Humanity / Nature / Life
Yinchuan Evening Newspaper Official Fang Wenhua WeChat Pingtai | No. 1040
The Year of the Tiger is coming, and the "Tiger" is happy! In this year's special issue of New Year's Flavor, we take the tiger as the theme and send you a series of Tiger and Tiger Flavor Feast! I hope that everyone in the Year of the Tiger, cheer up the spirit, work hard, tiger and tiger!
This issue pushes you the "Tiger Tiger Fresh Wind" Annual Flavor Special Issue - Cultural Relics Tiger.
In fact, not only do we like tigers today, but the ancients also liked, and the Chinese tiger culture has a long history, from daily utensils to works of art and other aspects, the image of the tiger can be seen. On the occasion of the Arrival of the Year of the Tiger, let's take a look at the "Tiger Stars" in Ningxia's cultural relics.
Tiger Eater Donkey through-carved bronze plaque
In the collection of the Ningxia Museum, there is a pair of bronze plaques of tiger eating donkeys, the composition is mirror image left and right symmetrical, is a cultural relics of the Spring and Autumn Warring States period, excavated in 1989 in Yanglang Township, Wonju District, Guyuan City. Xie Suning, a docent of the Ningxia Museum, introduced that this kind of through-carved bronze plaque has holes and buckles on it, which was used by ancient nomads on their belts, similar to the belt buckles used by people today.
Tiger Eater Donkey through-carved bronze plaque. Ningxia Museum offers
A closer look at this "belt buckle" will find that the ancients were really exquisite in the application of ornamentation. The two translucent bronze plaques resemble two small symmetrical paintings, in which a mighty tiger with its eyes wide open and fangs exposed. It opened its mouth to bite the back of a donkey's neck, and the donkey's expression was frightened, its entire body flipped over, its head and forefoots were down, and a pair of hind hooves were in the air, as if struggling constantly. The entire through-carved bronze plaque brings to life the state of the donkey struggling to survive the bite of the tiger. "This pair of bronze medallions are relatively large, and the carving is a fierce tiger, which is worn by men, showing power and might." Xie Suning said that the tiger is a common animal in the northern bronze plaque, and the art of the bronze plaque of the tiger eating donkey is cleverly conceived, the picture is full of tension, and it has a strong nomadic characteristic.
"The through-carved bronze plaque decoration is a type of instrument with strong local characteristics among the northern bronzes excavated in Ningxia." Zhou Yuan, a staff member of the Ningxia Museum's Preservation Department, introduced that these through-carved bronze plaques are often dominated by single animal motifs, including tigers, donkeys, deer, camels, etc., and there are also ingenious and tense pictures of tigers eating donkeys and tigers eating sheep. Whether it is a single animal pattern, or a pattern depicting fighting and playing between animals, it also appears on other northern bronze artifacts, and is an important type of pattern, because this kind of subject matter reflects the actual ecology and life of the northern grassland region.
Sheep bites donkey tail bronze ornament
For the might and strength of the tiger, the ancients were very respectful, tirelessly depicting the fierceness of the tiger's fight, and breaking through the imagination again and again, and the pictures of the tiger preying were also full of creativity.
Zhou Yuan introduced that in the southwest of Hanqiao Village, Gaozha Town, Litong District, Wuzhong City, in the slope area of about 10 square kilometers in the northeast foothills of Niushou Mountain, more than 200 tombs were found, which is the Guanma Lake Han Tomb Group, and its era is from the end of the Western Han Dynasty to the early Eastern Han Dynasty. In this tomb group, pottery, bronze, iron, jade, etc. have been unearthed, including a "sheep bite donkey tail bronze plaque ornament", which is currently in the Ningxia Museum, which is also a cultural relic related to tigers.
Sheep bites donkey tail bronze ornament. Ningxia Museum offers
The whole sheep bite donkey tail bronze plaque is rectangular, with a button eye on the left side and reliefs on the surface. This relief is wonderful, depicting the three-headed animal fighting scene of tiger, sheep and donkey. In the middle of the picture is a donkey running with its head down, a tiger bites the back of the donkey's neck, the tiger's claws grasp the donkey's back, and it looks like it is about to throw the donkey down, when a horned sheep bites the donkey's tail, making the scene more intense. In this bronze plaque, the composition of the picture is peculiar, the scene of the three-headed animal fighting is realistic, and the lines on the relief also depict the sense of strength of the animal's muscles.
Petroglyphs of tiger images
In the northern petroglyphs of the mainland, the tiger is a common subject. In the distribution areas of rock paintings in Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Qinghai and Tibet, rock paintings with tiger images have been found.
Under the guidance of Xie Suning, the reporter came to an area in the museum where the rubbings of tiger rock paintings were concentrated. "This part of the tiger rock paintings were found in Daxifeng, Pingluo County, Shizuishan City." Xie Suning said that many rock paintings of tiger images have been found around the Great West Peak, and there is speculation that this is the worship of tiger totems by the Huns in the past.
Tiger (rubbing) in rock paintings of Mount Helan. Photo by reporter Li Shang
There is a very long tiger in the rubbing, covered with stripes, Xie Suning introduced, many rock paintings in the tiger will be like this tiger, with obvious skeleton wind pattern. In addition, on the buttocks or foreth of some tigers, there will be spiral-like markings, which are characteristics that distinguish tigers from other animals.
Judging from these rock painting rubbings, some tigers appear independently, and even if there are some other animal figures or symbols around them, they are relatively small, which shows the tall and powerful tiger. There are also some petroglyphs depicting scenes of tigers hunting individually or collectively, and people hunting tigers, etc., which are vivid and vivid, reflecting the breeding and breeding of tigers in this area, as well as the relationship between tigers and the environment, and the relationship with people.
"Zhenshan Tiger" in petroglyphs
In the rock paintings of Helan Mountain, there is a tiger that is very famous, often extracted by artists or writers to carry out new creations, it is the "Zhenshan Tiger". "This petroglyph is carved on a large stone found on the eastern slope of the north outside the mouth of the Helan Ravine, and the stone slipped down from the mountain, and the locals gave the name 'Zhenshan Tiger'." Zhang Xuezhi, deputy director of the Ningxia Research Museum of Culture and History, created a series of impression rock paintings inspired by rock paintings and is also familiar with the helan Mountain rock painting "Zhenshan Tiger". He said that this "Zhenshan Tiger" is not only a classic in the petroglyph tiger pictogram, but also a fine work in the helan Mountain petroglyph, and many people think that it is extremely similar to the tiger image pattern on the Shang Zhou bronzes.
Helan Mountain rock painting "Zhenshan Tiger". Profile picture
"From the petroglyph 'Zhenshan Tiger', we can see the ancients' grasp of beauty. You see it with its head held high, its body strong and powerful, whether it is the stripes on the body or the spiral patterns on the chest and hips, it is very exquisite. Zhang Xuezhi said that the artistry of the rock painting Zhenshan Tiger is very high, and Zhang Tong, the former president of the Central Academy of Arts and Crafts, once saw this rock painting in Ningxia and lamented that "a few lines will show the tiger to the fullest."
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The text | Li Shang
Editor| Seventh Floor Qi Yu
The head of the duty | Li Zhenwen
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