Appreciation of gilt bronze goblet in the late Western Xia Dynasty (photo)

This gilt bronze goblet was unearthed in Haiyuan County, Ningxia. According to the "Guangxu Haicheng County Chronicle", Haiyuan County was named Tiandu Village in the Song Dynasty, changed to Dongmouhui in the Xia Dynasty, and Hailadu in the Yuan Dynasty. In the early Ming Dynasty, the land was given to the King of Chu, and it was also named Haicheng. In recent years, some scholars believe that the Yuan name of Haiyuan County, Hailadu, is Genghis Khan's "Halao Tu Palace" recorded in the "History of the Yuan Dynasty".

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Although this goblet is small in size, with a height of only 5.5 cm, a diameter of 8.5 cm, and a base diameter of 4.6 cm, it is very beautifully cast, with an open mouth, a round belly, a lotus leaf pattern around the belly, and a small trumpet. It has ring feet and is gilded with silver as a whole. It is a typical vessel from the late Xixia period. The bronze and silver-gilt goblet came from Genghis Khan's "Halaotu Palace". This makes people think that it is probably one of the vessels presented to Genghis Khan by Xixia recorded in "The Secret History of Mongolia".

This cup is made of gilt bronze, not pure silver. Can it be a vessel for offering? According to the "Secret History of Mongolia", in the autumn of 1226, Genghis Khan took his wife to conquer the Xixia Kingdom. At the end of the Western Xia Dynasty, the emperor's name was Li Sui. He was the grandson of Shenzong of Xixia and the nephew of Xianzong of Xixia. He was elected emperor when Xianzong was critically ill and refused to surrender to Mongolia. Right Prime Minister Gao Lianghui and other soldiers actively resisted the Mongols. During this period, Genghis Khan was injured and camped on the ground in Haiyuan County. The next day, Mrs. Ye Sui said to the king and all the officials: "The emperor is very feverish tonight, you can discuss it." At that time, she also asked the accompanying generals to discuss how to deal with this matter. Some people suggested that since the Xixia city is there anyway, we can discuss it in a while. If you can't escape, you might as well go back to recuperate and attack again when you're ready. Genghis Khan wanted to be strong throughout his life, and thought that if he went back like this, he would make the Xixia people laugh. It was time for him to die in Xixia. When Genghis Khan sent people to Xixia to inquire about the situation, a minister named Asha Ganbu from Xixia laughed and said, "If you have the ability, come and fight." After Genghis Khan heard about it, he expressed that he would rather die than retreat, so he advanced into the Helan Mountains and killed Asha Ganbu. As luck would have it, another major earthquake occurred in Zhongxing Mansion. "Many palaces were destroyed, and the royal city cried at night." As a result, the plague raged, food and water were in short supply, and more than half of the soldiers and civilians were killed or injured. Xixia was destined to perish. The last emperor of the Xixia Dynasty, Li Sui, came to present the utensils after the Zhongxing Mansion was hit by a strong earthquake. At that time, the Xixia Kingdom was suffering from years of wars, struggles for power, corruption and bribery, as well as frequent natural disasters, as well as civil wars and conflicts between the Jin and Song Dynasties. Years of wars and other wars seriously damaged Xixia's social economy. Xixia's economy was facing collapse and its national power was severely depleted. Under such a background, how could there be such a large number of offering vessels? Xixia had advanced smelting technology, so they could only temporarily cast a batch of bronze vessels, gilt them with gold and silver, and then pass them off as pure gold or pure silver vessels to present as gifts, so they could seek peace. What Genghis Khan and the Mongolian army wanted was the land of Xixia, and Genghis Khan was dying. They didn't care whether the late Xixia emperor presented pure gold, pure silver vessels, or gilt and silver bronzes. Genghis Khan ordered his men to kill Li Sui, who came to ask for surrender, and gave all the donated utensils to Tuoluan, a staff officer with Xixia party membership.

According to "The Secret History of Mongolia", the Mongolian army attacked Xixia in 1227 AD. Xixia finally suffered an earthquake, and the last emperor Li Sui went to Haratu's palace to meet Genghis Khan and presented ninety-nine gold and silver utensils. . Although the "Secret History of Mongolia" does not specify the specific gold and silver vessels that Li Suijin, the last emperor of the Western Xia Dynasty, presented to Genghis Khan, and there are no reports of unearthed cultural relics, some researchers believe that many of them include goblets, which are One of the main drinking utensils in Xixia, because the northern peoples, whether they are Xixia Dangxiang people or Mongolians, all like to drink. Therefore, among the offering vessels, the goblet for drinking wine is naturally an indispensable vessel.