The first cattle in Gansu, 1.2 meters long and weighing 75 kilograms, is the real bull's morale
There is a copper yak in Gansu that is comparable to a copper galloping horse. Although it is not as famous as the copper galloping horse, its importance is not weaker than the copper galloping horse!
It is the copper yak found by Tianzhu. This bronze yak, 1.2 meters high and weighing 75 kilograms, only after seeing it did you really feel the bullishness!
The Tianzhu bronze yak is a national treasure-level cultural relic. From excavation to discovery, it has undergone a very tortuous process, and finally cultural workers have been rescued from the waste collection station. The bronze yak was unearthed in June 1972, but under the conditions at that time, not enough attention was paid to it. One after the other, they were sent to the waste collection station. Luckily, it met the discerning staff. In October 1980, the staff of the Tianzhu County Cultural Center inadvertently saw a copper yak treated as a waste product from the waste collection station. This staff member is not an ordinary person, he can see at a glance that this bronze yak is different, unique shape, beautiful curves, have an unusual temperament, not ordinary craftsmen can make. The graceful curvature of the shape lines is comparable to that of the copper galloping horse. Immediately, this staff member, running around, looked for the initial land, reported the situation to the relevant units, and finally rescued and protected the copper yak.
This bronze yak is 1.2 meters long, the front ridge is 0.61 meters high, the horn length is 0.42 meters, and it weighs 75 kilograms. It is completely cast according to a standing yak, and the horns, neck, abdomen, back and tail are beautifully curved, strong and powerful, and vivid. Has a strong and powerful, mighty and majestic temperament. This is the largest piece of copper yak found in China. Its age is generally believed to have been minted in the Yuan Dynasty. In recent years, some people have examined that the bronze yak should have been cast in the Tang Dynasty as a prayer artifact of the Tubo tribe at that time.
This is the largest piece of copper yak found in our country. Although its discovery was 11 years later than that of the Wuwei Copper Galloping Horse, it still caused a great sensation and was soon worshipped as a "sacred cow".
I once took a closer look at this bronze yak at the Gansu Provincial Museum. Although it is cast, the craftsmanship is very delicate, and the thin lines perfectly show the look of the copper yak: looking forward, the bull's mouth is up, the lower teeth are exposed, the nostrils are rounded, it seems to be "moo" sounding, very life-like. In terms of fine casting, the head engraving is particularly delicate and vivid.
In 1990, the bronze yak went to Japan for exhibition, and for a time the bronze yak became famous. At the same time, it also brings fire to the specialty of Tianzhu white yak. Among the local specialties of Tianzhu, the white yak is one of them.
Tianzhu white yak is a rare and precious semi-wild endemic group of endemic species in China and the world, with the local Xidatan, Duoshi Township, Jiaxixiu longtan (yongfeng beach in Chinese) and Akun Yangou grassland as the main production areas. Yaks were one of the earliest domesticated livestock, and it is recorded in the Shuowen: "The southwest Yi long-haired cattle also." The Classic of Mountains and Seas and the Classic of The Northern Mountains describes: "The Mountain of Panhou ... There are beasts, whose shape is like an ox, and the four knots of hair are hairy, and the name is called the cow." It can be seen that yaks have a very long history.
Among the many yak breeds, Tianzhu white yak is compact, the whole body muscles are well developed, the forebody is developed, the chest is wide and deep, the armor is high, the neck is thick, the limbs are strong and powerful, it is good at wading in the mountains, walking on ice and snow, it is resistant to severe cold, and it is adapted to life and breeding in the plateau grassland above 3000 meters above sea level. Because the white yak grows under the severe natural conditions of alpine and hypoxia period, dry grass stage and ice sealing period for about half a year, it is a national first-class protected animal in China. White yak milk is a treasure in milk and is the raw material for the production of premium milk powder.
This bronze yak, whose body shape is very similar to that of the white yak, bears witness to the survival of the ancient white yak in Tianzhu. This is the first cattle in Gansu, 1.2 meters long and weighing 75 kilograms, and when you get closer, you can feel the real bullish spirit.