The zodiac, also known as the genus phase, the zodiac is a figurative representation of the twelve earth branches. Each zodiac sign has a rich legend, and from this it forms a system of conceptual interpretation, which has become the image philosophy in folk culture. In modern times, the zodiac is more used as the mascot of the Spring Festival.
As the Lunar New Year falls, major museums across the country have also launched zodiac-themed exhibitions, such as the Spring Festival Exhibition of the Year of the Rabbit at the Shanghai Museum, the Zodiac Culture Exhibition of the Henan Museum, the Group Exhibition of the Chinese Zodiac Cultural Relics (Pictures) of the Shanxi Museum, and the Zodiac Series Cultural Exhibition of the Liaoning Museum.
Shanghai Museum
The Shanghai Museum exhibited seven rabbit artifacts, from bronzes from the Western Zhou Dynasty to ceramics and crystals from the Tang and Song Dynasties, to jade carvings from the Qing Dynasty, these small and exquisite rabbit artifacts show the ancient people's long-term observation and love of rabbits. The cultural relics on display are not only from the collection of the Shanghai Museum, but also from the Shanxi Museum and Quzhou Museum, with a variety of varieties and rich shapes, among which the crystal rabbit was found in the Songjiang Yuanying Pagoda Underground Palace in Shanghai.
Western Zhou Tuzun, 22.2 cm high and 31.8 cm long, unearthed in 1992 in the Jin Marquis Cemetery of Beizhao Village, Quwo County, in the collection of Shanxi Museum
The rabbit statue of Western Zhou is located in the center of the Shangbo lobby and is one of the key exhibits this time. The relic was unearthed in 1992 in the Jin Marquis Cemetery M8 in Beizhao Village, Quwo County, and is now in the Shanxi Museum. Leaf-like residues have been found inside such artifacts, which may have been used to make sake or filter wine lees, indicating that the rabbit statue is believed to be an ancient wine vessel.
Western Zhou Double Rabbit Car Scale Ornament, 16.4 cm long, Shanghai Museum
Another cultural relic of the Western Zhou Dynasty is the double rabbit car scale ornament, which is well-cast, the image of the double rabbit is realistic, and the shape is vivid and lively, which is a fine product in the bronze carriage and horse ware of the Western Zhou Dynasty.
Tang dynasty white-glazed rabbit, height 9.7 cm, base diameter 7.9 cm, Shanghai Museum
In ancient China, the white rabbit was often seen as a sign of good luck, and local officials often offered it to the central government as a tribute. The ancients also associated the white rabbit with filial piety, such as the "Old Book of Tang" and the "History of Song" both recorded the story of the white rabbit, Lingzhi and other auspicious rui in the house of filial piety.
Southern Song Dynasty Qingyu Rabbit Town and Yuan Dynasty Crystal Rabbit
The Southern Song Dynasty Qingyu Rabbit paperweight at the exhibition hall was unearthed in 1974 in the joint burial tomb of Shi Shuozu and his step-chamber Yang in the tenth year of the Southern Song Dynasty, and is now stored in the Quzhou City Museum, where 38 precious cultural relics such as gold and silverware, jade, porcelain, and bronze were unearthed, reflecting the superb craftsmanship and aesthetic orientation of the Southern Song Dynasty, and also the historical epitome of the mainstream culture represented by the scholar class. The crystal rabbit of the Yuan Dynasty was unearthed in 1994 in the Yuanying Pagoda Underground Palace in Songjiang District, Shanghai. The rabbit's eyes are circle-shaped, the eyetip line extends to the left and right, the mouth is pursed, the nose, beard and four paws are outlined with thick lines carved in the dark, and the rabbit hair is carved with parallel thin and short black lines, which is highly decorative.
Henan Museum
As the most important cultural birthplace of the Chinese nation, Henan has rich zodiac cultural heritage resources, from murals to terracotta figurines, from New Year paintings to paper cutting, from jade to porcelain, and there are countless works with the theme of the Chinese zodiac. The Henan Museum selected nearly 200 sets of zodiac cultural relics and artworks in the courtyard collection to hold the Lunar New Year Zodiac Culture Exhibition, this exhibition, rich exhibits, a large span of age, from as far as the Neolithic pottery chicken, the Eastern Zhou period of the ox head ding, as well as the vivid and realistic Han Dynasty pottery dog, Tang Dynasty jade rabbit, as well as full of charm Song Dynasty porcelain pig, Ming Dynasty copper horse, Qing Dynasty jade sheep and modern woodblock prints and clay sculptures and so on.
Twelve Divine Beasts Bo Bureau Tattooed Bronze Mirror Han Dynasty
There are countless works of the Chinese zodiac in ancient artifacts and artworks, from murals to terracotta figurines, from New Year paintings to paper cuts, from jade to porcelain, the zodiac signs are everywhere. Some of its shapes are simple and simple, and some are realistic and nuanced, vividly expressing the spiritual experience of ancient artists in the animal world.
Four gods and twelve zodiac pattern bronze mirror Sui dynasty
Zodiac animal ornaments applied to copper mirror decoration began to appear in the Sui Dynasty. The ornamental pattern layout of the copper mirror of the Sui Dynasty is strictly structured, and the decoration is often arranged in sections. The main patterns are mainly supernatural beasts and zodiac animals. The motifs are usually arranged in twelve cells, with an animal pattern in each grid.
Zodiac terracotta figurines
The cultural relics with the theme of the zodiac in the tomb were more common in the Tang and Song Dynasties, and the ancients often combined the twelve zodiac signs with human life, and deified them into zodiac figurines, arranged in a certain direction in the tomb, appearing in sets and appearing individually, which is considered to be a fetish that seeks luck and protects the peace of the tomb owner. From the archaeological objects, it can be seen that the zodiac figurines appeared from the beginning of the Northern Dynasty and reached their peak in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. The shape of the zodiac signs has also differed in popular styles over time.
White-glazed brown eagle chasing rabbit pillow Jindai
Rabbits are highly fecund and are seen as a symbol of fertility, and people often express the worship of fertility through rabbit-shaped artifacts. The ancients also associated the jade rabbit medicine with images such as the Moon Palace and Chang'e running to the moon, becoming a symbol of health and longevity; In the Buddhist lectures, the rabbit, as the Buddha's life, also has important cultural connotations.
Qingyu rabbit-shaped town Tang dynasty
Sancai rabbit pillow Song Dynasty
Changshu Museum
For the first time, Changshu Museum has exhibited more than 40 paintings on zodiac themes, spanning nearly 600 years, from the Ming Dynasty to modern and contemporary times, including many excellent works.
Ming Zhou's crown Matsumei Zhitu chart axis
Collection of Changshu Museum
The golden tiger went with the year, and the jade rabbit welcomed the spring. In the traditional culture of the Chinese zodiac, rabbits are given vitality and hope because of their well-behaved and rounded appearance, which means auspicious.
Qing Maquan Dangui double rabbit chart axis
Collection of Changshu Museum
The zodiac images that appear more in traditional paintings are cow, tiger, rabbit, horse, sheep, monkey, chicken, etc., the tiger symbolizes courage and strength, mighty in all directions, jade rabbit and moon palace Chang'e accompanied, horse means loyalty, elegance and agility, sheep and xiang, monkey and hou, chicken and ji homophony, so since the Ming and Qing dynasties, Danqing famous hands frequently hook up the double rabbit diagram, eight jun diagram, five sheep diagram, horse marquis, Dajitu these auspicious themes, and widely circulated among the people.
Anon. Linleng sycamore double rabbit scroll
Collection of Changshu Museum
Ming Zhu Zhanji's "Four Seasons Good Fruit Picture" rolls a group of rats stealing the fresh fruits of the four seasons, and the color is beautiful and lifelike. The axis of "Songmeizhi Rabbit" is a fine work of Zhou Zhimian, a famous flower and bird artist and a constant acquaintance of the late Ming Dynasty, the painting is also written with a work belt, under the ancient pine and white plum, a spirit rabbit is ready to go, and it is also a scattered of narcissus, lingzhi, and lake stones, reflecting the good wishes of meeting the "spirit rabbit" and living a long life and health. The meaning of the painting is simple and elegant, and there is movement in silence, which is the so-called "momentum in the big place, spirit in the details".
Qing Pan Zan Tianxian Shuangjun Chart Axis
Collection of Changshu Museum
Shanxi Museum
The Shanxi Museum selected 13 rabbit-related cultural relics to meet the public, of which 10 cultural relics were unveiled for the first time.
Part of the mural of Shuiquan Liang Beiqi in Shuozhou, Shanxi
Collection of Shanxi Museum
Hu Fuwen wine bottle Shanxi Museum collection
The history of mainland rabbit culture has a long history, dating back to the ancient Neolithic period. In the eyes of Chinese, rabbits are the messengers of auspicious fortune from heaven, and the cultural elements that form this meaning are precipitated in historical texts and poetry works, and are highlighted in various cultural relics related to rabbits, such as jade, porcelain, bronze, paintings, etc. The ancients also regarded it as a symbol of health and longevity through the imagination of "jade rabbit pounding medicine"; He created praise idioms such as "three caves of cunning rabbits" and "moving like a rabbit" to metaphorize human intelligence and agility.
Jade Rabbit Collection of Shanxi Museum
As an important representative of traditional Chinese culture, jade has five virtues, which deeply affects the thinking and aesthetic concept of every Chinese, and rabbit is also one of the most common themes of Chinese jade. On the one hand, because rabbits have strong fecundity and are regarded as symbols of fertility, people express the worship of fertility through rabbit-shaped jade; On the other hand, the meek and gentle character of the rabbit, combined with jade, not only represents wealth and power, but also is endowed with the virtue of gentleness and benevolence, condensing the special spiritual connotation of the ancients for life.
Rabbit Zun Collection of Shanxi Museum
Rabbit-shaped copper belt hook collection of Shanxi Museum
White glazed brown rabbit-shaped lamp collection of Shanxi Museum
Yellow-green glazed rabbit pattern dish in the collection of Shanxi Museum
The ancients often incorporated the image of the rabbit into the utensils of life, hoping to bring blessings to themselves. The ancient rabbit-related utensils in the mainland can be divided into practical utensils and ornamental utensils, with rich and colorful shapes, although they rarely have the might of dragon and tiger artifacts, but they have a unique exquisite beauty. Whether it is a rabbit-shaped round carving or a rabbit-shaped ornament, it directly or indirectly reflects the social life and historical style of each era, giving people long-lasting spiritual strength.
Diamond-shaped moon palace pattern copper mirror Collection of Shanxi Museum
In many Chinese folk poems, myths and legends, rabbits often accompany the Queen Mother of the West in the image of "fairy rabbits", or live in the Moon Palace, constantly pounding the "medicine of immortality", becoming a symbol of health and longevity. In Buddhist stories, rabbits are also often used to represent the story of "Buddha's life". Through the meticulous observation of rabbits, the ancients summarized the characteristics of dexterity and agility, and at the same time, according to their living habits, they matched rabbits with rabbits, and together with "unitary chickens" formed the spatial orientation meaning of time and space interlaced in the twelve earth branches, which was included in the magnificent celestial myth. In addition, "卯" is like the shape of opening a door, so in traditional Chinese culture, it has always had the auspicious meaning of "opening the gate of heaven, rabbits welcoming all things".
Water and land paintings, ugly Yin Chen, Yuanshen Jun, all scrolls
Collection of Shanxi Museum
Liaoning Provincial Museum
Liao pottery three-color glazed rabbit pattern dish
The "Jade Rabbit Welcoming Spring - Zodiac Series Cultural Exhibition" of Liaoning Provincial Museum exhibits 39 pieces of fine rabbit cultural relics in the museum's collection, including ceramics, calligraphy and painting, bronze, carving, weaving and embroidery, currency, archaeology and other categories.
Ming porcelain blue and white rabbit pattern dish
The image of the rabbit appears in the exhibited literary items such as "gilded rabbit-shaped copper bubble", "white-glazed double rabbit lid jar", "three-color glazed rabbit pattern plate", and "blue and white rabbit pattern plate". The "rabbits" of these arts are either meticulous and meticulous, or simple and bold, or lying still, or running, flexible and lifelike.
Tang porcelain white glazed double rabbit lid jar
(This article is comprehensively compiled from The Paper, Henan Museum, Changshu Museum, Shanxi Museum, Liaoning Museum)