Wuwei Tianzhu Tugu Hun Xi Wang Murong Zhi excavated murals
Han portrait bricks with the theme of the Queen Mother of the West unearthed in the Sichuan region
The Tang Dynasty Double Luan Yue Palace Dragon Mirror treasured by the Shaanxi History Museum
Toad jade rabbit pattern wadang
Rabbit-shaped ornaments excavated from the Lingjiatan site in Hanshan, Anhui
Gold ring set with gemstone jade rabbit earrings
Blue and white Yaotai moon appreciation figure porcelain chung
The Tang Dynasty eight-petal diamond-shaped moon palace mirror treasured by the Palace Museum (the pictures in this edition are all data maps)
"Leap Mid-Autumn Moon Post"
"Mid-Autumn Festival Denghai Dai Lou Poems"
The Mid-Autumn Festival has a long history, not only has a colorful traditional customs and legends, but also has many cultural relics related to it. This issue takes you through the exquisite cultural relics to perceive the Mid-Autumn Festival of the ancients.
The origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival
There are many theories about the origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival. The term Mid-Autumn Festival was first mentioned in the Zhou Li. The Book of Rites and The Moon Order says: "The mid-autumn moon nourishes the elderly and eats porridge." By the time of the Wei and Jin Dynasties, there was a record of "Shu Shangshu Town Niu Shu, Mid-Autumn Festival, and Left and Right Micro-Serving Panjiang". By the early years of the Tang Dynasty, the Mid-Autumn Festival became a fixed festival. The Book of Tang and the Book of Taizong records the "Mid-Autumn Festival on the fifteenth day of August". The prevalence of the Mid-Autumn Festival began in the Song Dynasty, and by the time of the Ming and Qing dynasties, it had become one of the major festivals in China along with New Year's Day. Because the "Book of Rites" has a record of "autumn twilight moon", the custom of offering the moon, appreciating the moon, and worshiping the moon has been passed down for thousands of years, and the Mid-Autumn Festival is exactly on the day of the full moon in autumn, so when it comes to the Mid-Autumn Festival, people will always think of the moon, moon viewing and mysterious legends related to the moon.
The moon has many other names: Taiyin, Su'e, Jade Pan, Jade Wheel, Jade Hook, Jade Sheep, Jade Toad, Ice Wheel, Ice Mirror, Moon House, Moon Palace, Moon Essence, Jade Rabbit, Toad Palace, etc. In addition, the ancients also used toads and jade rabbits to refer to the moon. In the thousands of years of history of our country, the ancients often used various artifacts to refer to the moon and express their praise for the moon.
Jade rabbit, toad image
In China's traditional culture, the jade rabbit has a close connection with the bright moon. The Song Dynasty poet Ouyang Xiu, in the "Answer to the Miscellaneous Sayings of the White Parrot of Saint Yu", has the saying that "the rabbit is born of the bright moon and the moon in the sky". In Chinese folk culture, there is a saying that "there is a jade rabbit in the moon, which is the genus of 卯". Jade rabbit medicine is one of the Chinese myths and legends, the story says that there is a rabbit in the moon, full of white as jade, so it is called "jade rabbit". This white rabbit holds a jade pestle, kneels down to pound the medicine, and becomes a toad pill, which can grow into a fairy. Throughout the ages, people have regarded the white rabbit as the mascot of the Moon Palace, which shows the close connection between the rabbit culture and the moon culture and the Mid-Autumn Festival.
In the Yin Shang oracle bones, there is a "rabbit" character and a record of rabbits; and because of the existence of symbols such as auspiciousness, longevity, and many children, the rabbit relics left in ancient times are also quite common.
At present, the earliest jade rabbit seen is a rabbit-shaped ornament excavated from the Lingjiatan site in Hanshan, Anhui, which belongs to the Lingjiatan culture, dating back to 5300 years ago. The jade is yellowish-white, the ornament is composed of a rabbit-shaped upper part and a mortise-shaped lower part, the rabbit is lying down, but there is no foot performance, the mouth is extended forward, the ears are extended backwards, the back is curved and convex, the tail is both rabbit-like and fish-like, upturned and forked; the mortise is long, and the upper face is drilled into four holes.
Coincidentally, in the tomb of the spouse of King Wuding of Yin in Anyang, Henan, jade rabbit statues from the first half of the 12th century BC have also been unearthed; among the exhibits in the Maoling Museum in Xi'an, there are also ancient pottery rabbits excavated during the Eastern Han Dynasty. The Western Zhou Rabbit Zun excavated in 1992 from the M8 of the Jinhou Cemetery in Quwo, Shanxi Province, has a unique shape and vivid image, and is a representative work of jin bronze culture.
According to the book "Important Archaeological Discoveries in Gansu (2000-2019)", in September 2019, in the Wuzhou Period Tugu Hun Xi Wang Murong Zhi's tomb unearthed in Tianzhu Tibetan Autonomous County, Gansu Province, the mural excavated, the inner ink painted a laurel tree, under the tree ink painted a jade rabbit that is pounding medicine, judging from the location and image of the appearance, its mural should represent the moon.
Inside the coffin of Empress Xiaojing of the Ming Dynasty Dingling Tomb in the Dingling Underground Palace of the Thirteen Tombs in Changping District, Beijing, there is a pair of gold rings and jewel-encrusted jade rabbit earrings. In the gold ring set with gemstone jade rabbit earrings, the rabbit stands upright, the ears are erect, the jade color is blue and white, the eyes are decorated with ruby inlays, the two front paws hold the pestle as a mash, there is a mortar underneath, and the rabbit body is carved with a fine yin line.
The use of the jade shape as a rabbit is also common in cultural relics. The jade rabbit cultural relics handed down to later generations are quite a lot of green jade and white jade materials, and there are more green jade rabbits in the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, and since the beginning of the Han and Wei Dynasties, the white jade rabbits have gradually increased.
In addition, cultural relics with rabbits as the pattern are also common. The Tang Dynasty eight-petal diamond-shaped moon palace mirror hidden in the Palace Museum is quite distinctive. Because the bronze mirrors before the Tang Dynasty were mostly round or square, the Tang Dynasty began to popularize fancy mirrors, so the diamond flower shape is the most distinctive of them. The inner area of the back is concave, decorated with a convex carved moon palace figure, with a leafy laurel tree in the center and a hollowed out in the middle of the trunk as a mirror button. On one side, Chang'e vibrates her sleeves to dance, and on the other side is a white rabbit pounding medicine, and there are toads under it to make a jumping shape.
Among the Han portrait bricks with the theme of the Western Queen Mother unearthed in the Sichuan region, the Western Queen Mother sits on the dragon and tiger seat in the front, surrounded by nine-tailed foxes, blue birds, toads and so on. It has a nine-tailed fox on its left and a three-legged crow on its right, and a toad dances in the middle of its lower center. From the Han portrait stones, portrait bricks and paintings, the image of such a toad of the Western Queen Mother's attendant can often be seen.
The Legend of the Han Dynasty refers to the toad, and it was not until the end of the Western Han Dynasty that the image of a jade rabbit pounding medicine for the Queen Mother of the West appeared. For the image of the moon god, the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" records the myth of Changxi bathing moon - "There is a female square bath moon." Emperor Jun's wife Chang Xi,born on the tenth of the tenth month, this is the beginning of the bath." "Changxi" is close to the ancient sound of "Chang'e", and in the long-term circulation, the plot content of the myth has been continuously complicated, and the name of the moon god has also changed to "Chang'e".
Moon Palace image
The moon is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and what was the full moon of the Mid-Autumn Festival in the eyes of the ancients? Throughout the ages, people of all dynasties have made colorful depictions, praises and imaginations of this round of bright moon, leaving many artistic masterpieces for future generations. Images of the Moon Palace can be found from excavated murals, paintings, portrait bricks, portrait stones, tiles, bronze mirrors and other cultural relics.
Since ancient times, China has the custom of appreciating the moon and worshipping the moon, this custom is also reflected in cultural relics, and the Hubei Provincial Museum has collected a blue and white Yaotai moon appreciation figure porcelain. The porcelain chung is 10.1 cm high, the caliber is 15.5 cm, the foot height is 4.6 cm, the foot diameter is 4.2 cm, it belongs to the official kiln, the white tire, the tire quality is delicate, the wall is bright and the tire is thin, and the sound of tapping is like a chime. The porcelain chung is painted with "Yaotai Moon Appreciation Map", and three groups of character stories are now on the outer wall of the porcelain chung: the first group has an old woman sitting on the side of the stone pier, standing behind a maid, holding a fan in both hands, and the old woman stands opposite a young woman, and a boy stands on her right side. The second and third groups each have a young woman and a yahuan, and the pictures also have distant mountains, auspicious clouds and flowers and plants. "Yaotai Moon Appreciation Chart" ornamentation in the porcelain industry is also known as "character pattern", relatively rare, the figure in the figure to enjoy a full moon in the sky, and the Song people painted the "Yaotai Moon Map" in the same vein, beautiful artistic conception, fresh and moving style.
In ancient times, bronze mirrors had a close relationship with people's daily lives and were indispensable living utensils for people. The bronze mirror is also a fine handicraft, it is well-made, beautiful in shape, gorgeous in pattern, rich in inscriptions, and is a treasure in China's ancient cultural heritage.
Shaanxi History Museum has a Tang Dynasty bronze mirror excavated from Shangluo City - Shuangluan Yuegong Dragon Mirror, which is a typical Tang Dynasty bronze mirror, the Moon Palace Mirror is decorated with the legend of Chang'e Running Moon as the theme, and the center of the mirror is decorated with a large laurel tree, and the two sides of the laurel tree are white rabbit pounding medicine, toad jumping and other patterns.
The Museum of Chunhua County, Shaanxi Province, houses a toad jade rabbit pattern wadang. This toad jade rabbit pattern wadang is a national first-class cultural relic, excavated from the ruins of the Ganquan Palace of the Western Han Dynasty in Chunhua County, Xianyang City. The tile face is divided into two parts, the upper part is a galloping rabbit, the two front feet jump up, the ears are erect, the tail is upturned; the lower half is a jumping toad, round eyes protruding, large abdomen is round, tongue long and extended. The shape of the wadang is vivid and vivid, and it is very interesting in life. In china's ancient myths and legends, toads and jade rabbits are animals in the moon palace, and this composition is undoubtedly taken from the mythical story of Chang'e running to the moon.
Calligraphy in the post to appreciate the "Mid-Autumn Festival"
Zhao Tuo's "Leap Mid-Autumn Moon Thesis" on paper, hand-rolled, 35 cm in length and 44.5 cm in width, in the collection of the Palace Museum in Beijing.
The "Leap Mid-Autumn Moon Post" is recorded as a seven-word poem: "Guicai Mid-Autumn Festival is specially round, and the situation is fresh." Because of the victory of the first menstrual month, the poet will not sigh the following year. Vientiane gathered light and increased its might, and Si Ming collected the night to help Chan Juan. Lin Yun Qingkuo heart Tian Yu, multiplying can not be endowed with words. Its content describes the beautiful scenery of the streets full of colors, moonlight and vientiane on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Its pen is strong and straight, but it is feminine, coupled with a tight and graceful knot, which not only sets off the artistic conception of the poem itself, but also makes the human body feel a rich and elegant atmosphere.
"Leap Mid-Autumn Moon Thesis" 钤 "Royal Book", "Xuanhe DianBao", "Song Jie Approval", "Jiaqing Imperial Treasure" and other seals. Although there is no famous model of Zhao Tuo, the pen is calm and smooth, the knot is square and smooth, and it has a typical style of thin gold body. In addition, this post was once examined and approved by Song Jie, a famous poet and collector of cultural relics in the Qing Dynasty, and was also collected by the Qing Palace, and was collected by the Qianlong Inner House and the Jiaqing Inner House, and the "Shiqu Baodi Preliminary Compilation".
In contrast to the unnamed model, this post also has no annual model. Because the title is "Leap Mid-Autumn Moon", it is speculated that it is a leap August. According to the "Twenty-Four Shi Shuo Leap Tables", three of the fifty-four years of Zhao Tuo's life were leap August, namely the sixth year of Emperor Zhezong Yuanyou (1091), the fourth year of Emperor Huizong's Grand View (1110), and the third year of Emperor Gaozong's Jianyan (1129). Researchers speculate that this "Leap Mid-Autumn Moon Post" should be written in the fourth year of Daguan. At that time, Zhao Tuo was 29 years old, 10 years after he ascended the throne.
Zhao Tuo's calligraphy, in the early years to learn Xue Ji, Huang Tingjian, and later joined the Chu Suiliang family, the beginning of the very thin and beautiful, and then changed the "second Xue", forming their own unique style. Its "thin gold body" ink, elegance and magnificence are equally important, just as Yue Ke said in the "Baozhen Zhai Fa Shu Zan": "The magic of the golden wisps is finer than the hair, and the ghostly ability of the gods is more strange and in the autumn." "In terms of the structure of the word, it follows the legacy of the early Tang Dynasty, and the knot is slender, but it is more robust and refreshing, and has the charm of lanzhu. "Leap Mid-Autumn Moon Post" has a natural body and deep pen strength, which is a masterpiece of Zhao Tuo's "thin gold body" that has been perfected.
Ascend to the moon to write "Mid-Autumn Festival"
Mi Fu's "Mid-Autumn Festival Denghai Dai Lou Poetry Posters", on paper, 25.2 cm in length and 36 cm in width, collected by the Osaka Municipal Museum of Art in Japan, is the work of the Song Dynasty calligrapher, connoisseur and collector Mi Fu: "The eyes are poor Huaihai two like silver, the Ten Thousand Rainbow Light Yu Mussel Zhen, if there is no moon cultivator in the sky, the laurel branch is damaged to the west wheel." ”
For this post, it is recorded that Mi Fu copied the poem twice before and after. There are also two lines of commentary between the poems: "Write three or four times, and one or two words are good in between" and "Letters are also difficult." A poem, written three or four times, is only one or two words of self-satisfaction, and the bitterness in it is not an expert.
Located in Lianshui, Jiangsu Province, the "Haidai Building" was a famous Wanghai Tower during the Tang and Song dynasties, where Mi Fu served as an envoy to the Lianshui Army. Since ancient times, Haidai Tower has been a scenic spot for literati to climb the poetry, and the Tang Dynasty poet Du Fu once described its vast and magnificent landscape as "floating clouds connecting Haidai, and pingye into Qingxu". Haidai Lou also often appears in Mi Fu's poems, such as "The rain has not been solved for three days, and Haidai cannot be reached" in the "Burning Incense Post", which mentions that on the day of the obscene rain, although he did not climb the Hai Dai Lou, he saw the misty scenery. In another poem, "Butterfly Love Flower Haidai Lou Playing moon work", Mi Fu also mentioned: "The ripples of the ancient times are clear, the Haidai Building is high, the lower view of Qin Huaiwei, the water is soaked in blue every day like water, and the Guanghan Palace is in the human world." ”
Mi Fu is famous for his calligraphy. In the long history of calligraphy in China, the Song Dynasty calligraphy "Su Huang Mi Cai", one of the four masters of Mi Fu, has a very personal personality, which can be called a strange fanatic in the Northern Song Dynasty book circle. In the Song Dynasty Zhang Bangji's "Records of The Ink Zhuang Manmology", it is recorded: "Haiyue (海岳, Shiren Waishi) summoned the doctor of calligraphy, and asked the number of people in the dynasty who were known as books, and Haiyue was paired with his own people, saying: 'Cai Jing cannot write, Cai Bian has a pen and lacks Yi rhyme, Cai Xiangle characters, Shen Liao typesetting, Huang Tingjian drawing characters, Su Shi drawing characters. The upper reply asked: 'How is the Qing Shu?' "The book of ministers brushes the words." ’”
It can be said that Mi Fu took the charm of the Jin people as the foundation, and also took advantage of the advantages of Li Beihai, Yan Zhenqing, Shen Chuanshi, Xu Jihai and others in the Tang Dynasty, and then absorbed the wind bones of the Six Dynasties, thus forming a beautiful personal style. Mi Fu once wrote a poem of his own: "Chai Ji Yan Maozi, Ming Window Pavilion Mo Qing, the merits and names are all a play, and I have not felt negative for life." "Made a fitting note to myself.
(This article is edited and arranged by Min Yuan)