Modern Express News (reporter Gu Xiaowen / photo) Recently, the tiger in the Stamp of the Year of the Tiger was "complained" by netizens because it was not powerful enough, in fact, in ancient times, the expression of tiger shapes was also diverse. Recently, the Yangzhou Museum held an exhibition of the Chinese zodiac in the Year of the Tiger, in which the tiger painted on the blue and white porcelain bowl of the Ming Dynasty is even more ugly.
△ The "milk tiger pattern" painted on the porcelain bowl of the Ming Dynasty
The tiger on the porcelain bowl of the Ming Dynasty is ugly and simple
Recently, China Post's "Year of Nongyin" Tiger Zodiac Stamps were recently issued to the public, and this set of realistic pen style "Tiger Tickets" has caused some netizens to "complain", many netizens said that the tiger on the stamp is "slightly sad", it seems that there is no spirit, there is no tiger might. Netizens are not satisfied with the tiger on the stamp, mainly because in people's conception, the tiger is the "king of a hundred beasts", and there should be a kind of "tiger roaring mountain forest" prestige. On January 11, the "Tiger Tiger Shengwei - Yangzhou Museum Tiger Year Zodiac Art Exhibition" was officially launched. Among the 55 pieces (sets) of exhibits on display, the image of the tiger is also varied, especially on several pieces of Ming Dynasty porcelain, the image of the tiger is not related to "mighty", and it looks a bit "ugly".
Chubby body, big eyes, crooked head, straight hair, these porcelain bowls painted tigers, like tigers, like cats, not cats, the image is cute, the technique is naïve and simple. "These are all blue and white porcelain from Ming Dynasty folk kilns." According to Zhuang Zhijun, director of the Collection Department of Yangzhou Museum, "When the tiger no longer appears as a god, its image is more diversified in the world of art." "
"This particular tiger image also has a special name." Zhuang Zhijun told reporters that because it looks cute and thick, porcelain lovers now generally call it "milk tiger pattern". However, some experts believe that these images are not milk tigers, but ancient Chinese myths and legends of the beast Donkey Yu, legendary Yu is a tiger body lion head, white hair black stripes, tail is very long animal, it is benevolent nature, even the grass can not bear to trample, not natural death of the creature does not eat. But whether it is "milk tiger" or donkey yu, it conveys a quiet and generous feeling.
According to Zhuang Zhijun, the "milk tiger pattern" mainly appeared in the early Ming Dynasty, when Chinese society was relatively stable, and the craftsmen of the folk kiln painted this image on porcelain, possibly in order to praise the rule of benevolence. At the same time, in order to produce production efficiency, the craftsmen of the folk kiln will not be as elaborate as the artists, so the painting is more concise and simple.
△ Western Han Dynasty "Painted Feather Man Four Gods Pattern Lacquer ( shà ) " (replica)
The tiger on the lacquer of the Han Dynasty is mighty and mysterious
The other tiger in the exhibition hall is vigorous and powerful, with a bold demeanor, exuding a vigorous atmosphere and a strong sense of mystery. This lacquerware, named "Painted Feather Man Four Gods Pattern Lacquer (shà)", excavated in 1994 at the Western Han Tomb of Zhan Zhuang in Chen Ji Yangzhuang, Yizheng City, Yangzhou, is a national first-class cultural relic.
"A dagger is a kind of big fan, a kind of honor guard fan." According to Zhuang Zhijun, "In ancient times, emperors or nobles would raise their coffins when they sat and traveled, and when they were buried, they also used the coffin to cover the coffin and put it in the tomb together. This is a ceremonial artifact that can symbolize status. "
Measuring 73.5 cm long, 27.5 cm wide and 0.9 cm thick, the semi-oval shape was already shattered into pieces when it was first unearthed, and the remaining fragments were incomplete. Due to the limited technology at that time, it was quietly "lying" in the museum vault for nearly 20 years. It was not until 2005 that the Yizheng Museum carried out restoration work on a limited number of fragments. The process of restoration is very complex, first of all, the carcass must be repaired, and the step of painting alone needs to be repeated dozens or even hundreds of times. After the paint is dried and finalized, all the remaining pieces of lacquerware are pasted back to their original positions one by one. Experts then infer the missing parts based on the ornamentation on the fragments and hand-draw a complete pattern. The restoration of this lacquered piece took more than two years to complete.
After restoration, this lacquerware has restored its dazzling brilliance from more than 2,000 years ago. It is painted on both sides, with a front vermilion lacquer as the base, black lacquer hook lines, and yellow lacquer painted ornamentation. The front is full of paintings of cloud patterns, phoenixes, cranes, exotic beasts, dragons and tigers, feather people and so on, the whole picture is delicate and complex, and the expression methods are both realistic and exaggerated, full of mystery. According to Zhuang Zhijun, the "four gods" are the gods of the four directions in the ancient Chinese mythological system, and the main body of the ornament is the green dragon with the feather person, the white tiger with the unicorn, the suzaku with the phoenix, and the xuanwu with the turtle and snake. Among them, the white tiger symbolizes might and army, that is, the god of war.
Since lacquerware artifacts are not suitable for long-term exposure to light, the museum spent two years making exquisite replicas. It is this replica that we are currently seeing in the exhibition hall, and the original is properly kept in the warehouse.
(Edited by Wei Rufei)