copper shaped like a turtle, and the special thing was that there were 4 short arrows stuck on its shell.
In addition, there were ancient characters on the back of this animal. The old man did not know what the ancient characters on the back of this turtle were, but he thought that it could be an abandoned decoration. Because it was in the river, it was rusted.
The old man did not catch any fish, but he did catch a metal turtle. (Photo: Toutiao)
After much thought, the old man finally brought the metal turtle he caught home and put it in a corner.
In the same year 2003, when he learned about the Department of Cultural Heritage recovering lost cultural treasures and relics, he brought the turtle he caught in the river to have experts appraise it.
As soon as they saw the turtle the old man brought, the experts guessed that this was no ordinary thing. The animal's eyes were wide open, its limbs stretched straight back, vividly depicting panic.
After careful examination, experts determined that this was a soft-shell turtle, a bronze object made during the late Shang Dynasty (approximately 1766 BC – 1122 BC). The inscription on the animal’s shell was Oracle Bone, a Shang Dynasty script.
The old man curiously asked the experts: "How much is this bronze turtle worth?"
An expert listened to the old man's question, thought for a moment, and then replied: "This is an antique from the Shang Dynasty, currently worth about 1.8 billion NDT (equivalent to nearly 6,000 billion VND). Your fishing rod has caught 1.8 billion NDT."
The old man was shocked when he heard that, just a rusty "block of copper" could have such an exorbitant price. This was beyond the imagination of this old man who enjoyed fishing every day.
However, the expert's next words brought the old man back to reality. This was because this bronze cultural relic was extremely valuable. The inscriptions on it were very useful to experts in studying the history of the Shang Dynasty. Therefore, the experts hoped that the old man could hand over this relic. Of course, the Cultural Heritage Bureau would give the old man a certain amount of money.
After hearing this and negotiating, the old man voluntarily handed over the bronze object, which was at least 3,000 years old, to the agency.
The old man was very happy to have found such a rare treasure. The statue of a dragon with arrows stuck in its shell is currently on display at the National Museum of China.
What is the inscription on the back of the statue? The inscription on this statue is an ancient Shang Dynasty script. (Photo: Toutiao)
After restoring and deciphering the inscriptions on this bronze statue, experts discovered the origin of the statue and a true historical story from the Shang Dynasty. Accordingly, the inscriptions on the body of the statue show information about hunting rituals during the time of King Zhou, the last king of the Shang Dynasty.
King Tru Vuong loved hunting and often went to the area near the An Duong River. However, because the elephant was a large animal and lived near rivers and lakes, it was not easy to hunt.
One day, while hunting, King Tru saw a big deer so he drew his bow and shot four arrows in a row. All four arrows hit the deer and got stuck on its body and shell.
After returning to the palace, to commemorate this meaningful hunt, King Zhou ordered the artisans to make a bronze statue of an ant and cast four arrows on it. In addition, these artisans were also ordered to engrave words about the hunting process that day on the animal's shell. The inscription on the shell of the bronze statue shows that King Zhou was a king who was good at archery.
The inscriptions and the bronze statue are a vivid source of information that helps experts and researchers better understand the Shang Dynasty, which existed at least 3,000 years ago.
(Source: Vietnamese Women)
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