A few days ago, the first snow in the capital of the Lunar Year of the Tiger was draped with a white coat for the red brick and green tile Forbidden City, which also made the ongoing new year exhibition - "Why China" Special Exhibition of Ancient Chinese Civilization a little more mysterious. Yesterday, the "Surprise Blind Box" - Forbidden City Media Open Day event organized by the 2022 Beijing News Center and the Palace Museum gave reporters the opportunity to get close to this popular exhibition.
In the solemn Wenhua Hall, more than 130 cultural relics selected from 30 museums across the country quietly tell the legendary stories of Chinese history, and in the context of the gradual improvement of the Beijing Winter Olympics, several "national treasures" in the special exhibition also have a wonderful fate with this grand event.
"Originated" from the Western Han Dynasty's tinder lamp
In October last year, the flame of the Beijing Winter Olympics traveled a long way from Greece to Beijing, officially announcing the countdown to the Winter Olympics. At the moment of "appearance" in front of the public, in addition to the sacred tinder, the unique shape of the tinder lamp is also attracting attention, and the "prototype" of this tinder lamp is a major "heavy weapon" in this special exhibition - the Western Han Changxin Palace lamp.
The Changxin Palace lamp was excavated in Baoding in 1968, the lamp is 48 cm high and gilded throughout. The lamp is engraved with 9 inscriptions, a total of 65 characters, and the name of the lamp is derived from the inscription "Changxin ShangYu" at the bottom. Li Jianye, the torch designer of the Beijing Winter Olympics, said earlier when talking about the source of inspiration: "The design of the tinder lamp in this way is to express people's pursuit of light and hope through the meaning of 'long faith'. ”
Pictured: Western Han Dynasty Changxin Palace lamp Xinmin Evening News reporter Xiao Junwei photo (the same below)
Walking into the central area of the special exhibition, the light and gorgeous Changxin Palace lights immediately come into view. Only to see a kneeling palace maid clinging to the lamp plate with a wick in her left hand, her right arm held high, and the hanging cuff just plays the role of a lampshade, which ensures that when the palace lamp is lit, the indoor air is clean, and its elegant and lively temperament just echoes with the holy and precious Winter Olympic fire, and also skillfully combines the ingenious craftsmanship of ancient Chinese craftsmanship with the goal of continuous progress of the modern Olympic Games.
The Tinder table "made" in the Western Zhou Dynasty
In the various venues of the Winter Olympic Games, the sound of "China refueling" always makes the players full of motivation, so do you know where the term "China" first appeared? The answer is he Zun, a Western Zhou cultural relic that is being exhibited in a special exhibition, and not only that, it is also the source of inspiration for the design of the Tinder Terrace at the Beijing Winter Olympics.
"There is an inscription of one hundred and twenty-two characters cast on the inner sole of He Zun, in which there is a sentence that says, 'Yu Qi's house is in China, and he is a man of his own.'" This is the earliest known record of the word 'China'. Li Qi, vice president of the Baoji Bronze Ware Museum, introduced. The "fate" of He Zun and the Winter Olympics is the radiation effect brought out by the lights of Changxin Palace.
Pictured: He Zun
"The design of Tinder lamps, tinder tables and other related artifacts is a systems project, and the style and characteristics need to be consistent to the greatest extent possible." Li Jianye said that the design theme of the Tinder Terrace is "Inheriting Heavenly Carriers", which aims to reflect the profound heritage of Chinese culture, and He Zun, who has a stable atmosphere, has become the best choice. It is not difficult to find out from a close look that The main body of He Zun has a thunder pattern as the base, and there are four ribs on the side of the body, which emit a thick atmosphere; and the various relief patterns protruding from different parts of it make this respect instrument a little more energetic, which reminds people of many agile figures on the Winter Olympic field.
The "Witness" of the City of the Two Olympics
If you want to let the Winter Olympics choose a most glorious and most anticipated moment, the moment the medal is hung on the neck, it will definitely get a lot of votes. Since the advent of the medals of this Winter Olympic Games, they have been praised for their exquisite design and shape, and many people may not know that the design inspiration for this medal comes from one of the representative artifacts of ancient China - concentric circle jade bi.
Pictured: Concentric circles
Not far from the entrance of the "Why China" special exhibition, a huge concentric circle jade bi is displayed, which is one of the representative artifacts of the Palace Museum, and the annotation "Neolithic Liangzhu Culture" under the display window explains its "age" and also makes people feel its "weight". "Yubi is one of the representative artifacts of Chinese civilization, so it symbolizes glory both in the Olympic Games and in the exhibition hall of the Palace Museum." The special exhibition docent said.
Coincidentally, the design inspiration for the medal of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games, "Gold inlaid Jade", also comes from Yubi, in this sense, this round artifact is not only the "fragrant food" that every Winter Olympic participant wants to "hang" on his neck and bring home, but also a window to promote Chinese culture to the world; it has witnessed the cultural changes of China for thousands of years, and it is also the witness and participant of China's two successful Bids for the Olympic Games, and Beijing has become the world's first "Double Olympic City". (Xinmin Evening News special reporter Lu Weixin Xiao Junwei Beijing Today)