Qingyongzheng pastel goldfish algae picture wash, collection of the Palace Museum
Where there are rivers, there are fish. The fifth generation of Li Xun has a word cloud: "Water is the township, pong is a house, fish soup and rice are also eaten." Perhaps "fish soup rice" requires ceramic pots, pots, bowls, and plates, so ceramics and fish patterns are closely related. The kiln workers used painting, carving, pasting, molding, etc., to reproduce colorful fish patterns on ceramics, depicting the free and flexible beauty of fish. In this way, fish and ceramics form a distant and long cultural charm. The homophony of fish is also interpreted into rich and auspicious meanings such as fish leaping over the dragon gate, more than every year, more than rich, and more than auspicious. People can not only enjoy the fun and deliciousness brought by fish in the process of watching, fishing and cooking, but also taste the perception and interest brought by fish from ancient ceramics.
Park Humble Myoman: Fish patterns on prehistoric pottery
Ornamentation is not just a decoration. Just like the primitive ornaments painted by the ancients, it is likely to be the mark or emblem of a primitive tribe. The earliest fish ornaments on the mainland appeared on pottery unearthed from prehistoric cultural sites in the Yellow River Basin and the Yangtze River Basin.
Yangshao culture fish stork pattern red clay vat
The site of Yangshao Village culture (about 5000-3000 BC) in Yuchi County, Sanmenxia City, Henan Province, is mainly distributed in Hebei, Shaanxi, Gansu and Ningxia. (Note: The archaeological community generally names a site of an ancient culture type after the place where it was found.) The Yangshao culture is named after the discovery in a place called Yangshao Village in Henan Province. On the pottery of the Yangshao culture type, people have found a variety of ornaments, and the fish pattern is a more typical one. Among them, there are artistic expressions with black colors on a red background, geometric shapes, and freehand abstraction, and fish patterns are painted on the inside and outside walls of the clay pot. For example, a human-faced fish-patterned basin unearthed at the Banpo site in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province (about 6000-6700 years ago), with ochre brown and red pottery on the body and black painted human face fish patterns on the inner wall of the basin. The fish has a long triangular shape with a short head and a long tail. The surrounding fish pattern is symmetrically distributed, which is a combination of the humanoid sun and the fish, which is expressed in the form of a totem symbol symbolizing tribal groups. Yangshao culture expresses a wealth of fish patterns, as well as fish head people, bird fish, salamander patterns and so on. And look at a Yancun type red clay jar belonging to the middle Yangshao culture (about 4500 BC) unearthed in Linru County, Henan Province, with a standing white stork depicted in black lines on the abdomen of the tank, a fish with a beak, and white color inside. White storks, fish, and stone axes construct a figurative picture, simple, vivid, interesting, and meaningfully describe the vivid life between the people and nature at that time. Other cultures such as Majiayao also have human face fish patterns. The fish algae pattern depicted on a black pottery pot excavated from the site of the Yuyao Hemudu culture (circa 5000 BC) in Yuyao Province, Zhejiang Province in the Yangtze River Basin region has childish lines, unlike the soothing, romantic and infectious painted patterns of northern ethnic groups. The black pottery of the Liangzhu culture in Yuhang (circa 3300 BC) in northern Zhejiang is even more unique, and it depicts a clear and complete fishbone pattern with thin lines. What is this portrayal trying to express? Do not portray a perfect fish, but portray a fish bone with thorns, is it to say that the fish is delicious, and the harm caused by fish bones to people? Or was the tank once raised fish, and after death, the complete fish bones appeared? We don't know. There is also a marl pottery pot unearthed in the middle (2600 BC) tomb of the Gaotai Liangzhu culture in Fuquan Mountain, Qingpu, Shanghai, with continuous fish patterns engraved on the four spoons and a ring-shaped bottom, and water ripples depicted in the center of the bottom, as if the entire basin was surrounded by fish and water, full of flexible beauty.
Yangshao cultural faience fish pattern basin
Fish leaping over the dragon gate: fish patterns of the Han, Jin, Tang and Song dynasties
As mentioned earlier, fish patterns on ancient pottery have the meaning of totems and symbols. A decorative pattern that often influences objects of different textures. For example, fish patterns appeared on ancient pottery, and in the later period of the pre-Qin period, with the rise of bronze civilization, pottery was relatively weakened, and bronze became the theme of civilization. At this point, the meaning of totems and symbols in pottery changes, or disappears. The fish pattern on the pottery turned to bronze, which became the intention of auspiciousness and wealth, and also a symbol of the prominent class of the group. The ceramics as pottery have not yet fully formed their characteristics, and the ornamentation is mainly based on the geometric patterns of the Yue people in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River as distinctive cultural characteristics. The fish patterns of this period are more vividly expressed on bronzes. A Western Zhou bronze fish-shaped statue unearthed from Baoji, Shaanxi, has a fat body shape. The belly of the fish is downward, and two people on each side stand in a backpack position to support the balance. Concentric round eyes, flat beak, half-open. The whole body of the black line fish scales, layers on top of each other. Square lid, the top surface of the cover is made of a vertical fin with a ring as the cover button, and the cover surface is decorated with a double fish pattern. This is a wine vessel. When Baihuatan Middle School in Chengdu, Sichuan Province was rebuilt, a bronze pot embedded in the Warring States period was unearthed. From the picture, the pot is divided into several layers from top to bottom, and more than 200 people are depicted on it, some people swimming in the water, bending bows and shooting arrows, racing boat lights; Some people make up music, women dance in long skirts, and so on. The form of a man swimming in the water and the fish swimming around him form a sense of interaction between the mermaid and the mermaid. The meaning presented in the whole picture is not totems or symbols, but narrative. It may depict the customs of Shudi at that time, or the scenes of mythological stories. The subject matter and representation of such pictures have not yet been found on ceramics.
In the Han Dynasty, fish pattern ornaments were mostly mold turns, with flat, realistic and raised forms. This kind of ornament is mostly found on a boat-shaped gray pottery stove in Shaanxi Province, and the two sides of the stove or the façade are molded with a large and a small, multiple convex line fish patterns. The head of the fish is broad and rounded and swims towards the tail of the stove. The fins and tail whiskers are shaped, and the scales are small convex. Whether it has the meaning of more than every year is uncertain, at least the deliciousness of the fish should be certain. During the Three Kingdoms and Two Jin Dynasties, the Zhejiang Yueyao celadon kiln industry entered a period of rapid development, but there were not many fish pattern decorations on porcelain. There are seals and engravings in the Shangyue kiln in Zhejiang Province, indicating that during this period, the fish pattern ornaments on the bronze began to appear on porcelain. During the excavation of the Yue kiln site in Shangyu Forbidden Mountain, Zhejiang Province, archaeologists found a specimen of a painted celadon molded with a double fish pattern during the Three Kingdoms period. The fish is oriented towards each other with a semicircular arc line between the two beaks. The fish is plump in shape and childishly ornamented, but it is vivid and interesting, similar to the pattern of Han dynasty copper basin decoration. During the Western Jin Dynasty, the double fish pattern depicted on the celadon of Yue kiln used the carved pattern, the knife was skillful, the lines were smooth, the fish shape was fat, and it was flexible. Eastern Jin Dynasty double fish pattern washing, the head of the fish is in the same direction, the center is decorated with brown color. Yin line pattern decoration, knife line slender, not as powerful as the Western Jin Dynasty, fish pattern expression Muna, lack of spirituality.
Ming Jiajing multicolored fish algae pattern lid jar, collection of the Palace Museum
Fish patterns on Tang Dynasty porcelain are rare. There are more fish patterns on Zhejiang Yueyao celadon appear, but there are not many as theme patterns, most of them are auxiliary patterns in floral patterns. Interestingly, in a Yue kiln bowl unearthed from the tomb of Tang (13th year of the Great Calendar/778 AD) in Henan's Yanshi Xingyuan, the yin line depicts a fish that jumps into the air and sprays water with its beak. According to our understanding today, it means to pray for the blessing of the fish leaping over the dragon gate. Li Bai has the poem "Gift to Cui Attendant": "The three-foot carp of the Yellow River, originally in Mengjinju." The dot is not a dragon, and the return is accompanied by mortal fish. It expresses the desire and helplessness of the literati of the Tang Dynasty for "fish leaping over the dragon gate". At this time, the Changsha kiln used a plastic method, and the bottom of the jug stream was decorated with a double fish pattern. A white glazed begonia cup printed with fish pattern in the fifth dynasty of the late Tang Dynasty was unearthed in the magnetic village of Quyangjian, Hebei Province, with a fish pattern printed on the inside, with many good wishes for more than every year.
In the Song Dynasty, the kiln industry in the north and south was highly developed, showing a trend of a hundred flowers blooming. The fish pattern form on ceramics can be described as colorful, with monochrome glaze engraving, carving, printing, and pasting; There are also red, green, black, brown and other painting methods. The main decoration is on the inner wall and outer wall of bowls, washes, dishes, the outer wall of bottles, porcelain pillows, etc. The kiln industry covers Shaanxi Tongchuan Yaozhou kiln, Hebei Dingyao kiln, Cixian Cizhou kiln, Henan chocun kiln, Shanxi Hejin kiln, Changzhi Bayi kiln, Zhejiang Yue kiln, Longquan kiln, etc., all have different techniques of fish pattern ornaments. The blue-glazed carved three-fish pattern bowl in the collection of the Yaozhou Kiln Museum has three fish patterns carved on the inner wall of the bowl, surrounded by undulating thin lines of water ripples, forming a picture of fish and water enjoying each other. The printing technique is mainly decorated on the white porcelain bowls, plates, bowls and pillows of the monochrome glaze of the kiln. The four-fish pattern bowl of Dingyao sauce glaze printed lotus pond unearthed in Bahrain Right Banner, Inner Mongolia, shows the picture of fish playing among the rolled lotus leaves and lotus flowers, which means that it has been for more than a year. The black colored boy fishing pattern porcelain pillow in the Jin Dynasty Cizhou kiln in the collection of the Hebei Museum, with simple white lines, outlines a child standing by the river fishing, and there are three small fish around the hook in the water. The picture is full of childlike fun, and the lines are flowing and flexible, showing the unique charm of the region. People can't help but think of the scene of Hu Lingneng's poem "Children's Fishing": "The unkempt child learns to weep, and the berry moss grass sits on the side." Passers-by beckoned by asking, afraid that the fish would be shocked. "Cixi Yueyao celadon in Zhejiang Province, with line engraving and engraving patterns to express water wave fish patterns. The Southern Song Dynasty Longquan kiln adopts the decorative technique of pasting plastic, the molded fish pattern is pasted on the carcass of the inner bottom folded and washed, and the glaze is fired once. The double fish is convex, embossed, quite three-dimensional. This became a typical ornament of Longquan kilns during this period.
Brilliant: Yuan, Ming, and Qing fish patterns
In the Yuan Dynasty, most of the area continued the kiln industry of the Song Dynasty. The most outstanding fish pattern is the underglaze painted blue and white porcelain of Jingdezhen kiln. This blue and white ornamentation paints a blue landscape on Chinese porcelain, and has also become a symbol of the integration of farming and nomadic culture. The blue color of the Yuanqinghua is not the traditional color of the Chinese people, but is related to Islamic civilization and the original religious beliefs of the Mongolian people. Its expression has decorative techniques such as blue flowers on a white background and white flowers on a blue background. The fish pattern decoration in blue and white, the sense of color contrast, gives people a bright and bright beauty. Yuan blue and white fish pattern, with mandarin fish pattern being the most typical. It also appears on the same plate as bream. A blue lotus pond swimming fish pattern plate in the collection of Hunan Provincial Museum, blue flowers on a white background, and a bream and a mandarin fish painted on the bottom of the plate. The bream is small at both ends, broad in size, covered with fine scales, and swallowtail. The mandarin fish is fusiform with erect fins on the back of the tail, irregular patches on the body, and white space on the abdomen. The tail is irregularly rounded and dark blue. The layout of the lotus pond fish pattern is flat, the blue and white are rich and delicate, and the painting is delicate. This picture seems to echo the scenery of Zhang Zhihe in the Tang Dynasty and "white egrets flying in front of Xisai Mountain, peach blossoms flowing water mandarin fish fat". Similar fish patterns, Hebei Cizhou kilns are also fired. A piece of black colored fish algae on a white background in the collection of the Hebei Provincial Museum is folded and washed, with a large volume and a rough and loose carcass. The inner bottom of the wash is painted with a fish in black color, with the head up, the belly of the fish is white, and the scales are painted with oblique grid patterns. The back fins are erect, and the algae pattern combined with the upper and lower curves is quite dynamic.
Late Ming Jingdezhen kiln red and green color double fish floral pattern plate
The monochrome glazed Longquan kiln creates a fish-patterned decoration technique that exposes the tire. The Palace Museum has a six-petal four-fish pattern wash, an open lotus flower carved in the center of the inner bottom, and a persimmon pattern on the periphery is shining. The surrounding decoration is decorated with four molded exposed fish patterns on the engraved water ripples, which are flint red. This decoration technique is to press out the fish shape with a mold after the utensil is drawn and formed, attached to the carcass, covered with a special cover with the fish pattern, glazed and removed the cover, fired at one time, highlighting the beauty of the fish in the moisturizing turquoise glaze.
Yuanqinghua lotus pond fish pattern large plate, Hunan Provincial Museum
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the porcelain industry centered on Jingdezhen, especially in colored porcelain, reached its peak. In addition to the blue and white and glazed red porcelain that continued the Yuan Dynasty, monochrome glazed porcelain such as sweet white glaze, blue glaze, blue glaze, and red glaze were also fired, and exquisite colored porcelain such as five-color, doucai, enamel, and pastel were fired. The fish pattern appears in a colorful and intricate picture. First of all, the Palace Museum collected a multicolored fish algae pattern lid jar from the late Ming Dynasty, and the cover wall and abdominal wall are painted with blue, green, yellow and red painted water plants, lotus leaves, algae, and cross star patterns. The aquatic plants naturally stretch and bend, with nine vanadium red carp patterns naturally shuttling between them. The fish pattern is staggered in height and low, and the vanadium red fish pattern is colorful. The cover jar of the Doucai fish algae pattern in the collection of the Shanghai Museum, blue and white outline lines, flowers and leaves, aquatic plants, and fish patterns are filled with green, red, yellow and brown. The neck and shoulders of the tank are white, and the lid and belly are painted. The fish pattern painting is delicate and the composition is ingenious. The Nanjing Museum has a red three-fish pattern goblet in the glaze, and the belly wall of the cup is filled with red mandarin fish in the three-tailed glaze. This glaze red fish pattern began to appear in the Yuan Dynasty and continued into the Qing Dynasty.
Intermingling: fish patterns and ancient poetry
People often live by the river, work in the fields, fish in the river, and at the same time feel that the fish are free, wise and flexible. The deliciousness of fish and the swimming posture are vividly described in the poems and articles of ancient literati. Some descriptions have a sense of déjà vu with the fish patterns on ceramics. This is the combination of ceramics and ancient poetry.
Fish, is delicious. The Chinese character for "fresh" means the side of the fish. As early as in the "Book of Poetry Xiaoya": "There is a Jiayu in the south, and it is covered by a veil." The gentleman has wine, and the guest style Yan Yile. "There are good fish in the south, swimming in schools in the water. My host has fine wine, and the guests are happy with fish. What a joyful scene! In the article "Warring States Policy Feng Yuke Meng Weijun", the diner Feng Xuan's "Chang Xuan returns, there is no fish." "Because there was no delicious fish to eat, we were impressed by the way we leaned on the doorpost and played the sword and sang.
Golden magnetic state kiln black color boy fishing picture porcelain pillow on white background
In ancient literature, the meaning of fish is even more profound and profound. The ancient poem "Jiangnan" is a folk song of Hanle House, which depicts the wonderful rhyme of "fish playing lotus leaves, fish playing lotus leaves east, fish playing lotus leaves west, fish playing lotus leaves south, fish playing lotus leaves north", which brings out the beautiful scenery of Jiangnan lotus pond and the happy mood of lotus pickers. This lotus pond fish pattern, on the porcelain of the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, is reproduced with blue and flowers, five colors, pastels, blue and red colors, etc.
In the mythical "Classic of Mountains and Seas", there are many magical fish, including the description of "mermaid", is it the salamander painted on the belly of the Majiayao culture type faience amphora unearthed in Gangu, Gansu Province? There is also a "manta ray", "shaped like a carp, with a body and bird wings... See the world. "The harrier is carp-shaped, with a body and bird-like wings, born in the South China Sea. They swim from the West Sea to the East China Sea during the day and fly in groups at night. If you see this fish, the world will be abundant. The appearance of some fish indicates ominousness, and there will be a great drought, war, etc. If there is one? (Sound slippery) fish, there is light in and out, its sound is like a mandarin duck, see the world drought. These records all show that fish was a sacred totem symbol in some ethnic tribes for a long time in ancient times.
In the text of the philosopher, it is said about fish: "There is a fish in the north, and its name is kunai. The size of the kunai is not known for thousands of miles. Transformed into a bird, its name is Peng. Mr. Feng Youlan of "Zhuangzi Getaway" said: "This is a story of a big peng and a bird... Dapeng can soar up to 90,000 li, and the birds even feel reluctant to fly from one tree to another. But when the big peng and the little bird flew as much as they could, they were very happy. This view of Zhuangzi had a profound impact on Chinese philosophical thought. And in "Zhuangzi Autumn Water": "Fish travel calmly, it is the joy of fish." "Observing the swimming posture of a fish leads a philosopher to try to return to the thing itself to see a phenomenon, rather than thinking based on subjective consciousness to make judgments. The fish patterns on these ceramics we see today, imagine that when the potters painted these fish patterns, would they also feel the freedom and pleasure of the fish? The deliciousness and spirituality of fish give us the aesthetic taste of "meaningful forms".
The fish pattern on the ceramic is a traditional ornament unique to the Chinese nation. Fish is a homonym for "Yu", and not every ethnic group of fish pronounces this sound. Therefore, many people have the custom of using Chinese characters to take their auspicious pronunciation. Such as every year there is more than enough, more than rich, more than auspicious Qing, fish leaping over the dragon gate, gold and jade full of halls, many children and many blessings, etc. The beautiful cultural meaning of fish patterns on ceramics for thousands of years is like a long folk painting that continues to this day.
Author: Shen Xinyu (Research Fellow, Hangzhou Museum)
Curator: Fan Xin
Editor: Zhou Minxian
Responsible editor: Xuanjing
*Wenhui exclusive manuscript, please indicate the source for reprinting.