The tiger is the king of the hundred beasts, incomparably majestic and fierce. The Eastern Han Dynasty Xu Shen's "Commentaries on the Interpretation of Texts" called the tiger "the king of the mountain beasts", which shows that the ancients had long had a reverence for the tiger. Our ancestors used the mighty power of the tiger as a thing to communicate with the gods of heaven and earth and to drive away evil spirits and worship the town. In the history of ancient Chinese jade, the jade with the tiger as the motif occupies a certain number, and its religious meaning is far more important than the decorative role, which is a materialized form of the belief of the primitive ancestors. In the Lunar Year of the Tiger, The Paper combed through the exquisite jade tiger artifacts collected by the National Palace Museum in Beijing, the National Palace Museum in Taipei, the National Museum of China, the Shanghai Museum and other museums.
Our ancestors used the mighty power of the tiger as a thing to communicate with the gods of heaven and earth and to drive away evil spirits and worship the town. In the history of ancient Chinese jade, the jade with the tiger as the motif occupies a certain amount. As early as the Lingjiatan culture in the Jianghuai River Basin in the Neolithic Age, a tiger-shaped jade wagon was excavated, and a number of jade tigers were also unearthed from the tomb of Yin Xu Women. These jade tigers often have distinct characteristics and rich connotations. According to the different characteristics of tiger-shaped jade and the different carving processes, it can be roughly divided into tiger-faced or tiger-faced jade, piece-carved jade tiger, round carved jade tiger and tiger-patterned jade. The Palace Museum in Beijing, the National Palace Museum in Taipei, the National Museum of China, the Shanghai Museum, etc. all have exquisite collections of jade tigers.
Qing Dynasty White Jade Beast Face Pattern Pygmy Pendant Collection of the National Museum of China
Tiger-faced jade was first seen in the Houwa site in Donggou County, Liaoning Province, about 5000 to 6000 years ago. In the urn coffin tombs of the late Shijiahe culture dating back more than 4,000 years, there are many tiger-faced or tiger-faced jade objects, which is one of the representative jades of this culture. In the animistic primitive society, the religious meaning of tiger-shaped jade is far more important than that of decoration, and it is a materialized form of the belief of the primitive ancestors. The face of the tiger head is majestic, reflecting a strong religious atmosphere. The jade tiger in the prehistoric period mainly shows the face of the tiger, and under the premise of pursuing overall realism, the performance of the ears and nose is more exaggerated. In the carving technique, the method of cutting the ground and the yang is supplemented by the yin carved line to express the detailed characteristics of the tiger face.
The jade tiger is the largest number of jade with tiger as the motif, mainly seen in the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, and its use is mostly for ornamentation, and the function of ornamentation is more prominent in the Western Zhou to Spring and Autumn periods, or is part of the pendant. Shang Dynasty film carving Jade tigers are all single instruments, and the number is relatively large, ranking first among all realistic jade beasts at that time. The jade tiger in the early and middle western Zhou Dynasty not only inherited the shape of the straight jade tiger of the Shang Dynasty, but also inherited its characteristics of not emphasizing ornamentation, even if there is ornamentation, it is generally a very simple cirrus pattern. The jade tiger of the late Western Zhou Dynasty had great changes, and the ornamentation became relatively dense. The Spring and Autumn Jade Tiger is another peak period after Yin Shang and Western Zhou, and both the number and the quality of production are more than those of the previous two generations.
Compared with the piece carved jade tiger, the round carved jade tiger is very small in the history of ancient Chinese jade, scattered in different historical stages, and the style of the jade tiger has changed in different periods, or fierce, or docile, or appearing alone, or existing in pairs. There are very few Warring States jade tigers, and some of them may be relics passed down to this time in the early Spring and Autumn Period. Although there are few works in this period, Yuhu is exquisitely made, the ornamentation is varied and rich, and the composition is strange and bold.
Tiger jade is a jade with the overall image of the tiger as the decorative theme, and the eye-catching one is the Qiushan jade made in the imitation of the Liaojin period in the Yuan Dynasty.
Qiushan jade refers to the jade with the theme of mountain forest, tiger, deer and bear, and the pattern is mostly tiger, deer, bear, rabbit or other animals, supplemented by mountain stones, ganoderma lucidum and tulip trees, etc., which show the scene of people and wild animals living in harmony between mountains and forests. The use of ingenious techniques to retain the yellow color of the jade skin to show the golden yellow fur of trees and tigers, deer and bears in autumn, and to fully display the beautiful scenery of the mountains and forests in the northern grasslands in late autumn, which is a true portrayal of the hunting life of the Khitan and Jurchen tribes.
Qiushan jade is the highest realm of tiger pattern theme in the development of jade, and its ornamentation is exquisite and the production process is exquisite. According to the characteristics of tiger posture and other characteristics, tiger stripes can be divided into walking tiger, standing tiger, crouching tiger and sub-tigress.
Shijiahe Culture Tiger face pattern jade Collection of the National Museum of China
white jade. The vessel is flattened and square, with the face of the tiger carved on the front. The facial features are protruded by subtraction, and then outlined with a shallow thin yin carved line, with concave ear holes, whiskers carved on both sides of the nose, and a wide mouth on the bottom edge. The sides of the tiger's head are traversed with circular holes, which can be worn. Wearing these ornaments as a symbol of bravery and strength has the function of warding off evil spirits.
Hou Shijiahe Culture Jade Tiger Collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei
Light blue-yellow curved curved jade pieces, the side of the whole body of a tiger, the tiger's head is more realistic, the body is very simplified, and a small hole is drilled at the end. The two sides are roughly the same pattern, but the edge is slightly curved and convex on one side. The tiger's head has short ears and a round nose, and the yin line depicts jujube-shaped eyes, and the mouth is open and teeth. The wide yin line depicts the front and hind limbs of the tiger, but the proportions are not in line with the natural tiger.
Hou Shijiahe Culture Green Pine Stone Jade Tiger Collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei
This is a strange artifact, which seems to be cut into two halves by a piece of light yellow-green jade bibi, becoming two rounded jade pieces, each with a round hole drilled at each end. It is then carved into the body of a tiger, with front and rear limbs. A section behind the hind limbs is carved on the edge of the vessel in the East China style teeth. There are also turquoise carved tiger heads: short ears, round nose, yin line depicting jujube core-shaped eyes, open mouth and teeth. It is a typical post-Shijiahe culture tiger head shape.
Shang Qingyuhu, Collection of the Palace Museum in Beijing
Shang Qingyu Tiger-shaped piece collection of the Palace Museum in Beijing
Shang Jade Tiger Shaped Piece Collection of the Palace Museum in Beijing
Western Zhou Tiger-shaped jade pendant Excavated from the Quancheng Cemetery in 2006 from the collection of the Shanxi Museum
Spring and Autumn Tiger-shaped Jade Pei Collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei
A mixture of shades and shades of ochre jade. Carved as the side of a half-crouched tiger, carved on one side and photonoid on the other. At the back of the tiger and the mouth of the tiger, each wears a small piece. If the phototropic surfaces of the two pieces are combined, it can be seen that the original is one piece, and the flat section is made of two thin sheets.
Spring and Autumn Jade Tiger Collection of Anhui Museum
Warring States Jade ornament Crouching Tiger Collection of the Palace Museum in Beijing
Han White Jade Crouching Tiger Shaped Town The Palace Museum in Beijing
Liao to Jin Yuhu, collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei
Jade, blue-yellow in color, dense texture with orange-yellow markings. The whole instrument is carved as a tiger, squatting, round eyes and large grin, simple lines but full body shape, showing a delicate childlike fun, the abdomen up and down and on both sides are pairs of perforations can be combined. Attached wooden seat. This piece is included in the "Collection of Qiongzao" produced in the Qianlong period, and according to the original two-story seventy-three pieces contained in the album of Qiongzao, they are stored in a wooden box decorated with animal bones.
Jin (1115-1234) Akiyama jade ornaments, Shanghai Museum collection
The front of the Jade Ornament of the Autumn Mountain of the Jin Dynasty uses a transparent carving technique to express the mountain forest scenes such as tulip trees, mountain stones, and ganoderma lucidum, during which a tiger crouches down and looks back, and the head and hair are carefully carved, full of simple mountain forest and wild interest. The jade body is nearly white, and the local use of jade skin color to express tiger fur and ganoderma lucidum is a "pretty color" process. The Liao Dynasty had a spring and autumn "bowl" system, that is, the custom of rulers traveling outside the spring and autumn to camp and fish and hunt, and the Jin Dynasty inherited and renamed it "Spring Water" and "Qiushan". "Chunshui" and "Qiushan" jade became a very distinctive jade category in the Jinyuan period.
Song Qingyu Lingzhi Crouching Tiger Collection of the Palace Museum in Beijing
Yuan Zhiming White Jade Tiger Head Pendant Collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei
Ming White Jade Tiger Shaped Snuff Bottle
Late Ming dynasty to early Qing Dynasty Jade Double Tiger Collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei
Jade, locally dyed yellow and ochre. The two tigers are carved with their heads and tails, and their tails are intertwined, which is realistic and conveys the gods. The Qing Palace is equipped with a carved wooden seat.
Qing Yuhu, Collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei
Green jade. The tiger sits upright, its tail is pressed against its back, its eyes are looking forward, and its expression is gentle.
Qing Yuhu Pei Collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei
Gray jade with macular spots. Long strips, carved with tiger stripes, the word "peace" on one side and the word "tiger symbol" on the other side are seal books.
Qing carved jade genus like the zodiac (tiger) in the collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei
Jade, pale yellowish green with light ochre. It is carved in the shape of a tiger, in a crouching position, with a long tail attached to the back. There is a transverse perforation in the abdomen. This piece is combined with eleven other zodiac signs.
Qing Qingyu Twelve Chen Tiger The Palace Museum in Beijing
Qingyu Zodiac (Tiger) Collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei
Mid-Qing Dynasty Jade Zodiac Figurines Collected by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the United States
Qing Hu Shou Qing Bai Yu Hairpin Collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei
Green and white jade prime collar hairpin, jade white and soft, the head part of the hairpin is carved as the head of the tiger, with a simple short yin line carved out of the tiger's pattern, ears, expression, the whole has a simple beauty.
Tourmaline tiger pattern pei Collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei
Tourmaline, slightly semi-circular, pink and translucent, the front of the tiger pattern is carved in the middle of the bardo, the upper, lower and right sides are carved with animal patterns, and the top of the tour is pierced with yellow rope and jadeite and red and white rice beads.
(This article is synthesized from the relevant materials of the National Palace Museum in Taipei and the Palace Museum in Beijing, and refers to articles such as "Saying The Tiger Appreciates Jade - Appreciation of the Jade Tiger in the National Museum of China" and "Four Questions of the Jade Tiger - Saying the Tiger in the Year of the Tiger")