Decoration. Some scholars call it a smart line that carries civilization. In the era of no writing, ornamentation was undoubtedly the essence of ancient culture.
Ancient ornamentation, about 10,000 years before and after. Frogs, birds, fish, and insects from the Stone Age:
To the gluttonous monsters of the temples of the Shang and Zhou dynasties:
From the spring and autumn of the nations' dragons and phoenixes:
to the Yunqi Immortals of the Han Empire;
From the religious pattern and plant pattern of "Wei, Jin, Sui and Tang Dynasties".
To the "Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties" character patterns, auspicious patterns:
Carefully combing, there are many secrets hidden behind the patterns.
In the past 10,000 years of development, how have the patterns changed?3 minutes to read quickly!
Ancient Chinese ornamentation was in its infancy, from the late Paleolithic to the early Neolithic, with a history of more than 10,000 years.
It can be said that in the middle and late Neolithic Age (that is, around 8000-4000 years ago), the development of ancient Chinese ornamentation reached the first peak represented by painted pottery ornamentation (including Dadiwan culture, Yangshao culture, Majiayao culture, Dawenkou culture, Hongshan culture, Daxi culture, etc.) and jade ornamentation (mainly Hongshan culture, Liangzhu culture, Lingjiatan culture and Shijiahe culture).
Since the day of human existence, all livelihoods have been inseparable from the three elements of water, fire and earth.
How to transform your living environment?Nature starts with the dirt beneath your feet.
Thus, pottery came into being.
At first, the first pattern on the faience pottery may have been just an inconspicuous action when the ancestors were immersed in labor.
Later, in the process of fishing, hunting, and agricultural labor, they gradually gained creative inspiration, and slowly created fixed patterns by observing natural images such as the sun, moon, water, fire, and mountains and rocks, as well as coming into contact with various labor tools.
Representative patterns: geometric patterns, plant patterns, human face patterns, fish patterns, bird patterns, frog patterns, water ripples, etc.
During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, the development of patterns was mainly reflected in bronzes.
As an important sacrificial ritual vessel in the pre-Qin period, the ornamentation on the body of the bronze ware is not only decorative, but also a medium of communication between the sacrificer and the ghosts and gods, and can also produce a visual impact. After all, when you come out to mix, your aura is very important, and you must overwhelm others from your momentum.
Therefore, among the wide variety of patterns, animal patterns from ancient legends are more common. (Recommended reading: "gluttonous pattern" or "animal face pattern"?.)What is this?Identify it quickly!What exactly is the "kui dragon pattern"?After reading this, I understand!）
Representative patterns: dragon pattern, phoenix pattern, gluttonous pattern, fox pattern, animal pattern, thunder pattern, checkered pattern, moire pattern, milk nail pattern, swirl pattern and hieroglyphic pattern.
The ornamentation of the Spring and Autumn period was still relatively concise, and the ornamentation of the Warring States period began to become complicated.
The reason for this is that the patterns of this period changed from the original ritual ritual function to practical use.
The ornamentation on the utensils began to abandon the patterns of the gods and beasts of the previous generation, and shifted from the original bird and beast patterns and geometric patterns to the patterns that express real life, such as singing and dancing, hunting, war and other scenes.
Representative pattern:Pan claw pattern, geometric pattern, hunting pattern, dragon pattern, bird and beast pattern, Pan pattern pattern, animal pattern, etc.
For example, the Sichuan Provincial Museum's collection of water and land attack pattern copper kettle:
The water battle map of the China Maritime Museum's "Copper Kettle Embedded in the Wrong Water and Land Capture Pattern" shows the scene of the battle
In addition, during the Warring States period, the invention of wrong gold and silver technology and inlay technology made the patterns no longer flat, and became dazzling and three-dimensional.
The picture shows the inlaid geometric pattern square pot in the late Warring States period in the Shanghai Museum, and the body of the pot is inlaid with turquoise and mismatched silver wire geometric patterns, which are hooked and twisted, and the color is coordinated and pleasing to the eye.
Time came to the Qin and Han dynasties.
At this time, the scope of application of patterns gradually expanded, in addition to bronzes, tiles, utensils, clothing, buildings, in the tomb portrait bricks, murals, silk paintings, screens used to decorate the interior have a large number of rich patterns.
In the Han Dynasty, the pattern was combined with the spirit of the times advocating the ascension of immortals, so it appeared majestic and ethereal.
Representative patterns: pan claw pattern, pan pattern, dragon and phoenix pattern, flowing cloud pattern, various animals (deer, turtle, sheep, tiger, frog, fish, bat, bird, etc.) pattern and four god patterns.
The most representative painted lacquer coffin unearthed from the Western Han Tomb of Mawangdui, the pattern is very characteristic of the Han Dynasty. The unrestrained clouds, the treacherous spirit beasts, mysterious and vivid, vivid.
In the picture, the background color of the lacquer coffin is bright red, symbolizing sunshine and life, and the mythical beasts outlined on the lacquer coffin are lifelike.
During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the society was in turmoil, and Buddhism, which preached salvation and the cultivation of future lives, flourished.
During this period, the traditional patterns were deeply influenced by Buddhist culture, and many themes and contents of the patterns were related to Buddhist scripture stories, forming unique auspicious patterns related to Buddhism.
And in the Sui and Tang dynasties, the period of China's great unification arrived.
Social development, multi-ethnic integration and cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries enriched and developed the patterns of this period.
The patterns of the Sui Dynasty have undergone some changes on the basis of the continuation of the patterns of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, mostly using flowers and leaf patterns, and skillfully interspersing and alternating them to form different patterns.
During the Sui and Tang dynasties, the treasure pattern was prevalent for a while.
It contains the elements of lotus, pomegranate and peony, and has the meaning of "treasure" and "immortal", like a sparkling jewel and a precious and magnificent flower, which carries people's auspicious wishes.
The Tang Dynasty Mandarin Duck Lotus Petal Pattern Gold Bowl in the Shaanxi History Museum:
The patterns of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period followed the complexity and magnificence of the Tang Dynasty.
However, the decorative techniques began to pay attention to exaggerated deformation:
The exaggerated floral pattern is manifested as a set of flowers in the flower or a set of flowers in the leaves, which is mainly represented by the treasure pattern.
Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, 960 A.D. 1911 A.D.
The pattern is full of flowers, and it can be summarized in one sentence: from extremely quiet to extremely complex!
The Two Song Dynasty was another prosperous period of feudal society, with a sharp increase in social wealth and continuous improvement of people's tastes. The patterns of this period pursued the natural beauty of nature, and the overall style was dexterous, natural, elegant and beautiful.
Representative ornamentation: glossy no pattern, flower and bird pattern, animal pattern, children's pillow, etc.
In addition to retaining the characteristics of the previous generation of patterns, the patterns of the Ming and Qing dynasties absorbed a lot of foreign styles, with many themes, lively and diverse styles, and an unprecedented wide range of applications.
The biggest feature of the Ming and Qing dynasties is the extensive use of auspicious themes, pay attention to the picture must be intentional, the meaning must be auspicious, auspicious pictures, auspicious words are widely spread.
In short: auspicious words, don't risk money!
There are still differences between the Ming and Qing dynasties: the patterns of the Ming Dynasty are bright, elegant, pragmatic, generous, and rich in decorative beauty, and the floral themes are rich and diverse, simple and introverted, and pay more attention to the meaning of the pattern itself.
The Qing Dynasty patterns are very fine, the colors are rich and luxurious, the composition is complex, and the symbolic meaning of the patterns is emphasized.
For example, this piece in the collection of the Palace Museum:
There are all kinds of glazed vases known as "porcelain mother".
Just like its name, the bottle body has enamel color, foreign color, imitation glaze, blue and white, gold color, turquoise green glaze, kiln glaze, bucket color, pink green glaze, Ji blue glaze gold, pastel, imitation official glaze, imitation Yongxuan blue and white, coral red glaze gold, imitation Ru glaze, sauce glaze gold color, a total of 17 varieties of porcelain.
As for the patterns: there are a total of 12 auspicious patterns, and 6 are realistic patterns.
Roughly: Sanyang Kaitai, auspicious celebration, Danfeng Chaoyang, Taiping Xiang, Xianshan Qiongge, Bogu Jiuding, the other 6 pieces are the word "swastika" in Jindi, bat, Ruyi, cockroach, Ganoderma lucidum, flowers, respectively meaning "ten thousand", "blessing", "wish", "evil spirit", "longevity", "wealth".
We ordinary people, when we come forward, we have a feeling: big, magnificent, magnificent!
It has the characteristics of Qing Dynasty ornamentation!