The situation of the New Year's Festival has always been inseparable from the vision of the common people to avoid harm and become auspicious, and in the ups and downs of the epidemic, the folk psychology of praying for peace and corning is particularly prominent. The "Fulu Shouxi Beautiful Life - Special Exhibition of Chinese Auspicious Culture", which is being exhibited at the Shanghai Municipal History Museum, has become a popular place for citizens to relax and bring back auspicious omens in the New Year.
Chinese auspicious culture is both grand and subtle. What is auspicious culture? "Auspicious, good deeds; auspicious ones, the march of Jiaqing." Traditional Chinese auspicious culture was conceived by the ancestors living on the land of China in production labor, religious beliefs and artistic activities, and has become an important component and spiritual essence of traditional Chinese culture. The Tang Dynasty's "Lefu Suburban Temple Song Lyrics, Sacrifice Taishe Movement, and Sending Gods" once said that "the auspicious style is completed, and the reward is completed." The pro-earth honors the heavens, and the ritual scriptures clearly describe the functions of the auspicious motif Zhen Xiang and the Disaster, which has risen to the grand occasion of the Guozuo Zhengyi; and the narrative characteristics of "there must be intention, intention must be auspicious", which makes it return to the grounded world of life. The patterns and ornaments that reflect the auspicious meaning, set the wisdom of people's lives and the strengths of oriental philosophy, and through abstract or figurative pattern symbols, the creativity and imagination of the ancestors who dared to explore, the blessing psychology of positive goodness and beauty, and the beautiful vision of the prosperity of the homeland and the harmony of the world are vividly depicted.
Looking at the evolution of Chinese auspicious patterns, from the hunting scenes carved on the rocks 6,000 years ago, it is enough to prove that the prehistoric ancestors have been able to create auspicious patterns with simple narrative functions to express the demands of the strength and basic conditions required for their survival; in the Neolithic Age, the fish patterns and frog patterns on the red pottery of Yangshao culture, the pigs, dragons, turtles and beasts of the Hongshan culture, etc., have been able to express the meaning of distinct life reproduction with abstract shapes; a large number of ancient artifacts and ornaments excavated from excavations have proved auspicious patterns. It was the ancestors who were continuously created in the process of production, labor and life of natural exploration. The auspicious patterns that have been solidified in the true sense of meaning appeared in the Shang Zhou And matured in the Song and Yuan dynasties, and the more secular symbol system has been widely used in various social activities that are consistent with the rituals of time, developed to the Ming and Qing dynasties to prosperity, penetrated into all aspects of people's daily life, and became an indispensable part of China's lilly civilization. With the meaning of greeting auspiciousness and blessing and avoiding disasters, the patterns focus on the five themes of "blessing, lu, shou, joy and wealth", and unfold a picture of the prosperous taiping and guotai min'an described by the Chinese generations through rich character story patterns, animal and plant patterns, and text geometric patterns.
【Imaginary magnificent mythological story pattern】
"Three-star arch photograph", "Magu Xianshou", "Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea", "Bangs Play Golden Toad", "Heshi Erxian", etc., are often seen in furniture, lacquerware, porcelain, fabrics, gold and silver jade, etc., in the vivid story scene, the Chinese context hidden behind the auspicious meaning is passed down from generation to generation
Mythological story patterns mostly refer to ornaments based on the activities or images of gods, people, and images, ranging from fairy fairies that reflect mythological stories to allusions to allusions in real history. Through careful matching and combination with scenes, myths and legends, historical stories, and dramatic scenes are vividly reproduced, and orderly circulation is realized in the use of generations. Myths and legends are the ideological source of traditional Chinese culture, the embodiment of the original ancestors' mode of thinking, world view and outlook on life, and the patterns they created reflect natural phenomena and social life are full of magnificent imagination, telling the emotions and confidence of boldly exploring the world, explaining the world, and conquering the world. Mythological character motifs, such as "Three Stars (Fu, Lu, Shou) Arch Illumination", "Magu Xianshou", "Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea", "Bangs Play Golden Toad", "Heshi ErXian", etc., are often seen in furniture, lacquerware, porcelain, fabrics, gold, silver and jade, etc., in the vivid story scene, the Chinese context hidden behind the auspicious meaning is passed down from generation to generation.
The scene of the boy kicking the shuttlecock in the tent of the "Hundred Zi Tu" of the late Qing Dynasty, hidden in the palace of Grand Marshal Sun Yat-sen, the sound of "shuttlecock" is harmonious "see the son"
In the auspicious patterns of historical story characters, social scenes with realistic themes are more common, such as festivals, ceremonies, amusements, hunting, etc.; the characters are colorful, such as ladies, children, shou soo, Zhuangyuan, etc., but the public is very partial to the "Hundred Sons Map". "White Tiger Tongyi Clan" said: "Clan, why not? Clan, Minato, Juya. Up to the high ancestors, down to the xuansun. One family has good fortune, a hundred families gather together, and they become relatives. "Hundred Sons Chart, also known as Hundred Sons Yingfu Chart, Hundred Sons Spring Chart." "Poetry Daya Siqi" Yun: "Great Concubine Emblem Yin, then Bai Si Male." "Hundred" takes the meaning of "great" or "infinite", and was originally used to praise the many heirs of Prince Wen of Zhou. The "Hundred Sons Diagram" is a good omen of "Tim Ding Many Sons", which expresses the good wishes for the reproduction of heirs in the traditional Chinese clan concept with "early noble sons, family harmony and beauty, and children and grandchildren".
Textiles are the main carrier of the Hundred Sons Diagram, and in the marriage customs of various parts of China, the bride's dowry must be the hundred sons of brocade quilts and bedding. Because the picture of Baizi is full of vitality, liveliness and fun, with a harmonious and harmonious pun technique, praying for more blessings and longevity, the prosperity of descendants and the continuation of the generations, and it is also a common decoration and decoration for the birthday of the elderly and children. For example, the "Hundred Zi Tu" tent of the late Qing Dynasty, which is collected in the palace of Grand Marshal Sun Yat-sen, has more than 40 groups of children playing patterns, such as swinging, riding wooden horses, playing chess, catching birds, fishing, rowing, picking lotuses, playing the piano, watching paintings, fluttering butterflies, driving, hide-and-seek, kicking balls, etc., showing the peaceful courtyard at four o'clock and the innocent and lively children, full of joy. For example, the scene of the boy kicking the shuttlecock on the tent, the "shuttlecock" sound is harmonious "seeing the son"; it is also like the three sons fighting crickets, symbolizing many children; the boy plays with goldfish, symbolizing "golden jade full hall"; there are also children riding on the unicorn, which means qilin to send children; "Zhuangyuan Tour Street" and "shooting three consecutive round bottles" and other scenes, implying keju high school, lianzhong sanyuan and so on. It can be said that the Baizitu concentrates on the concept of human morality and clan prosperity in traditional Chinese culture.
The Palace Museum has pastel depictions of golden cloud bat patterns in the bottle, of which the cloud pattern symbolizes ascension and ruyi, and the bat symbolizes well-being
【Animal and plant pattern of Gentleman Bede】
Plums, orchids, bamboos, and chrysanthemums, known as the "four gentlemen in the flowers", are the portrayals of gentlemen of noble conduct and discipline; dragons, phoenixes, monkeys, sheep, cranes, butterflies, goldfish, bats and other animals, mostly in harmonic sounds, meanings, metaphors and other ways, to achieve the simple function of warding away evil spirits and greeting good fortune
The "gentleman's beide" in Chinese Confucianism advocates that people get educational inspiration from natural aesthetic objects, and requires people to shape a perfect personality through education. Confucius once proposed the "Bede Theory" of "the wise man enjoys the water, the benevolent one enjoys the mountain". "Bede said" based on the political philosophy of Confucianism, which requires people to govern the country first, the so-called "self-cultivation and family rule the country and the world", with benevolence, righteousness, etiquette, wisdom, faith and other virtues. Therefore, the virtues and characters extended from the characteristics of animals and plants themselves have become an important metaphor for such ornaments. For example, in the plant pattern, there are plums, orchids, bamboo, chrysanthemums, plum wind bones, orchids of purity, bamboo ethics, chrysanthemums, which are gentle portrayals of noble conduct and discipline; and in the "Three Friends of the Cold Years", "The years are cold, and then the pines and cypresses are withered", Bede Yu Pine is not afraid of the cold, just and not ah; Bede in the "lotus", take the lotus's clean and elegant, out of the mud and not stained, never follow the waves.
The auspicious pattern "Baishiji", which was once popular in the Song Dynasty, is a typical representative of the auspicious pattern of plants. Song Wu Zimu's "Record of Dream Liang" states: "The healer also gave Tu Su Bag, formed a four-gold fish concentric knot with five-colored threads, or a Baishi Ji knot, and sent it to the patron of the first house with various decoctions, and hung it on his forehead to ward off evil spirits." The street market pounces on Xi Da Chun Hata Katsu, Pepsi Ji Hu'er, in case new year's day hangs at the head of the door, which is an auspicious omen for the new year. The Song Dynasty "Baishi Ji" has a variety of expressions, which can be taken from pines, persimmons, oranges inserted in bottles and pots, or placed on fruit plates, or embroidered with silk and hung on the beams of the house, for the purpose of praying for good fortune in the house. The "Pepsi Knot" pattern passed down in later generations is also widely seen in various artistic creations such as jewelry, porcelain, and knotting.
The Zhejiang Provincial Museum holds the Song Dynasty Golden Wisp Pepsi Ji Jiezi
In the simulation of animal shapes, dragons, phoenixes, monkeys, sheep, cranes, butterflies, goldfish, bats, zodiac animals, etc. are common, and harmonic sounds, meanings, metaphors, etc. are used to achieve the simple function of warding away evil spirits and greeting auspiciousness. For example, it is generally believed that children wearing tiger heads, dog head hats, lions, unicorn cloaks, and tiger head shoes can bless the healthy growth of new life. Tigers, lions, unicorns, elephants, etc., often become the subject matter and content of the mother's sewing clothes, taking the power of the beast to achieve the effect of protecting the young child, this behavior is closely related to the ancient customs and rituals of victory. The tiger is the king of the beasts, and the tiger totem has always been deeply worshipped by the ancestors of the Han people, and is one of the symbols that drive away evil and ward off evil. Tiger children salivate, use the image of the tiger to ward off evil spirits, shelter children tiger head tiger brain, healthy and lively; tiger head shoes are mostly embroidered with five-colored tigers on the red and yellow uppers, tiger mouth wormwood, foot five poisons. In addition, animal motifs such as dog head shoes, pig's mouth shoes, rooster shoes, and sunbirds are also commonly used, and through sympathetic witchcraft, such a vigorous animal-shaped costume can be worn to grow up as strong as these animals, free from intrusion.
Animal and plant ornaments are mostly cross-combined with text symbols, the form is ingenious, the picture presents a rich sense of rhythm and rhythm, and the profound folk culture connotation contained in it is expressed through oriental aesthetics. For example, the combination of lotus flowers and carp symbolizes "lotus (lian) year has fish" or "fish play lotus"; the combination of pomegranates and bats symbolizes the multiplicity of children; the combination of magpies and plum blossoms symbolizes "happy plum (eyebrow) branches"; the combination of peony national color tianxiang and phoenix bird symbolizes "phoenix wearing peony, flowers blooming richly"; camellia flowers are evergreen in all seasons, symbolizing "vitality" and so on.
Children's Ai Hu salivating
【Endless charm of the text symbol pattern】
The ever-changing "Hundred Shou Tu" is a combination of 100 shou characters written in various calligraphy such as truth, grass, li, and seal, expressing the wish of longevity and longevity; the shape of the echo is a closed ring that repeats and continues without end, so it is considered to be "rich and noble", a symbol of happiness and eternal prosperity
Chinese characters are the oldest script in the world, which is not only monosyllabic and polysetic, but also has the characteristics of sound, shape and meaning, which not only creates countless unparalleled beautiful poems, but also provides a broad range of creative elements for folk art. Among the common auspicious motifs, examples of homophone puns are everywhere: bat (welfare), deer (gonglu), butterfly (longevity), orange (auspicious), sheep (auspicious), gui (rich), li (interest), magpie (auspicious omen), fish (youyu), bottle (peace), lotus (marriage), the beauty of the rhyme plus auspicious mouth color and allegory, deeply loved by the people.
The Palace Museum has a collection of Qing rosewood inlaid with boxwood cloud bat hook double lotus box
The most common Chinese character ornaments are Tuanshou and Fu characters. "Shang Shu Hong Fan" Yun Wufu: "One Day Shou, Two Days Rich, Three Days Kangning, Four Days YouHaode, Five Days Examination End Life"; the five points of long life, wealth, health and tranquility, moral conscience satisfaction, and good death are the ultimate pursuit of the blessings of a lifetime by the ancient Chinese people, and the five bats flying around the shou character represent the "five blessings and longevity". As a "hundred life map" to celebrate the birthday, it represents the people's general yearning for longevity and longevity, and in the ever-changing "hundred life", a hundred "shou" characters written in various scripts such as true, grass, li, and seal are combined into glyphs. The most famous work is the Southern Song Dynasty "Baishou Tu" cliff carving of Yongfu Baishouyan in Guangxi. In the large "Shou" characters with a height of 175 cm and a width of 148 cm, 100 small "Shou" characters with yin carved characters are arranged in different forms and book styles, and none of them are the same. There are also Baishou diagrams, which arrange the "Shou" characters of different fonts in ten rows, ten in each row, forming a square shape; or these "Shou" characters are arranged in a circle pattern.
In addition to various fonts such as pictograms, bells, bird scripts, and small seals, Baishou tu is also supplemented by taiji diagrams, tadpole texts, mulberry leaf shapes, flower porcelain pots, ancient colored pottery, weeping willows, lotus flowers, shou peaches, gourds, green bamboo, auspicious clouds, jiaolong, Bogu wen play, etc. to form a "Shou" glyph, which has become a concentrated display of the traditional "Shou" character auspicious style. In the composition form of the word "shou", those who are composed of a single "shou" character are called "longevity" in a long glyph, and the circle is called "yuanshou", "tuanshou" or "flower shou". These are patterned characters, and they are font forms with certain artistic characteristics. In addition, the circle shou pattern is surrounded by a ruyi pattern, called "Ruyi Shou Zi"; five bats are painted in a circle, one of which is a circular shou pattern, called "Wufu Baoshou"; the pattern composed of tuan shou pattern and disc length and bats is called "Fu Shou Long". A "shou" character embodies the Chinese's love for life, carries the good wishes of the Chinese people, and injects infinite and beautiful passion into the Chinese nation's pursuit of life's exuberance and longevity.
In abstract symbol ornamentation, the meaning is often expressed more obscurely, but it reflects the beauty of Chinese subtlety and euphemism. Common patterns are tai chi bagua pan long, fang sheng, happy encounter, hui character pattern, ruyi, cornucopia, cash cow, dark eight immortals, eight treasures, buckle bowl, halberd and so on. For example, the ancient echo pattern, also known as the bucket pattern, the horse factory type of the prehistoric faience pottery Majia kiln appeared in the diamond frame pattern and the pyruh pattern, one up and one down, one positive and one upside down, filling the grid in the square fold pattern. Two sets of square echoes also appear on the Silk Fabric and Bronze of the Shang Dynasty excavated from the Yin Ruins in Anyang, Henan. The shape of the echo is a closed ring that repeats endlessly, so it is considered to be a symbol of "wealth and nobility", happiness and eternal prosperity. Shanghai likes to call "echo" "bucket pattern" because people call the circular circular fingerprint on the finger "bucket", which is also the multiplier of rice, and "rice" itself has both a symbol of grain and money, so the bucket pattern means "sufficient food, daily gold, endless, endless".
For another example, the abstract check is named after the living utensils and food, which is not only very suitable for the lives of the people, but also reveals the popular fun and witty humor of the fireworks atmosphere. The plaid pattern, known as "tofu lattice (子)" in the Shanghai dialect, is widely used in fabrics and decorations because "tofu" is pronounced near "toufu", implying that the family is rich and eats and wears without worry. The square grid, because of its shape like the ancient copper coin "hole square", is connected into a string by a vertical straight line, like a string of money hanging from the waist, symbolizing "waist entanglement". Even the extremely ordinary curves, because of the yellow and white colors, are also expressed as "gold and silver chains", which do not hide the pursuit and yearning for wealth and rich life, and these are the auspicious meanings that can be constantly enriched, used, and created.
The Palace Museum has a small lid jar of multicolored clouds and dragon patterns in the Ming Dynasty
Praying for good fortune and warding off evil and disasters is an important cultural connotation in China's auspicious culture. The desire to survive and praise life is the commonality of human beings, and it is the greatest wish of people throughout the ages to be able to live in the space of faith in which heaven, earth and man are one, and to live in peace and harmony. Throughout the development of Chinese auspicious patterns, from the bronzes of the Shang Zhou Dynasty, the jade, bronze mirrors and lacquerware of the Warring States Period, the tiles of the Qin Dynasty, the portrait stones and portrait bricks of the Han Dynasty, the stone carvings of the Five Dynasties of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the architectural paintings of the Song Dynasty, the printing and dyeing embroidery and porcelain of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, we can see the auspicious patterns and the folk culture. Optimism and self-confidence are one of the excellent qualities of the Chinese nation, and the people of Chinese never give up their belief in "life" and yearn for happiness. The so-called "auspiciousness" is precisely the prayer and wish for life, peace, fraternity, security, prosperity, etc., and it is also one of the great driving forces for the Chinese nation to prosper and develop over time.
China's excellent traditional culture embodies the world outlook, outlook on life, values, aesthetics, etc. formed and inherited by the Chinese nation in production and life from generation to generation, and the most core content has become the most basic cultural gene of the Chinese nation, and it is a unique identity that is different from other nationalities that the Chinese nation and the Chinese people have gradually formed in the process of repairing Qi Zhiping, respecting the time and keeping their positions, knowing the constant changes, opening up things and accomplishing business, and making meritorious achievements. The appreciation, use and inheritance of auspicious patterns are the effective ways and means to activate the genes of traditional Chinese culture. Entering the 2022 New Year, when the international situation and the global epidemic situation are complex and changeable, when all mankind becomes a community of common destiny, auspicious culture also sends good wishes for Guotai and Min'an to the world. Let us use auspicious patterns to convey the yearning for a new beginning and a new attempt, and inspire and fill our hearts with peace and longing, inspiring us to bravely move forward on the road of building a happy home.
Author: Fang Yun (Ph.D. in Folklore, Lecturer, School of International Education, Shanghai University)
Editor: Fan Xin
Planner: Fan Xin
Editor-in-Charge: Liu Qing
*Wenhui exclusive manuscript, please indicate the source when reprinting.