It was among the first batch of relics and artefacts listed by the Chinese government on their List of Chinese cultural relics forbidden to be exhibited abroad. 1 This is the one in the Palace Museum in Beijing.
National Treasure 国宝
Lotus-Crane Square Hu 新鄭出土蓮鶴銅方壺 (Wine Vessel)
Bronzeware | Spring and Autumn period (770 – 476 BC) | H: 122 cm, L: 30.5 cm, W: 54 cm, Wt: 64 kg | Excavated from tomb of the Duke of Zheng State, Lijialou, Xinzheng County, Henan Province (1923) | Collection of The Palace Museum, Beijing. 铜器 | 春秋时期（公元前770-476年） | 通高122厘米 宽54厘米 重64千克 | 出土于河南省新郑县李家楼郑国公墓（1923年） | 北京故宫博物院藏 2
As a container for wine or water, it has a rectangular mouth, long neck, tapering belly, and ring foot. The cover was embellished with two-tiered lotus petals, and a centered crane, dragon-shaped handles on two sides, and dragon patterns fully covered the belly. The four corners of the container were respectively attached with a vertical dragon. Under the ring foot are two mythical beasts, with their heads turning one side, and tongues sticking out, serving as the support of the vessel with their back.3
The “Lotus and Crane Square Pot” in the collection of the Palace Museum is enormous in size, with novel and complex designs and exquisite casting techniques. The bronze pot, decorated with double-layered openwork lotus petals, features a standing crane with outstretched wings, poised for flight. The large, openwork double dragon handles and the four sides of the pot are decorated primarily with coiled dragon patterns, with a flying dragon cast at each of the four corners of the belly. Two crouching tiger-shaped beasts support the vessel at the foot.4
With an elegant shape, smooth patterns, exquisite craftsmanship, the vessel indicates that the long lasting solemn and majestic style on bronze wares of Shang and Zhou dynasties was broken by strengthening the representation of the dynamic and sense of strength in the posture.
The most exquisite decoration on the square pot is the double-layered lotus petals that rise upwards on the lid, and the crane standing in the center of the lotus petals. The crane stands gracefully, its wings outstretched, its neck outstretched as if about to sing, expressing a fresh, free, relaxed, and lively feeling. It is both lifelike and exquisitely crafted, captivating countless people.
Therefore, the Lotus Crane Square Pot is hailed by experts as “the swan song of the Bronze Age,” demonstrating that the industrial technology of the Zheng State, especially its bronze casting techniques, was at the forefront at that time.5
The mythical beast supporting the Lotus Crane Square Pot and all the dragons and beasts adorning the pot have a distinct sense of movement and complement each other, creating a flowing and soaring rhythm visually. It has a graceful and ascending beauty and a very strong artistic appeal, forming a stark contrast with the heavy and solemn bronzes of the Shang and Zhou dynasties in the Central Plains.6
The dragon handles, tiger feet, and the standing crane on the lid were all made using the advanced piece-casting method of the Spring and Autumn Period. The entire vessel is meticulously cast using various techniques including round carving, bas-relief, fine engraving, and welding. It not only demonstrates the superb bronze casting level of the Spring and Autumn Period but also reflects the trend of animal figuration in bronze ware at that time, making it a model of bronze art from that period.7
The State of Zheng 鄭國
Spring and Autumn Period (770-403 BC), Zheng State
Reportedly unearthed at Lijialou, Xinzheng, Henan Province, 1923
In the middle of the Spring and Autumn period, with the weakening authority of Zhou court, the vassal states were getting increasingly stronger, the political system which took the “rites” as its governmental and cultural base gradually collapsed (aka “禮樂崩壞”8). The present vessel of this period reflects the zeitgeist of the age which is characterised by ideological transformation and social upheaval.
Bronzeware | Spring and Autumn Period (770-403 BC), Chu State |
Unearthed from Tomb 2 at Xiasi, Xichuan, Henan Province, 1978 | National Museum of China Collection
From the mid-Spring and Autumn Period onward, the states of Chu 楚 and Jin 晉 vied for supremacy in the Central Plains. The state of Zheng 鄭, located in what is now the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, was situated between these two powerful states, struggling to survive. It was precisely this shifting allegiance between Jin and Chu that led Zheng to be deeply influenced by the cultures and arts of both states, an influence reflected in its bronze artefacts.9
The Amazing Journey of the Bronze Hu
The “Lotus and Crane Square Pot” was unearthed in 1923 from the tomb of the ruler of the State of Zheng 鄭公大墓, dating back to the Spring and Autumn Period, in Lijialou Village, Xinzheng City, Henan Province. Including the pair of large Lotus and Crane Square Pots, nearly one hundred complete bronze artefacts were unearthed from the Zheng Duke’s tomb, historically known as the “Xinzheng Ritual Vessels” 「新郑彝器」. This group of artefacts is highly representative of the mid-Spring and Autumn Period, bridging the past and the future, and caused a sensation in China at the time.
During the Second Sino-Japanese War, to protect national treasures, the “Xinzheng Ritual Vessels” were packed and transported westward along with a large number of other antiquities. After several twists and turns, they finally arrived in Chongqing in the winter of 1949.
Some of the artefacts were subsequently transported to Taiwan, while others remained on the mainland. The two Lotus and Crane Square Pots ultimately remained on the mainland; one was transferred by the Ministry of Culture to the Palace Museum for preservation, and the other is housed in the Henan Provincial Museum.13
Photos taken at National Museum of China, and at the 100th anniversary exhibition at the Palace Museum, Nov 2025.
About Chinese Treasure Series
中華國寶系列 Chinese Treasure series feature specific artefacts and relics from museums all around the world that are historically significant to be considered a National Treasure. The series covers the 5,000 years of Chinese civilisation from Neolithic periods before the Xia dynasty (c. 2070-1600 BC) to modern day.
Footnotes :
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Chinese_cultural_relics_forbidden_to_be_exhibited_abroad ↩︎
- A pair was excavated from the tomb, the other one is kept in Henan Museum in Zhengzhou. ↩︎
- https://english.chnmus.net/en/collection/details.html?id=7052475652259188736, accessed 31 January 2026 ↩︎
- 故宫博物院藏「莲鹤方壶」形体巨大，纹饰新颖，设计复杂，铸造工艺精湛，是故官一级甲等文物。饰双层镂雕莲瓣的铜壶上铸有一只展翅欲飞的立鹤。镂空双龙耳巨大，壶体四面以蟠龙纹为主体纹饰，并在腹部四角各铸一飞龙，圈足下以两只伏虎形兽承器。 ↩︎
- 方壶装饰最为精彩的乃是盖顶仰起盛开的双层莲瓣，以及伫立莲瓣中央一只立鹤。仙鹤亭亭玉立，双翼舒展，引颈欲鸣，表现出的清新自由、轻松活泼的感觉，形神俱佳，栩栩如生，曾使多少人为之倾倒。因此莲鹤方壶被专家们誉为“青铜时代的绝唱”，它说明郑国的工业科技水平特别是青铜器铸造工艺，在当时处于领先地位。 ↩︎
- 承托莲鹤方壶的神兽和壶体上所有附饰的龙、兽都有明显的动感，并相互应合，在视觉上造成了一种流动、飞扬的韵致，有一种舒扬升腾的美感，具有非常强烈的艺术感染力，与厚重而庄严的中原商周青铜器形成鲜明对比。https://baike.baidu.com/tashuo/browse/content?id=229718be75798f3eff26ae8b&lemmaId=10609785&fromLemmaModule=pcBottom&lemmaTitle=春秋莲鹤方壶&fromModule=lemma_bottom-tashuo-article, accessed 31 January 2026 ↩︎
- 龙耳、虎足及盖上立鹤，均采用了春秋时期先进的分铸法制成，全器则采用圆雕、浅浮雕、细刻、焊接等多种技艺细腻铸造，既显示出春秋时代卓绝的青铜铸造水平，又反映了当时青铜器动物造型肖像化的潮流，堪称春秋时期青铜艺术的典范之作。 ↩︎
- 禮樂係中華文化重要元素，由禮節同音樂組成，早響西周時期周公旦就已經製禮作樂。春秋時期孔子認為君子一定要識禮樂，重話：「君子三年不為禮，禮必壞；三年不為樂，樂必崩。」，亦係成語「禮樂崩壞」嘅出處。
礼乐制度是后人对西周王室制定并傳播的一系列社會習俗的統稱，相傳為周公所創建。 它和宗法制度構成整個中國古代的社會制度，對後世的政治、文化、藝術和思想影響巨大。 禮樂制度分禮和樂兩個部分。 「禮」的部分主要從形式上規範什麼是正確的外向社會舉止，包括每個身份的人應當履行何種禮儀和義務，最終形成等級制度。
随着西周社会制度的土崩瓦解，礼崩乐坏，中国历史进入了东周的春秋和战国时期。春秋时期的儒家创始人孔子面对春秋时期的社会乱象，极力主张恢复西周的礼乐制度，提倡“克己复礼”，认为只有恢复礼乐制度，实行仁政，才能解决当时的社会问题，实现“天下有道”的和谐社会。孔子对礼的解释是：“君君，臣臣”即君主要有君主的樣子，臣子也要有臣子的樣子。孔子主张和提倡恢复礼乐制度，还身体力行。传说他曾向老子问礼，又曾痴迷于乐，达到“三月不知肉味”. https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/礼乐制度, accessed 1 Feb 2026 ↩︎ - 春秋中期以后，楚、晋两国争霸中原。位于今天黄河中下游地区的郑国居于晋、楚两大国之间，在夹缝中求生存。正是由于这种朝晋暮楚的关系，使得郑国深受晋、楚两国文化艺术的影响，并且在青铜器上得以表现。 ↩︎
- 虎形尊
銅器 | 春秋中期 | 長35.8 高21.9(cm) | 國立歷史博物館藏
登錄號：h0000282
《虎形尊》（館藏編號h0000282），尊為酒器，全器作虎形，以虎口作為流口，背具圓形蓋並串鏈與尾相連接，虎尾向上彎捲形成把手，短頸肥身，四足甚短，虎目圓睜，短豎耳，頭頂有扉稜，額部及足部飾有重環紋，尾部則以鱗紋為飾。此件係於1923年出土於河南新鄭鄭公大墓，為河南博物館舊藏文物，1956年經教育部撥交予本館典藏，並於2011年經文化部公告為重要古物。
鄭公大墓係於1923年8月在河南新鄭李家樓發掘出土，為春秋中晚期鄭國貴族墓葬，其出土文物數量可觀、製作精美，其風格除可見繼承西周文化傳統，也呈現晉、楚文化特色的融合。 ↩︎ - 雲龍罍
銅器 | 春秋中期 | 高41.1 最大寬59.4(cm), 17820g | 國立歷史博物館藏
代管登錄號：h0000285
《雲龍罍》（館藏編號h0000285），撇口、短頸、圓肩、深腹圓鼓、圈足，為酒器或盛水器。器肩有四個龍耳立體鑄件，均為雙龍交尾銜環造型，器腹最寬處為凸弦紋，上層滿布雙鉤交錯的帶狀蟠蛇紋飾，四個圓形殘痕處原貼有龍紋金屬飾片，現已脫落不見，下層則飾雙鉤蟠虺紋及三角葉紋。此件係於1923年出土於河南新鄭鄭公大墓，為河南博物館舊藏文物，1956年經教育部撥交予本館典藏，並於2011年經文化部公告為重要古物。
鄭公大墓係於1923年8月在河南新鄭李家樓發掘出土，為春秋中晚期鄭國貴族墓葬，其出土文物數量可觀、製作精美，其風格除可見繼承西周文化傳統，也呈現晉、楚文化特色的融合。 ↩︎ - 螭鈕鎛鐘
銅器 | 春秋中期 |高95 口徑52 底徑158.2 紐高25(cm), 130470g | 國立歷史博物館藏
代管
登錄號：h0000273
《螭鈕鎛鐘》（館藏編號h0000273），器呈合瓦形，直懸、平口，鐘面平均分布36個乳丁狀鐘枚，於篆部、鼓部與上端懸鈕飾有交纏的夔龍紋與鏤空的夔鳳螭紋等造型，鎛鐘為低音鐘，演奏時作合聲和掌握節奏之用。此件係於1923年出土於河南新鄭鄭公大墓，出土時為一套四件大小相次的編鎛，此為次大者，原藏於河南博物館，1956年經教育部撥交予本館典藏，並於2011年經文化部公告為重要古物。
鄭公大墓係於1923年8月在河南新鄭李家樓發掘出土，為春秋中晚期鄭國貴族墓葬，其出土文物數量可觀、製作精美，其風格除可見繼承西周文化傳統，也呈現晉、楚文化特色的融合。 ↩︎ - 「莲鹤方壶」出土于一九二三年发掘的河南省新郑市李家楼村春秋时期郑国国君墓。包括成对大型莲鹤方壶在内，郑公大墓共出土完整青铜器近百件，史称「新郑彝器」，为春秋中期极具代表性承前启后的器群，在当时中国这一空前大发现曾轰动一时。抗日战争时期为保护国宝，「新郑彝器」随大批古物一起装箱西迁，几经辗转周折直至一九四九年冬运抵重庆，其后一部分文物被运至台湾，另一部分则留在大陆。而这两件莲鹤方壶最终留在大陆，其中一件由文化部拨交故宫博物院保藏，另一件则收贮于河南省博物院。https://www.dpm.org.cn/Uploads/File/2019/12/04/u5de7a9f02a937.pdf, accessed 31 Jan 2026 ↩︎
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