This iron lion is very powerful and magnificent, standing for thousands of years, guarding one side of the sea and one side of the people. Up to now, the true origin of Zhenhai roar has not been officially confirmed, and there are different opinions among the people, and various versions of legends have emerged one after another. According to Cang County Records, it was made in order to punish those sinful slaves and guard the city during the northern expedition to Qidan. But after verification by some experts and scholars, Zhou Shizong didn't believe in Buddhism, so he wouldn't order people to cast such a huge iron lion project, so this statement is not credible.
What the public can accept is another popular saying. It is said that the ancient Cangzhou area was very close to the sea, which made seawater often flood into Cangzhou city. Coupled with the frequent occurrence of tsunamis, people in Cangzhou have a very difficult life and complain a lot. Therefore, in order to pray for God's protection, local people in Cangzhou asked the famous Shandong foundry Liu Yun to build this iron lion, which was raised by people spontaneously, so that everyone could have a more stable life. So this iron lion is used to suppress the flood in the sea, so people call it Zhenhai roar. Today, this statement is more reasonable and credible because the names of donors can still be seen outside the iron lion.
The right side of the iron lion neck is engraved with the words "Guangzhou casting for three years, big week" and the right rib is engraved with the name of the foundry with the words "Shandong Li Yunzao". It can be inferred that the Iron Lion was cast in 953 AD, and it has been 1000 years now. It is said that the Iron Lion is the largest cast iron relic in China. Is it the biggest? The iron lion is 3.8m high, with a head height of1.5m, a total height of 5.3m, a total length of 6. 1 m and a body width of 3.17m. 1984, China once measured the exact weight of the iron lion, which was huge and mighty, weighing 29.30 tons.
It is rumored that the ancients adopted the special casting method of "clay fan open casting". Divide the whole lion into several sections for forging. The outer body of the iron lion is made up of several squares of different sizes, one on top of the other, forming the whole lion. Such a heavy weight can be cast under the condition of underdeveloped ancient technology and machinery. It's really amazing. It's amazing. The casting process of iron lion clothing is also amazing. The iron lion is covered with a dust pad and carries a very big lotus basin on his back. The bottom radius of this lotus pond is about 0.5 meters, and the upper radius is about 1 meter. The whole lotus pond is as high as 0.7 meters, and the whole lotus pond can be disassembled. There are rumors among the people that this lotus basin belongs to Manjusri Bodhisattva and is very valuable. The iron lion is magnificent and lifelike, so it is no wonder that all scholars can't help sighing for it.
In the 1000 years cast by Iron Lion, as the treasure of Zhenhai, it has been firmly sticking to its post, and many rooms have not caused any great influence and harm to Iron Lion, whether it is wind and rain or sun and rain. Cangzhou is famous for its lions and is known as the "Lion City". However, it is such a national cultural relic that has gone through thousands of years, but it has gradually begun to be destroyed and irreversibly damaged for three transgressions and four times. This is not an irresistible external environmental factor, but a human factor, or the so-called experts have destroyed the mighty lion into a weak old man under the slogan of protecting cultural relics.
There is such a record in Cangzhou County Records. 1803, a strong wind blew the iron lion to the ground for 90 years, and then stood up 1893. It was this fall that kept the iron lion in contact with the wet soil, and the iron lion's abdomen was seriously corroded. But this time the damage is not enough, and the iron lion is still mighty.
At 1956, at the suggestion of foreign experts, Cangzhou built a pavilion for the iron lion, which was originally a good use. They hope to provide some extra protection for the iron lion from environmental factors. But the so-called experts do not have enough knowledge reserves. They think it's for the good of the iron lion. What they don't know is that the iron lion can be intact 1000 years because there is no shelter from the wind and rain, so it can evaporate water quickly, so it won't be corroded by water. However, the expert octagonal pavilion just drove away the harm and avoided the benefit, which slowed down the evaporation speed of the iron lion, and the water stayed on the iron lion, so the corrosion speed reached an unprecedented speed. The iron lion was badly damaged. Finally, at 1975, the local octagonal pavilion was demolished.
After another wave of unrest, experts did another very stupid thing in 1984. At that time, the iron lion suffered serious leg damage due to long-term immersion in water. Therefore, the cultural relics protection department decided to install a pedestal for the iron lion to raise its position, so as to protect the iron lion from being soaked in mud. However, the iron lion can only be carried by crane. In the handling operation, in order to protect the leg of the iron lion from being squeezed, the staff injected sulfur anchoring mixture into the leg. Due to their negligence in work, the sulfur anchoring mixture was not cleaned in time after installation, so the iron lion's leg was broken when the sulfur anchoring mixture solidified and expanded. According to later calculations, the iron lion was destroyed in 42 places, covering the chin, tail, feet and so on. It hurts!
The riddled iron lion swayed in the wind of history. 1994, in order to protect the iron lion, experts came again. This time they seem to have a clear plan. They decided to fix the iron lion with steel pipes to assist its legs. So, in 1995, the plan was implemented. The staff injected lime and sand into the lion's leg to make it more stable, so the tragedy happened again. Lime and sand injected into the legs swell up. This method not only did not strengthen the lion's leg, but accelerated its fracture.
The iron lion is the "roar of the sea" in the hearts of the people, and has stood tall in Cangzhou for more than 1000 years. But experts should have made their own efforts for the longer survival time of the iron lion, but in the end they greatly shortened the life of the lion. The damage to the lion's body is too serious to be repaired. In 2009, Cangzhou can only cast a new iron lion instead of Zhenhai Hou as the representative of Cangzhou. This new iron lion weighs 120 tons, which is even more powerful and domineering than "Zhenhai Hou". Even won the Guinness World Record.
Conclusion The new iron lion has stood in Cangzhou, but the status of "Zhenhai roar" will not change, because it has protected this land for thousands of years, and the spirit it represents flows in the blood of the people and is engraved in the hearts of the people. "Zhenhai roar" is not only a symbol of the industriousness and wisdom of the ancient working people, but also the spirit of the ancient people. No matter whether Zhenhao can stand still in the future, it will always be a mighty lion.