The early western Han Dynasty jade was as important as the Warring States period in shaping an independent and complete body, while pursuing the dynamic effect of the body. However, in the early days of the Western Han Dynasty, techniques developed to make the dynamic effect more pronounced and smooth. Scholar Cai Qingliang published an article in the Forbidden City Magazine entitled "Jade Appreciation OF the Sixth Han Dynasty Jade (Part I)", which has the following research.
The artistic goals of the early Western Han Dynasty jade were the same as those of the Warring States period, focusing on the creation of independent and complete forms, while pursuing the dynamic effects of the forms. However, in the early Western Han Dynasty, when the creators developed design techniques that were different from the Warring States jade, the dynamic effect was more obvious and smooth, and the visual effect was therefore very different.
Warring States Long-shaped Jade Dragon The Palace Museum Collection The old collection of the Qing Palace
Let's compare the main differences between the two periods, one is a typical example of the Warring States Jade Dragon, and the other is the sacred beast on the sword of the early Western Han Dynasty.
Early Western Han Dynasty relief divine beast Jade Sword Collection of the Palace Museum (formerly the old collection of the Qing Palace)
The Warring States Jade Dragon uses the technique of horizontal displacement of the vertical perspective to create a smooth sense of movement, so that the viewer can feel the rapid wandering process of the dragon; as for the divine beast on the left side of the sword, it is full of strong muscle tension and twisting dynamics, and the visual effect seems to be more significant than that of the Warring States Dragon. What exactly is the difference between the two?
The first is the different feelings caused by different curved lines. Compared with straight lines, the viewer will obviously think that there is an indescribable elastic tension hidden in the curve, which will psychologically produce a sense of strength and direction of motion. And different curvatures create very different tensions.
Early Western Han Dynasty relief divine beast jade sword curled part
The curvature of the divine beasts mentioned here is greater than that of the jade dragon, and the visual tension is therefore more significant, and the sense of strength and dynamic effect of the divine beasts are therefore more intense. In addition to the thread, the whole of the artifact is also transformed from a plane to a surface, and the visual intensity of the surface is of course more than the plane can compare.
In addition to the factor of curvature, the most important reason is that the new artistic perspective of "multi-perspective reverse combination" adopted in the early Western Han Dynasty replaced the creative principle of "vertical perspective horizontal displacement" in the Warring States.