Jian Jia took a sip of tea gracefully amid the rustle of the ginkgo tree in the night wind.
Holding her chin, she looked at Cao Lin, who was playing carefree with her maid under the dim light of the sheep-shaped candlestick in the courtyard, and thought for a moment: "As the wife of Uncle Zhao, I am the former eldest daughter of the great uncle."
General’s wife, now the prime minister’s wife, I still want to be a good wife for my husband,
I want to share my husband's worries. You can't just sit in the house doing nothing all day long, watching the sunrise and sunset, just doing some things to support your husband and raise your children!"
The goat-shaped candlestick was once thought to be a socket for plugging in things. It was not until later generations that people correctly understood its purpose.
Its shape is exactly the same as the copper sheep lantern of the Han Dynasty. The current one in the courtyard is a cyan porcelain sheep in a kneeling posture with its head raised and its whole body covered with crystal blue glaze. The head and body of the sheep are dotted with several dots.
The brown spots look quite nice,
It's just that no one present cares about these small things, but they are quite concerned about the major events happening in the court and Luoyang.
After all, both the master and the servants in this mansion have seen the world and experienced the ups and downs of Luoyang City and court politics.
For such a delicate gadget, a small candlestick, it is possible to turn a blind eye and not take it seriously.
If it were in an ordinary people's home, it would be considered a rather precious family property, but here, no one takes it seriously. They just treat it as an ordinary lighting fixture and use it casually.
The only difference between this porcelain sheep candlestick and the copper sheep lamp is that the sheep's back of the copper sheep lamp can be turned over and placed on the sheep's head to serve as a lamp, while the forehead of the porcelain sheep has a round hole for inserting candles.
The lighting point of both is on the sheep's head. At this time, the candlelight on the sheep's head in the courtyard is swaying slightly in the summer night breeze, flickering.
In today's era, sheep are associated with auspicious sounds, and sheep represent good luck and good luck, so many shapes of ceramic candlesticks are related to sheep.
During the Warring States, Qin and Han Dynasties, there were various exquisite copper candlesticks. During the Three Kingdoms period, with the development of porcelain making technology, porcelain candlesticks began to be used. At this time, the most widely used ones were porcelain sheep-shaped candlesticks.
Of course, there are also some more popular ones, the lion-shaped candlesticks used by very few people. For a period of time, the lion-shaped candlesticks were misunderstood as "water injection" and thought to be stationery containing water.
But its molding method is completely different from the frog-shaped water bowls and the narrow-mouthed and oblate-shaped water bowls that were popular at the time. The latter are all drawn and have a thin and smooth oblate belly to store water. The lion-shaped candlestick
Shaped by die printing method,
The body of the vessel is thick and heavy, with uneven inner walls. It has a tubular mouth but no flow, and does not look like it holds water. It is also incompatible with inkstones, pen slips and other stationery.
Some candlesticks are on the back of a lion: a person is riding on it, wearing a high tubular crown, which is obviously a vessel for candles. In terms of practicality, shape and weight, it is appropriate to hold candles for lighting.
The lion shape is the most auspicious animal shape used by ancient Chinese. The image of the lion is a symbol of justice in ancient people's concepts. Its majestic and domineering effect not only wards off evil,
There is also a beautiful meaning of everything going well, so some people also like to use lion-shaped candlesticks.
In later eras, a porcelain candlestick with a shadow of a blue lion was also popular. The two animal-shaped porcelain candlesticks had a cylindrical rolled base on the back, which was used to insert candles.
One piece is in the shape of a lion, with four legs stretched out, standing with its head held high, a broad nose, round eyes, protruding eyeballs, dotted with black color, erect ears, open mouth, tongue protruding, exposed teeth, a row of beards under the chin, and drooping hair on the head.
;
The other piece is a porcelain candlestick in the shape of a pictogram, standing with its head bowed, gazing, with black eyes, a long nose rolled in, long teeth exposed on the side of the nose, and drooping ears.
There are several shallow carvings under the green glaze on the ear surface, showing clear tendons. The head is decorated with a cross-shaped bridle, on which are piled six plum blossoms and chrysanthemums.
Elephants also have auspicious meanings. When there is peace and elephant, there is a beautiful vision and meaning of peace in the world and good harvests.
Of course, in this day and age, the most popular ones are the celadon sheep-shaped candlesticks currently displayed in Jianjia Courtyard.
Wen Qin, who was serving on the side, replied: "Madam, if you can't think of how to help the master, you can ask Mrs. Bai, the female Zhuge of our house, to help.
Ask her, maybe she has some good ideas in her mind that can help you, madam, to help the master!"
Jian Jia held her chin up and thought again, then smiled and said: "Wen Qinru is right, without further ado, let's go find Lingyun now. I believe she must not be asleep yet.
With her good deeds and political nature, it is impossible for her to sleep at this time. She must have some experience and methods for us women to participate in politics and help our husbands!"
Wen Qin said: "Madam, shall the young master continue to let him play here, or shall he be sent back to the house to sleep and rest?"
Jian Jia said softly: "Lin'er, are you willing to go back to the house to sleep? Or should you play in the courtyard for a while, wait for mother to come back from Aunt Bai, and then take you back to the house to sleep?"
Cao Lin was playing while pushing a dove cart, and the maid was following him. When Cao Lin heard his mother asking him, he said in a sweet voice: "Mom, I don't want to go back to the house to sleep so early. I want to play for a while longer and wait for my mother."
Come back and go to sleep!"
Jia Jia looked at Cao Lin dotingly and said, "Okay, mother believes that Lin'er is the most well-behaved child. You can continue to play here for a while. Don't be tempted to run to your father. That way Lin'er can't help you."
He is not a good boy!"
Cao Lin said obediently: "Don't worry, mother, the child will not disobey mother and run around!"
Children of later generations had toy cars, and today's children also have toy cars, which are purely handmade. Among them, the dove cart and the bamboo horse are the most popular.
Jiu is the name of a kind of bird. As the name suggests, Jiu cart is a wooden two-wheeled cart made in the shape of a bird.
The theme of the dove cart is the image of a bird with its wings spread out. There are wheels on each side of the bird's body. The dove cart cannot seat people and is only for children to push and play.
Dove carts are often associated with children. Therefore, in later literary works, dove carts often appear as a symbol of recalling the past, thereby expressing the author's nostalgia for his childhood.
The history of the appearance of the dove chariot is quite long. Among the unearthed Han stone portraits, the theme of Confucius meeting Lao Tzu is often seen. There is usually a child prodigy Xiang Lu next to the two saints in the painting, and Xiang Lu is holding the dove chariot. In other words
, Jiuche has been a playmate of children as early as the Spring and Autumn Period.
The dove cart in Cao Lin's hands has a unique shape, with two wheels and a long tail trailing behind it.
As long as you push it gently, the tail will swing up and down, and so will the wings, vividly showing the walking and flying states of the bird.
Wenqin went back to the house, took a lantern, and led the way. Jianjia followed closely behind, leaving the hospital and heading to Bai Lingjun's courtyard to discuss how to help her husband. Cao Lin continued to push the dove cart happily.