Little Wadang Big World

This article is transferred from: Yangcheng Evening News

Text/Yangcheng Evening News reporter Huang Zhouhui Correspondent Liang Yanping Photo/Provided by the interviewee (except by signature)

Recently, the "Small Wadang Big World - South VietnamEse Palace Office Site Excavation Of Wadang Special Exhibition" sponsored by the Nanyue King Museum is being exhibited in the royal palace exhibition area of the hospital, a total of more than 100 pieces have been selected to be excavated at the site, from the Qin and Han Dynasties to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the exhibits cover cloud pattern tiles, text tiles, animal face tiles, lotus pattern tiles and other types.

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, Wadang has faithfully waited on the rafters, shielded from the wind and rain of thousands of years, and told the ancient people's attachment to home. The patterns, characters and other decorations on the tiles place people's yearning and expectations for a better life.

Archaeological excavations have shown that wadang appeared no later than the middle and late Western Zhou Dynasty, and so far it is certain that the earliest Wadang in China was found at the Zhouyuan site in Qishan, Fufeng, Shaanxi. The lingnan region appeared and used wadang from the Qin Dynasty. A large number of building materials, including wadang, have been excavated from the Qin and Han architectural sites found in Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian and other places, and the shape, production method, ornamentation, etc. of these tiles are almost the same as those of the tiles in the Central Plains.

The site of the Nanyue National Palace Office is located in the core area of the royal palace of the capital of the South Yue Kingdom and the Southern Han Dynasty, and a number of palace building sites have been excavated, and pottery stamped with words such as "Weiyang" and "Huayin Palace" and "Long Live" character wadang have been excavated. According to archaeological experts, the text wadang of the site of the Nanyue State Palace Department first appeared in the middle and late period of the South Vietnamese State, and the content was relatively simple, basically the word "long live".

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 Counties, 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. According to the organizers, since 1995, large-scale 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.

Archaeologists believe that the tiles unearthed from the site of the National Palace of South Vietnam are an important physical witness of guangzhou's more than 2,200 years of history and as the political, economic and cultural center of the Lingnan region, and are also an important empirical evidence of the integration of the Lingnan region into a multi-ethnic unified country.

The exhibition will be on display until October 12, 2022, through the five units of "The Beauty of rafters", "The Same Wind", "Majestic Royal Residence", "Lotus Blossoming" and "Living and Working in Peace", leading the audience into the world of Wadang in ancient Guangzhou and appreciating the style of the ancient eaves of Lingnan in various historical periods.

Appreciation of cultural relics

I. "Long Live" Character Wadang (South Vietnam)

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 the palaces of the emperors in the Qin and Han Dynasties were honored with red and gradually formed a system.

II. Lotus Pattern Wadang (Southern Dynasty)

Clay pottery with a soft texture. Beware of the lotus room is a circular boss, the interior of the 8 lotus seeds, the lotus room around the outside of the 8 double petal treasure lotus, outward decoration of a week of string pattern, joint bead pattern, curly grass pattern, string pattern and joint bead pattern and so on.

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.

3. Blue glazed animal face pattern wadang (Southern Han Dynasty)

Blue-gray tires with firm tire quality. The face is molded with a semi-embossed animal face, with eyes and vertical eyes, long eyebrows and ears, double horns standing, protruding cheekbones on the nose, wide-mouthed fangs, tongue rings, two outer circumferences of strings and beads. The surface is glazed with high temperature. The use of animal face patterns to decorate utensils has a long history, such as the gluttonous patterns on Shang Zhou bronzes, which give people a mysterious and majestic feeling, and can also highlight the majesty of the royal power.

IV. Lotus Pond Mandarin Duck Pattern Wadang (Southern Han Dynasty)

Lotus pond mandarin duck pattern, also known as "Mandarin duck play lotus pattern", "Mandarin duck lying lotus pattern", is a common ornament in the traditional handicrafts of the mainland, belonging to the theme of flowers and birds, common in porcelain, silk fabrics, gold and silverware. The lotus pond pattern and the mandarin duck pattern are the two basic elements that make up the lotus pond mandarin duck pattern. In the past, it was generally believed that this kind of ornament began to appear in the Yuan Dynasty, and the discovery of wadang related to the Southern Han Royal Palace advanced the appearance of the ornament by hundreds of years.

5. Blue glazed double phoenix pattern wadang (Southern Han Dynasty)

The Southern Han Dynasty used many double phoenix tiles to symbolize royal power. The phoenix is a common decorative motif on ancient artifacts. 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. The Emperor of the Southern Han Dynasty attached great importance to the "auspicious" meaning of the phoenix divine bird, and the place where Gao zu was captured was Yifenglou, that is, the meaning of taking the sage education to make the sacred bird return.

6. Tangled branches and floral pattern tiles (Song Dynasty)

In the Song Dynasty, the society was stable, the economy was developed, the mind was open, and the literati and scholars emerged, and the floral 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. 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.

VII. Folded Branches Passionflower Pattern Wadang (Ming)

Sandwich fine sand yellow white pottery, slightly residual. On the side of the face ornament, the folded branches of the passionflower are interspersed with curly vine branches and leaves, and the outer circle is surrounded by two strings and a continuous swastika.