Here is the scene of the conquest of the Chu state of the blue wisp of the Yanlu Road and the Qishan Forest, and here is the spiritual world of the Chu people who have not sounded and are amazing... In the new museum of Hubei Province, one of the permanent thematic exhibitions, "Eight Hundred Years of the Chu State", comprehensively displays the history and culture of the Chu State.
Among the many majestic bronzes and exquisite silk fabrics of Juanxiu, a painted lacquered wooden tiger bird drum stands impressively in the display case——
I saw two phoenix birds singing and singing on top of the double tiger sitting with their backs to them, a large drum hanging between the crowns of the phoenix, two young tigers with their hind feet on the back ridge of the birds, and their front feet supporting the drum cavity...
Around the sides of the display case, leaning down to gaze at the lacquered wood tiger seat, the muscles of the tiger's face are clearly defined, the two tiger eyes are shining, and the tiger's mouth spits out a long tongue that bends to the tiger's chin, showing a cute state, adding a playful and cute to the king of the hundred beasts.
The new museum of Hubei Provincial Museum displays the Tiger Seat Bird Drum. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Cheng Min
During the Warring States period, lacquerware production was unprecedented, the ornamentation was more elaborate and exquisite than the previous generation, the shape was more exotic and magnificent, the romantic temperament was very romantic, ornamental and practical, and it became an important historical stage in the history of the development of Chinese lacquer art.
The Tiger Bird Drum is generally excavated from the tombs of high-ranking nobles, and is one of the hanging drums recorded in the literature, and is currently only found in the Chu tombs of the Warring States period. In 2002, The 2nd Tomb of Jiuliandun in Zaoyang, Hubei Province, discovered this exquisite tiger bird drum in the late Warring States period, with a height of 135.9 cm and a width of 134 cm, which has been stored in the Hubei Provincial Museum since its excavation.
The appearance of the Tiger Bird Drum when it was unearthed. Images courtesy of respondents
"It is the most perfect piece of the Tiger Seat Bird Drum unearthed from the Chu Tomb so far." Li Lan, a research librarian at the LacquerWare Protection Studio of the Hubei Provincial Museum, looked at the cultural relics in the exhibition hall and said that the tiger seat was exquisite and the phoenix bird looked realistic, especially the two young tigers holding the drum cavity were very rare. One drum surface is painted with geometric ornaments, and the other drum surface depicts the life scenes of the Chu people, and these rich elements constitute a tiger bird drum with diverse shapes and complete structure, which is perfect.
Li Lan pointed to the details on the drum surface and told reporters that a closer look showed that the center of the drum surface was made of 3 tigers circling, forming a circle center, and the two drums were symmetrical, drawing a total of 6 tigers. The tiger roared and shook the sky, and the pattern of the tiger painted in the center of the drum surface conveyed the ancient people's worship of the power and spirituality of the tiger.
At the end of 2020, the results of the selection of the Top Ten "Treasures of the Town Hall" of the Hubei Provincial Museum were announced, and the Tiger Seat Bird Drum, which highlighted the unique charm of Chu culture, won this honor, and Li Lan led the team to accelerate the restoration of this cultural relic.
Li Lan is restoring the Tiger Seat site of cultural relics. Images courtesy of respondents
For the protection and restoration of water-saturated lacquerware unearthed, only the Hubei Provincial Museum and the Jingzhou Cultural Protection Center are the most technologically mature in China.
Li Lan recalled that the most difficult part to repair was one of the broken wings of the phoenix, and the wings of the two pairs of phoenixes were open and in a suspended state, so the cultural relics could not be placed flat on the ground during restoration, and could only be lifted up and repaired.
In the process of restoration, Li Lan was surprised to find that the snake that looked closely at the base of the tiger bird drum revealed pieces of golden snake scales, and although the color had dimmed, it still stubbornly proclaimed the dazzling brilliance of more than 2,000 years ago.
Part of the drum face of the Tortoise bird drum. Images courtesy of respondents
Stepping back and looking at the distance, in this exhibition hall area entitled "Eight Tones and Sounds", a set of quite perfect ancient Chinese ritual music civilization system was laid out... Tiger bird drum is in front, standing upright, behind it is displayed a row of chimes excavated from the Jiulian Pier in Zaoyang, Hubei Province, and the chimes are accompanied by instruments such as chimes and pianos on both sides, as if playing harmonious and orderly music in unison, echoing to this day...
Reporter: Yu Pei
Editors: Li Zhengyan, Luan Ruohui