Regarding the query of Hubei Provincial Museum, Heng Chang, director of Pidu Bronze Art Research Institute in Jingzhou, said that this is a copy of Gou Jian's sword, which does not violate the laws and regulations on the reproduction of national first-class cultural relics.
According to the relevant regulations of the state, reproduction of cultural relics refers to making basically the same products according to the original shape and style. Heng Chang said that they didn't open the mold according to the original work, but studied, observed, explored and imitated according to the existing social information. The highly simulated Gou Jian is different in size from the original, so it is an imitation rather than a copy. At the same time, someone in the Hubei Provincial Museum said that "the' high imitation' sword is very different from the real one", indicating that the high imitation Goujian sword of Yue King is an imitation. There is no law in our country that expressly stipulates that cultural relics cannot be copied.
Jingzhou Pidu Bronze Art Research Institute also obtained the approval of Jingzhou Cultural Relics Department, imitating Jian Peijun, the King of Yue. On April 29th, Jingzhou Cultural Relics Bureau [2004] 16 "Reply on Permitting the Production and Sale of King Yue Series High Imitation Sword and Other High Imitation Bronze Works of Art" stated that according to the national policies and regulations on the protection of cultural relics, it was agreed in principle that the Institute would produce and sell imitations of ancient bronzes unearthed in Jingzhou, and Jingzhou Cultural Relics Bureau would be responsible for supervising the production. Heng Chang said that the selfie stick of Gou Jian, the King of Yue, was unearthed from the No.1 Tomb of Wangshan in Jiangling, which belongs to the imitation scope.
About solving puzzles or not? Heng Chang said that Xu Guangguo studied Gou Jian's sword, and pursued its humanistic value, ideological and cultural connotation and unparalleled artistic beauty. He wants to imitate and develop the shape, pattern, luster and charm of the sword through his own groping methods and handwork. Its evaluation standard is not science and technology, but aesthetics. Many mysteries he solved in the handicraft workshop are also the subjects that experts are studying. It can be said that both are the same. Heng Chang said that Xu Guangguo was very excited to say that after thousands of experiments, he copied the sword of Gou Jian, the King of Yue, by original manual method, and solved the mystery of casting the sword. As a folk craftsman, he pursues the cultural heritage of Gu Jian itself. He can't have what experts call advanced instruments. In ancient Ou Yezi, proton X-ray fluorescence non-vacuum analysis technology was not used, so he created an eternal "Excalibur".
"Imitation" or "copy" becomes the focus.
According to the "Regulations on the Implementation of the National Cultural Relics Protection Law", the reproduction of cultural relics must be audited by the cultural relics administrative department of the provincial government and reported to the cultural relics administrative department of the State Council for approval. Is the "high imitation" of Gou Jian's sword declared by Jingzhou Pidu Bronze Art Research Institute an imitation? It has become the focus of controversy between the Hubei Provincial Museum and the Institute.
Jingzhou Pidu Bronze Art Research Institute said that "high imitation" belongs to imitation category, which is essentially different from reproduction. He said that imitation of cultural relics has a long history and can be seen everywhere as an industry. The government can manage norms, and experts can discuss and even dispute them. However, how to treat the imitation of cultural relics is not illegal because there is no explicit provision in the law.
In this regard, a person in charge of the Hubei Provincial Museum said that Jingzhou Pidu Bronze Art Research Institute deliberately promoted "high simulation" and publicized it on a large scale in various media throughout the country. This is a word game, which actually replaces "plagiarism" with "high simulation"; Moreover, the "high-simulation" sword has no characters except the words "Gou Jian's self-propelled sword", just like the eight words on the real Gou Jian's sword, which is blatant forgery and will directly lead to the proliferation of fake cultural relics.
Regarding the question why the collector of this sword, Hubei Provincial Museum, did not copy it, researcher Chen Zhongxing, the former curator of Hubei Provincial Museum, said that it is well known that Jian Peijun, the King of Yue, is a national treasure with great influence at home and abroad, and has been exhibited overseas for three times so far, and has been praised as "China's heavyweight national treasure" by overseas media. Its every move can be described as "striking". Its replication must be very careful and no mistakes are allowed. Moreover, it is very difficult to copy Gou Jian's sword, and it is still very difficult to reach the technical level of the original.