The qi of Fulu, the auspicious Wandai Qing Palace Kang Yongqian three dynasties gourd bottle appreciation

The Book of Verses has clouds:

"Gentle melons, the first birth of the people"

This means that the ancestors of the Chinese nation came from the melon, continued from generation to generation, and multiplied offspring. Since ancient times, the gourd has been regarded as a symbol of many children and many grandchildren, and has gradually evolved into a gourd culture, giving it more cultural connotations.

【Yuan】 Blue and white tangled branches phoenix pattern eight square gourd bottle Collection of the Palace Museum

calabash

Harmonic "Fluke"

It is a symbol of auspicious luck

Because of its many children, it is regarded as a mascot for many children and grandchildren, breeding and breeding; the gourd, as a grand vessel, is regarded as the habitat of the gods and immortals, is a symbol of the fairyland, and contains the medicine of immortality; the gourd is also regarded as a thing that avoids evil spirits and drives away evil spirits and diseases. The "Fu" culture reflected by the gourd is deeply rooted in the blood of the Chinese national culture.

As early as the Neolithic period, people made gourd-shaped pottery according to the shape of natural gourds, because it resembles the word "Ji", it is also known as "Daji Bottle", which has the beautiful meaning of Daji Dali. Sui and Tang gourd bottles are small in shape, round and simple; Song Dynasty gourd bottles are beautiful and straight. The gourd bottles of the Yuan Dynasty were fired in all the kilns, and the blue and white gourd bottles of the Jingdezhen kiln opened a new era of painted gourd bottles. In addition, the emergence of multi-prismatic gourds in the Yuan Dynasty, and its eight-sided production method changed the true form of the gourd, which was a major innovation in the shape of gourd bottles.

In the Ming Dynasty, Jingdezhen established the Royal Kiln Factory, which became the firing center of porcelain in the country, and gathered excellent ceramic craftsmen and advanced technology in the country, so that the Ming Dynasty porcelain appeared a new situation of competition. Due to the influence of Islamic culture in Central Asia and West Asia during this period, the typical style of gourd bottles in this period has undergone great changes, and instruments such as "moon bottle", "treasure moon bottle" and "flat belly ribbon ear gourd bottle" have become popular.

【Ming Xuande】 Blue and white wheel flower flat belly ribbon ear gourd bottle Collection of the Palace Museum

In the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the traditional ceramic gourd bottle style was revived, and by the Jiajing and Wanli periods, the emperor was obsessed with Taoism and began to appear "above the circle and below" gourd bottles, such as four-sided and six-sided gourd bottles. During the Ming Jiajing and Wanli periods, due to the emperor's obsession with Taoism, the gourd bottle reached an unprecedented degree of prosperity, not only in number, but also extremely complex in shape.

【Ming Jiajing】 Blue flower blossom light eight immortals figure gourd bottle collection of the Palace Museum

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the production of gourd bottles began to fade significantly, and the shape of gourd bottles was dominated by long-necked open-mouthed, and the shape was extremely graceful and regular, and this long-necked gourd bottle had a great influence on the gourd bottles in the early Qing Dynasty.

The Jingdezhen porcelain industry in the Qing Dynasty has developed by leaps and bounds on the basis of the Ming Dynasty, "in the past, there were only three hundred kilns in Jingdezhen, but now the number of kilns has reached three thousand." The qing dynasty implemented the system of supervising pottery officials, and the famous "Zang kiln", "Lang kiln", "Nian kiln" and "Tang kiln" were the golden age of the development of Porcelain in the Qing Dynasty, and also laid a solid foundation for the development of gourd bottles.

【Qingqianlong model】 Pastel flower gourd bottle Shenyang Palace Museum collection

In addition to the continued firing of the existing crafts and varieties of Porcelain in the Ming Dynasty, many new varieties of color glaze were created, such as pastel, enamel, underglaze, ink, gold glaze, sky blue glaze, coral red, pine green glaze and carmine glaze.

In addition, in terms of ornamentation, the Qing Dynasty inherited the late Ming "Fu", "Shou", "Shoushan Fuhai", "Bailu", "Baihe", "Yunli Baifu", etc., and also added the words "Shou", "Cloud Bat Shou Character", "Double Dragon Troupe Shou", "Cloud Bat", "Gua Wan Mian Mian" and so on. The ornamental themes of the Qing Dynasty entered a stage of comprehensive development, and auspicious motifs were widely popular.

【Qing】 Pastel Daji gourd wall bottle Shenyang Palace Museum collection

"The picture must be intentional, the meaning must be auspicious"

It became a distinctive feature in the ceramic decoration of the Qing Dynasty.

And as the instrument of "Fluke",

Gourd bottle

In the context of the Qing Dynasty ornamental theme

Got better development.

In addition, the aesthetic fashion of the emperors of the Qing Dynasty was also an important reason for the development of gourd bottles in the Qing Dynasty. The Imperial Kiln Factory in Jingdezhen is a ceramic production institution specially set up for the needs of the emperor, and the production of official kiln porcelain is to meet the living and aesthetic needs of the emperor and the nobility, reflecting the will of the ruling class. The Kangxi Emperor established the national policy of "revering Confucianism and emphasizing the Tao", and gradually absorbed the way of life, language and culture, and social system of Han culture, which laid the ideological and cultural foundation for the prosperity of the Qing Dynasty.

【Qingqianlong model】 Pink and blue glaze three-hole siamese gourd bottle Shenyang Palace Museum collection

Ideologically, the Kangxi Emperor and the Qianlong Emperor both believed in the Infinite Life Buddha, while the Yongzheng Emperor revered Taoism, and the gourd, as an iconic representative of Buddhism and Taoism, under the influence of the national policy of "reverence for Confucianism and Heavy Taoism", a large number of gourds emerged in the Qing Dynasty and reached the extreme.

Moreover, from the Qianlong period onwards, the gourd bottle was an indispensable tribute to the Emperor's Longevity Festival, which undoubtedly promoted the production of the Qing Palace gourd bottle. Qing Dynasty gourd bottles almost include all the glazed varieties at that time, and their varieties and output are far greater than those of the previous dynasty, and the level of craftsmanship of gourd bottles is constantly improving, and the varieties and styles are more abundant.

【Qingju Yutang style】 Azure glazed blue and white gourd bottle Shenyang Palace Museum collection

【Qing Kangxi】 Multicolored tangled lotus gourd bottle collection of the Palace Museum

The gourd vases of the Kangxi period are mainly blue and colorful, and the large gourd vases still retain the rustic styling characteristics of the Ming Dynasty, which are tall and magnificent. Small utensils, mostly export porcelain, the upper and lower widths are contrasted, the upper and lower parts are slender and straight, the lower half is thick and round, the bottle mouth is thin and long, and the waist is obviously concave.

【Qing Yongzheng】 Blue and white tangled branches lotus pattern gourd bottle collection of the Palace Museum

【Qing Yongzheng model】 Doucai squirrel grape pattern gourd bottle collection of the Palace Museum

The porcelain of the Yongzheng period is rich in shape, elegant and simple in style. The beauty of its vessel shape can be compared with the Ming Yongle and Chenghua porcelain, which are known for their "fine and beautiful", and the proportions of each part of the vessel shape are coordinated and just right, so Yongzheng porcelain has the reputation of "line beauty". Yongzheng gourd bottles are diverse, and their shape changes from the stiff straight contours of the Kangxi period, all of which use soft curves, and the style is subtle and natural, and the form is vivid.

【Qingqianlong model】 Blue and white two dragon tuan shou character double belt flat gourd bottle Shenyang Palace Museum collection

【Qianlong model of the Qing Dynasty】 Anti-porcelain carved cloud dragon pattern gourd bottle Shenyang Palace Museum collection

In the Qianlong period, the decorative characteristics of the gourd bottles were full, solid, dense and complex, and the ornamental layout was full and strong, and the ornamental shape was tight and complex, showing the luxurious and elegant atmosphere of this period. In addition to traditional themes, the ornaments are mostly pictures of the auspicious meaning of Fulu Shou.