In the blue sea below Gui and Bi, a perfect picture of stormy waves is carved.
And in the middle of this big wave, the central mountain cliff stands tall and has jagged rocks.
Between the movements and the stillness, the waves are splashing with flying beads and jade, and the cliffs are high and unmoving. They are all ready to come out. It is as if there is the sound of wind in your ears and the sea mist blowing in your face.
This pattern is the most classic sea water, river and cliff pattern.
Haihaijiangya (pattern) is a traditional pattern, mostly used on the hem of dragon robes and official uniforms.
That is, there are many curved lines arranged diagonally below the figure, called water feet, which represent the deep sea. The water feet are decorated with rolling waves.
A mountain stone standing upright in the water symbolizes blessings, mountains and longevity, as well as the unification of mountains and rivers and the unification of the world.
If it is further combined with the round appearance of the sky, it will form the shape of the sea and the sky holding the sun.
The jade is in the shape of a perfect circle, with raised edges all around, and is fully decorated with eight sets of low-relief antique animal face patterns on both sides.
The overall lines are smooth and the knife work is strong, highlighting the majesty of the animal face.
If you look closely, it has the mysterious color of totem worship and a strong ancient heritage.
The most impressive thing about this Guibi is actually the animal mask pattern on it.
The animal face pattern, also known as the Taotie pattern, first appeared on the jade objects of the Liangzhu Culture in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River five thousand years ago.
Animal mask pattern is one of the traditional decorations in my country, which was popular in prehistory, Shang Dynasty and early Western Zhou Dynasty.
The abstract image highlights the face of the animal, without horns, trunk and tail, and the shape is ferocious.
"Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals: Xian Shi" states: Zhou Ding made gluttonous food, which had a head but no body. He ate people without swallowing them, causing harm to their bodies.
"Zuo Zhuan·Wen Gong's Eighteenth Year" says: The Jinyun family had untalented people who were greedy for food and drink, risked bribes, invaded and lavished, were not tired of profit, accumulated wealth, and did not know how to discipline themselves. They did not distinguish between orphans and widows, and did not care about the poor and the rich. .The people of the world compare themselves to the three evils and call them gluttons.
During the Three Dynasties period, Taotie patterns often appeared on bronze vessels, especially tripods.
There were many types of Taotie patterns in the Shang and Zhou dynasties, some were like dragons, tigers, cows, sheep, and deer;
Others are like birds, phoenixes, and people.
The name of the Taotie pattern did not come from ancient times, but was named by the Song Dynasty people with the rise of epigraphy.
For example, Lu Dalin's "Archaeological Map" records the Guiding: There is an animal face in the middle, and the cover is a gluttonous image.
From the Western Zhou Dynasty onwards, the mysterious color of this kind of decoration gradually faded, and by the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties it gradually evolved into the decoration of antique utensils.
In the Qing Dynasty, things were different again.
From the founding of the Qing Dynasty by Huang Taiji to Qianlong, it has gone through five dynasties.
At this time, the national power was strong, the economy was prosperous, cultural undertakings also developed greatly, and innovations in the field of culture and art appeared from time to time.
At this time, according to textual research, the style of imitating antiquity was also prevalent.
Emperor Gaozong of the Qing Dynasty, also known as Emperor Qianlong, was a participant and promoter of cultural and artistic activities during this period.
He supported innovation, and also advocated the textual research of classics and the imitation of antique utensils.
The antique jade wares of the mid-Qing Dynasty were developed under such circumstances.
Emperor Qianlong believed that classical utensils were simple, pure, elegant and meaningful.
It inherits the tradition of ancient Chinese literati pursuing the past and thinking about the quietness of the past, and their aesthetic psychology has a strong tendency to seek teachers and describe ancient customs.
He often expresses similar sentiments in his poems and essays: Khotan jade comes to the company, and the craftsmanship is quite diverse. Gradually, he wants to refer to the ancient times, and he returns to the beginning.
This is recorded in the imperial poem collection, four volumes and thirty-four volumes, in the 41st year of Qianlong's Bingshen year in which the poem "Ode to Hetian Jade Kui" was published.
Needless to say, the Khotan Jade Kui Shou Ni, in addition, there are many related treasures, such as the imperial poem "Ode to the Khotan Jade Kui Shou Ni" engraved in white jade and the Kui Dragon Cap covered in relief.
Among the real antique artifacts, in addition to the Khotan jade Kui Shou Ni, there are also important treasures such as Gui Bi, white jade engraved Kui dragon pattern "Chang Yi Descendants" and other important treasures.
During the Qianlong reign, there were countless imperial jade carvings.
This white jade engraved wall with Kui dragon pattern "Chang Yi Descendants" is exquisitely crafted and is based on ancient ritual jade.
According to various chapters on rituals in the Han Dynasty, ancient people used jade bis to worship heaven.
Although this important instrument was not made for etiquette or etiquette, the jade jade resembled the sky. During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, it was still a symbol of power. It was an important instrument that showed the emperor's appreciation of the past and his longing for the future.
Such important artifacts were not uncommon during the Qianlong period, but until now, few ordinary people can see them. Even in museums, it is difficult for ordinary people to see them.
There are also many poems describing this kind of precious treasure, such as: Do not teach ordinary hands to make new things, but the playthings still retain the old feelings of teachers.
This is a poem about Hetian Jade Dragon's Tail Gong. It comes from the 92 volumes of four volumes of the Imperial Poetry Anthology produced in the 47th year of Qianlong's reign.
For example, a white jade imitation dragon tail cup inscribed with an imperial poem by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, measuring 17 cm long, estimated at RMB 3 million to RMB 5 million, sold for RMB 5.175 million, and was sold in 2016.
This is the price of Qianlong antique jade. Anyone who loves to play with jade must know the term "Qianlong work".
Qianlong workmanship, as the name suggests, is the craftsmanship of jade during the Qianlong period. Why is there no Kangxi workmanship, Cixi workmanship, but only Qianlong workmanship?
Because the craftsmanship of jade wares during the Qianlong period was the pinnacle in the history of Chinese jade carvings. Because of the exquisite materials used, meticulous carving, no expense spared, and rich characteristics of the times, it became a fixed noun - "Qianlong work".
How far did Qianlong's work go? The first thing is to work well.
Qianlong was addicted to jade. During his 60 years in power, antique jade articles filled the palace.
Its furnishings, clothing, utensils, offerings and playthings are all made or decorated with jade, precious stones, gold and silver.
In the first year of Qianlong's reign, the Ruyi Pavilion was built in the palace. It was a handicraft workshop for various palace industries that mainly produced jade articles. Qianlong personally supervised the production.
So what's so good about the craftsmanship? The Qing Qianlong jasper inlaid with phoenix pattern and movable ring ear lid stove that Chen Wenzhe had on hand at this time is a typical example.
"Qianlong Gong" strives for excellence in craftsmanship and has achieved perfection.
Qianlong also transferred the jade craftsmen from the south of the Yangtze River to the Ruyi Pavilion in the palace, and asked the palace painters to draw patterns and rush to make jade articles day and night.
Therefore, the jade articles at that time were not only good in workmanship, but also artistic.
Chen Wenzhe had one such jade in front of him. It was a blue and white jade piece from the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty inscribed with the poem Luohan Shanzi.
In addition to craftsmanship, there are also techniques, such as this Qing Dynasty Qianlong sapphire leather piece with an imperial inscription on the poem, "Green Peaks, Mangroves and Pictures of Mountains".
It embodies the craftsmanship of Qianlong's work, which is reflected in three aspects: fineness, multi-layering, thinness and skill.
Fineness means that all the lines on the jade are smooth and clear, the knife skills are consistent and powerful, and there are no discontinuous knife skills.
Multi-level means that for shallow relief, all the convex curved surfaces are round and smooth, without any tingling feeling. Every detail is carved inward layer by layer along the jade texture, with clear layers.
Thin and skillful refers to treating the jade material as thin as paper so that the patterns engraved on it can be seen through light and clearly visible.
Skillful refers to being good at measuring jade materials and showing their best aspects, which is the so-called making the best use of everything.
For example, the white jade imitation dragon tail cup with an imperial poem inscribed before was also very cleverly carved.