Chapter 1868: Once a fish turns into a dragon, love will last for thousands of years
The themes of stone carvings during the Ming and Qing Dynasties were also diversified, ranging from palaces and temples to residential tables, from statues and sacred monuments to guardian lions and horse-tethered horses.
When examining ancient stone carving art, we cannot use one-sided preferences of the times to examine beauty and ugliness.
Because the ancestors of different eras, under different cultural systems and production tools, produced works with the characteristics of the times and national characteristics.
With the spread and integration of cultures, the themes have become more abundant and diversified.
This exists objectively, and we must use a comprehensive perspective to examine the historical legacy.
The current era is the end of stone carving art. What modern people can do is to use modern aesthetics to display and display the legacy of ancient stone carvings.
The ability to create perfect furnishings is the greatest respect our generation has for our ancient ancestors.
"Is this a small stone screen where fish transformed into dragons from the Ming Dynasty?"
This stone screen is 55cm long, 28cm high and 11cm thick.
The stone screen is small in size, with reliefs on both sides of the fish transforming into dragons, and ancient metaphors such as the inscription on the golden list, which means that the clouds are rising straight up, rising and prospering, and the bluestone is complete.
"The blue and white are dragon scales, and the fish flies up to the rainbow. Once the fish turns into a dragon, love will last forever for thousands of years."
This is the importance of fish transforming into dragons for decoration, and also the application of fish transforming into dragons.
"Fish turns into dragon" is an auspicious pattern with traditional meaning of the Han nationality.
There are many expressions in the porcelain paintings of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Through these works, we can also see the cultural phenomenon of "East China Sea fish turning into dragon".
The transformation of fish and dragon was used by the ancients to describe the "gold list" of the imperial examination, or the rapid rise in officialdom.
Fish transforming into a dragon is a dragon pattern pattern with a dragon head and a fish body, and it is also a beautiful fantasy of "mutual transformation of fish and dragon".
This form has existed in ancient my country for a long time and has evolved from the folk customs and legends of the past dynasties.
Its history can be traced back to the prehistoric Yangshao culture and the fish totem worship of the Banpo type period.
Even some Ming Dynasty palace tiles have this kind of decoration.
From this we can see that the ancients loved this kind of decoration.
In the earliest "Dahuang Xi Jing", it is said that "when the wind comes from the north, the sky becomes a big spring, and the snake turns into a fish." This is the earliest saying about turning into a fish form.
"Overseas Southern Classic" says, "Insects are snakes, and snakes are fish." Folk customs have long had the saying that fish transform into dragons.
"Confucius Family Tales" records: Confucius was delighted to have a son, and Duke Zhao of Lu gave him a carp as a reward. Therefore, Confucius named his son Li, with the courtesy name Boyu.
There is a record in "Shuo Yuan" that "in the past, the white dragon turned into a fish under the cold abyss".
"The Ballad of Chang'an" says "the big fish in the East China Sea turns into a dragon" and the popular saying "the carp jumps over the dragon's gate" both talk about the mutual transformation relationship between fish and dragon.
In addition to porcelain pieces, some patterns appeared in jade carvings as early as the late Shang Dynasty and were developed in subsequent dynasties.
Another point is that there are some special dragon patterns on the blank period porcelain of the Ming Dynasty. It is with these dragon patterns that people can identify which porcelain is blank period.
The Jiangnan Gongyuan of the Confucius Temple in Jinling City, which is also the Chinese Imperial Examination Museum, houses a stone sculpture "Feihong Bridge".
The bridge is engraved with a vivid pattern of "The big fish in the East China Sea turns into a dragon", and the inscription is "Changing the land of fish and dragon, flying in the sky of Luan and Phoenix".
There is also a pattern of the ancients "riding a fish and transforming into a dragon", which also means blessing scholars to "get a title on the gold list".
"Fengshi Hearing and Seeing Records" says: "Therefore, in contemporary times, becoming a Jinshi is regarded as ascending to the Dragon Gate."
Li Bai's "Book with Han Jingzhou" records: "As soon as you climb the dragon gate, your reputation will be a hundred times higher."
"The Story of Pipa - Farewell to Nanpu": "When the child goes out today, his parents will come to see him off. I hope the fish will turn into a dragon and the clouds will rise straight up." etc.
This type of pattern is usually composed of fish and dragons, which means promotion and prosperity.
Ichthyosaur culture is a unique traditional culture in my country, which originated from the worship of dragon totems by our ancestors.
In addition to calling themselves "descendants of Yan and Huang", Chinese people are also known as "descendants of the dragon".
The dragon occupies a very important position in the history of our country.
The dragon is a mythical symbol. In ancient my country, the emperor was called the "true dragon emperor".
In our ancient feudal society, the emperor, as the head of a country, had supreme power. It can be seen how lofty the dragon's status is in our country.
Dragons are considered to be the highest-level creatures among scale insects in our country.
Therefore, if any kind of scale insect animal wants to continuously evolve itself, it should aim to "turn into a dragon" in the future.
Take snakes as an example. Among the "Twelve Zodiac Signs" in our country, there are snakes and dragons, and snakes are also called "little dragons" among the people.
If the legendary "snake" wants to evolve into a "dragon", it must first undergo five hundred years of practice.
Grow two horns and become a "dragon", and then practice for thousands of years. Maybe you can finally transform into a "dragon" by practicing in the East China Sea.
It must be that the transformation of a snake into a dragon has to go through a very long and difficult process.
However, there is a big difference between fish and snakes. The so-called "carp leaps over the dragon's gate" means that at a specific time and place.
If a carp can be selected to jump over the "dragon gate", then it can "turn into a dragon".
This is the same as the "official examination" in the past, where he was appointed as a farmhouse minister in the morning and ascended to the emperor's hall in the evening.
Of course, it has a certain similarity to what we now call "draft", where you can be famous and paid a huge sum of money once you appear on stage.
These dragon patterns changed in the Qing Dynasty. The flying dragon in the Qing Dynasty was also called "Yinglong", which refers to a dragon with a pair of wings.
Its appearance is also reflected in the remains of folk woodblock New Year paintings in the mid-Qing Dynasty.
Yinglong has a high status in ancient myths and legends, and they are also called the "Dragon Ancestors".
According to "Qingqi Legend": "A big fish and snake in the East China Sea drank Yinglong's morning urine and became a real dragon."
This "totem theory" also reveals from another aspect the difficulty of "turning a fish into a dragon".
Folklore stories have always been the origin of paintings and sculptures by craftsmen of all ages.
Regarding snakes transforming into dragons and fish transforming into dragons, some people think that the status of "snake transforming into dragons" will be relatively higher.
This is just like our collections. Things that are often too easy to obtain are not cherished by people.
The snake transformed into a dragon after a long process and overcame many difficulties and obstacles before becoming a dragon.
And after they become dragons, they can evolve into Yinglong again.
In addition, the spirit of snakes transforming into dragons is more worthy of our study, and the "carp leaping over the dragon's gate" is very exam-oriented and seems to be especially suitable for imperial examinations.
The blue and white fish and dragon pattern is one of the examples.
For example, there are two blue and white porcelain plates from the Qing Dynasty. The beauty of their shapes is a model for the study of "fish turning into dragons".
Its blue and white hair color is bright and pure, the blue dragon in the plate is fierce and soaring into the sky, and the carp painting is delicate.
They have strong movement and clear color, making them excellent study specimens for collectors.
No matter how you say it, Chinese people always have a different feeling for the dragon. As a symbol of auspiciousness, the dragon has long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
We know that the fish and dragon patterns on official kiln porcelain in the Ming and Qing Dynasties have been continuously transmitted to folk kiln porcelain.