Sculpture Title: Slaying Xiangliu
Location: Dayu Mythology Park, Hanyang Riverside Park, Wuhan, Hubei Province
Category: Urban Sculpture
Technique: Lost-wax precision casting
Dimensions: 3.8 meters
Site Background: Great Yu Mythology Park
Stretching 430 meters along the Hanyang Riverfront, the Great Yu Mythology Park serves as a premier thematic cultural landscape. Through a curated series of 12 monumental sculptures, the park provides an immersive narrative of the legendary epic: the Great Yu taming the ancient floods. Among these, the masterpiece “Slaying Xiangliu” stands as the collection’s signature work, dramatically capturing the immense obstacles of the flood control mission and the indomitable bravery of the Great Yu.
Narrative Context: The Slaying of Xiangliu
Xiangliu, the nine-headed serpentine minister to the water god Gonggong, was a formidable mythical beast known for spewing toxic effluents. Wherever it traversed, the land was transformed into sterile, desolate marshes where no life could thrive, severely compromising the Great Yu’s monumental flood control projects. To ensure the permanent cessation of the floods and protect his hydraulic legacy, the Great Yu engaged in a fierce, life-and-death struggle against the creature, ultimately triumphing by slaying the monster and restoring order to the primeval landscape.
Sculptural Expression
Great Yu is rendered with tense musculature and an agile, athletic posture that radiates immense physical power. Wielding the legendary Lei Si (ancient hydraulic spade), his commanding presence captures a resolute determination to eradicate the primordial evil for the sake of the people.
The serpentine form of Xiangliu is depicted in a sinuous, contorted coil, creating a stark visual contrast to the hero. The intricate rendering of scales and wings highlights our high-fidelity casting capabilities, generating a powerful confrontational tension that defines the energy of the masterpiece.
The pedestal features stylized rhythmic wave motifs that directly echo the epic flood-control theme. These environmental details heighten the dramatic intensity of the battle, grounding the figures in a grand, cinematic narrative context.
Primary Medium: Cast Tin-Bronze Alloy
The surface has undergone a specialized antique oxidation treatment to achieve a rich, deep bronze finish. Engineered for exceptional weathering resistance, this material is perfectly suited for the high-humidity environments of urban riverfronts, while simultaneously evoking a sense of profound historical gravitas.
Fabrication & Engineering Protocols
- Precision Lost-Wax Investment Casting: Utilizing the traditional lost-wax method, we ensure the high-fidelity replication of every intricate detail—from Great Yu’s defined musculature to the complex, multi-dimensional textures of Xiangliu’s scales and wings.
- Meticulous Finishing & Thermal Patination: Post-casting, the sculpture undergoes a rigorous regimen of manual grinding and polishing. A specialized chemical thermal patination protocol is then executed to develop a uniform, deep-bronze patina. This finish not only enhances the artwork’s aesthetic depth but also provides superior corrosion resistance for long-term outdoor display.
- Scale & Contextual Integration: Standing approximately 3.8 meters in height, the monument is anchored on a stone-masonry pedestal. This structural configuration facilitates a seamless integration with the riverfront landscape, ensuring both structural stability and aesthetic harmony with the natural environment.
The cornerstone installations of the Wuhan Great Yu Mythology Park comprise a curated collection of monumental masterpieces, including Great Yu Inspecting the Nine Tripods by Chariot, Slaying Xiangliu, Yinglong Charting the Rivers, The Nine-Tailed Fox Acting as Matchmaker, The Admonition Drum, and The Mighty Deluge. Masterfully orchestrated to create a harmonic visual dialogue, these sculptures provide a comprehensive artistic realization of the epic theme: “The Unification of the Nine Provinces.”