The spring breeze is tangible, and the rabbit leaves a trace. As a traditional folk symbol of the Chinese nation, the zodiac has been recorded in the pre-Qin period. As the descendants of Yanhuang, every Chinese must be inextricably linked to the genus at birth.
Some scholars believe that the zodiac originated from the ancient totem culture and the worship and association of animals and stars by the ancients. In ancient times, human beings were full of reverence for nature, regarded it as a supreme being, and controlled all things in heaven and earth, so people personified it and gave it a corresponding name. These names were used by the ancients and became the vocabulary of the zodiac in classical literature and artistic creation.
The National Museum of China exhibited the "2023 New Year Exhibition" not only brought the audience the beautiful blessings of the Year of the Rabbit, but also used dozens of exhibits to show the zodiac culture inherited by the Chinese nation for thousands of years.
Hyacinth
In the eyes of the Chinese nation, the zodiac culture is not only the genus of birth, but also the stem branch of the year. It not only integrates the festivals and life etiquette, but also becomes a link between people and nature in the cycle of seasons.
"Rabbit" corresponds to the "卯" in the twelve earth branches. Wang Chong's "On Balance and Things" said: Dun, rabbit also. The rabbit symbolizes dawn, spring and infinite life.
The "rabbit" in the eyes of the ancients is a symbol of beauty. The Book of Poetry uses "there are rabbits who love love, and pheasants leave Luo" to interpret the yearning for peace. In "Mulan Words", he even uses male and female rabbits to admire Mulan's wit in not letting her eyebrows.
The exhibition selected more than 80 cultural relics in the collection, showing the rich and colorful rabbit culture, zodiac culture and auspicious culture in Chinese history from multiple levels and aspects. The exhibits in the exhibition span a wide range of time, from the Shang Dynasty to the early 20th century, covering ceramics, bronze, embroidery, painting and other categories.
Rui Rabbit left a trace
2023 is the year of the lunar calendar, and the rabbit in the zodiac is on duty. In the vast territory of China, the little rabbit leaves a deep impression on people's dexterity and love, and is given beautiful meanings such as auspiciousness and alertness.
Red-eyed white rabbits are common today, but they were rare in ancient times. This rabbit often appears in the form of "elves" and is regarded as the embodiment of auspicious rui in the texts.
In addition, the rabbit that is good at running is also one of the objects of worship and belief of ancient ancestors. Before the large-scale introduction of foreign breed improvements, white rabbits were often offered to the emperor as tribute by officials. In the continuous evolution of culture, the white rabbit has derived multiple meanings such as "longevity" and "filial piety" in addition to symbolizing Haiyan Heqing and imperial virtue.
There are many myths and legends about rabbits in ancient China, and jade rabbit pounding medicine is the most popular, and the Jin Dynasty Fu Xuan's "Quasi-Heavenly Question" has the sentence "What is in the moon, white rabbit pounding medicine". In ancient myths and legends, the jade rabbit accompanied Chang'e and pounded immortal medicine under the osmanthus tree in the Moon Palace, and over time became a synonym for the moon and a symbol of longevity.
The Ming Dynasty "green jade rabbit ornaments" exhibited in this exhibition are concise and cute. The round jade ornament is carved with a rabbit squatting in the shade of the grass, with a mortar next to it, and a pestle inserted in the mortar, which should be a jade rabbit that expresses the legendary jade rabbit pounding immortal medicine in the Moon Palace, which means longevity and auspiciousness.
Terracotta zodiac sign
The ancients used the heavenly stem and the earth branch to period; The ten heavenly stems (A, B, C, D, E, H, GENG, XIN, NON, and Dec) and the twelve earth branches (Zi, Ug, Yin, Dun, Chen, Ji, Wu, Lai, Shen, You, Jun, and Hai) are matched, and there are 60 possibilities, that is, one jiazi. One jiazi for sixty years, during which it is represented by twelve years, represented by earth branches, and attached to the name of animals, and then evolved into today's zodiac.
Because the image of the zodiac is widely used in daily life, it is often used in brick carving, painting, ceramics and other art categories.
This exhibition exhibits the "Zodiac Terracotta Figurines" of the Tang Dynasty, which have human physical characteristics, and the head of the beast adopts the image of the 12 zodiac signs, and stands with its sleeves and sleeves, with a wide-sleeved robe, which is quite interesting.
Early zodiac figurines were found in the Northern Dynasty, mainly based on simple animal figures, and in order to add their artistic components, they incorporated the physical characteristics of the characters, which is quite interesting.
Xiangrui culture, including zodiac culture, is an important direction for Chinese artistic creation. Whether it is a bottle pot jade with a beautiful meaning or a zodiac terracotta figurine with the meaning of time, all of them are unique influences of cultural development on the direction of art. "2023 Chinese New Year Exhibition", we will meet again in the next issue.
Eye Eye Art Chronicle Chapter 1026 is dedicated to the artistic gift of life.
Text Writing: Eye Edge Art Journal
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