Lanzhou, April 24 (Reporter Feng Zhijun Gao Ying) "Eyes are wide open, blazing, big mouth grinning, white teeth in a row, body curled, as if swimming in the water...... This cute and cool cultural and creative product "Salamander Doll" has become popular on the Internet in recent years, and still does not forget to carry the original cultural relics "Salamander Pattern Flat-bottomed Painted Pottery Bottle" (hereinafter referred to as "Salamander Pattern Painted Pottery Bottle"), which has become a "conspicuous bag" sought after by many young people.
The picture shows the cute and cool salamander pattern flat-bottomed faience bottle cultural and creative product "Salamander Doll". Photo by Li Yalong
As the treasure of the Gansu Provincial Museum, the national treasure-level cultural relics salamander pattern faience vase with its unique salamander ornamentation, coupled with the fact that it is still intact after more than 5,000 years of history, has become the leading existence in Gansu, which is known as the "hometown of Chinese painted pottery".
The salamander pattern faience vase was unearthed in 1958 at the Xiping site in Gangu County, Tianshui City, Gansu Province, and belonged to the late Yangshao culture (about 5200 years ago). The bottle is 38.4 cm high, the bottom diameter is 12 cm, the diameter is 7 cm, it is clay orange and yellow pottery, and the belly of the clay bottle is painted with a black salamander pattern. The salamander's face resembles a human face, with round eyes, a large mouth and teeth, a long tortuous body that touches head to tail, limbs and claws stretching out from both sides of the body, and the body curls as if swimming.
Li Yongping, director and researcher of the research department of the Gansu Provincial Museum, said in an exclusive interview with a reporter from China News Service that the painted pottery decorated with fish patterns was found in the cultural pottery of the same period, but in terms of composition creativity and image shaping, it was naturally connected with the head and tail in a triangle, so that the head of the salamander was anthropomorphized, the composition was simple and clear, the lines were smooth and chic, the image was full and realistic, less hideous, and more realistic.
The picture shows the audience visiting the salamander pattern flat-bottomed faience vase. Photo by Li Yalong
"Prior to this, the earlier bottles should have been used for water storage, and the salamander pattern faience bottles should have been for holding liquor liquids, with ceremonial music, sacrificial and other functions. Li Yongping said that winemaking requires the consumption of a large amount of grain, and only when the level of productivity reaches a certain level, there may be surplus grain for winemaking, which shows that the local agricultural civilization more than 5,000 years ago has not been low.
Before the explosion of cultural creativity, in fact, salamander pattern faience vases had already become popular overseas. In 2001, in order to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Belgium, the State Post Bureau of China and the Belgian postal department jointly issued a set of 2 special stamps of "Ceramic" all over the world.
Known as the "hometown of Chinese painted pottery", Gansu painted pottery has formed a complete history of painted pottery development through Yangshao, Majiayao, Qijia, Siba, Xindian, Shajing and other cultures, which lasted more than 5,500 years. In particular, the painted pottery of Majiayao culture has reached the peak of painted pottery art, representing the brilliant achievements of Chinese painted pottery art.
The painted pottery exhibition with various types and exquisite decorations is a permanent characteristic exhibition of the Gansu Provincial Museum. The salamander pattern faience vase, its shape is similar to the glass bottle we use now, why can it crown the "hometown of faience"?
"The salamander pattern faience vase is not only intact, but also plays a role in the continuity of Chinese civilization, and is a landmark artifact in the development process of Chinese civilization. Li Yongping explained that the bottle is in the late Yangshao culture, and the evolution history of the salamander pattern shows the transformation of painted pottery from realism to abstract symbols, and the realistic painting style of the early Neolithic can be seen through the ornamentation, and the development trend of abstraction and geometry of the late ornamentation can also be seen.
The picture shows the treasure of the Gansu Provincial Museum, a national treasure-level cultural relic, a flat-bottomed painted pottery bottle with salamander pattern. Photo by Li Yalong
Salamander, also known as baby fish because of its sound like a child's cry, is mainly distributed in the south of the Yellow River, and Gansu Province is only found in the southeast of Longdong, including Tianshui. The low cry of the salamander is the omen of rainfall, there is a local folk proverb "the doll is called when the heavy rain comes", and the dragon is the spirit animal of Siyu in Chinese culture, out of the "commonality" of the salamander and the dragon, so some people think that the salamander pattern faience vase pattern is the ancient dragon totem or the early image of Fuxi.
Gansu Provincial Museum docent Xu Mingze said that in the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" in the image of Fuxi has a record of "human head and snake body", and the decoration of the salamander pattern faience bottle can be said to be similar, Tianshui is the hometown of Fuxi, this artifact is near Gangu County, there is a Fuxi temple near the land, and the story closely related to Fuxi culture.
Li Yongping said that the Gangu area, where the salamander-patterned faience vase was found, is located in the Weihe River Basin, where prehistoric sites are densely distributed, and is one of the birthplaces of the Chinese nation. The image of the salamander on the faience vase may be a realistic representation of the true appearance of the salamander by the ancestors at that time, and also reflects the characteristics of Chinese agricultural civilization. (ENDS)