Ma Weidu said that there were no big vats in the Song Dynasty. Is it true that Sima Guang smashed the vats?

There is no problem with Sima Guang smashing the vat, and there is no problem with what Ma Weidu said. What is the problem?

1 Ma Wei is a city dweller, so he doesn’t know that in many rural areas “urns and jars are not distinguished”

China’s language and culture are so rich, let’s just use these various names. Uncle, second uncle, third uncle, fourth uncle, sixth uncle...the vocabulary is extremely rich in subdivisions. There are so many titles, and in English there is only one "UNCLE".

In the same way, a container for storing things can be called many things: vat, urn, altar, jar... If you talk about these things literally, they will sound very different.

We now know the difference between a vat and an urn: the "cylinder" gradually opens from the bottom to the mouth, with a large mouth and a small bottom. The "urn" increases in size from the bottom to the middle, and then shrinks in the upper part, with a big belly and a small mouth.

What is the actual situation? In many northern rural areas, the big ones are vats and urns. Water vats and water urns are not distinguished and they are called interchangeably. The small ones are jars and jars, and the vinegar jars and vinegar jars are not so carefully distinguished.

This is still the case. If you don’t believe it, you can go to the rural areas of northern Shanxi and see. There is a lot of water storage and pickling at home, and they are all “indifferent between jars and urns”. It’s okay to call it an urn, and it’s also right to call it a vat. The water vat/vegetable vat and water urn/vegetable urn were called in a mixed manner. Everyone understood and didn't think it was inappropriate.

2 What did Sima Guang smash?

The "History of the Song Dynasty" says it clearly:

A group of children were playing in the court. One child climbed onto the urn and fell into the water. The others abandoned it and only held stones to hit the urn and break it. When the water bursts out, the children will live.

In other historical materials, what was originally recorded was "smashing the urn". Later, I guess it was a buddy who "cannot distinguish between vats and urns". When simplified into an allusion, he called it "Sima Guang smashed the vat". In fact, there is not much wrong with it.

I happened to meet Mr. Ma Weidu, who was a bad guy. He must clearly distinguish between "cylinder" and "urn". The sentence "The craftsmanship of the Song Dynasty cannot produce a large vat" leaves people speechless. The female teacher who was criticized was probably from the city, and she didn't know that in the countryside, "there is no distinction between vats and urns."

Please don’t take it out of context. Mr. Ma Weidu just said that “Sima Guang smashed the vat” is wrong. He did not deny that it happened. It should be called “Sima Guang smashed the vat”. In the Tang Dynasty, the phrase "please enter the urn" was coined, and "Sima Guang smashed the urn" makes sense.

3 Is there any doubt about "Sima Guang smashing the urn"?

Anyone who has seen a large water urn in rural areas will know that the diameter of the pottery urn is 50-100 centimeters and the wall thickness is 2-3 centimeters. It can be used by people for several lifetimes and is very strong. Not to mention that a 7-year-old child was hit with a rock. Even if an adult wielded a sledgehammer, it would still take some effort to break it.

Of course, it is possible that the "urns" of the Song Dynasty are different from those of later generations, such as size, thickness, and material. Urns and vats in rural areas are made of wood, stone, earthenware, ceramics... there are many kinds of materials. What kind of thing did Sima Guang smash? This is not clear.