A Warring States tiger-shaped bronze seat excavated from the qiujiazhuang site. Photo by Hu Jian
Taiyuan, January 25 (China News Network) -- More than 50 tiger cultural relics unearthed in Shanxi from prehistory to the Ming and Qing dynasties were exhibited at the Shanxi Archaeological Museum on the 25th to reflect the endless tiger culture of the Chinese nation.
On the same day, "Tiger Tiger Shengwei - Shanxi Archaeological Museum Hidden Tiger Cultural Relics", "Tiger Model Tiger Sample - Houma Cast Copper Site Tiger Pattern Pottery Fan" and "Jinhu Duofu - Shanxi Tiger Culture Folk Embroidery and Innovative Design Exhibition" were opened at the same time, from the Neolithic era to the 21st century, including jade and bronze buried deep under the loess, as well as folk embroidery and cultural and creative design.
During the Western Zhou Dynasty, the Marquis of Jin was a cattle tiger. Photo by Hu Jian
Tigers and human civilization are accompanied by each other, and the mussel shell dragon and tiger pattern excavated from the Xishuipo site in Puyang, Henan Province, is a relic related to tigers more than 6500 years ago. The tiger head-shaped ornaments excavated from the prehistoric cemetery of Qingliang Temple in Ruicheng, Shanxi, are small and exquisite, and are white all over, which are similar to the tiger-headed jade ornaments excavated from the Xiaojia roof ridge site in Shijiahe, Tianmen City, Hubei Province.
Modern folklore product Li Houhu. Photo by Hu Jian
According to Ma Yujuan, director of the Department of Public Archaeology of the Shanxi Archaeological Museum, the two tiger-headed jade ornaments are similar in appearance, which also reflects the cultural dissemination and exchange between different regions of prehistoric society, and can also highlight the long history of Chinese culture.
Tiger-shaped porcelain pillows of the Song and Jin dynasties. Photo by Hu Jian
A tiger-shaped porcelain pillow from the Song and Jin dynasties was excavated from the golden tomb of Dongzhuang, Houma, Shanxi, with a porcelain pillow in the form of a crouching tiger and a flower and bird ornament painted on the back of the tiger. According to Ma Yujuan, after the Tang and Song Dynasties, the tiger element gradually broke away from religious mythology and began to move towards the homes of ordinary people, gradually forming folk customs and culture, and carrying the spiritual sustenance for a better future to this day.
Tiger-shaped bronze ornaments from the Western Zhou Dynasty. Photo by Hu Jian
"Tiger Pattern Tiger Pattern - Tiger Pattern Pottery Fan at Houma Cast Copper Site" exhibits 19 sets of tiger pattern pottery molds and pottery fans, showing the public what pottery molds are, what tao fan is, and how Tao Fan fa casts bronzes. Curator Yin Yanfei introduced that the Houma copper casting site was found in the 1950s and unearthed more than 30,000 pieces of pottery fan, of which tiger pattern pottery fan is a more common type. Tao Fan is an important process for casting bronze, including three parts: mold, fan and core, from which the word "model" is derived. (End)