The dragon has always been the totem of the Chinese and the symbol of the Chinese nation.
Therefore, in the feudal era, the dragon has always been used as a symbol of imperial power, and the utensils used in the imperial palace are also decorated with dragons, and many excavated cultural relics and monuments can also find the image and record of the dragon many times.
A painting in the Hunan Provincial Museum reflects the ancient people's yearning for the dragon.
At the same time, this painting is also the first Chu painting in mainland China that has been excavated by scientific archaeology, and it is also the earliest painting of the ancient era found on the mainland so far.
It is ----- "Character Royal Dragon Diagram".
What is so strange about a painting?
"Figure Royal Dragon" is a silk ink and light color painting created by an anonymous person in the middle and late Warring States period, this painting mainly depicts the scene of the tomb owner ascending to heaven by a dragon, with silk as the ground, rectangular, 37.5 cm long and 28 cm wide.
The man in the picture should be in accordance with the image of the tomb owner, wearing a high crown, wearing a robe, wearing a long sword, holding the reins, standing on his side, and a beard on his face.
Qu Yuan once recorded in the "Chu Ci Jiu Zhang Wa Jiang" that ---- "the land with the long cymbal is far away from the xi, and the crown cuts the cloud of Cui Wei", so this man should belong to the Chu people.
(The figure of the man in the picture / Courtesy of Hunan Provincial Museum)
And this man holds the reins in his hand, driving a huge dragon, this dragon has a high dragon head, and a long tail, and the dragon's tail also stands a crane (also known as an egret), which looks like a boat.
At the top of the painting is the public opinion cover, three streamers blow with the wind, and a carp in the lower left corner, and the streamers of the whole painting, the clothes of the characters, and the reins held in their hands are all whisked from left to right, floating with the wind.
On the whole, this man is holding a dragon to ascend to heaven, which also reflects the romantic temperament of Chu culture, and the soul is immortal after death, and it is a wish to ascend to heaven by dragon or dragon.
(Overall white drawing of the painting / Courtesy of Hunan Provincial Museum)
This work was almost stolen by tomb robbers
"Character Royal Dragon Map" was unearthed in Changsha Bullet Kuchu Tomb No. 1, which was excavated by tomb robbers in 1942.
At that time, tomb robbers stole the national treasure-level cultural relics in the tomb, the Chu Shu Shu (also known as the "Chu Shu Shu"), and resold it, which was later lost in the United States and is now preserved in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
In 1973, the Hunan Provincial Museum set up an expert archaeological team to re-excavate the Changsha Bullet Kuchu Tomb, and in the process of excavation, a number of cultural relics such as the "Character Royal Dragon Diagram" were found.
After 31 years, why was this picture not stolen by tomb robbers at that time?
It turned out that the robbery hole stolen by the tomb robbers was only dug to the upper part of the "side box" to prevent burials, and the cultural relics in the tomb were not all stolen.
At that time, the "Figure Royal Dragon Figure" was on the partition between the rafter and the outer coffin, and it was properly preserved, so that even after more than 2,000 years, the painting could still remain intact.
As a representative of early Chinese portraiture, this painting has reached an outstanding level in terms of painting technique, coloring, and layout, and although the overall lines are simple, they are very smooth and stretched.
("Character Dragon and Phoenix Painting")
Archaeologists have called this painting, along with the "Portrait of Dragons and Phoenixes" unearthed in 1949 and also treasured in the Hunan Provincial Museum, "The Double Bi in the Art of Pre-Qin Painting", and these two are also the "only two" Warring States tomb paintings found on the mainland so far.
Because of this, these two paintings are also important historical materials related to the funeral customs of the Chu state during the Warring States period, and also reflect the romantic custom of the Chu people who believe in "being born to be a human being and becoming an immortal after death".
The sun and the moon alternate, the seasons change, and even after more than 2,000 years, the mysterious Chudi culture is still so fascinating today.