The Evolution of Vase Decorative Art——From Pre-Qin Ritual Vessel to Song Dynasty Vase Art
The Evolution of Vase Decorative Art——From Pre-Qin Ritual Vessel to Song Dynasty Vase Art
As an ornamental utensil, vases are gradually produced after the productivity reaches a certain level and people have the ability to solve basic life problems, because most of the material is based on its practical functions at the beginning, and only after the basic survival problems are solved, people will have more Time and energy to pursue a higher level, and the function of the utensils also changes with the change of needs. For example, after the power was expanded, the ritual vessels came into being to consolidate the rule and the hierarchical order. The sacred function of constraining the hierarchical order was its main function. When the ruler no longer needed God to grant power, the ritual collapsed and the music broke down, and the sacred function of the implements Greatly weakened, a small number of utensils continued to act as a medium for spiritual communication on special occasions, and most of the utensils went into daily life after the unification of the Qin and Han Dynasties, and the practical functions of the utensils gradually emerged， Daily necessities .
1. Origin: Ritual vessels and utensils before the Qin and Han dynasties tended to be routine
At the beginning of the emergence of material civilization, it was inseparable from its practicality. In the primitive society with extremely low productivity, people only had the most basic need to satisfy their stomach. On the basis of this demand, a series of utensils for eating came into being. In the long struggle against various harsh natural environments, primitive people rely more on the sky for food, so they are more and more in awe of nature and gradually produce various primitive worship. In order to express reverence, primitive people offered their most valued food to gods, and utensils became the medium for communication between people and gods. The functions of some utensils were gradually determined and given sacred meanings in the process.
However, although these utensils have conscious or unconscious sacred features and express this belief through simple ornamentation, they are also used in people's daily diet, and it can be said that they have both sacred and practical functions.
History developed to the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, and the primitive society transformed into a slave society. As a large-scale tool used in the three dynasties (Xia, Shang, and Zhou), bronze ware also inherited the function of the communication medium between people and gods in the primitive society, and this function gradually Expand to the entire field of worship. Although bronze ware is also widely used in daily life, its sanctity is more distinctive. For the three generations who believed in ancestors and gods, and most of them were divinations, bronze ware was the most suitable choice for maintaining the hierarchy. When people with different identities are on different occasions, they need to use different quantities and regulations of vessels, so that the ritual vessels concretize the invisible and intangible hierarchical order, and the vessels serving as ritual vessels are also endowed with sacred and hierarchical characteristics.
In the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the most obvious change was that "ceremony collapsed and music broke down". Hundreds of schools of thought contended to make people change from reverence for ghosts and gods to "respect ghosts and gods and keep them away" advocated by Confucius. People began to explore the relationship between man and heaven. And in the process continue to improve the status of people.
The sacred hierarchy of bronze ware as a ritual vessel gradually weakened. Coupled with the innovation and development of copper casting technology, bronze ware began to serve people and become everyday. The overall shape of the vessel became richer and livelier, and the volume became smaller and more suitable for daily use. When the utensils became daily and practical, the bronze ware, which was relatively difficult to retrieve and used relatively clumsily, was gradually replaced by the emerging lacquer ware. In the Qin and Han dynasties, the light and cheap lacquer ware was further developed and promoted in the life of the nobles.
As a unified feudal society, the Qin and Han dynasties had a more complete system. Regardless of the Legalist thought adopted in the Qin Dynasty or the external Confucianism and internal law of the Han Dynasty, the role of gods was greatly weakened by laws and the role of people was highlighted. Although this period " "Propriety" is still the law that people's ethical order should follow, but this kind of constraint is more in line with human feelings and respects the inner constraints of human nature, because the external mandatory constraints of "ritual" have been replaced by "law", so at this time "Li" is different from the "li" of the three generations, and it has more human touch. On this basis, the utensils continued to transform into practical functions, and the predecessors of vases such as pots and bottles were handed down in the process of transforming from "god"-centered to "human"-centered because of their strong practicality. .
Second, the origin
: Religion and Secularization from Wei, Jin to Sui and Tang Dynasties As early as the pre-Qin period, the Book of Songs had records of flowers and trees, but did not mention specific flower containers. In the period of Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty, his queen once planted flowers and trees in the palace according to the four seasons and watered them personally. After the flowers bloomed, they placed them in the bedroom, several desks and other places. In the Han Dynasty, various gardens for planting flowers and trees gradually developed. It can be seen that in the Han Dynasty, flowers and trees were used as decoration inside and outside the house, which laid the foundation for the later generation and development of flower arrangement art and exclusive containers. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the country finally broke down, and the unstable political environment promoted a wave of metaphysical talk at that time. Although the style of metaphysics originated from the thoughts of Lao and Zhuang, it was deeply influenced by Buddhism introduced into the Central Plains in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, which provided conditions for the rapid prevalence of foreign Buddhism. At the same time, some Buddhist customs and utensils were also introduced, including the vases enshrined in front of the Buddha. According to the textual research of modern scholars at that time, glass vase and copper poppy began to be used as flower arrangement utensils at this time, with a wide range of applications and sometimes universal. This kind of utensils used by people to arrange flowers in the early days was also preserved in later generations, and gradually evolved into vases. During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, although the vase has not been named, it has been gradually separated from the general utensils and used for flower arrangement. The propaganda of "one flower, one world, one leaf, one thousand thousand" is consistent, and metaphysics draws on the idea of advocating nature and taking nature as the foundation of Buddhism and Taoism. Therefore, the art of flower arrangement is deeply in line with Wei and Jin literati's desire to stay away from temples. All make flower arrangement to be sought after and popularized. The vase of flower arrangement in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties has become a sacred medium again due to religious factors. The difference is that it has become independent from the vessel, and in the subsequent development, the sacredness of the vase of flower arrangement has weakened due to the pursuit of scholars and doctors. , its aesthetic function is gradually highlighted, and the shape is more abundant.
In the Sui and Tang Dynasties after Wei and Jin, the country was unified again, and the Tang Dynasty ushered in the grand situation of the coming of all countries. The strong national power made the whole dynasty grand and all-encompassing, regardless of economic, political, ideological or religious aspects. The open attitude provides vigor and vitality for the development of culture and art. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, Buddhism and Taoism were still prevalent and had a tendency to learn from each other and integrate with Confucianism. However, a stable society made people no longer rely on religion to seek peace in the afterlife. Buddhist art also continued to develop from the religious level to the artistic level. Going further to the secular, it became popular in the court and folk This is also evidenced by the large number of bottles, poppies, and bottles in museums and unearthed cultural relics. The development of vases in the Tang Dynasty also benefited from the further development of its flower arrangement art. During this period, people began to pay attention to the creation of atmosphere when viewing flowers. The free and easy atmosphere made Tang people prefer "wine appreciation". Wine, drink alone without blind date". The study of the flower-viewing atmosphere also influenced and promoted the development of flower-arranging theory. During this period, Luo Qiu's "Flower Nine Tins", the first book describing the flower-arranging theory in detail, was born. It mentioned the protection of flowers, the utensils for trimming flowers, the utensils for flower arrangement, the placement of flower utensils and the atmosphere of flower viewing, that is, it provides a reference standard for the whole process of flower arrangement and flower viewing. The first theorizing of flower arrangement art laid the foundation for the specific description of flower arrangement by later Song and Ming literati.
From the division of the country in the late Eastern Han Dynasty to the unity and stability of society in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the appearance and gradual systematization of vases cannot be separated from the promotion of religious art, and once again experienced a transformation from the secular to the sacred to the secular, but this time the vases have changed from Chinese utensils. It was independent from the vases, and together with the pots, plates, jars and other utensils, it changed from a practical function to an aesthetic function. There were also flower bottle and long-necked vase, which were more popular in the Tang Dynasty. The art of vase flowers matured from the Song Dynasty.
3. Maturity: the mature vase art in the Song Dynasty Although the Song Dynasty was also a unified dynasty, it had more foreign aggressions than the prosperous times of the Sui and Tang Dynasties. However, the prosperity of the commodity economy and the further development of agriculture, commerce, and handicrafts allowed the people of the Song Dynasty to live without worrying about food and clothing. Three religions and nine streams, teahouses and restaurants, and rare treasures from all over the world all come together here, and the people's daily entertainment is rich and colorful. Such a contradictory internal and external environment made the Song people not only enjoy pleasure but also prepare for danger in times of peace. Their aesthetic preferences are no longer as graceful and luxurious as those of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, but are full of rationality under the guidance of Neo-Confucianism. Rational thinking is injected into the experience of things and life. If the art of flower arrangement became popular in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, then the Song Dynasty was a period when the art of vase was mature. The art of vase, as the name suggests, was the art of flower arrangement with a vase as a vessel for flower arrangement, and the vase became an important embellishment to express the elegance and exquisite life of the literati. The word "vase" first appeared to refer to the vase of flower arrangement for the first time in Wen Ge's "Trivial Records" in the Northern Song Dynasty. Vase and flowerpot are the main utensils of flower arrangement in Song Dynasty, and literati flower arrangement is mainly in vases. Compared with the previous generation, the art of vase flowers in the Song Dynasty was more everyday, which was inseparable from the popularization of high seating furniture in the Song Dynasty. Toward refinement and refinement, vases have also gained a place among them. In the Song Dynasty, literature was emphasized over martial arts, and the literati class was further expanded. The literati would set aside a space for reading and introspection, and various small rooms, small pavilions, and Rongxi pavilions appeared. From the name, it can be seen that the space of the study is not large, but the equipment in it is very complete. In order to match the narrow space, scholars will choose the smaller gall bottle (sometimes called "small bottle") as the flowerpot.
These vases are basically porcelain, and the demand for porcelain in the Song Dynasty also promoted the prosperity of the porcelain industry in the Song Dynasty. A number of porcelain kilns such as kilns and Longquan kilns have sprung up, making the Song Dynasty porcelain a breakthrough in both production and skills. Each kiln porcelain in the Song Dynasty has its own characteristics in glaze color and pattern. From this, it can be inferred that the Song people liked pink and blue and some uniform and pure glaze colors that are relatively rare, and the ice cracks were also loved by the people of the time, and the literati of the Ming Dynasty inherited the Song Dynasty. Literati aesthetics, so it can be found in the comments that these are also presented in the vases of the Ming Dynasty literati. The Song Dynasty was also an era of good ancient times and ancient times. This trend is also reflected in their preference for epigraphy. Many sacrificial utensils and display utensils in the Song Dynasty were imitated from the three dynasties (Xia, Shang, Zhou) as templates, and porcelain was used. Or made of bronze and bronze, this popularity also shows in the choice of vases. The removal of edges is also a manifestation of the Song people's preference for simplicity, just as they prefer plum blossoms, bamboo, camellia, narcissus and other more beautiful flowers, which is contrary to the flamboyant and noble atmosphere of peony and rose in the Tang Dynasty. In order to match these elegant flowers, the vases of the Song Dynasty often have few decorations and carvings. Even if there are carvings, they will not be full of flowers, but the lines will be simple and eye-catching. The patterns are usually directly presented by the glaze color itself. The elegant vase and the simple and elegant flower materials will complement each other and not overwhelm the guest. In addition to the small vases on several cases, the Song people also placed large vases of three, forty centimeters or higher in height in the halls. This phenomenon can be found from the brick carvings of the Liao and Jin tombs and the Song Dynasty kiln ruins in the same period as the Song Dynasty. The large vase in the Song Dynasty has been corroborated, and it can be seen that the application of vase in the Song Dynasty has been very popular.
Before the Ming Dynasty, the functions of vases generally underwent the following changes: In the pre-Qin period, the source of vases such as pots, bottles, goblets, and poppies was mainly based on the sacred function of the utensils. It was separated and officially entered the stage of history; the vases in the Tang Dynasty became more secular after the aesthetic function was improved; the vases in the Song Dynasty became mature with the vase art favored by the literati class, and their aesthetic functions were also highlighted as the main function and were later inherited by the literati of the Ming Dynasty. carry forward.
In the Song Dynasty, no matter the development of furniture, the development of the city or the improvement of the status of the literati, they all laid the foundation for the development of the literati class and the improvement of their aesthetic taste at that time, and the art of vase flowers also developed rapidly. Hanging paintings are also called the four elegant tastes of literati in the Song Dynasty, and many Song poems also have descriptions about vases. At this time, the art of vase flowers has gradually become a system, and the bile vase has also become a small item in the study that was loved by the literati in the Song Dynasty. It can be said that the aesthetic function of the vase has become its main function. The production of vases and the gradual improvement of their aesthetic functions also witnessed the development of the whole society towards a higher level with the improvement of productivity, that is, from believing in gods, to discovering the power of people, and then to the development of the pursuit of quality of life.
