On several decorative patterns on bronze drums

Recommended reading: Summary of places of interest in Zhangjiajie, Hunan Province: The bronze drum is an ancient and unique musical instrument, a colorful work of art and a precious historical relic. The patterns on the bronze drums can be said to reflect some social life scenes, customs and religious beliefs in the areas where they live. Therefore, many experts and scholars believe that various patterns on bronze drums are a rich national history. So, what kind of historical picture does this national history show? What is its internal meaning? In this regard, this article will give several examples. Keywords: bronze drum pattern totem worship life scene

(1) The sun pattern is the earliest and most basic pattern on bronze drums. Except for a few primitive bronze drums, almost all bronze drums have sun patterns. The decorative pattern on the lamp body is generally based on the lamp-shaped decorative pattern of the lamp body, and the shape and quantity of the lamp vary with different bronze drum series. Why is this decoration used in the center of the drum head? For this problem, many generations of people who have used bronze drums are mostly vague about it. For example, people in a Wa area in Yunnan say it's to look good. Of course, decorative light lines add beauty, but how can a "good look" solve the confusion in everyone's heart? According to the characteristics of these rays, some people think that these rays should initially represent Mars, that is to say, these rays should initially be Martian lines, and gradually become the rays representing the sun after continuous evolution. Judging from the existing research results, this seems to be affirmative. According to textual research, the original copper drum evolved from an inverted copper kettle, and its drum surface and bottom surface are generally light and flat. It was not until the bronze drums appeared later that the grass was as light as fire, but most of them were awns with uneven lengths, which looked like fire. With the development of society, the bronze drum has also developed into a special musical instrument, so its light body has expanded and the awn patterns around it have begun to become neat and heavy. Coupled with the halo of the surrounding chords, it seems that the whole drum surface is like a radiant sun. At this point, the awn pattern around the light body officially became the sun pattern. This also proves that the sun has become the idol of bronze drum users. It should be pointed out that there are two reasons for this form of worship of the sun. The first reason is an instinctive admiration. Because the sun is a star that directly acts on the earth in the universe, it brings indispensable light and heat to the growth and change of all things on the earth and brings about the reproduction of life, so people will naturally worship it. The second reason is the admiration of the rulers. This is because rulers can "humanize" the natural gods by offering sacrifices and other activities, such as comparing the sun to a monarch, so as to achieve the purpose of mythologizing themselves and using religious superstitions to rule, which is conducive to the stability of their own rule. (2) Frogs are decorated on many bronze drums, and there are many three-dimensional ornaments in the shape of frogs, which look very unique. Several individual frogs are arranged in the same direction, or rotate in the same direction, facing the drum center, or facing away from the drum center. Of course, a single frog here is sometimes replaced by two or more overlapping frogs with different sizes. What does it mean to decorate bronze drums with frogs? We still can't fully understand it, but several explanations sound quite credible. Some people think that decorating frogs on bronze drums has something to do with the ancients praying for rain, because in mythology, frogs are the little masters of God and the "messengers" of rain, and their croaking is a sign of rain. This explanation is quite reasonable, because most of the places where bronze drums prevail are agricultural areas, so we are concerned about the rain closely related to agriculture. For example, the Kaye people in Myanmar call the bronze drum frog drum, and now they still play it every time they pray for god and rain. Some people think that frogs are fertile, and decorating frogs with drums reflects the ancient people's desire for "offspring reproduction". Of course, this view is also easy to understand. In ancient China, it was often said that "many children are blessed", and many people were proud of "having a full house of children and grandchildren". Others think that decorating frogs with drums is related to totem worship, which is a common belief in southern China and ancient ethnic areas in Southeast Asia. According to Han Feizi's Internal Chapter, "The King of Yue was worried about attacking Wu and wanted people to be suicidal, so anger (frog) appeared, which was a form of submission:' Xi Jing is here?' King's Day:' Because of his anger, yes.' Next year, please invite more than ten people to present the king with their heads. Therefore, some people think that the worship of frogs by southern nationalities is to advocate the spirit of courage. Li people in Wuzhishan area of Hainan Island cast frogs on the three rings of gongs, embroidered frog patterns on their clothes and even tattooed their own skin. Casting frogs on bronze drums may have the same meaning, which is derived from the religious concept of primitive totem worship. (3) Birds fly on the drums of many bronze drums, and generally have a main halo decorated with bird patterns. These birds decorated in the main halo have long and sharp mouths, round eyes and short wings, which basically develop symmetrically to the two sides of the body, while their tails are fanned out and look particularly huge. The most common patterns of this kind of bird are four, followed by six, increasing in turn, and the most is twenty, almost even. They are usually connected end to end and fly counterclockwise around the central light body. But on some types of bronze drums, the number of birds is odd. And some birds on bronze drums fly clockwise, which is quite special. So, what are the names of these birds? What's the point of decorating them? According to the morphology of these birds, these birds should be a kind of waterfowl or migratory birds living by the sea. Almost all scholars agree on this point, but there are differences on its final ownership. Some scholars believe that these birds are the water cranes mentioned in the Notes of South Vietnam. The ability of water cranes to ventilate the wind and rain and predict the weather can be used as a basis for observing the weather, because they "sing up the mountain when it rains and sing into the sea when it doesn't rain". The ancients who lived by the sea cherished it very much and once presented it as a precious square object to the Zhou Emperor. Decorating water cranes on drums is related to the observation of the wind and cloud and the worship of rain by a large number of ethnic groups working on water in coastal areas, which reflects their worship of water cranes. Some scholars think this bird should be a heron. Herons also belong to cranes. They are widely distributed in the vast area south of the Yangtze River and live in groups in lakes, swamps and rice fields, not just in coastal areas. Herons are good at fishing and feed on aquatic animals, which reminds people of the joy of fishing and is a portrayal of the fishing nation. Some people think that this bird should be ibis. Because it is neither too small nor too big when flying, it is neat and orderly, so "Ancient Gentleman" decorated drums with herons to preserve its romantic style "means" preface to Hongyi Heron ". (4) When people dance on bronze drums, they can often see people wearing crests and feathers, dancing with utensils or dancing empty-handed. Some scholars call these figures "feather people" and think that decorating with bronze drums is a manifestation of totem worship. But more scholars think that these characters are dancers after makeup, trying to show the dance in real life at that time. Because the costumes of these feather people are similar to those of ancient dancers, and the pictures of them dancing with utensils are consistent with the records of ancient dancers dancing with poles and feathers or dry gas, it can be seen that the patterns of feather people dancing are the manifestations of some celebrations or performances of their time. (5) There is a common pattern on the bronze drum of Shigushan in kayaking, which is the boat pattern around the drum chest. The bow and stern of these ships are often decorated with images of birds' heads and tails, and there are people in clothes moving on board. Moreover, the pattern on the bottom of the boat has the pattern of fish, and there are waterfowl before and after. This is the most complicated and interesting part of the realistic pattern of bronze drums. There are boat-shaped patterns on two bronze drums in the Han tomb in Luobowan, Guangxi. There are four boats on the small bronze drum, but they are all very simple, and the bow and stern are very high. There are two people on each boat, both naked and paddling forward with their hands. There are six boats on the big bronze drum. The boat is long and narrow, with high ends and looks decorated with feathers. There are six people on each boat, naked, but wearing hat badges. The six men lined up on the boat. The first one, with a feather stick, seems to be the commander. The other five people all do the same rowing. Researchers have different explanations about the ship lines on bronze drums. Austrian scholar Hegel believes that the pattern of the ship should be regarded as a whole of a celebration ceremony together with other patterns on the bronze drum. French scholar Gruber thinks this is a ritual. Weiying Tao, a Vietnamese scholar and a French scholar, believes that these ships are seagoing ships, which are a reflection of maritime navigation or a memory of previous maritime navigation. However, more scholars believe that boat decorations should be a realistic custom of dragon boat racing. These four explanations are reasonable, but the fourth explanation is obviously more convincing. First of all, from the structure of the ship, the hull is very narrow and thin, and the fore and aft ends are higher. Easy, quick. This kind of ship has no draft and sail, so it is obviously only suitable for sailing in inland rivers and lakes, not at sea. This kind of ship is propelled by oars, and the rudder is replaced by a long tip. It can be placed on the water, and the bow can be adjusted at any time to make the ship turn sharply. Judging from these unique designs, this kind of ship seems to be specially designed for racing. Secondly, judging from the figures on board, most of them are wearing feather crowns, some are hanging around their waists, but most of them are naked, and the upper and lower bodies should be deliberately disguised. Because in reality, people who live with boats don't dress like this. Among these people, some are commanded by feather sticks, some are paddling, and some are pointed at the palm, each with a fixed position and action mode. They sit back and forth in a line, with coordinated movements and strong sense of rhythm. Generally, they only have this uniform posture when they compete. In addition, there are at least four boats on each bronze drum, and they are moving in the same direction at the same time. The pattern of the boat, together with the pattern of fish and birds attached to it, is actually a dragon boat race map. Dragon boat race is a very popular activity of ethnic minorities in the south of China. It is said that it rose in memory of Qu Yuan, a famous patriotic poet in ancient China. "Geography of Sui Shu" said: "Qu Yuan went to Guluo in May, and the natives chased him to Dongting, but he didn't see him. The lake is too big and too small to be profitable, so it is a song day: how to cross the lake? Therefore, if the drum X competes, it must go to the pavilion, which is passed down from generation to generation, and the game is the play. "In fact, this kind of racing scene existed long before Qu Yuan. The drama of drag racing is related to the natural environment of "water villages" in southern China. Southerners are good at boating, and many people make a living by fishing. Dragon boat race is just an exercise of their water life, and it is an entertainment activity gradually formed in their long-term life. In addition to all kinds of decorative patterns on the road, the decorative patterns on the bronze drums include Yun Leiwen, riding patterns, cow sledding patterns, turtle patterns and crab patterns. These decorative patterns either show the worship of some natural phenomena or things, or reflect social life scenes. They show people's mental state and life scenes in the era when the bronze drums were located. In addition, do these patterns have other meaning? There are only a few words left in historical documents, and there are many mysteries waiting for people to explore. Extended reading: the ancient legend of Zhangjiajie, Hunan Province