Bird and insect seals have always given people an unpredictable feeling, so this time we write a small article to talk about bird and insect seals from the perspective of archaeology, culture and system.
"Concubine Concubine" is said to be Zhao Feiyan's jade seal
When it comes to bird and insect seals, it is inevitable to mention a jade seal from the Eastern Han Dynasty--Jie Ling Concubine. This jade seal has a gentle line and a bird's head, full of artistic sense, so many people used to think that the bird and insect seal is a book that adds a seal book to birds, dragons, and fish as decorations.
We must first know the meaning of "婕伃妾娋", 婕伃 is one of the ranks of harem concubines, slightly lower than the noble concubine, concubine is a woman's modest name, and men call themselves "subjects", 娋 is the name, and some people think that 娋 is actually the surname Zhao.
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, collectors read "婕伃妾娋" as "婕妤妾赵", referring to the fact that the owner of the jade seal was the Hancheng Emperor's favorite concubine Zhao Feiyan, and this jade seal had celebrity blessings, of course, the price was a hundred times higher. It was not until the late Qing Dynasty Shandong collector Chen Jieqi re-examined this seal that everyone realized that this seal was not Zhao Feiyan's seal, although there was no celebrity endorsement, but this seal was also a rare treasure, so many celebrities have always collected it.
Unfortunately, most of the collectors of this seal cannot end well, such as Yan Song, Xiang Yuanbian, and Gong Zizhen, so most commentators think it is ominous.
In addition to many people think that "jie ling concubines" are ominous, it is even more important to think that the bird and insect seal is ominous, the mountains and rivers in the Eastern Han Dynasty are falling, wars are frequent, so the birds and insects are rising, and the Republic of China is shaky, so the bird and insect seals are revived again. So everyone drew an equal sign between the chaotic world and the bird and insect seals, and felt that the world was strange and strange, and the bird and insect seals would rise.
In fact, not, first of all, the bird and insect seal is a composite concept, according to today's understanding, there are bird heads, animal heads, dragon heads, fish and other animal decorative strokes can be counted as bird and insect seals, there is no animal decorative strokes, but hovering and bending such as earthworms can also be regarded as bird and insect seals.
The Yue King Sword inscription is contrary to traditional writing habits
"Yue Wang Zhou Sentence Sword" (Interpretation: Yue Wang Zhou Sentence, Self-Acting Sword)
If placed in the pre-Qin and Han dynasties, the insect book bird traces on the seal are certainly bird and insect seals, but the "Book of Qin" on the weapon cannot be ignored, and the "Commentary on the Interpretation of The Text" says that "the Book of Qin has eight bodies: the Book of Worms; the Book of Seven Worms". The Eastern Han Dynasty Xu Shen summarized the ancient characters, including "worm book" and "book of fun", in fact, the two have a lot of relationship, from the excavation of cultural relics, in fact, "book of trees" also have a lot of bird and insect seals. For example, in recent years, "Yue Wang Gou Jian Sword" and "Yue Wang Zhou Sentence Sword" have been unearthed, the former should be heard by many friends, the latter is relatively less known, and the bird and insect seals on the two copper swords are very interesting. The inscription on the body of the sword is straight, the glyphs are flexed and staggered, and there are bird and insect decorations,
It is a more typical bird and insect seal, the state sentence sword is more interesting, it is directly cast horizontally, contrary to the traditional straight writing habits of Chinese, not so much as words, more like decorative symbols.
In addition to the "Book of Sorrows" on weapons, in fact, many Qin and Han Pottery and Wadang also have bird and insect seals.
Han brick rubbings "Long live Le Wei Yang An Qin Qian Qiu Shan Yu He"
For example, the following Figure Hanwa Dang "EternalLy Blessed" and "Le Wei Yang Long Live An Qin Qian Qiu Shan Yu", is the bird and insect seal, although the two do not have bird heads and dragon heads, but the pen is coiled and twisted like earthworms, which is also a typical bird and insect seal structure.
Han yin cheng stove rubbing
Hanyin reviewed the rubbings
Han brick rubbings "Long live Le Wei Yang An Qin Qian Qiu Shan Yu He"
In addition, Cao Jinyan, Shi Xiejie's "Wuyue Character Signs" can also see a large number of bird and insect seals of different ages, and not limited to seals, from bells, weapons to seals, wadang, readily available, from the current excavation of cultural relics, the south to see the bird and insect seals is indeed more than the north, considering its original commission, it is estimated that most of them are caused by the cultural characteristics of Chu, Wuyue and other countries during the Warring States period.
Therefore, according to the understanding of institutional history, the bird and insect seal is only one of the seals, from the Warring States to the Han Dynasty has always been popular, and there is no necessary relationship with the rise and fall of the times, it cannot be said that there is a rise of birds and insects in the chaotic world.
Reference: Wuyue Character Signs