"Luozi Dai", "Heavenly Ethereal", "Moon White", "Fei Red", "Goose Yellow", "Twilight Purple", "Azure Blue", behind the simple words, there is poetry. Yan Ziyan Hong, Green Brick Dewa, Wan Zi Qianhong... Behind the color, there is an oriental aesthetic and ancient wisdom that has been passed down for thousands of years. Mapping each color to the cultural relics makes people sigh "so beautiful". In this issue, we take you into the Gansu Provincial Museum, looking for the color world of cultural relics and feeling how beautiful traditional colors are.
"Color" is color. But the meaning of the word "color" in ancient China was not exactly the same as it is today, and originally only referred to the color of the face. "Chu Ci Fisher Father" has "haggard color", and "Say Wen Xie Zi" says: "Yan, between the eyebrows; Color, face also. Duan Yuzhi's annotation is: "The color of shame, joy and sorrow", because "the heart reaches the qi, and the qi reaches the eyebrows", which shows that the original "color" refers to the color of the face, not the color of all things.
Until the Tang Dynasty, "color" had a meaning to refer to the color of nature. For example, the Tang Dynasty poet Du Fu wrote in his poem "Flower Bottom": "Knowing good colors, do not make mud and sand." The idiom "colorful" also reflects this meaning of "color". During the Yellow Emperor period around 5000 BC, monochrome worship was chosen. After the Yellow Emperor, through the Shang, Tang, Zhou and Qin dynasties, the emperors according to the "Yin and Yang Five Elements" doctrine, the order of the five elements is water, fire, wood, metal, and earth, corresponding to the five colors of black, red, blue, white and yellow, as symbols. Because the ancient Chinese believed that the five elements are the five elements that produce the origin of all natural things, the source of all things is the same, and color is no exception. Therefore, the five colors of black, red, blue, white and yellow can also be said to be "Chinese colors".
red
Red is the favorite color of the Chinese nation, representing festivity, bustle and peace. From ancient times to the present, red has been widely used. A touch of Chinese red, drunk countless people, it is the palace wall of the Forbidden City, and the wedding clothes, it is the color of royal and common people's appreciation, it is also the "ordinary" color that surrounds us. Red can be found in artifacts, porcelain, architecture, and every corner of life. Of course, you can also wear it and dress it up.
·“ A thousand kilns and a treasure "glaze red."
▲Glazed red goblet is stored in the Gansu Provincial Museum
Glazed red goblet, Yuan Dynasty, Zhangxian Wang Shixian family tomb unearthed. The upper part of the cup is bowl-shaped, with flared high feet, and the handle is decorated with bamboo-shaped decoration. The whole body is applied with blue and white glaze, and the abdomen side is decorated with red spots in the glaze, and the color is bright and pure.
Glaze red is an underglaze color process that uses copper oxide as a colorant, paints patterns on porcelain tires, applies transparent glaze, and fires at one time in a high-temperature reducing flame atmosphere. Because the red color is under the glaze, hence the name. This craft began in the Yuan Dynasty and was extremely rare at the time. "Jingdezhen Taolu" said, "Glaze red, kiln color also, a thousand kilns and a treasure." "Copper red raw materials are extremely unstable in the firing process, and the requirements for the firing environment are extremely high, and in the Yuan Dynasty without temperature control equipment, the production cost and scrap rate can be imagined. Therefore, glaze red is also known as the "nobility of porcelain". This glazed red goblet collected by the Gansu Provincial Museum, the glaze color is lustrous and smooth, the color is bright and pure, and the whole vessel is like a delicate flower, which can be called the representative work of glaze red in the Yuan Dynasty.
・Red silk "tunshu map"
▲Tunshu character map is in the Gansu Provincial Museum
Tunshu character picture silk bottom flat embroidery, Western Han, Wuwei City Mozuizi tomb group unearthed. The embroidery is 7.5 cm square, red silk, and embroidered with silk thread of silk, light green, light yellow and black. In the picture, the two main embroidered figures stand opposite each other, as if in dialogue. Between the two seems to be a camp gate, surrounded by shields and halberds. There are still traces of ink lines on the red silk base, which have not yet been fully completed, and experts speculate that this embroidery may be the work of a beginner embroiderer.
During the reign of Emperor Wudi of Han, "the hussar generals broke through the right land of the Xiongnu, surrendered the evil spirits, and slaughtered the king, and emptied the land" and began large-scale development of the Hexi Corridor. Emperor Wudi of Han listed four counties (Jiuquan, Wuwei, Zhangye, and Dunhuang), according to the two passes (Yumen Pass and Yangguan combined), immigrated to Shibian, created a tuntian system, and cultivated and slaughtered.
This embroidery depicts the camp gate, shield, halberd, and a talking official, and is a realistic work about the life of the Tunshu in the Hexi military camp in the Han Dynasty.
white
"Shiro, Keiya. Like water when it starts". The ice-clear, clear water gurgles out of the spring, which is white and clean. White, the "colorless color", is also a brilliant baseplate. Most of the color names of the white system are related to the scenery, including moon white, grass white, jade color, frost color, green onion white, silver white, oriental white, etc. White has a polysemy in the ancient color concept of the continent. The "Five Elements" say that white corresponds to gold, proving that the ancients felt that white symbolizes light, and includes it in the right color, indicating the essence of purity, light, and abundance.
Crystal warm white jade cicada
▲Jade cicada is stored in the Gansu Provincial Museum
Jade cicada, Han Dynasty, Wuwei City Mozuizi Han tomb unearthed. The body is flat, the head of the cicada is wide, the pointed beak, the eyes are round, the wings are extended, the two sides are engraved with the cicada head, body, wings, feet and other parts, and the mouth has a circular perforation. The jade cicada has a simple but vivid shape, and the carving technique is refined, which can be called a model of "Han Eight Dao".
Jade, since ancient times, has been loved by Chinese, the ancients wore it on the body, "the gentleman has no reason, the jade does not go away, the gentleman is better than the jade in the jade", and buried with jade, in order to achieve the role of the body is not rotten. The cicada was a mysterious and holy spirit in the minds of ancient ancestors. The "History of Qu Yuanlie" recorded: "Cicadas degenerate in turbidity, floating outside the dust, and not getting the dirt of the world." The larvae of cicadas live in the soil before molting, and after metamorphosis, they transform into adults that are completely different from the larvae, fly to tall trees, and drink only dew.
The ancients believed that cicadas drink dew without eating, perch high on branches, and float in dust, with high quality, and their wonderful life process is like feathering rebirth. Therefore, on the one hand, the ancients wore jade cicadas around their waists or crowns to show their identity or character; On the other hand, jade cicadas are used as part of burial jade. The jade contained in the mouth of the deceased in the Han Dynasty was called jade, mostly cicada-shaped, which contained the beautiful meaning of hoping that the deceased would be resurrected like a cicada and the soul would continue.
Silver-like porcelain pot
▲Gongxian kiln white glazed porcelain pot is stored in the Gansu Provincial Museum
Gongxian kiln white-glazed porcelain pot, Tang Dynasty, Wuwei City Honghua Princess tomb unearthed. The body is only applied with white glaze, and the overall shape is regular and full, showing the graceful and generous Tang atmosphere.
Located in Gong County, Henan Province, Gongxian Kiln is an important porcelain kiln in the Tang Dynasty, mainly producing white porcelain, black porcelain, stranded tires, Tang Sancai and yellow, green, blue and other monochrome glazed pottery. The bulk of its production is tea vessels for folk use, and white porcelain is a tribute because of its exquisite production. This white-glazed porcelain pot was unearthed in the tomb of Princess Honghua in Wuwei City, a courtesan of Tang Dynasty, born in the fifth year of Tang Gaozu Wude (622), and was the first princess of the Tang Dynasty.
At the age of 18, she married Murong Nuo Xiaozhao, the leader of Tuyuhun, and at the age of 41, she encountered Tuyuhun and was destroyed by Tubo, and has lived a life of displacement ever since. He died of illness at the age of 76 in Lingzhou (around present-day Tongxin County, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region), and was later buried in Liangzhou (present-day Wuwei, Gansu Province).
cyan
"Qing, Shengye, elephant creatures are born when they are colored." Spring comes to recover, new shoots spit green, and there is a sense of "birth". Green, take the elephant of spring grass and greenery. Among the "five square colors", green is regarded as the most natural color. From the green of the grass, to the blue of the blue sky, to the black of the green silk and even the purple gray, it can be called green. Cyan symbolizes strength, hope, simplicity and solemnity, and traditional objects and clothing often use cyan.
・The town tomb god beast copper beast
▲Copper unicorn is in the Gansu Provincial Museum
Copper unicorn, Wei Jin, unearthed in 1956 in Jiuquan Xiahe Qing M18. Fan casting, the front leg is supported obliquely, the back leg is bowed and pedaled, the head is low, the neck is bowed, the jaw and chest, the ears are like a bamboo chip, the unicorn is like a sword, the flat tail is upturned, and the whole body is decorated with fine lines and cloud patterns to symbolize the hair, and the action of striving forward is extremely vivid and expressive.
This unicorn's real name is "廌", also known as "Xie Diao" or "Li Pig". This kind of mythical beast is like an ox and a small one is like a sheep, with a horn on its head, and can judge prison lawsuits and distinguish evil people, so it has been regarded as a symbol of judicial justice since ancient times. The virtue of the divine beast is gradually extended by people to ward off evil spirits, so that its image is either wooden or bronze cast, and it is placed near the tomb door as a tomb beast. This bronze beast was unearthed at the front of the tomb's front room, with its head facing out the door, and it conveyed the simple wish that the unicorn would protect the tomb owner's peace underground.
Bronze Ding, a heavy instrument of ceremony
▲Bronze Ding is in the Gansu Provincial Museum
Hui bronze ding, Western Zhou, unearthed in 1972 in Dongshan Village, Lingtai County. Thick square ears, deep drum belly, round bottom, three thick hooves and feet, the upper abdomen has six five-tooth short ribs divided into equal circumference, with the rib as the nose ridge, decorated with six groups of animal face patterns, fine cloud thunder patterns as the ground, and the main pattern is decorated with hook patterns, forming a three-layer pattern common on precious bronzes at that time. The inlet of the inner abdominal wall is along the Yin script casting family emblem "". This majestic and solemn, magnificent, well-crafted, mysterious and magnificent ornamentation is the largest bronze in Gansu Province so far, and the era should be in the early Western Zhou Dynasty.
Yellow
"Shi Name" Yun: "Huang, Akira." "Akira, it means light. Yellow, take the dazzling image of the sun. "Huang, neutral and beautiful, Huang Chengtiande, the most prosperous and pure, so it is overflowing with respectful color." "Yellow" and "emperor" are homonymous, yellow was the emperor's royal color in many eras, and the most noble among the five colors.
Three dogs button cover Tao Fang Ding
▲Three Dogs Button Gai Tao Fangding is in the Gansu Provincial Museum
Siba culture (3900-3400 years ago), unearthed at the site of Huoyaogou in Yumen City. The cover button is the image of three dogs standing side by side, with three dogs with small ears standing upright, eyes round, small mouths slightly open, and tails clamped and drooping, as if to be vigilant. Fang Ding originally painted a dark gray mesh belt pattern, and has a sense of bulge, which has now mostly fallen off.
The distribution of Siba culture extends from Shandan in the east to Hami in Xinjiang in the west, and its inherent unique location advantages have contributed significantly to the promotion of trade and cultural exchanges and exchanges between the East and the West, and a large number of cultural relics unearthed from the Siba cultural site also have the influence factors of two-way interactive transmission of Eastern and Western cultures. This faience square with an animal figure with the characteristics of three three-dimensional dogs in relief, whose artistic creation ideas come from the Eurasian steppe region, is one of the iconic physical evidence about the germination and development of the early Silk Road.
Orange yellow pottery painted salamander pattern
▲Salamander pattern faience vase is in the Gansu Provincial Museum
Salamander pattern faience vase, late Yangshao culture (about 5200 years ago), unearthed in Gangu County. Argillaceous orange-yellow pottery with black painted salamander pattern on the belly of the vase. The salamander's face resembles a human face, its eyes are round, its teeth are bared, its long zigzagging body is connected end to end, and its limbs and claws stick out from both sides of its body. The composition of the object is vivid, showing the unique charm and mysterious artistic conception of faience art. The Gangu area where this salamander-patterned faience vase was found is located in the Wei River Valley, where prehistoric sites are densely distributed and is one of the birthplaces of the Chinese nation. The image of salamander on the faience bottle may be a realistic representation of the true appearance of salamander by the ancestors at that time. Some experts believe that the image of this salamander has a certain mysterious color, which is consistent with the appearance of Fuxi recorded in historical books. Some experts believe that the image of the salamander on this faience bottle may be the image of the original dragon. The salamander pattern on the faience bottle is given a human color, expressing the idea of the unity of man and god of the ancestors, and is a symbolic representative work in Chinese painted pottery.
black
"Black, obscurity. Such as obscure times also. "Black is the color of no light, and at the same time the color of fire. Black, as the positive color of the north, is the most primitive color perception of human beings in the obscurantism period. The brilliance is flat. Black is as deep as night and is the end point of all colors. "Xuan in the Xuan, the Gate of All Wonders", Xuan is the so-called black, which is the color that transcends the world of flowers.
·“ Liangzhou Dama "out of Hexi."
▲Painted Trojan Horse is in the Gansu Provincial Museum
Painted wooden horse, Han Dynasty, Wuwei City Mozuizi Han tomb unearthed. Carved from pine wood, the shape is tall, the whole body is blackened, the mouth is neighing, the eyes, nose and lips are carved out with a knife, the saddle and the mud are carved together with the horse's back, and the base is painted with white powder, and the cloud pattern is outlined in black. The overall shape is majestic and simple, vivid and expressive.
During the reign of Emperor Wudi of Han, he expelled the Xiongnu forces from the west of Yumen Pass, set up four counties, migrated people, and reclaimed pastoral grazing in the border areas, and the Hexi region prospered in agriculture and animal husbandry and economic development. "At that time, the Western Han government had been fighting large-scale wars against the Xiongnu for a long time, resulting in a great shortage of horses for important war supplies. Therefore, Emperor Wudi of Han attached great importance to the improvement of horses, and in 119 AD, Zhang Qian obtained dozens of good horses when he sent an envoy to Wusun State, and later sent Li Guangli troops to attack the Dawan Kingdom, and obtained 3,000 BMWs, known as "Tianma". The introduction of good stallions opened up a new situation for the improvement of horse breeds in the northwest region, and finally bred a new horse breed with moderate height, strong bones and muscles, and both strength and speed, which was suitable for both riding and riding, which greatly strengthened the armament of the Han Dynasty. Through this Han Dynasty painted wooden horse, we can see the grace of the Han Dynasty horse.
The beauty of Chinese colors is "the beauty that never fades", embodying the wisdom of the ancient body to observe all things, and carrying people's unique emotional expression. Different colors, different wonderful, are waiting for us to enjoy and explore. (End)