May the Future Be Like the Past

"Look at those patterns... beautiful, aren't they?" the old man asked Shu with a smile.

"Mm," Shu nodded cooperatively.

He looked seriously at the bronze vessel standing in the display case. Its green and brown exterior couldn't hide its golden past.

"A pity... this thing was blown to pieces once... shattered into more than twenty fragments... Luckily, later hands were skillful..." Wang Jinzhong suddenly sighed, shook his head, and then started towards the next counter leaning on his cane.

Shattered? Into more than twenty pieces?

This was the first time Shu had heard of such a thing. He hadn't paid attention to these details before. Watching the old man leave, he took one last look at the square zun, which showed no visible cracks, and followed the old man's steps.

They arrived before a larger counter where a massive bronze ritual vessel was displayed, illuminated only by the dim spotlights beside the counter.

Compared to the Four-goat Square Zun earlier, this bronze ritual vessel gave a much rougher first impression.

The intricacy of the patterns, the simplicity of the carvings and decorations.

But this bronze vessel possessed a solemnity that the Four-goat Square Zun couldn't match, hitting Shu the moment he first laid eyes on it.

"This one... is the Houmuwu Ding. Big, isn't it?" the old man said with a smile, standing with Shu about two meters away from the Houmuwu Ding.

"This is the largest bronze ritual vessel. Speaking purely of single bronze pieces... there's a bigger one over there, but that one's larger because it's assembled..."

"This is what everyone calls the 'National Treasure'. How about it? Big enough, solid enough to hold things down, right?" the old man asked.

Shu nodded.

Heavy, solemn... dignified and inviolable—that was the impression this square ding gave him.

The two continued walking, arriving at the next spot. Shu also saw the larger bronze artifact the old man mentioned.

It was a set of bells, arranged neatly from largest to smallest.

Anyone could tell it was a set of musical instruments.

"This is called the Chime Bells of Marquis Yi of Zeng. It's incredible..." The two still stopped about two meters from the counter, gazing from afar at this exquisite set of bronze wares.

"This thing, its musical range spans five and a half octaves, with all twelve semitones complete. Those guides and experts all say so. I don't understand octaves or semitones, but everyone praises how amazing it is..."

The old man said, then sighed.

"I really want to hear what kind of sound this thing can make... I can still appreciate a little bit..."

The old man sighed wistfully, then walked towards the next counter.

Shu looked at the massive set of chime bells, also imagining what sound such instruments would produce if they could ring out.

Probably a very deep and resonant sound... After all, the saying goes "voice like a great bell"...

Next, what came into view was a sword with a somewhat dim luster.

Its somewhat familiar style made Shu subconsciously glance at the replica Xuanyuan Swords hanging at his waist.

"Looks a lot like those swords of yours, right?" the old man also looked at the swords behind Shu and smiled. "Though not as ornate..."

"It was once golden too," Shu turned back to look at the earthy yellow sword lying in the display case. "Maybe it was once as ornate as this."

"Is that so..." Wang Jinzhong nodded slowly. "This sword is called the Sword of Goujian, King of Yue... a bit of a mouthful, right? But this is also an incredible item, still sharp even now!"

This time, the two stood directly in front of the counter. The old man reached out and pointed at the glass. "Look at those characters... 'King Yue Jiu Qian self-made use sword'. That's the script from back then. Over a thousand years have passed, and we can still read it!"

After all, it's only two thousand years... far from reaching the stage of civilizational iteration... Besides, even if civilization iterated, reborn... couldn't it still be understood?

The old man sighed, turning towards the next exhibition hall.

The old man didn't introduce every display case, but his steps were very slow, slow enough for Shu to see all the exhibits along the way.

This time, the two didn't look at the large display cases but came before a small one.

Inside was... a somewhat old glass cup?

"This is called the Warring States Crystal Cup. How about it? Amazing, right? Looks just like a glass cup?" The old man smiled, stepping aside to stand at the side of the counter.

"It really does look similar..." Shu nodded in agreement.

Round mouth, round base, almost imperceptible difference in thickness... Proof that handcrafted works could possess capabilities rivaling machine industrialization.

"This thing is the largest early crystal artifact... Crystal shatters so easily. It's truly a miracle it has been preserved intact until now..."

The old man sighed wistfully and turned towards the next counter.

Shu clearly felt the old man's steps become much lighter, but at the same time, his back seemed even more stooped.

On deep red silk lay a "corpse." A golden outer garment covered the surface of this human effigy.

Jade pieces of similar size were linked together by glistening gold threads, smoothly covering the surface of the figure. Not just the body, but even the hands were wrapped in smaller jade pieces and gold threads.

Luxurious, with an overwhelming sense of mystery.

Shu even had a feeling that if this garment were opened, a perfectly preserved person would be lying inside.

"This is the Jade Burial Suit sewn with gold thread... Looks like those suits of armor, right?" the old man asked Shu.

Shu nodded.

"The ancients... they all believed being buried in clothes like this could preserve the body from decay. The mummies in the pyramids are like that, and the Jade Burial Suits of Shenzhou are like that too..."

"Why do you think that is? Over in the pyramids, they believed people would eventually resurrect. What about here?"

The old man asked, though Shu couldn't detect any hint of questioning in his tone.

This was another philosophical question; Shu didn't need to answer.

But after thinking for a moment, he still spoke. "Perhaps because the body, hair, and skin are received from one's parents, they didn't wish for their bodies to decay into dust?"

"Perhaps so..." the old man nodded, giving Shu an affirmative answer.

"Then what does Mr. Wang think?" Shu asked back.

"Me..." Wang Jinzhong thought seriously. After a few seconds of silence, he spoke.

"I think... they just didn't want others to forget what they looked like..."

Both fell silent. After a moment, Wang Jinzhong waved his hand and led Shu towards the next counter, continuing his explanations.

Shu listened attentively. Wang Jinzhong didn't use many technical terms, nor did he recount any historical anecdotes related to the artifacts. Both he and Shu were expressing their most superficial thoughts about the artifacts.

The two wandered through the vast museum like this, passing artifact after artifact.

And the artifacts remained silent, merely watching the two pass before them, linger, and then leave.

Just like countless times before.