Chapter 1898: Pearls, Wenjia, and Rhinoceros fill the harem
According to statistics, there are as many as three pieces of silk clothing unearthed from Mashan Tomb No. 1, and there are many categories.
Needless to say, this discovery has provided a large amount of precious physical information for the study of the history of ancient costumes in my country.
In addition to clothing, a large number of exquisite embroideries were also unearthed from Mashan Tomb No. 1.
The needlework is uniform, the lines are smooth, the patterns of various animals and plants are dignified and elegant, and it is very characteristic of Chu culture.
This is a major breakthrough in the history of pre-Qin archeology in my country. It has important reference value not only for the study of people's living customs in the pre-Qin period, but also for the study of the costume culture of the nobles of the Chu state.
What's more important is that these clothes and silk fabrics are extremely meticulous, both in shape and handiwork, and are truly exquisite.
This makes people have to admire the wisdom of our ancient people. How did they complete such superb skills?
Chinese civilization is vast and profound, and there are more precious cultures waiting for us to discover.
Returning to root carving, after all, Chen Wenzhe didn't want to learn silk technology yet, he still liked carving skills.
On top of root carving, carving and originality can often create miracles.
The art of root carving has a long history.
As early as the Yuan and Ming dynasties, the Jurchens had precedents of using tree roots as stands to display various objects.
Later, some people carved the strange-shaped tree roots into works of art with unique aesthetic value according to their shapes, and gradually formed the art of root carving, which has been passed down to this day.
The earliest extant root carving works are the "warring evil spirits" and horn-shaped utensils from the Warring States Period just mentioned.
Let’s talk about Chu Tomb No. 1 in Mashan first. The root carving work “Warding Off Evil” unearthed from the Warring States Period is quite representative.
As a tomb-suppressing beast, this root carving has a tiger's head, a dragon's body, and four legs with patterns of snakes, sparrows, frogs, cicadas, etc. It is full of movement.
This shows that more than 2,300 years ago, the root carving artworks of the working people of ancient my country had reached the level of ingenious combination of natural forms and artificial carvings.
Then there is the Warring States Period Angle Ware, which can be regarded as the earliest root carving work in the world.
It may surprise you that it actually looks like a bull’s horn. Why is this?
The two wood carvings discovered at that time were simply two inconspicuous and strange wooden products.
At first, it did not attract the attention of experts. One of them was a eucalyptus root carving, which is a wood carving to ward off evil spirits.
Although it is not large in size, the carving craftsmanship is extremely exquisite.
As a tomb-suppressing beast, the evil-doing beast is carved lifelike, giving it a majestic look at first glance.
Therefore, it is not only called a treasure, but also has received many praises around the world.
There is another cultural relic that is also very strange, and it is difficult for people to connect it with wood.
Its lower part is tilted internally and outwards, in the shape of a trumpet, with a straight bottom. It is also made of tree roots.
This piece of wood resembles the mouth of a plate and looks like a rhinoceros horn as a whole, so the academic community named it "horn-shaped implement".
It is indeed a wooden product and also a root carving product.
This root carving cultural relic is made of the relatively precious camphor wood.
The lower diameter of this piece is 0.8 cm and the height is 1.0 cm.
So why did the ancients place something with such a strange shape in their tomb?
Over the past few decades, there have been many studies on anglers.
There are many opinions about its use. Generally speaking, there are three more well-founded opinions.
The first theory is that this is a status symbol, and it completely symbolizes rhino horn.
"Zhou Rites Commentary" records: "Rhinoceros horn is the most precious horn."
"Book of Han: Biography of the Western Regions" even records: "Pearls, armor, and rhinos fill the harem."
It can be seen that rhino horn has been a precious wealth since ancient times.
The presence of rhinoceros horn-shaped root carvings in the tomb was probably to highlight the noble status of the tomb owner.
But some people raised objections. They thought this kind of thing was used to untie knots.
Because the ropes at that time were not strong and the horses pulled the carts, the ropes could break easily. In order to connect the ropes and break the dead knots on the ropes, the carriage drivers needed this angle device very much.
Regarding the use of this horn-shaped vessel, there is another theory with many supporters, that is, it is a sacrificial offering.
Because the horn-shaped utensil is so similar to "Ya", "Zhou Li Chunguan Sheng Shi" records: "Ya is shaped like a lacquered raft with a mouth, two sides wide, five feet and six inches long, and is made of sheep and Wei.
, there are two groups of sparse paintings.”
This record is basically consistent with the unearthed horn-shaped tool. Experts even detected traces of leather covering its surface, which makes it more "elegant" in appearance.
Some people even say that there is a tiger-mounted bird drum in the tomb, which was unearthed together with the horn-shaped instrument, which implies that it is a type of musical instrument.
Although it is still unclear what the angler is used for.
However, after a difficult comparison by experts, this horn-shaped device should have existed several years earlier than the root carving to ward off evil spirits.
This is really a cultural relic that cannot be judged by appearance. It can be seen from this that this horn-shaped vessel is the ancestor of root carving and the best in the world.
After the Warring States Period, during the Western Han Dynasty, descendants of Confucius used the naturally curved shape of regular wood to make crutches.
During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, many practical items and furniture such as stick heads, pen holders, Buddha handles, back grips, and pipes made from tree roots appeared.
Secondly, in the Book of the Southern Qi Dynasty, there is a record that Qi Emperor Gaozu gave bamboo roots to the hermit monk Shao as "ruyi".
At the same time, some root-made practical products, furnishings and furniture appeared.
After the Sui and Tang Dynasties, root carvings were not only widely spread among the people, but also favored by the royal family and nobles.
According to the "New Book of Tang Dynasty: Biography of Li Mi": "Mi tried to take pine and peach branches to hide his back, and named it 'Yanghe'. Later, he got a dragon-shaped one. Because he offered it to the emperor, the four parties competed for his effect."
It is said that during the Tang Dynasty, Li Mi, the official of Ye, used natural tree roots to make a dragon-shaped back scratch and presented it to the emperor.
Han Yu wrote a poem in "Ti Mu Jushi": "The fire passes through the waves regardless of spring, and the roots are like the head, the face, and the stems are like the body. Occasionally, if you are named Mu Jushi, there will be endless people seeking blessings."
The "wooden layman" in the poem is a root art work that is regarded as an image of "gods and Buddhas".
This definitely describes a "figure" work of root carving.
Root carving works during the Song and Yuan Dynasties developed in the court and among the people.
During this period, root art was not only popular and developed in the court and among the people, but also appeared in grottoes and temples.
In some grottoes and temples in my country, root-carved Buddha statues are still preserved.
And some painters also use root carvings as creative materials.
In "Bo Ya Drum and Qin Picture", many of the arrangements in the painting are root carvings.
In the Ming Dynasty, root carving works had even more unique artistic features.
A large number of root carving artists emerged in the Qing Dynasty, which brought the creation of root carvings to a new stage.
They inherited the tradition of wood carving art and created many excellent root art works.
To this day, many root carving treasures from the Qing Dynasty are still collected in the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, and the Yuyuan Garden in the capital city.