【Relics Become Icons】 Jin Gong Plate
——五千年文明看山西
——Exploring 5,000 Years of Civilization in Shanxi
2600多年前，一位父亲为即将远嫁的女儿，亲手打造了一份“私人定制”的礼物。它不是金银珠宝，而是一只青铜盘——后世称之为“晋公盘”。这份沉甸甸的父爱，曾流失海外，直到2019年才被追回，如今收藏于山西青铜博物馆。
More than 2,600 years ago, a father crafted a special gift for his daughter, who was about to marry far away from home. It was not gold or silver jewelry, but a bronze basin—later known as the "Jin Gong Plate." This heavy, fatherly love once drifted overseas, but was recovered in 2019 and is now housed in the Shanxi Bronze Museum, a branch of the Shanxi Museum.
在古代，青铜盘多为盥器，也就是洗手用的水盆。但晋公盘可不只是普通盥洗盆——它是春秋霸主晋文公为女儿孟姬准备的嫁妆兼玩物，堪称2600年前“宠女天花板”。
In ancient times, bronze basins were mostly used as vessels for washing hands. But the Jin Gong Plate is no ordinary basin—it was a bespoke dowry prepared by Duke Wen of Jin, a hegemon of the Spring and Autumn period, for his daughter Meng Ji. It can be called the "ultimate expression of fatherly love" from 2,600 years ago.
在这只盘上，你会发现一个令人惊叹的“水上乐园”。盘内装饰着19只可以随水流旋转的小动物：底部中心，一对浮雕游龙回旋盘绕；双龙中央，有一只立体水鸟；向外一圈，又有四只水鸟和四只金龟；再往外，三只跳跃的青蛙和三条游鱼正在“戏水”；最外圈，还蹲着四只青蛙、游着七只青蛙、爬着四只乌龟。
On this basin, you will find an astonishing "water park." Inside are 19 small animals that can spin along with the flow of water. At the center, a pair of relief-carved dragons coil around each other. Between them stands a three-dimensional water bird. Farther out, four water birds and four golden turtles surround them. Beyond that, three jumping frogs and three swimming fish appear to be "playing in the water." On the outermost ring, four squatting frogs, seven relief-swimming frogs, and four crawling turtles complete the scene.
这可不是普通的装饰。这些圆雕动物都能作360度旋转，鸟嘴可以开合，乌龟的头也能伸缩。当水流倾泻而下，盘内的水鸟、游鱼、青蛙、乌龟全部旋转起来，瞬间变成一个生机勃勃的夏日池塘——这哪里是青铜器，分明是2600年前的“旋转木马”！
These are not ordinary decorations. All of these three-dimensional animals can rotate 360 degrees. The birds' beaks can open and close, and the turtles' heads can stretch in and out. When water is poured into the basin, the water birds, swimming fish, frogs, and turtles all begin to rotate, instantly transforming the basin into a lively summer pond. This is no ordinary bronze vessel—it is a 2,600-year-old "merry-go-round"!
