The National Palace Museum in Taipei, China, collects five generations of giant masterpieces "Snow Map"
The Qing Dynasty agricultural book "Zhishi Tongkao Tianshi" has clouds: "The reverse pole of cold is called great cold." "Although the cold is cold, it is brewing the warmth of the coming year. The ancients recorded the Great Cold with poetry, expressed the Great Cold with painting, and celebrated the Great Cold with traditional customs. Today, Harper's Bazaar Takes You into the last festival of the year.
Today is the Great Cold, the last of the twenty-four solar terms.
From small cold to big cold is the coldest time of the year. According to meteorological observations: the average temperature in the country, the small cold is lower than the big cold. So why is the small one "big" and the big one "small"? When it is cold, the cold is still strong; after half a month to the great cold, it is nearing the end, and nature begins to brew the arrival of warmth. After the great cold, it is the spring, and the new year's solar cycle is ushered in. The cold is coming to an end and spring is approaching, and the simple naming of the solar terms has already shown the great wisdom of the ancestors in the face of the cyclical laws of nature.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York collects Ma Yuan's "Cold Branch Double Magpie Diagram" of the Southern Song Dynasty
In some areas of the southern part of the continent, the twenty-four solar terms are given human form by each of them, called the "twenty-four solar terms gods". Some temples painted them on the inner walls, which evolved into a type of door god. The Great Cold God of "Great Cold is Not Cold, People and Horses Are Restless" Looks quite like the fierce gods and evil two of the Four Heavenly Kings. He held a large ice cube in his hand, his whole body was frozen blue, and his lower body was wrapped in animal fur, showing the appearance of the cold in the cold season.
The 24 solar deities depicted in fuhe palace in Taipei, China, are depicted in the lower left corner.
It's cold, but the scenery is beautiful. As zhang Ruoyi of the Qing Dynasty painted in the "Ink Miao Zhu Lin (卯) Book" in the Da Han page: although the mountains have lost the brightness and richness of other seasons, the mountain body is either steep or magnificent. The mountains quieted down in the bitter cold wind, waiting for spring.
Zhang Ruoxiao, "Ink MiaoZhuLin (卯)冊", Ink on Paper, Qing Dynasty
The beauty of the cold season is not only magnificent, but also cute and humorous. This can be seen in the "Cold Camel Remnant Snow Map" by hua Yao, an outstanding painter of the Qing Dynasty, a representative of the Yangzhou School. On a snowy night when the sky was freezing and the moon was high, a Hu traveler and a camel slept in the mountains. In the cold of the night, the Hu people stuck their heads out of the tent wrapped in a quilt and looked at their only animal companion with concern. Hua Yao took this interesting moment into the painting like a photo, and a few strokes made the warmth in the cold jump on the paper.
Hua Yao, "Cold Camel Residual Snow Map", color on paper, 139.7×58.4cm, Qing Dynasty
Lu You wrote in the poem "The Great Cold Out of the West Gate of Jiangling": "The drunken face rushes into the wind and is easy to wake up, and the heavy qiu hides his hands to take a slight warmth." Foxes and rabbits threw deep recklessness, and dotted cattle and sheep scattered far away from the village. "On the day of the great cold, even hardy animals such as fox rabbits hid in the forest. When the ancients went out, what if they hid their hands in thick leather coats or felt cold? Just like the electric hand warmers we commonly use now, the ancients would hold small copper stove cages containing charcoal and incense in their arms or hide them in their sleeves, which could also make the whole body fragrant. This kind of object called "hand stove" can really be described as "charcoal in the snow".
The Palace Museum has a black lacquer depicting a golden flower bird pattern begonia hand stove
The Palace Museum has a collection of enamel cloud dragon pattern hand stoves
All year round, no matter how cold or hot it is, it is impossible to stop the flowers from blooming in the world. Twenty-four flower trade winds are a kind of solar term in the mainland, which means the wind with the sound of flowering in different solar terms. In the cold season, there are three seasons for flower trade winds: one waits for Ruixiang, the second waits for orchids, and the third waits for mountain alum. The three flowers are elegant in color, clear in posture and fragrant, which are particularly suitable for the harsh climate during the cold.
In the Qing Dynasty, Dong Hao painted the album "Painting twenty-four flowers and trade winds" of "Great Cold and One Waiting Ruixiang" (left)
In the Qing Dynasty, Dong Hao's "Painting twenty-four fanhua trade winds" albums of "Great Cold Second Waiting Orchid" (right) and "Great Cold Three Waiting Mountain Alum" (left)
As the cold approached the End of the Year, the flower market was particularly lively, and people began to buy elegant decorations placed on indoor desks during the Spring Festival. Literati and inkers are even more fond of this tradition, and use the offerings of the Qing Dynasty into the paintings, integrating paintings, poems, books, and prints into one of the paintings to form the "Year Dynasty Qing Offerings Map". After the Ming and Qing dynasties, paintings of this subject were particularly popular and common.
Wu Changshuo, "Confessions of the Qing Dynasty", color on paper, 132×42cm, 1914
When logistics and transportation were not yet developed, the plum blossoms and orchids appreciated by the literati were not easy for the common people, and the "one wait ruixiang" and "three waiting mountains" in the cold were not common. Daffodils are appreciated in a common way and have become the most common one in the "Year Dynasty Offering". Daffodils need to be carved bulbs in order for the flowers to flourish. As a result, "carving" daffodils has also become one of the most addictive activities of many people in the winter.
However, as Wang Zengqi humorously wrote: Painters love to paint blooming daffodils, but they never paint bulbs that are not very beautiful after "carving". Combining the most beautiful elements with imagination and brushes is also a manifestation of the artists' originality.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York holds a part of Zhao Mengjian's "Daffodil Diagram" of the Southern Song Dynasty
The National Palace Museum in Taipei, China, collects Qiu Ying's "Narcissus Lamei" of the Ming Dynasty
In addition to the flower trade wind, from the phenological point of view, the great cold has three other weathers: one is "chicken milk", the cold season, the yang qi rises, you can hatch the chicks; the second waits for the "bird sign", the eagle falcon and other birds are in a state of extreme killing, hovering in the air in search of food, to replenish energy to resist the cold.
The last season of the Great Cold, "Mizusawa Belly", means that the ice in the water is frozen until the middle of the water, and it is the strongest and thickest. As the saying goes, "three nine four nine ice walking", the big cold is four nine, skating, playing ice carts, eating frozen pears, now is the happiest time in the winter for children in the north.
The Palace Museum has a part of the Qing Dynasty painter Jin Tingbiao's "Ice Opera Map"
During the cold season, "walking on the ice" was not only the entertainment of the common people, but also the ancient emperors loved all kinds of ice activities. In "The Biography of Zhen Huan", An Lingrong's "Ice Frolic" that regained his favor is based on real history. This sport has been recorded as early as the Song Dynasty, and by the Qing Dynasty, when it developed into a golden age, the Manchu Qing nobles from the cold regions designated it as a "national custom". In the "Hehe Ice Frolic Map" collected by the Palace Museum, the emperor of the Qing Dynasty used this ice activity to read the Eight Flags, reflecting the importance that ancient rulers attached to military armament.
The Palace Museum has a long axis part of the Qing Dynasty's "Hehe Ice Playing Map"
There are three main types of ice frolic projects that the emperor watches: waiting, snatching and turning the dragon to shoot the hammer. "Rushing" is a bit like speed skating today, where the first to reach the finish line wins at the same distance. Similar to today's ice ball game, soldiers are divided into red and yellow teams, wearing special skates to grab a ball on the ice. The "Dragon Shooting" program combines skating and archery, which is more ornamental, like today's figure skating. We who are waiting for the wonderful competition of the Beijing Winter Olympics on a cold day are also about to enjoy "royal treatment".
The Palace Museum has a part of the long axis of the "Hehe Ice Playing Map"
The ice is cold and slippery, what should the emperor do when he travels? Sit on the ice bed! The ice bed is shaped like a boat, dragged by human beings in front and pushed in the rear. The emperor's ice bed is not only luxurious and majestic, painted red and gold, but also has small windows on both sides to facilitate the emperor to browse the beautiful scenery on the ice. Qianlong, who loved to compose poetry inscriptions, specially composed three small poems "Sitting on the Ice Bed in the Snow" for this experience, and asked the court painter Qian Weicheng to draw long scrolls based on the poems.
Part of the volume "Sitting on an Ice Bed in the Snow" in the Collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei, China
The simplest ice bed in the volume of "Sitting on the Ice Bed in the Snow"
The emperor's exclusive luxury ice bed in the long axis of "Hehe Ice Playing Map"
The Tang Dynasty poet Yuan Shu wrote in the "Yong 24 Qi Poems : The Great Cold in The Middle of December": "The wax wine is self-contained, and the golden furnace beast is warm." "With both charcoal fires for warmth and a clearing for appreciation and play, the most pleasant thing in this season is to call friends and gather in the same room."
What do you eat and drink? The word "lajiu" in Yuan Shu's poem "Lajiu" points out the taste of the year. During the great cold season, it has reached the waxing moon, usually before the eighth and after the New Year. At this time, delicious food such as porridge, bacon, fish, and sausage is naturally indispensable.
The five generations of Gu Hongzhong's "Han Xizai Night Feast Map" part
The famous work of the Northern Song Dynasty Zhao Tuo's "Wenhui Tu" is partial
Just like we now drink different wines with different shapes of cups, the ancients loved to drink, and there are naturally many types of wine utensils. There are several kinds of wine glasses such as gū (gū) and 觯 (zhì) for drinking. In addition, there are also jiǎ (jiǎ) and knights used to warm wine, and 卣 (yǒu), zun, jug, and 觥 used to hold wine.
Containing pickled foods such as wax flavor, the ancients also had special utensils - beans. The shape of the bean is long, high-stalked and shallow abdomen. It is often used in an even number combination, and the higher the number, the higher the rank status.
Bronze "wine cups" from the Shang and Zhou Dynasties and bronze beans containing pickled food
If you want to catch up with friends today, you must eat hot pot as an option. In the unbearable cold wave, it is suitable for food therapy, and the ancients will also eat more stewed food at this time to prevent wind and cold. Ding is an important eating utensil mainly used for cooking meat. The common gourd face pattern on the bronze ding, solemn and neat and mysterious, is one of the most important ornaments on the bronze ceremonial vessels of the Shang Zhou Dynasty.
The Shanghai Museum holds the national treasure Da Ke Ding
The great cold stepped on the New Year's Pass, the coldest but the most lively. Every household should be ready to start cleaning the inside and outside of the house, preparing to get rid of the old and welcome the new in the coming year. The market is full of goods, and the enthusiasm of the people to go out to buy New Year goods has also reached its peak. Writing Spring Festival, sticking window flowers, and doing tail teeth has been busy for a whole year, and at the end of the year, it is even more necessary to have a sense of ceremony!
Ming Dynasty Lu Wenying's "Cargo Lang Diagram"
The Liaoning Provincial Museum collects parts of Qiu Ying's "Map of the Upper River of the Qing Dynasty" of the Ming Dynasty
In ancient times, in addition to the festivities of the New Year, the Great Cold was closely related to "Ruifu". At this time, people worship the god Vesta, pray to the gods, and sacrifice their ancestors, all in order to bid farewell to the old year safely and steadily, hoping that everything will go well in the new year.
The Dunhuang murals record the expectant people of this season. People come to the temple to worship the pagoda, worship the Buddha and bodhisattva, and pray for shelter in the coming year. According to the literature, the temple at the end of the year and the beginning of the year is extremely incense- and the altar at the end of the year is an annual Buddhist event, lasting five days and four nights. People set up tent liquor stores and gathered to drink at dusk, which was called "Jianfu" in ancient times.
The baita scene in Cave 103 of the Mogao Caves
The scene of the liquor store "Jianfu" in cave 12 of Mogao Caves
In 2016, China's "twenty-four solar terms" were inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and the concept of solar terms went from China to the world. Our ancients observed the changes of the sun and the moon, combined with astronomical, meteorological, and phenological information, and used a set of concise and beautiful laws to capture the migration of the four seasons. Before the industrial age, the twenty-four solar terms guided all aspects of the ancient people's lives and were important tools for production and life.
New York's Times Square presents paintings and calligraphy by Chinese artists on the theme of the 24 solar terms
Today, the solar terms are more of a spiritual symbol, reflecting the history, aesthetics and imagination of our people. As we leave the land and come to the city, the solar terms guide us not to forget to be attached to nature; we are busy and busy, and the solar terms remind us not to forget to be connected to the blood of our ancestors. What is the tradition of your hometown today? Welcome to leave a message to let us know.
Editor, Wen Sheng Luoying
This article is original by Harper's Bazaar Art Department and may not be reproduced without permission