Lei Chen Yixin
Tang gilt feihong road pattern silver cage. Photo courtesy of Changsha Museum
Tang gilt capricorn tripod silver salt table. Photo courtesy of Changsha Museum
Tang gilt gold and silver turtle box. Photo courtesy of Changsha Museum
In the 1980s, the underground palace of Famen Temple in Fufeng, Shaanxi Province, opened up the treasures of the Sheng Tang Dynasty. The high level, variety, quantity, clarity and well-preserved cultural relics unearthed in the underground palace are rare in the history of Chinese archaeology.
In the summer of 2021, the "Treasures of the Underground Palace - Special Exhibition of the Essence of Tang Dynasty Cultural Relics of Famen Temple" opened at the Changsha Museum, opening the first stop of the national tour exhibition, which is also the first large-scale and full-category exhibition of the cultural relics of the Famen Temple Underground Palace held outside Shaanxi Province. In the exhibition hall of Changbo, you can feel the deep tranquility of the Tang Dynasty Underground Palace, admire the brilliance of gold and silver utensils, and unveil the mystery of liuli secret porcelain - and, a different story.
In the prosperous era of the Tang Dynasty, animal symbols show the Tang people's yearning for a better life. In the "Where are the Fantastic Beasts" in the Famen Temple underground palace version, there are not only phoenixes and cranes that represent the cultivation pursuit of the Tang people; there are also geese, turtles, and mandarin ducks that herald a happy life; there are also Capricorn fish and winged beasts that pray for social harmony and cultural prosperity...
Listen, there are phoenix long singing.
Cloaked in fairy feathers, the phoenix descended from the sky, and it was attracted by the sound of The Prince of Zhou Ling, Prince Jin, and landed on the ground. Sheng Feng and Ming, straight up into the clouds. This is the engraving of the "Blowing Sheng Ying Feng Diagram" on the Tang Gilded Figure Painting Silver Incense Treasure Zi (a kind of incense vessel).
Legend has it that the phoenix "eats with festivals, drinks with rituals, has literature in the past, and has jia", which embodies the virtue cultivation of a gentleman who corrects himself; its characteristics of "not sycamores are not stopped, non-practicing and not eating, and not drinking in Liquan", also expresses lofty ambitions and grand ambitions, symbolizing the purity of ancient Chinese literati.
Turning the incense treasure to the other side, there was a crane chirping again. This side is engraved with the pattern of yuan jing, a famous scholar of the Eastern Han Dynasty, living in a hermitage in the mountains and forests, and fuqin and leading cranes. Two cranes attracted by the sound of the piano pointed to the ground with one foot, and one stretched its neck forward, as if interacting with people, and it was pleasant to enjoy itself. In ancient times, the crane was known as the "Bird of One Pin" for its elegant temperament and beautiful form, and its status was second only to that of the phoenix. People use the metaphor of "crane singing man" to cultivate and practice purity and sometimes praise the gentleman.
A righteous body, two sleeves of fresh wind, is a crane; dignified, calm, is a phoenix. Among the cultural relics unearthed from the underground palace of Famen Temple, there are 34 pieces containing animal ornaments, including 8 cranes and 53 phoenixes, which either fly in chaluo, or stop at the stove, or embroidered in silk, one posture and one pattern, all representing the people's yearning for the character of a gentleman thousands of years ago.
However, the Mandarin ducks, which frolick on the pomegranate flowers, could not understand the great ambitions of the crane and the phoenix, which were lying at the bottom of the gilded gold and silver basin, gently turning back to comb the feathers. Lu Zhaolin's "Chang'an Ancient Meaning" has a cloud: "If you have to become a comparator, he will die, and he is willing to be a Mandarin duck and not envy the immortals." "Mandarin ducks in pairs, pomegranates and many seeds, and silver pots represent the Tang people's pursuit of a better life." This wish may not be lofty, but it is full of sincere and ardent interest in life.
Also paired with the Mandarin ducks are the hong geese from the north. Although it is early autumn, they are lined up early on the incense basket. Hongyan is the most frequent animal ornament in the cultural relics of the Underground Palace of Famen Temple, with a total of 56 animals distributed on 9 utensils, of which the largest number of Hongyan on this gilded Feihong Ball Road Pattern Silver Cage is the largest. There are 5 phenoms on the lid, one in the inner circle leads the neck inward, and the other two are opposite; there are 24 phenoms on the cage wall, all soaring in pairs, lifelike.
The Book of Rites has a saying: "The moon of the autumn season, the guests of the wild geese; the moon of the winter of the season, the north of the geese." "It is precisely because the wild goose is a migratory bird, and a lifelong companion, flying together at the end of the world, it has become a symbol of love and invariance in the eyes of the ancients." Tang people must perform "six gifts" to get married, of which the "five gifts" require the participation of geese: the man must send geese to his relatives, and he must still send geese after the eight characters are combined and get lucky omens, and then use geese as an "invitation letter" to inform the woman, and on the wedding day, ti geese are picked up to greet the bride... And so on, pinning on the Tang people's expectations for a happy marriage.
Fulfilling the wish of a happy marriage and many children, the most adorable divine beast in the underground palace of Famen Temple will appear.
A gilded turtle is struggling to stretch its neck and raise its head high. There are clear teeth in the half-open mouth, and the small tail behind him seems to be shaking. The short limbs support the hard carapace, and the hexagonal lines on the shell are delicate and clear, just like the back carapace of a real turtle. Unveiling the tortoise shell, there are traces of smoke on the inside, and it turns out that this cute little turtle is a Tang Dynasty incense vessel.
Quiet and inactive, self-cultivation, turtle is a model in this regard. The Tang Dynasty cleverly designed the golden turtle that symbolizes longevity with the spices that prolong life, hoping to cultivate the body and mind, cultivate the heavens and young people, and complete the ultimate pursuit of a happy life like the longevity turtle.
The beautiful life that the Tang people yearn for also contains one point, that is, social harmony.
The Capricorn fish with the body of the dragon's head is a sacred beast that frequently appears in the cultural relics of the underground palace of Famen Temple, although it looks strange, it embodies many wonderful "harmonies". Capricorn originated from ancient Indian mythology, it is huge, often appearing in the form of crocodile heads, fish bodies, and fish tails, and is regarded as the essence of the river and the foundation of life. The Luoyang Garan Chronicle records that there was once a Capricorn country on the banks of the Indus River, and Shakyamuni Buddha once jumped into the water to save the people in the Capricorn country who were suffering from sores and diseases, and turned into a big fish. The Capricorn people ate the fish flesh of rulai, such as taking a panacea, and the sick body was cured. As a result, the Capricorn fish has become a symbol of Rulai, a sacred relic of Buddhism, and also represents the elimination of diseases and disasters, harmony and stability.
With the spread of Buddhism, the image of Capricorn from the West underwent a process of Sinicization. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, capricorns were shaped with dragon totems and fish totems representing traditional Chinese culture, adding the double fins of the fish and the dragon's horns. In the Tang Dynasty, the emperor surnamed Li advocated carp, so the Capricorn at that time took the tail of the carp. Gradually, with the change of shape, the meaning of Capricorn fish also changed. It not only carries the mythological significance of the dragon, but also combines with the ancient Chinese agriculture-oriented, becoming the best representative of worshiping river gods and praying for the wind and rain to be smooth.
In addition to capricorn fish, there are also many sacred beasts on the ornaments of the underground palace relics that cannot be seen in reality. On the gilded Goose Pattern Silver Tea Trough, flying with the Geese, there are also "Pegasus" with spread wings, which soar between the flowing clouds, light and ethereal.
The rulers of the Tang Dynasty had Hu ancestry and a deep love for horses. Jianma shapes are also common in Tang Dynasty paintings, sculptures, faience and other cultural relics. The horse pattern on this tea trough with wings is likely to be a product of the cultural exchange of the Silk Roads.
The art form of Masheng Biplank originated from the ancient Greek myth of "Pegatusos", a winged pegasus born of Medusa and Poseidon, the god of the sea, which is common in ancient Greek coins, pottery and other utensils. It was widely disseminated through the Eurasian trade network, and then introduced to China through the Silk Road, and eventually internalized and recognized in the inclusive and open Tang culture.
If Pegasus is the product of the combination of Eastern and Western cultures, then the flying lion with its wings spread on the gilded figure painting Silver Xiangbaozi is a complete "imported product".
Lions originated in the savannahs of Africa, and officially came to China during the Eastern Han Dynasty through the tribute of the Western Regions. The lion is the king of the hundred beasts, so in many Buddhist texts, it is used as a metaphor for the fearlessness and greatness of the Buddha. In addition to the flying lion rushed out of the mold on the lid of The Xiangbaozi, the lid of the Tang Gilded Double Lion Pattern Diamond Arc Foot Silver Box is also engraved with two leaping flying lions. They chase the tail of the other, forming a central symmetry, running and playing in the vines.
"There are no jackals on the roads of Kyushu, and there is no sunrise in The distance is not Laoji. Qi Lu Lu car shift, male cultivator female Sang do not lose. No matter how long it has been, the life in Du Fu's poems can always represent the desire of ordinary people's hearts.
Agricultural harvest, commercial prosperity, political clarity, and social stability were placed by the Tang people on the patterns of various daily necessities such as containers, tea sets, incense burners, and washers, and were engraved in reliefs of offerings and ritual vessels for worshiping Buddhas and blessings. Between carving and observing, when picking up and putting down, it is always like a bell is always alert; there is always a yearning to slowly fall to the ground, and a glorious prosperity for thousands of years is raised.
Source: China Youth Daily ( 2021-08-31 10th edition)
Source: China Youth Daily