Chapter 1955: Mud and Fire Weapons, the Rise and Fall of Culture
Previously, the National Museum, together with Gan Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau and museums, and more than a dozen cultural and museum units, jointly organized the "First Light of National Color - Gan Painted Pottery Art Exhibition".
After the opening, 195 pieces of exquisite prehistoric painted pottery were on display.
Including a painted pottery urn with a vertical arc zigzag pattern from the Mid-Levels Period collected by the Gansu Provincial Museum, and a fish pattern basin from the early Yangshao Culture.
In addition, there is also a salamander pattern bottle that is thought to be the image of Fuxi with the head of a human and the body of a snake.
Then there are the Majia Kiln in the National Museum, the early four-series painted pottery pots with swirl patterns, etc.
These concentrated collections of fine prehistoric painted pottery from the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River demonstrate the depth, longevity, splendor, and splendor of the prehistoric civilization in the Yellow River Basin.
About 8,000 years ago, the ancestors of the Wei River Basin fired the first batch of painted pottery in northern my country.
Since then, painted pottery has widely appeared in various Neolithic cultures in the Yellow River, Liaohe River, Yangtze River and other basins.
The painted pottery in Gan Province in the upper reaches of the Yellow River is the most developed, forming a unique painted pottery culture.
The painted pottery culture in Gan Province spans 5,500 years and has a long history, including many cultures from the Neolithic Age and the Bronze Age.
The exhibition displays a total of 195 exquisite pieces of prehistoric painted pottery, including two exquisite pieces from the National Museum.
It is divided into four units in terms of content, covering various historical periods of Gansu painted pottery.
The content covers various topics such as cultural background, painted pottery production, styles and genres, natural objects, spiritual life, etc.
There are many fine works among them, and many of the painted pottery are on display to the public for the first time. It can be called a collection of fine prehistoric painted pottery in the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River, fully demonstrating the depth, longevity, glory and splendor of the prehistoric civilization in the Yellow River Basin.
For example, the painted pottery urn with vertical arc zigzag pattern from the Mid-Levels period is decorated with black and red colors on the left and right, extending layer by layer. A blooming flower is painted on the pottery urn, which also symbolizes the splendor and magnificence of the heyday of Gansu Province's painted pottery art.
There is also a variant of the fish pattern basin. The fish pattern was the most common iconic pattern in the early Yangshao culture and gradually disappeared in the middle Yangshao culture.
Most of the fish patterns are painted around the basin-shaped vessel, with about 2 to 3 lines connected end to end.
The initial fish pattern was highly realistic, but later it was simplified from the head, and then merged with the fins, and finally became a very fixed stylized pattern, showing a development pattern from concrete to abstract.
The reason why this exhibition is famous is because these ancient treasures are on display.
The first unit "The Colorful World Under the Loess" mainly shows the cultural background of Gansu painted pottery.
It is divided into three groups: "Discovery", "Ignited Artifacts" and "Rise and Fall of Culture".
The "Discovery" part traces the process and significance of Gansu painted pottery discovered by Swedish scholar Andersen in 1923-1924.
It also describes the contribution of Chinese archaeologists in correcting An's misjudgment and improving the historical sequence of Gansu painted pottery.
The "Mud Ignited Ware" section shows the process of making pottery, painting and firing the finished product from the perspective of the history of science and technology, as well as the two production methods of applying mud patches and building mud strips.
The "Rise and Fall of Culture" section uses a historical narrative to give an overview of the different stages and types of Gansu painted pottery culture.
Some of the masterpieces here are of great historical significance.
Like the vase with the salamander pattern, the head of the salamander pattern is like a human face, the eyes are open, the mouth is open and the teeth are exposed, the body is bent and twisted, there are scale-like grid patterns all over, and there are claw-shaped patterns on both sides.
The image of this work is realistic and vivid, with the characteristics of a combination of salamander, human and snake. Some scholars believe that it may be the image of Fuxi with the head of a human and the body of a snake.
The second unit, "The Sonata of Strokes and Tones," introduces the main decorations and evolution patterns of various cultures of Gansu painted pottery in chronological order.
The content is divided into six groups: "A Touch of Red Color", "From Straight Line to Curve", "Surge of Rapids", "Red and Black Colors and Zigzag Patterns", "Circular Heaven and Earth" and "Continuous Sound".
“A Touch of Red Color” displays the earliest characteristics of painted pottery that appeared during the Dadiwan Culture period;
"From Straight Lines to Curves" introduces the evolution of painted pottery patterns from simple combinations to complex compositions during the Yangshao Culture period;
Since Majiayao culture is rich in painted pottery, the exhibition divides the early, middle and late periods of Majiayao into three groups for display.
"Surges", "Red and Black Colors with Zigzag Patterns" and "Circular Heaven and Earth" respectively display the Majiayao type, Banshan type and Machang type painted pottery groups.
A split interpretation of the representative patterns of this period such as swirl patterns, grid patterns, black and red zigzag patterns, gourd grid patterns, four circles patterns, and loop patterns.
Focus on displaying the artistic achievements of Gansu painted pottery in its most glorious stage;
Entering the Bronze Age, the quantity of painted pottery decreased and the quality also declined.
Therefore, the painted pottery from the four Bronze Age cultures of Qijia, Siba, Xindian and Shajing are grouped into the "Yiyin Mianmian" group and displayed in chronological order.
The painted pottery of each culture has different styles and distinctive features.
The third unit is "Song of Life in Nature".
Through concrete patterns, it displays the rich and colorful life phenomena in nature, as well as the characteristics and changing patterns of major biological patterns.
The content is divided into four groups: "luxuriant flowers and leaves", "birds riding the wind", "aquatic tribe" and "domesticated and wild".
As the name suggests, "luxuriant flowers and leaves" expresses the morphological characteristics of petals, leaves, fruits, gourds and other plant patterns.
"Birds Flying on the Wind" shows the shape and evolution characteristics of bird patterns.
"Aquatic clan" expresses the shapes and changing characteristics of aquatic creatures such as fish patterns and frog patterns.
"Domesticated and Wild" displays pigs, dogs, sheep and other domestic animals as well as deer, beasts, lizards and other animals related to livestock and hunting life.
Some of these images are purely artistic decorations, while others contain religious connotations.
The sun, plants, animals and humanoid patterns show the natural ecology of the place where people live.
One of the classics is Majiayao's early four-series painted pottery pots with swirl patterns. This kind of pottery pot is tall in shape, uses smooth lines and full composition to reproduce the magnificent picture of the Yellow River's undulating water and eddies. It also expresses the ancestors' love for
Mother River's deep attachment.
There is also a thin-necked pot with a pig face pattern. The shoulders and abdomen of this thin-necked pot are painted with four pig faces in two consecutive directions.
Each pig shares a pair of eyes with the one next to it, which is vivid and cleverly conceived.
Domestic pigs are one of the earliest domesticated livestock by ancestors, and are proof that primitive agriculture began to flourish.
The fourth unit, "Spiritual Home", collects and displays the painted pottery patterns related to people's spiritual life in various cultural stages.
The content is divided into three groups: "original beliefs", "plastic art" and "music and dance".
In ancient times, primitive faith was the most important spiritual pillar for people.
"Primitive Faith" mainly displays the newt pattern and divine man pattern that best embody these characteristics.
Among them, the divine and human patterns are the most abundant, and the pattern of changes is also very clear;
While the ancestors were exploring the art of painted pottery decoration, they also paid a certain amount of attention to three-dimensional shaping.
"Plastic Art" displays various ceramic sculpture cultural relics, reflecting the accurate observation ability, excellent expression ability and increasingly rich aesthetic taste of prehistoric ancestors.
Music and dance are the most direct art forms for human beings to express emotions.