Every Treasure Tells a Story

Every Treasure Tells a Story

Edited by the Production Team of Every Treasure Tells a Story

China Intercontinental Press

Octomber 2022

118.00 （CNY）

The Production Team of Every Treasure Tells a Story

The creation team of Every Treasure Tells a Story is affiliated with CCTV-9 Documentary of China Media Group （CMG）. With Xu Huan， chief director， as its core， it has always been an important creative force for CCTV’s historical and humanistic documentaries.

Buddhist Statues in Longxing Temple， Qingzhou： Life Created and Lived

As if just born， he smiles like a child， with a round face， chiseled cheekbones， and nose， like high ridges or hills， and deep eyes and sharp eyebrows， like gullies or rivers.

This is a Buddhist statue in Qingzhou from the Northern and Southern Dynasties. Back then， ancient people carved rocks on mountains， leaving traces of the activity of human thought upon these natural materials. It was then he was given his first life， with his right hand raised upright in front of his chest， with the palm facing outwards. This is the abhaya mudra， a gesture of fearlessness commonly seen in Buddhism. The right hand is positioned at waist level as if blessings flow from the center of the palm to finger tips.

A string of gemstones， including coral and agate， reflects people’s longing for nirvana， a paradise free from war where everyone wants nothing. This is a perfect incarnation.

However， when we gaze at it again， the sorrow hidden behind his smile becomes visible.

Archaeologists found that these damaged statues were supposed to have experienced several fires. They were damaged once and again during the 500 years from the Northern Wei to the Northern Song dynasties， ending up collectively buried by monks at Longxing Temple.

He lay underground， and his body disintegrated over time， but his mind grew. If we look more closely， all statues in this room bear traces of repair. Mortal humans breathed new life into these statues so they could endure. This way， the people who contributed to the lengthy life of these statues come to life within our minds.

Over the past 1，500 years， the majority of people who once looked at these statues have become part of them. Some witnessed their bright red robes fade. Some saw the gold foil on their faces peel away. You might wonder why these fragments were not later pieced together and restored to a perfect state. The reason is that people see historical details in these myriads of scars， and they see the struggling steps of mankind in these shattered pieces. We were born crying， but we can face eternity with a smile when we die.

Gilt Silver Turtle-Shaped Wine Chip Holder with the Analects of Confucius Harmonization Inscription： Invitation to Wine

Starring： A piece of gold and silverware from the Tang Dynasty unearthed in Dingmaoqiao， Jiangsu province

Danqiu： With a Shuzhou ladle and a Lishi pot， Li Bai is happy to grow drunk with you.

Cen Xun： Good read， Danqiu！ Do you know what “Lishi” means exactly？

Danqiu： Ah， I’m growing old with a worsening mind and eyes. I... I can’t remember. Ask Taibai instead.

Cen Xun： Taibai？

Li Bai： I’ve written too many poems to remember. I forget...

Danqiu： As we all know， all top-class gold and silverware produced in the Tang must bear the “Lishi” mark to demonstrate its luxury.

Li Bai： What difference will rare and costly dishes make？ I only want to get drunk and never wake up. Cheers！

Two hours later...

Cen Xun： Ah？

Li Bai： What is it？

Danqiu： It seems to be a rarity. It doesn’t belong to our time. I haven’t" seen such brilliant wine vessels since the An Lushan Rebellion.

Cen Xun： Yeah， good stuff！ A piece of gilt silverware with a chiseled design， entangled branch design， and half-hidden flying birds. The cover is lotus-shaped， a very Buddhist element. But the golden turtle beneath...

Li Bai： The golden turtle is sacred in Taoism. It’s the head of the four mythical and sacred animals.

Cen Xun： Ah？ It looks like a candle， right？

Li Bai： You got it. This candle-shaped object stands on the golden turtle; thus， it’s called “Peace and Order on the Turtle’s Back.”

Cen Xun： Peace and order？

Li Bai： From a quote in Erya： Explaining Heaven， “Yuzhu （literally， jade candle） means the order and harmony of the four seasons.” Therefore， seeing such a candle is like seeing a time of peace and order with pleasant four seasons.

Cen Xun： This is Buddhism and Taoism in one. Interesting！ Fascinating！

Danqiu： Indescribable.

Li Bai： Yeah， amazing beyond description！

Danqiu： Look！ Are these...chopsticks？

Cen Xun： Ah？ No. These are chips.

Li Bai： Right. Chips for wine games. In drinking wine， chips are games. They are the same thing.

Danqiu： Oh， it’s a game？ Hahaha！

Cen Xun： I’ll have a try. This one says， “If he rides a fat horse and wears a light fur coat in bright colors， then he shall be fined 10 points.” Not me.

Danqiu： Yeah， not you. It should be Taibai.

Li Bai： Why me？

Danqiu： The wine chip says it clearly. The one who dresses most lavishly should be fined a large glass of wine.

Li Bai： Another round！ Come on！

Danqiu： This one says， “If in his intercourse with his friends， his words are sincere， then invite his friend（s） to drink and win 10 points.” Master Cen， drink with me.

Cen Xun： No. This doesn’t seem right. We three are good friends. We should drink it together！

As a result， the trio drank all night.

Cen Xun： Taibai， are all verses on these chips from The Analects of Confucius？

Li Bai： Yeah， all of them. It’s called， “The Analects of Confucius Harmonization on Turtle’s Back.” All verses on the 50 wine chips in this holder are quotes from The Analects. Imagine Confucius urges you to drink. Can you refuse it？ Dear friends of mine， cheers， cheers！

Cen Xun： Come on！ Let’s draw lots.

Li Bai： This one says， “What you do not want done to yourself， do not do to others. Pass.”

Danqiu： Pass？ Does no one have to drink？

Cen Xun： “Do not do unto others what you do not want done unto yourself，” Confucius said so. Dare you disagree？

Li Bai： I dare！

All： Hahaha...

Li Bai： Do you not see the Yellow River come from the sky， rushing into the sea， never to return？

All： Do you not see the mirrors bright in chambers high grieve over your snow-white hair， though once it was silk-black？

The Analects of Confucius is a collection of quotes that records the words and deeds of Confucius and his disciples.

Li Bai， courtesy name Taibai， is one of China’s greatest poets.

Cen Xun and Yuan Danqiu are friends of Li Bai.

This wine chip holder is thought to have been made after the An Lushan Rebellion. It is a swan song of gold and silverware of the Tang Dynasty.

Tang Painted Figurines of the Chinese Zodiac： 12 Animal Signs

There is always a transition of zodiac animal signs from one to another at the turn of every Chinese New Year. Such transitions begin with the rat and end with the pig， handing over the responsibility of one sign to another. In such a 12-year cycle， every animal is on duty for just one year. The Chinese zodiac has been part of every moment in time since the Spring and Autumn Period. As gods of time， these animals are in charge of the 12 shichen （two-hour periods） by turning from the rat to the pig. During the Tang Dynasty， the watch of time by the 12 animals extended to the other world. The Tang Code stipulated that eligible officials were to be guarded by the Four Mythological Creatures and 12 gods of shichen after they died， that is， by zodiac animal figurines in their tombs.

Zodiac animal figurines of the Tang Dynasty were diverse. The Figurines of the Chinese Zodiac， now housed in the Shaanxi History Museum， have animal heads and human bodies dressed in wide-sleeved long robes popular in the Tang， standing upright on circular platforms. These figurines raise their heads slightly and have solemn expressions， looking like courtiers standing in the hall during an audience with the emperor. Once humanized， the animals we see daily， or in our imagination， would become guardian deities for all. In mythic fiction of whatever period， animals cultivate themselves in the hope of having a human body. Compared with high-profile animal gods or monsters， the 12 zodiac animals， as gods of time， are much more worldly. They would even “knock on people’s doors” if their fellow animals were eaten.

Love eating goat head？ It sounds like no big deal. However， during the Tang Dynasty， if people did so， a “god” with a goat’s head and a human body in tidy clothes might knock on their door the next morning.

“Serious warning！ This is the Goat， a god falling into the earthly branch of Wei. I’ve heard that you love eating goat head. I’m here to ask you not to do this anymore. Otherwise I will kill you！”

The domineering God of Goat proclaimed himself as the god of “Wei” because China defined time with the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches system back then. The order of the 12 zodiac animals， as gods of time， corresponds with that of the earthly branches. When earthly branches of Zi， Chou， Yin， Mao， and others， become the Rat of Zi， Ox of Chou， Tiger of Yin， Rabbit of Mao， etc.， the timing method is easier to remember and more humane due to the animals with which we are familiar.

The 12 animal signs correspond with the 12 shichen， the 12 months， and the 12 years. They are always with us at any given moment. The Chinese zodiac-based timing approach has been in place for thousands of years. As these animal signs correspond with the 12 years， we all have our zodiac signs from the moment we are born. Since the 12 animals turned from guardians to companions， people have been guarded and affected by these animal signs， living in a world of being protected and represented by them.