This kind of Kowloon cup from the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty has a hidden mystery in the dragon head.
Pour the wine only shallowly and do not overfill it. If the wine is too full, it will leak.
As the saying goes, "If you are full, you will suffer losses, but if you are modest, you will gain." This is the most fair.
Therefore, after understanding the situation, Emperor Hongwu named the "Kowloon Cup" "Justice Cup".
Confucius once talked about a "sitting device". If the bottle is empty, it will tilt, and if the water level is just right, it will stand upright.
If it is full, it will tip over and not a drop will be left.
A wise king always places it beside his seat when giving instructions.
Although the "Use of You Sitting" is not a fair cup, it embodies the same golden mean.
Those who are greedy will be drained, but those who are content will be drained.
The king is advised not to indulge in drunkenness and debauchery, and the people are advised not to be greedy and to exercise moderation.
Green ants' new fermented wine, small red clay stove.
It's snowing tonight, can I have a drink?
How can you enjoy fine wine without a good wine vessel?
The land of China has a dazzling array of wine vessels, the key to which is the word "elegant".
However, when doing something, you must not only be "elegant", but also "modest".
This uses the product of the great wisdom of the ancestors - the Justice Cup!
Since you want to imitate the Gongdao Cup, you cannot just make a Qianlong blue and white vessel.
The history of the Fair Cup is very long.
It is recorded in the "Yi Wen Lei Ju" of the Tang Dynasty: "Jin Sun Chuo's inscription on the bottle says...if you look closely at this vessel, you will find it to be ingenious and wonderful. When you are careful, you will note it, and when you are full, you will be sideways. When you spit out and write appropriately, you will not see any exhaustion." "
The bottle described here is the Yangsui bottle of the Jin Dynasty.
Yangsuizun means wine-injecting vessel, also known as funny.
Volume 761 of "Taiping Yulan" quotes Cui Hao of the Later Wei Dynasty from "The Sound and Meaning of the Han Dynasty": "It's funny, it's a wine vessel, and it's a wine vessel that spits out wine all day long, just like today's Yangsuizun."
Sun Chuo of Jin Dynasty has "Yangsuizun Ming".
Legend has it that the Yangsuizun tilts when it is empty.
Pour wine into the bottle and the bottle will right itself.
If you continue to pour wine until it is almost full, the bottle will slowly tilt again.
This wonderful phenomenon occurs because there is a siphon hidden in the Yangsui bottle, so it can "vomit and write for a while without seeing it exhausted."
From this we can see that Yangsuizun was the earliest application of the principle of fair cup in the Jin Dynasty.
Of course, this kind of bottle is not simple, and it is also very controversial.
Jiu Zun is one of the common burial objects in high-level tombs during the Han Dynasty.
Some tomb murals or portrait stones, and portrait bricks can also be used for cooking, banquets and other activities.
Even though the self-proclaimed utensils include "warm wine bottles", the wine decanter is still only regarded as a wine container by academic circles.
However, judging from the documents handed down from ancient times, the function of the wine bowl is not limited to holding wine.
According to historical records, "the bottle is always full" and you can make notes while drinking.
The wine statue that appears in portrait stones and portrait bricks is used to prepare wine, and may be related to wine making.
Scholars of the Northern Wei Dynasty used the term "Yangsuizun" to describe the "funny" drinking vessels of the Han Dynasty.
However, the actual shape of the "Yangsuizun" and its connection with the wine-flowing vessel are still unclear.
Related to Zun, the ancients used Shangzun wine, Zhongzun wine and Xiazun wine to express the "difference of pouring alcohol".
Let’s first talk about the difference between “Funny” and “Yangsuizun”.
According to historical records, at least during the Northern Wei Dynasty, a special type of "Yangsuizun" appeared.
However, so far, the shape and cultural significance of "Yangsuizun" have not attracted the attention of academic circles.
There are two important pieces of information in the records about "funny" in "Taiping Yulan".
First, there was a rather special type of "Yangsuizun" in the Northern Wei Dynasty.
At the latest eleven years after the death of True King Taiping, that is, before Cui Hao was sentenced in 450;
Secondly, the "Yangsuizun" is like a comic, its main function is to "turn in and spit out wine", which is different from ordinary wine bottles that can hold wine.
But what exactly Cui Hao refers to as "Yangsuizun" seems to be inconvenient to determine.
Because under the article "Zun Yi" in "Taiping Yulan", Sun Chuo of the Eastern Jin Dynasty also quoted from "Yangsui Zun Inscription": "If you look closely at this vessel, you will find it to be ingenious and wonderful! If you are careful, you will note it; when you are full, you will close it. Speak and write appropriately."
, I haven’t seen its exhaustion.”
Does this mean that "Yangsuizun" appeared in the Eastern Jin Dynasty?
But it is different from the "Yangsuizun" in the Northern Wei Dynasty, and it still has the function of holding wine?
Obviously, without clarifying the contradiction between what Cui Hao said and Sun Chuo's "Yangsuizun Inscription", it will be difficult to confirm the "Yangsuizun" and its function.
The "Yangsuizun" mentioned by Cui Hao is only found in "Taiping Yulan".
However, Sun Chuo's words quoted in "Taiping Yulan" are also found in "Yi Wen Lei Ju" by Ouyang Xun of the Tang Dynasty and "Jin Sun Tingwei Ji" compiled by Zhang Pu of the Ming Dynasty.
Among them, the article "Zun" in "Yi Wen Lei Ju" says: "Jin Sun Chuo's inscription on the bottle says: 'The great craftsman's body... is designed to be copied and designed. If you look closely at this vessel, you will find it to be ingenious and unique. You can note it carefully and receive it.
When it is full, it is sideways, and when it is spoken and written appropriately, it is not exhausted... The king and the duke drafted it, and the virtues and virtues are the highest.'"
The contents of "Jin Sun Tingwei Collection·Inscription" and "Yi Wen Lei Ju" are exactly the same, except that "潽" is changed to "biao".
"Biao" is the orthographic character, and "biashe" means to judge by standard design and talk about appearance.
The only difference between the two words quoted in "Taiping Yulan" is the word "receive fullness, then side" and "receipt fullness, close", which should be the same work by Sun Chuo.
However, "Yiwen Leiju" and "Jin Sun Tingwei Collection" are only called "Zun Ming" or "Ming", but they are not called "Yangsuizun Ming".
From this point of view, "Taiping Yulan" may have a mistake of showing off its crown and taking it seriously.
No matter what, from these classic descriptions, this should be a fair cup.
Of course, there are other explanations, such as a wine warmer, a funnel, a tool used in making wine, etc.
Here, Chen Wenzhe regarded it as a fair cup. After all, some shapes of this kind of bottle can also be seen in the murals of some ancient tombs.
Since it has a look and a functional description, it is not difficult for him to copy one.
In fact, there were cups with this description in ancient times.
Legend has it that during the Tang Wenzong period of the Tang Dynasty, there was an artifact called the "Shen Tong Zhan".
Tao Yi of the Song Dynasty recorded this item in "Qing Yi Lu".
"The eunuchs of Emperor Wen Zong were overbearing and restrained at every turn, and they often entertained themselves by drinking. The concubines were tired of the small household, so they tried to bribe the deacons, so they made a golden cup with a golden lotus, lotus root, and caltrop as a clasp, but it was actually hollow.
When the cup is full, it can be introduced into the plate. People didn't know it at first, so it was called the "magic cup" and the "trouble-solving plate"."
This means that when the wine in the cup is full, it will flow into the tray at the bottom of the cup.
This is exactly the same principle as the Justice Cup, so many scholars believe that the "Shen Tong Cup" of the Tang Dynasty was the earliest Justice Cup.
And this negates the previous Yangsuizun. If the Yangsuizun of the Northern Wei Dynasty is not the Gongdao Cup, then isn't the Shentong Cup of the Tang Dynasty the earliest Gongdao Cup?
Unfortunately, this magical lamp has not been found in real form until now.
In the Song and Yuan Dynasties, the Justice Cup was finally discovered in real form.
The Jiangsu and Zhejiang Linhai Museum preserves a Longquan kiln celadon justice cup from the late Song Dynasty and early Yuan Dynasty.
The Justice Cup means "temperance", and contentment is generally believed by the ancients to be the key to longevity, so there is a longevity star standing in the cup.
Unfortunately, only the body of the cup remains, and the holder under the cup is missing.