Poet Li Bai once mentioned the cup of wine that never runs dry. The cup was eventually found in an ancient tomb in Nanjing, China.
Since ancient times, when scientific and technological conditions were weak, people have invented many unique inventions that make scientists today also admire.
Li Bai (701-762) was one of the most famous poets of the Tang Dynasty in China. He is not only known as a great poet, he is also known as “Zu Trung Tien” because of his rare wine-loving style. In particular, in his poems, there was once a cup of wine that could not be exhausted no matter how he drank it: “The ladle of the falcon, the cup of the parrot, one hundred five thirty-six thousand days, one day should be inclined three hundred cups.” (Tuong Duong ca). 
The cup of wine “drinking forever” really exists in history. Photo: Sina Archaeologists have always been very interested in the “parrot cup” or “parrot cup” that Li Bai refers to, but such artifacts have never been excavated. It was not until the discovery of an ancient Jin Dynasty (317 – 420) tomb in 1965 that archaeologists found the strange wine glass described in these poems. Invention ahead of its time In 1965, archaeologists discovered a family tomb in Xiangshan, Nanjing. Based on the stele unearthed, the archaeological team judged that the owner of the tomb belonged to the Vuong family, one of the four largest clans of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Here, in addition to finding a large number of burial items, which are of great value to the study of family culture and funeral customs of the Wei and Jin dynasties, scientists were also very surprised. when unearthed a large snail shell in the grave . 
The cup was unearthed. Photo: Sina The appearance of the Anh Vu snail caused a lot of controversy in the professional world, because this was the first time they unearthed a strange artifact. Through research, the experts eventually discovered: It turns out that this is the famous “parrot cup” in history, this cup is originally made from Anh Vu snail shell. Perhaps, the owner of the tomb is also a person with a passion for wine like poet Ly Bach, so he decided to bring this cup to his final resting place. This is the first time people have unearthed a parrot cup, so experts are very interested and want to study why the parrot cup can contain such a large amount of alcohol, because from the outside, this is really a normal Anh Vu snail shell, nothing special. The secret inside To find out the answer to this problem, experts decided to take an X-ray of the cup, it turned out that the image of “300 cup tilting day” in Li Bai’s poetry was not a product of pompous tricks, it’s true. Inside the parrot cup there are lots of naturally created nets that occupy the dense interior of the prison and, all hidden nets are connected by small holes. When the ancients poured wine into the parrot cup, the wine would gradually seep into the net through small holes. In this way, when the ancients poured wine from a parrot cup, the wine inside would not be poured out all at once, but flowed out little by little under the influence of air pressure.In this way, it gives the illusion that the alcohol in it never runs out. 
Recreate the image inside the parrot cup. Photo: Sina After the experts learned this secret, they felt great admiration for the wisdom of the ancients. The working principle of the parrot cup is very similar to today’s activated carbon, it uses the spatial structure inside the object to achieve the purpose of slowing down the flow. Drinking with a small glass of wine with such a long pouring power is very elegant and rich in emotion, so the parrot cup is always sought after by antique wine lovers. The parrot cup is so popular, but why has it disappeared from history? Experts believe that the cause is due to the main material of the cup – the Anh Vu snail, which has a very small number. This animal lives on the seabed several hundred meters deep in the tropics and subtropics, so it is not easy to find.
You must log in to post a comment.