Chapter 1878 Tang Dynasty Sculpture, the highest peak in history
Although the ancient ancestors had not yet invented iron chisel tools, they could already use the most general points and lines to reflect the objective reality of objects.
The shapes and lines of these utensils are so beautiful, so symmetrical and precise.
The ancient ancestors fully understood that the most beautiful form is also the most convenient and practical type.
In our Chinese nation, stone sculptures have always existed since the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties.
The Xia Dynasty is definitely a controversial era, but our people are confident that this era does exist.
The most recent proof is the discovery of the Xia Dynasty Imperial City Terrace site. Although no writing was found in it, a variety of stone carvings were found.
Although the stone carving art in our country has existed since the Paleolithic Age, due to its long history, not many works have been left.
Most of the stone sculptures left today are in the form of tools.
Although stone tools and stone sculptures are both works made of stone, they are different in terms of functionality and practicality.
In particular, stone tools are more of works related to daily life, while stone carvings contain pattern meanings and even some text.
Therefore, in terms of archaeological significance, stone carvings are superior to stone tools.
Recently, the archaeological excavation of the Shimao site has made important progress.
The joint archaeological team unearthed more than 70 exquisite stone carvings when they completely exposed the south retaining wall of a "big platform" on the top of the Imperial City Platform in the core area of the site.
The discovery of these stone carvings pushed my country's stone carving art from the Shang Dynasty to the Xia Dynasty.
These stone carvings are all early Xia Dynasty stone carvings, including stone pillars, stone tools, stone platforms and other carvings.
It can be said that this discovery has played a role in the study of the history of stone carving art in my country.
The Imperial City Terrace is currently the best preserved and largest early palace building in East Asia.
The discovery of the Shimao ruins has continuously refreshed the academic world's understanding of my country's early civilization.
The stone sculptures unearthed from the southern wall of Tai Tai far exceed the previous academic judgment of the height of my country's early civilization 4,000 years ago.
These stone carvings have a very high level of civilization in terms of shape and carving.
From a historical perspective, the discovery of these works has enriched my country's ancient stone carving culture and made up for the cultural gaps.
The Shimao site is a super-large central settlement in northern my country from the late Longshan Period to the early Xia Dynasty.
The site consists of three parts: the Imperial City Platform, the inner city and the outer city.
In 2018, on the eastern side of the Imperial City Platform, the archaeological team discovered and confirmed the "Big Platform Foundation".
From 2018 to 2019, the archaeological team clarified the "four to" range of the large platform base and completely exposed its south retaining wall.
The base of the Imperial City Platform is roughly square in shape with rounded corners, with a side length of about 130 meters, and is surrounded by stone walls.
The south retaining wall is built with staggered sandstone blocks. There are multiple wood holes found in the wall. The highest point is about 4 meters high.
It has now been confirmed that these protective walls are the earliest existing city walls in my country, and they are also the oldest sites that mark the beginning of urbanization in Chinese architecture.
Among these ancient buildings, stone carvings are naturally indispensable.
More than 70 exquisite stone carvings are the most important discovery on the south wall of Tai Tai Ji.
Most of these stone carvings were unearthed within the collapsed stones of the wall, and some were embedded in the wall.
The carving content of stone sculptures can be roughly divided into five categories: divine faces, human faces, mythical beasts, animals and symbols, among which the divine face stone sculptures are the largest.
There are a small number of column-type stone sculptures, which are two-sided symmetrical images of gods and men. One of them is an oval column standing on the ground in the middle of the aisle, with a height of nearly 1 meter.
Column-type stone sculptures may already have the properties of totem poles.
At present, it is determined that these should be the totems of my country during the Xia Dynasty, and their history is earlier than the dragon culture of my country.
Preliminary guess is that it is a god conceived in the ancient times. The forehead, nose, eyes, mouth, and beard below the stone carving of the god are all in the shape of a human figure.
Dating data shows that the age of these stone carvings should be no later than around 2000 BC.
These stone carvings also laid an extremely important material foundation for the Imperial City Platform, which is the core of the Shimao City Site.
They should have the same spiritual connotation as the "jades hidden in the wall" found at the Shimao site and the use of human heads to lay the foundation.
The ancients had a strong sense of awe for stones, and they even believed that stones contained life.
By processing these carvings, the form of gods is revealed. This is the origin of the earliest stone carving culture in my country.
Archeology is still continuing, and it is not yet known what kind of stone carvings will be discovered in the future. I hope that more elements will be discovered, so that our country's civilization and art can form a perfect closure.
From this archaeological excavation, it has been determined that the stone carving art of the Xia Dynasty was even more brilliant in the Shang Dynasty.
Following the Erlitou Culture is the Erligang Culture, which represents the remains of the mid-Shang Dynasty.
At this time, the production of stone tools still played an important role. Various ceramic sculptures were popular at that time, but eye-catching stone sculptures were rare.
It was not until the Yinxu Culture Period, which entered the heyday of my country's Bronze Age, that stone carving art once again bloomed with dazzling brilliance.
Famous statues of figures from the late Shang Dynasty include the remains of the stone figure Jiu from No. 1004 Tomb of Houjiazhuang, Anyang, and the stone figure No. 376 from Fuhao Tomb in Yinxu.
These characters are carefully depicted, and their clothing and hairstyles are clearly identifiable. They are direct expressions of social life by ancient sculptors, thus leaving a model for future generations to observe and imitate.
The primitive religious concept of animism was prevalent in the society of the Shang Dynasty, and animals were also gods worshiped by people at that time.
Therefore, stone carving artists are especially good at expressing all kinds of animal world.
Large animal stone carvings are mostly found in the royal capital of Anyang and Yin.
The stone duck unearthed in Houjiazhuang has a thick shape and is decorated with lines and carvings all over its body. It is a recreation that does not stick to the original shape.
Its pointed beak and protruding eyes bring out the essential characteristics and ferocious personality of the raptor.
All other details have been omitted, and the feet below are of different thicknesses to support balance and avoid monotony.
The feathers and wings on its body are represented by line carvings.
This method of integrating pattern decoration into the round sculpture shape is a significant feature of Shang Dynasty sculpture that distinguishes it from prehistoric sculpture and forms a unique style.
Next, the heyday of stone sculpture appeared in the Tang Dynasty.
The sculptures of the Tang Dynasty are the highest peak in the history of sculpture in my country and are still divided into two categories: mausoleum stone sculptures and Buddhist stone sculptures.
Buddhist sculptures in the Tang Dynasty were still dominated by grotto statues. In addition, a few painted sculptures and small Buddha statues from plain Buddhist temples have been preserved.
The statues of the Tang Dynasty are represented by the statues of Fengxian Temple, which are majestic, plump and round.
This effectively reflects the characteristics of the Tang Dynasty style, of which Dunhuang colored sculptures are the main body and essence.
Its large number, rich content and high artistic level are unmatched by the statues of the past dynasties.
The statues of the Tang Dynasty have become independent round sculptures, and most of them are group statues, with the Buddha sitting in the middle and the disciples Bodhisattvas on both sides.
The king of heaven and the powerful men echo each other from afar.