Yellow River Iron Bull

火 火

5/5

Outstanding

The Yellow River Datie Niu is located on the east bank of the Yellow River outside the west gate of the ancient city of Zhangzhou, Yongji City, Yuncheng City, Shanxi Province. It was cast in the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty (725 AD) to stabilize the Fujin pontoon bridge and maintain the traffic of Qin and Jin. Yujindu is an important ferry on the ancient Yellow River, and it has been the traffic of Qin and Jin since ancient times. During the Xuanzong period of Tang Dynasty, in order to strengthen the rule of Hedong, he decided to rebuilt the Yujin Bridge, changed the bamboo rope of Lianzhou to iron rope, and cast four iron cattle as rope piles. Each of the four iron cattle is about1.9 meters high, about 3 meters long, about1.3 meters wide, weighs about 30 tons, plus chassis and iron columns, each iron cattle can weigh up to 70 tons. The casting process is extremely complicated, the ancients used yellow wax to shape, then burned with clear mud, and finally filled with iron water to solidify. In the five-line culture, "cow elephant, earthen, earth wins water", casting iron cattle can play the role of water in the five-line, the town guarding the Yellow River so that it will not break the embankment, so the local people also called these four iron cattle "town river iron cattle". The Yellow River Datie Niu is located on the east bank of the Yellow River outside the west gate of the Zhangzhou City site, 15 kilometers west of Yongji City, between Puji Temple and the Peak House. It is known as the Yujindu, which is a famous ferry on the ancient Yellow River. In 1989, after more than a year of exploration, the Yongji County Museum found four iron cattle, four iron people, two iron mountains, a group of seven-star iron pillars and three earth and stone mounds on the site of the Jindu. Because the protection of iron cultural relics is a worldwide problem, coupled with the difficulties encountered in actual construction, the Yellow River iron cattle have been placed on the shore in the open air since they were unearthed. The Yellow River iron cattle is an important part of the Fujin pontoon bridge, witnessing the brilliant achievements of ancient Chinese bridge engineering. There is an iron man next to each iron cow, representing different ethnic groups, showing the openness and tolerance of the great Tang Dynasty. The rise and fall of iron cattle reflects the development and changes of ancient Chinese politics, economy and military, and also enriches the history of ancient Chinese bridges. The Yellow River is not only a historical witness of the strong national strength of the Tang Dynasty and the wisdom of the ancient working people, but also an important symbol of the Yellow River culture.