170625 Why the Chinese were the first to invent the iron?

China was the first country in the world to invent the iron, 1,600 years before any foreign country

▼A Yuan dynasty iron with a sea dragon and taotie motif (lost wax casting).

▼The Ming Dynasty Taotie pattern iron with a dragon swallowing its mouth.

Tang Dynasty folding scribe's iron with a basilisk pattern.

The hand-carved Qing dynasty ironing board with a story of a full workman's life in Zou Wei's collection.

Shenzhen Business Daily reporter Nie Chan text / picture

Shenzhen artist Zou Wei has "more than three": "paintings", "seals", "Iron more". His iron is not a modern iron, but has a thousand years of history of the ancient bronze iron. Recently, Zou Wei will Shenzhen Guanlan Aohu old village of an ancient Hakka towers into the "ancient iron museum". 400 more than from the Warring States, Han Dynasty, Yuan Dynasty to the Republic of China during a variety of models of ironing placed in the four-story mansion, just like a "history of the evolution of the ancient iron! "

Yesterday, the reporter came to Zou Wei's private museum, a glimpse of the ancient iron "appearance".

Please Mrs. happy, began to hide the ancient iron

The rows of irons, some like a long-handled frying pan, some like the carving of the exquisite small saucepan, the appearance of the very vicissitudes of the old. These irons are made of copper, as well as iron, enamel and gold, and there are also special irons for collars and cuffs, which are really varied and amazing.

Zou Wei is currently working in the Department of Art and Design at Shenzhen University, where he teaches basic painting courses. born in 1966 in Nanjing, he has been obsessed with ancient ornamentation since childhood, and loves seals and totems. at the age of 12, he was moved by his teacher's experience of "listening" in the corner, and was exceptionally included in the class, and thus stepped on the threshold of the art. After that, Zou Wei went to the Russian State University Art Department to study painting, graduated and came to Shenzhen. Zou Wei has a wide range of interests, from art to rock and roll, and then to the collection, anything related to art, no he does not like. In terms of collection, he never set limits for himself, from ink and paper to ancient coins, as long as the "old" objects he likes.

Interview the day, Zou Wei just received from the field to send the collection, a French medieval iron, looks like a scoop of water iron ladle. He speculated half a day, said: "or our Chinese things are good", then get up and take reporters to visit his 10 years of the most beloved "baby" floor by floor.

Built "ancient iron museum" is Zou Wei's long-cherished wish, now, this wish has finally been reached. In order to reflect the theme of the collection and pure, Zou Wei paintings, seals, coins and other collectibles are placed everywhere, to make room to specialize in his "iron". How will think of collecting iron? Zou Wei told reporters with a smile, which has a wife engaged in clothing design. Zou Wei's wife studied fashion design, it is for this reason, for the collection of ironing, the two hit it off. "At first it was in order to win her support, only the direction of the collection will be changed to the ancient iron, and now I have to thank her, so that I have such a happy world." Zou Wei said.

Get friends gift, step into the collection of good

The iron's earliest history can be traced back to the Shang Dynasty, it was invented as a torture device, specifically for ironing human skin, which reminds people of the brutal King Zhou of the Shang Dynasty, the story of the branding of the loyal ministers. Iron to the Han Dynasty was used for ironing clothes and popular in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, also known as the "fire bucket", also called the iron "Beidou", "gold bucket", "woodcutting bucket ". According to archaeologists, the ancient Chinese iron than the foreign invention of the iron more than 1600 years ago, is the world's first invention and use of the iron country.

Zou Wei collection of the first iron is the late Qing Dynasty works, to say the least is also a destiny. About 10 years ago, Zou Wei to a hobby collection of friends home guests, a glimpse of the iron at home. At that time, the old friend did not know what the thing, Zou Wei recognized that is an iron and very much like, friends will be generous gift. Since then, Zou Wei uncontrollable collection of iron to.

Over the years, Zou Wei collection of irons from 40, 80 to more than 400, he said, this figure in South China is one of the best, and a collector in Zhejiang collection of more than 200. Zou Wei collection of the earliest Han Dynasty iron from the auction "picked up". One year he went to Beijing to participate in an ancient coin auction, the auctioneer auctioned off a Han Dynasty iron, when almost no one with his bidding, and finally he got 4,000 yuan to a nearly 2,000-year-old Han Dynasty iron. "It's a find!"

The vast majority of these 400 irons are purchased by Zou Wei through various auctions and websites, and there are also international students who send him enameled irons one after another from Britain. These irons with lids are said to be the 1930s period of production, the bottom of the iron is also engraved with the word "China". Let Zou Wei proud of this batch of irons, there is a 18.5cm long large square box type iron, is the only mainland only see, it is also Zou Wei collection in the youngest.

Recently got a Yuan dynasty dragon taotie pattern iron is Zou Wei's "new favorite", but also the museum's "treasures", a talk about it, Zou Wei two eyes shine. He said: "This iron from Hunan, the seller began to say that its products of the Warring States to sell at a high price, after my careful study, only to find that the Yuan Dynasty treasures. Although not as long ago as the Warring States period, but its exquisite decoration, let a person love. Especially this iron is cast using the lost wax method, the degree of preciousness is self-evident." Zou Wei continued, "The lost wax method is also known as the 'molten mold method', and the technical principle originated from the burned lost method, which was first seen in the middle and late Shang Dynasty. Artifacts cast by the lost-wax method can be exquisite and have the effect of hollowing out. Hubei Suixian Zenghouyi tomb, unearthed bronze zun, disk, is China's earliest known lost wax castings". This technique gradually died out after the advent of the Fanless Lost Wax method."

Hidden treasure in the towers, built "iron museum"

In ancient times, pay attention to the instrumentation of clothing and accessories of the Chinese people is how to use the iron? Zou Wei introduced the iron the origin of the name, one is to take the symbol of the meaning of the Dipper, the second is the shape of the iron, such as the "bucket". "Anciently known as the iron for cobalt. Liu Zongyuan's "Eight Records of Yongzhou" in two "cobalt pool record", "cobalt pool west hill record", the place name can also be seen inside the ironing Pei, ironing town, ironing platform, west ironing street, are because of ironing used early, widely used due to. Jin Dynasty's Du Preliminary Collection wrote: 'medicine pestle and mortar, bath tray, ironing ...... are all the folk of the urgent use also.'" Zou Wei said, "Later, because the iron also has a scale, those inaccurate scale expressed as a ruler, can measure the meaning of the world, is considered a kind of scepter, more a horse, the future of the meaning of frank, and was placed on the desk of the people, to discuss auspicious color."

"Before the ancients ironed their clothes, they put red-hot charcoal in the iron." Zou Wei said the early ancient iron in order to prevent hands from being burned, in the back of the iron interface embedded in the wooden handle. After the Ming Dynasty, the shape of the iron has a qualitative change, casting technology is higher, the shape is particularly beautiful, atmospheric, with a dragon head-shaped, official hat-shaped, diamond flower along the mouth, beautiful. To the Republic of China period, the style has been the prototype of modern iron, the use of more scientific, more practical, more environmentally friendly. Material selection on the Ming Dynasty before most of the use of water red copper, the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of most of the use of brass.

Zou Wei said, most of the ancient iron distribution in the east and southwest of China, regardless of which dynasty, basically to the "Warring States decoration" for the beauty. The two have significant differences in technology and materials. East of Jiangsu and Zhejiang around the ancient iron more bulky, and Yunnan, Guangxi Guilin around the weight of light, thin material, in the carving shape is more beautiful, the price is naturally more expensive, "in ancient times, ironing is generally only affordable to wealthy families can afford to use. From the Han Dynasty to modern times, almost all irons are copper, molding design changes are not much, are like a scoop shape. In addition to the 20s and 30s of the last century, the iron body painted with enamel, and with a cover, the rest of the iron from the Han Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty shape is black without a cover. The principle of these irons is to place burning charcoal inside the container and use the hot and smooth bottom of the bucket to iron the clothes placed under it."

Zou Wei said, through the collection, his iron from the first curious to in-depth analysis, during which he learned a lot of knowledge of ancient history, the understanding of traditional Chinese culture has gradually deepened, "built the 'Iron Museum' is my first step, the next step, I would like to spend Two or three years time, research the development history of ancient ironing, write a monograph on ancient ironing."