Since ancient China, it has been the habitat and cultural homeland of tigers, and has also left behind rich archaeological remains, documentary records, myths and legends related to tigers. In the collection of the Shanghai Museum, there is no shortage of cultural relics in the image of the tiger, involving ceramics, bronze, calligraphy and painting, seals, jade and so on. Among them, the image of the jade tiger in particular is changeable, and the history is long.
Inspired by the jade tiger of the Shang Dynasty, this issue of "Shangbo Xiaoyitang" invites big and small children to practice the art and handicraft of "little jade tiger running around" and experience the ancient Chinese tiger culture and jade culture with artistic creativity.
Tiger and Jade •
Jade, beautiful stone also, warm texture, bright color. China was not only the first to "collect jade" and "use jade", but also one of the few countries that associated jade with the cultivation of national culture and national character. As material wealth, ancient Chinese jade was used for sacrifice, ceremony, funeral, decoration; as a symbol of spiritual culture, jade is respected by the world for its warm, pure, restrained and elegant characteristics.
The tiger has a very symbolic position in traditional Chinese culture and has become one of the totems of Chinese as early as the Xia Shang era. There is a saying in the Zhou Yi: "The cloud is from the dragon, and the wind is from the tiger". Therefore, for a long time, the combination of the tiger and the dragon has become a symbol of majesty and strength, an object of worship and fear, and can also play the role of chasing demons, cowardly, and townhouses.
In ancient times, the jade tiger was a kind of jade, which was called "amber" in the literature. Regarding the use of the jade tiger, there are two theories: one theory is that it is a ceremonial vessel, and the other is that it is a ceremonial vessel and that it is "worshipped in the West with white amber" (Zhou Li); the other is believed to be a relic of sending troops. However, from the current excavations, there is no actual jade amber that plays these roles. The jade tiger found in archaeology should be an ornament.
Jade with tiger themes first appeared in the Neolithic Age and was popular in the Spring and Autumn period of the Shang Zhou Dynasty. The Shang Dynasty jade tiger is mostly an accessory, with two kinds of shapes, round carving and flat body, and there are small round holes drilled at the tail end that can be tied and hung. At that time, Peiyu was the most common in animal shape, and the shape characteristics were more obvious, mostly one-sided carvings, and was good at grasping the instant movement of the object.
In the Jade Museum of the Shanghai Museum, there is such a group of Shang Dynasty jade tigers, vividly appearing, they are running wildly, as if they are about to rush out of the display cabinet.
The Shang Dynasty jade tiger in the jade exhibition hall of the Shanghai Museum
Little Jade Tiger Running Around •
This collection of jade tigers from the late Shang Dynasty has a slightly open mouth, feet on the ground, tail upturned and curled, and the running shape is quite vivid. The characteristics of the Shang Dynasty jade are also clearly reflected in this small jade tiger.
Jade Tiger Late Shang Dynasty Collection of Shanghai Museum
01 Cultural relics knowledge
(1) There are many elephant animal jade ornaments in the jade of the Shang Dynasty, and the common ones are dragons, birds, tigers, fish, rabbits, etc.
(2) The modeling characteristics of the Shang Dynasty jade tiger:
• Tigers look forward with their first mouth, with cutouts highlighting sharp teeth.
• The tiger's back is slightly concave, the tail end is rolled up, and the limbs are folded under the abdomen.
(3) The surface of the jade tiger is covered with ornaments carved with double yin lines. The double yin line is composed of a very narrow spacing of the yin line double line, which at first glance looks like a yang pattern, so it is also called "false yang text".
(4) The jade tiger eye is the "subject character", that is, the eye is like a "subject" character, which is a common pattern in the jade and bronze of the Shang Dynasty.
(5) The design of the jade tiger in the Shang Dynasty has different angles to take images, and such flaky tiger-shaped pendants are taken from the side , (square jade is taken from the front; cylindrical jade is shared by the front side), which fully presents the corresponding relationship between the modeling design and the shape of the jade.
02 Art and handicraft tutorial
On the occasion of the Year of the Tiger, we sincerely invite everyone to make a handmade "little jade tiger running around" in the Year of the Tiger, and with this spirited little tiger, we will enter the New Year with joy.
Step 1
Preparation tools: paper frame, cardboard, art knife, pearlescent pen, ruler, texture tape, scissors
Take 2 frame papers of the same size, one of which is cut with an art knife and the other complete frame paper as the background board.
According to the atmosphere or plot of the picture you want to express, choose 2 different colors of jam paper.
Step 2
To allow front and back framing, the two colored cardboards selected are cut to the same size as the frame and glued together. Mark the spacer symbol of 1.5 cm width on the colored cardboard (for visual effect, the spacing width should not be too narrow) in preparation for later cropping.
Step 3
On the front and back of the glued colored cardboard, draw the outline of the little jade tiger separately, and pay attention to the front and back sides for mirror image treatment, so that the little jade tiger can run left and right after completion.
The key points of the shape of the little jade tiger are:
Jade Tiger uses a side angle to take images;
The tiger's first mouth looks forward, with a hollow to highlight the sharp teeth;
The tiger's back is slightly concave, the tail end is rolled up, the limbs are folded under the abdomen, and there is a running posture.
Step 4
After drawing the outline of the jade tiger, add a tattoo to the little jade tiger and let the little jade tiger wear a beautiful pattern of clothes. note:
(1) The eyes of the jade tiger are the "subject characters" commonly found in the jade and bronze of the Shang Dynasty
(2) The ornament is outlined with double yin lines
(3) The ornament bends with the shape and almost covers the surface of the jade tiger.
Step 5
In order to enhance the aesthetics and visual effects of the work, the background of the picture can be decorated by drawing on the common patterns of ancient jade. When the manuscript is complete, use the color pearlescent pen to choose your favorite color to sketch.
Step 6
Crop after the picture is perfected, paying attention to the equal spacing and flatness. After cropping, recombine on the complete frame, in order to pull the frame can be flipped, so leave a certain distance.
Step 7
This is the most critical and difficult step - deciding whether the little jade tiger can successfully run around.
Position the cardboard of the painted jade tiger on the bottom plate of the photo frame, 0.5cm from the left edge of the picture frame; arrange the cropped pictures in turn, and glue the two ends to the picture frame one by one with the mask tape.
After gluing, the overall flip screen appears, and another mirror image of the jade tiger appears. Glue the top and bottom ends of the flipped screen to the other frame in turn.
Looking down from above, there should be a "Z" between each frame and the frame, at an angle of 90 degrees.
The little jade tiger running around is done!
Pull the picture frame left and right, let the little jade tiger run!
Welcome to send your works to the WeChat background of the Shanghai Museum, and you can also make the little jade tiger running around into a GIF gif, share it with friends and relatives during the New Year, and send exclusive blessings for the Year of the Tiger.
spoiler
In the next issue of "Shangbo Xiaoyitang", we will launch an artistic handicraft inspired by the collection of Jin dynasty Akiyama jade ornaments, how to use ready-made materials DIY smart color version of the king of the mountain forest, so stay tuned!
Akiyama Jade as Jin (1115-1234) in the collection of the Shanghai Museum
Shangbo Xiaoyitang No.5
Educational Resources| The Year of the Tiger To Be a Tiger Handmade "Little Jade Tiger Running Around"
Shanghai Museum of Education × Children's Palace in Changning District, Shanghai
Hand design 丨 Li Wen
Copywriting 丨 Gu Jing
More educational resources for museums for minors:
• Shangbo Xiaoyitang No.4 丨 Collage and Installation: Recreate landscapes
• 72 Variations of Chinese Characters on Bo Xiaoyitang No.3 & Fun Font Art Tutorial
• Shangbo Xiaoyitang No.2丨 Art and handicraft inspired by "Gu Xiu Dongshan Map"
• Shangbo Xiaoyitang No.1 丨 Year of the Ox, do a cow handicraft! (Online Event)
Editor 丨 Gu Jing
Preliminary examination 丨Shi Weichen
Final judgment 丨 Tang Shifen
• Shanghai Museum Educational Resources •