Art on the Eaves: Wadang since the Qin and Han Dynasties, look at the thousand-year history of Lingnan

The ruins of the Nanyue State Palace in Guangzhou have been the political center of Lingnan for more than 2,000 years. Since 1995, large building sites from different periods have been cleared here, and a large number of tiles from the Qin, Han and Ming dynasties have been excavated.

The Surging News learned that the "Small Wadang Big World - Special Exhibition of Wadang Excavated from the Ruins of the South Vietnamese State Palace" was recently launched in the royal palace exhibition area of the Nanyue King Museum in Guangzhou. The exhibition is a phased result of the collation and research of archaeological data at the site of the National Palace Department of South Vietnam, and more than 100 pieces of tiles excavated at the site are selected. They have witnessed the development of Lingnan culture and integrated into the Chinese civilization system, and also reflect the uninterrupted urban scene of Guangzhou for more than 2,000 years.

The exhibits cover cloud pattern tiles, text tiles, animal face tiles, lotus pattern tiles and other types, through the "beauty of rafters", "the same wind", "majestic royal residence", "lotus full blooming" and "living and working in peace" five units, leading the audience into the ancient Guangzhou wadang world, appreciate the style of Lingnan eaves in various historical periods.

Exhibition site

Wadang, commonly known as tile head, barrel tile head, is the ancient architectural eaves barrel tile front end of the shield, but also a unique component of the Chinese architectural system, playing a role in protecting the rafters from wind and rain and beautifying the appearance of the building, known as the ancient Chinese "art on the eaves". For thousands of years, they have been silent on the rafters, shielding them from the wind and rain for thousands of years, telling the ancient people's attachment to home. The patterns, characters and other decorations on the tiles place people's beautiful expectations on life.

Ancient architectural cornice line diagram

The world is one thousand miles and the same wind

Archaeological excavations have shown that wadang appeared no later than the middle and late Western Zhou Dynasty, and so far it can be confirmed that the earliest wadang in China was found in the Zhouyuan site of Qishan Mountain in Fufeng, Shaanxi, and the wadang became a component of large buildings in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty and developed rapidly. The emergence and use of wadang in the Lingnan region began in the Qin Dynasty.

In 214 BC, Qin unified Lingnan and then set up the three counties of Guilin, Nanhai and Xiang county, and since then, the Lingnan region has been officially incorporated into the big family of the Chinese nation. During the Qin and Han Dynasties, the tile-roofed civil steadbed buildings in the northern Central Plains were introduced to Lingnan, and the building materials in Lingnan also developed from the original bamboo and thatch to bricks and tiles. In Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian and other places found in the Qin and Han architectural sites unearthed a large number of building materials including wadang, cloud pattern is the most common face decoration of wadang, the shape, production method, ornamentation and other tiles in the Central Plains are almost the same, the emergence of the world as one, the same wind, witnessing the development of Lingnan culture and integration into the Chinese civilization system of the process.

Qin Dynasty cloud pattern wadang

Exhibition site Tang Dynasty bronze Buddha statue

Cinnabar glass Wei wei wang residence

The site of the Nanyue National Palace Is located in the core area of the royal palace of the capital of the Nanyue And Southern Han Dynasties, and its overall layout of the palace is regular, the building site is grand, and the building materials are exquisite. The cinnabar "Long Live" script tiles unearthed from the Nanyue King's Palace and the glazed tiles of various colors unearthed from the Southern Han King's Palace reflect the majesty of the royal power.

At the end of the Qin Dynasty and the beginning of the Han Dynasty, the former Qin general Zhao Tuo established the State of South Vietnam in Lingnan, with Panyu (present-day Guangzhou) as its capital. At present, a number of palace building sites have been excavated, and pottery stamped with characters such as "Weiyang" and "Huayin Palace" and "Long Live" character wadang have been excavated.

The South Vietnamese "Long Live" character Wadang on display at the exhibition site

At the beginning of the Han Dynasty, the Central Plains began to popularize the script Wadang, the content of the text is complex and changeable, in addition to the common praise words, there are place names, chronicles, and chronicles. The text wadang of the ruins of the Nanyue State Palace Office first appeared in the middle and late Period of the South Vietnamese Kingdom, the content is relatively simple, basically the word "long live", but the text style is rich and changeable, and some even have the rhyme of the bird and insect book, reflecting distinct local characteristics. In addition, when the "Long Live" script Wadang was excavated, there were many remnants of cinnabar, reflecting that during the Qin and Han Dynasties, the emperor's palace was honored with red, and gradually formed a system.

South Vietnamese "Long live" text Wadang

The South Vietnamese kingdom is painted with zhu "long live" character wadang

In the fifth dynasty of the late Tang Dynasty, the former Qing Navy made Liu Yan establish the Southern Han Dynasty in Lingnan, and the capital city of Guangzhou was the Xingwang Palace, using glazed tiles to reflect the identity of the royal family.

Southern Han No. 2 Palace Zhaoyang Hall imaginary restoration renderings

Architectural glass was widely used in ancient mainland china for buildings such as palaces, mausoleums and royal temples, and was a symbol of imperial power. Due to technical limitations, in the early Southern Han Dynasty, there were only cyan and green glazing. In the late Southern Han Dynasty, yellow glass was successfully fired, which made the color of the palace building more abundant and particularly noble. In addition, the Southern Han Dynasty also used many double phoenix pattern tiles, symbolizing royal power. The phoenix bird is a common decorative theme on ancient utensils, since the Sui and Tang dynasties, the phoenix pattern has become a symbol of the dynasty, and it is strictly forbidden to use it outside the court.

Southern Han blue glaze double phoenix pattern tile

Southern Han blue glaze animal face pattern tile

Little Wadang The History of the Millennium City

The ruins of the Nanyue State Palace Office are not only the seat of the Nanyue King's Palace and the Southern Han King's Palace, but also the seat of the Qin and Han Commandery, the Six Dynasties Office, the Sui and Tang Dynasties Metropolis, the Song and Yuan Governor's Palace, and the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and has been the political center of Lingnan for more than 2,000 years. Since 1995, large building sites from different periods have been cleared here, and a large number of tiles from the Qin and Han dynasties to the Ming and Qing dynasties have been excavated, reflecting the uninterrupted urban scene of Guangzhou for more than 2,000 years. Just as every era has its own trends, they bear witness to the changes in history.

Buddhism was introduced to China during the two Han Dynasties, and the Eastern Jin Dynasty gradually rose to its peak during the Sui and Tang dynasties. After the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the lotus flower, which was a Buddhist sacred relic, gradually replaced the cloud pattern as the mainstream ornament of wadang. The Lingnan region is the place where Buddhism flourished, and a large number of cultural relics such as lotus pattern tiles, lotus pattern bricks, and lotus pattern celadons since the Eastern Jin Dynasty have been excavated from the site of the National Palace Of South Vietnam, which is an important empirical evidence of the prosperity of Buddhist beliefs in ancient Guangzhou.

The Southern Dynasty lotus pattern tile on display at the exhibition site

Southern facing lotus pattern wadang

In the Song Dynasty, the society was stable, the economy was developed, the mind was open, the literati and scholars emerged, and the flower pattern began to become the main theme of the wadang ornament, and it was also one of the major sects of wadang excavated from the ruins of the South Yue State Palace Office since the Song Dynasty. There are various types of face decoration, including lotus flowers with ice and jade, beautiful and elegant chrysanthemums, graceful and luxurious peonies, and clusters of flowers surrounded by fangs, etc., which together present the vigorous and vibrant life style of Guangzhou since the Song Dynasty. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, floral tiles continued to develop, with more elaborate ornamentation and richer layers, and the size of the tiles became smaller and smaller.

Song Dynasty tangled branches floral pattern tiles

Wadang is an important historical and cultural carrier of ancient Chinese cities, containing colorful cultural connotations. The wadang excavated from the ruins of the National Palace Of South Vietnam is an important physical witness to the more than 2,200 years of history of Guangzhou's founding and as the political, economic and cultural center of the Lingnan region.

Exhibition posters

Exhibition Title: "Little Wadang Big World - Special Exhibition of Wadang Excavated from the Ruins of the National Palace of South Vietnam"

Exhibition time: March 31 - October 12

Exhibition Venue: Museum of the King of Nanyue (Palace Exhibition Area)

(The pictures and texts of this article are synthesized from the Museum of the King of South Vietnam, Cultural Tourism China, etc.)