Retracing Childhood Fun: Ancient Children's Games in the Hundred Sons
In a 400-year-old painting, 100 children are depicted playing, enlarging it 20 times to reveal a series of amazing children's fun. The painting is called "Baizitu" and is derived from a legend. According to legend, King Wen of Zhou had 99 sons, and later picked up an item called "Lei Zhenzi" on the side of the road, which happened to make up a hundred, hence the saying "King Wen's hundred sons". The ancients believed that "full of descendants" symbolized family prosperity, so "King Wen's hundred sons" was regarded as an auspicious omen. After this legend was passed down, artists created the "Hundred Sons Chart", which symbolizes prosperity and prosperity.
The 2.1-meter-long Hundred Sons is a masterpiece by Leng Zhang, a famous court painter of the Qing Dynasty. Although the painting was badly damaged when it was collected by the Forbidden City, it was restored to its original appearance by experts, showing children's play scenes.
In the "Hundred Sons Diagram", a variety of toys played with when children played in ancient times are depicted. Some play "Red Diamond Gun", some play small spinning top. However, there are also items that are difficult for us to understand today, such as a monster motif, and a "smiley" mask. In addition, there are children riding a fake wooden horse, a large toy that was common in ancient times but is rarely seen today.
Another surprising image shows a slightly older child, led by two friends, as if competing for a toy, and this scene seems to come to life. In addition, many small toys are shown, such as a red rattle, which differs from today's rattle in that it was hollow and was mainly used to rotate, not to make sound.
In ancient times, some children used ready-made materials when making toys, such as a scene of a friend getting close to a small sparrow, which made people feel warm. The sparrow obediently stopped at the child's hand, seemingly unfrightened. There is also a child holding a bowl in his hand as if to feed a sparrow, a sight that reflects an intimate encounter with the natural world.
One of the rarest images shows a car, a toy that is almost extinct and unknown to most people. This little car is based on a fable, which is both for children to play and conveys allegorical stories. The craft used to make these ancient toys is now rarely passed down, making one nostalgic for the creativity and ingenuity of ancient children.
Nowadays, many children prefer electronic devices, such as mobile phones and computers, and the pictures of these ancient children's toys are amazing, and the creativity and wisdom of the ancients are admirable.