美器·Bronze Art Appreciation (1)
Reconciliation Ding Nai-Cookware in Bronze
The appearance of words, the use of bronzes, and the establishment of cities are the three that identify a civilization Conditions, this is the consensus of the world. The appearance of bronze ware shows that people can not only extract substances from nature, but also synthesize two different substances to produce another new substance. Bronze ware is not only a kind of vessel, but can reflect people's lifestyle, social significance and cultural value of the vessel itself from this vessel. It has formed a kind of bronze culture, a long bronze age.
Graphic/Art News Academic Host/Writer: Wang Chuan (Jiangsu writer and painter)
The Dahe people face Fangding of Shang Dynasty
Chinese bronze wares The Majiayao era appeared and declined after the Han Dynasty, during which it experienced a history of 3,000 years. Chinese bronze ware has unique meanings in the world: one is that it is used as a ritual vessel; the other is that there are inscriptions on the bronze; the third is its unique decoration.
"The important event of the country is worshiping the army" The role of ritual vessels is very sacred. They are used to worship ancestors. The tripod is the most important. Ding is a deep-belly and full-bodied cooking device, and the character "ding" is like a tripod. Among Chinese bronze wares, the tripod is placed in the first place. It is not an ordinary vessel, but the most important instrument of the country. It cannot be owned by emperors and princes. Ding is a pot used to cook sacrifices during sacrifices. It is a sacrifice to ancestors, so it is very sacred. The role of the ancient prime minister was like "harmonizing the tripod Nai." The tripod has appeared in Longshan culture. The ancients put three legs under a semicircular pottery to set up a fire to cook food. The tripod was for the stability of the triangle and became the most important tripod. Characteristics.
Shang dynasty gluttonous pattern
generally says "three-legged tripod is a tripod", but tripod tripods also have four legs, round tripod tripod, square tripod four-legged tripod. Fang Ding appeared very early, Si Mu Wu Da Fang Ding is an example, it is a heavy vessel made by Shang Wang for his mother. Si Zhe’s shrine is also a sacrifice; mother’s mother, Wu is the name of this old lady, Simuwu Dafangding is a large Fangding for worshiping Shang Wang’s mother named Wu. Some people also translated "si" as "hou", calling it the stepmother Wu Dafangding.
The size of the tripod is based on the national strength and personal financial resources and needs. The largest tripod in China is the Simuwu Dafang Ding, which is 133cm in height, 110cm in length and 875㎏ in weight. The smallest tripod is only 6.3 cm high and is a mini tripod.
There is more than one tripod of ancient kings. The number of tripods should be determined according to the identity of each person. They should not be randomly made. These tripods are placed in front of the palace of the emperor or the princes. They are called tripods. Tell people clearly about him What is his identity? The emperor should use Jiuding, and the number of tripods is decreasing as follows: Qiding for princes, Wuding for Qing, and Sanding for Shi. Regardless of its size, a set of tripods has the same shape.
There are ears on the tripod for lifting. This kind of ear is erected on the mouth of the tripod, called Lier. After the Spring and Autumn Period, the body shape of the tripod became shorter, the upper part was covered, and the ears moved to the outside of the abdominal wall and protruded, called attached ears. The Chu State has always been opposed to the central government and set its own way. Chu's tripod ears stretch out obliquely to the sides, neither standing nor attached, but called the ears, without a cover on the upper part. This should be regarded as the third form of the tripod. The ears of Chu can also be regarded as a kind of recalcitrance in Chu's challenge to the central government.
The Ding Ding in the Western Zhou Dynasty
The decorations on the Ding Ding are mostly gluttonous patterns in the Shang Dynasty, covering the whole vessel. After the Western Zhou Dynasty, there were mostly two-sided continuous patterns in the form of bands. After the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the body of the tripod was covered with fine chi patterns and pancake patterns. There are not many figures on Chinese bronzes, except for the Dahe Ding. This Ding was unearthed in Ningxiang, Hunan and it was a Fang Ding. It is unconventionally decorated with huge human faces on the four faces of the tripod. The four faces are all the same, with only the face shape, without beards, hair or headdresses. Their expressions are cold, showing a kind of majesty, full of ground. Enrich the upper and lower space of the tripod. The edges and corners of the tripod are extremely sharp, and the tripod body and four feet have unusually prominent edges, which are sharp and aggressive. Who is this human face? Emperor, or ghost? The tripod is engraved with the inscription "Dahe", it seems that the purpose of casting it is to pray for the seedlings in the field to grow prosperous, Is that He Shen? Left a mystery of the ages to future generations.
Because of the importance of the tripod, there are many inscriptions on the tripod, either to explain the purpose of casting the tripod, or to engrave some event, or only the name of the caster or the owner is engraved. Some of these inscriptions were cast outside the vessel, some were cast in the vessel, and some were cast in the corner of an artifact that is hard to see. The tripod with the most inscriptions is Maogong Ding, a bronze ware from the late Western Zhou Dynasty. It was unearthed at the Zhouyuan site in Qishan, Shaanxi. There are 499 characters in the inside of the tripod. This is the longest inscription in a single Chinese vessel.
is similar to Ding, but it is 鬲. Li is also a cooking utensil, which is used to cook porridge and rice. Its shape is similar to that of a tripod, but the biggest difference between the two is that it is full of style. "Sufficient style is called 鬲", "empty feet called 鬲". The so-called foot or empty foot means that the foot of the 鬲 is a bag shape with an empty middle, and liquid can flow from the abdomen of the 鬲 into the foot. In this way, if the li is heated under a fire, the heated area of the li is enlarged and it is easy to cook. Li appeared in pottery early on, inspired by animal drooping breasts, and later moved to bronze ware. It was very popular in the middle of the Western Zhou Dynasty. This shows that the proportion of Zhou people's agricultural production increased, and the amount of food increased, and the number of Li increased.
There is a bronze slavish slave guarding the gate unearthed in Fufeng, Shaanxi. This vessel, which is less than 18 cm high, is unique and delicate. It is square in shape, with two ears rising on both sides, and on both sides of each ear are two dragons climbing from the bottom, looking back. The lower part of the 鬲 was supposed to be the foot part, but it was made into a box-like structure with four chilongs making their feet. In the middle of the box structure in the middle of the four legs, there are two doors that can be opened freely. There is a bolt in the middle of the door, and the button on the bolt is a small slave, but it has only one leg. Obviously, this is a person after being tortured. The torture is the cutting off of the leg. It is one of the most cruel punishments in ancient times. After a slave was tortured, he lost a leg and was punished for guarding the gate for his master. It was heinous!
