The meaning of wadang suzaku in Han dynasty

Aesthetic Connotation of Wadang in Han Dynasty

This paper mainly discusses the characteristics of the tile in Han Dynasty, such as rich theme, beautiful shape, changeable structure and both form and spirit, so as to explore its aesthetic connotation.

Keywords: aesthetic connotation of both form and spirit

According to the literature, tile appeared after matriarchal society entered paternal society. As an ancient building material in China, tile is an epoch-making progress in the architectural history of China. Ceramic tiles were first seen in the early Western Zhou Dynasty ruins. China ancient tile is divided into two types: slab tile and pipe tile. When laying tiles on the roof of a house, first spread the relatively wide tiles on the roof in turn, and then cover and buckle the pipe tiles with relatively narrow radians on the longitudinal joints of the tiles. The tile head of the lowest tile closest to the eaves has a drooping semicircular or circular part, that is, tile, commonly known as tile head. Ceramic tile is the most brilliant part of ceramic tile. Tiles solve the problem of roof rain protection. Its main function is to prevent wind and rain erosion, protect eaves, prolong the life of buildings, beautify and decorate eaves. Wadang objects were first seen in Fufeng Chen Zhao Site in Shaanxi Province in the middle and late Western Zhou Dynasty. Archaeological data show that in Han Dynasty, tile roofs were the most numerous, with the richest forms and the highest quality, and they were a wonderful work of ancient tile roofs in China. Wadang in Han Dynasty was mainly unearthed in Shaanxi, Henan and Shandong provinces, especially in the architectural sites, kiln sites, ash pits and tombs in xi 'an, Shaanxi. Its most precious feature is the perfect unity of practicality and beauty, function and decoration.

Since the "governance of the cultural scene" in the Western Han Dynasty, "the world is bustling, all for profit; The world is bustling for profit. With the prosperity of commerce and the great recovery of economy, architecture has made many important progress. Courtyard of the Western Han Dynasty, inherited the legacy of Zhou, Qin and Chu, is magnificent. Changle Palace, Weiyang Palace, Mingguang Palace, Shanglin Garden, etc., each with its own terrain, even belonging to groups, are gorgeous and luxurious, and the building scale is grand. These laid a broad foundation for the development of tile-dang art in Han Dynasty. In these buildings, exquisite and far-reaching tiles will be used to express the royal atmosphere and majesty, thus forming a unique architectural style of the Han Dynasty. On the one hand, ceramic tile is a practical building product, and at the same time it is a decorative handicraft, so its ideological content of the upper class has unconsciously become an accessory for the upper class to carry forward social morality, political ambition, political achievements and artistic preferences. The theme of Wadang in Han Dynasty is very rich, humanity and nature coexist, myth and reality coexist, and abstraction and reality coexist. Its rich theme, beautiful modeling, changeable structure and ready-made form and spirit not only reflect the outstanding artistic skills of the ancients, but also reflect the superb artistic achievements and aesthetic connotation.

First, the theme is rich.

Although Confucianism and Confucian classics prevailed in the Han Dynasty, the idea of "educating and helping others" followed by Confucianism was defined as a utilitarian responsibility in the vast artistic fields from literature to painting and music, but the characteristics of artistic creation in the Han Dynasty were not bound by this idea. The sages of the Han Dynasty had a keen artistic sense of smell and profound artistic perception. The themes chosen by Wadang in Han Dynasty are rich and colorful, and the materials include almost all parts of heaven, underground, mythical world and human life. The theme of tiles is mainly divided into three aspects: pattern tiles, image tiles and text tiles.

1. Patterns mainly include cirrus clouds, water patterns, plant patterns, etc., which are highly generalization, refinement and abstraction of specific images in real life. The pattern has been divorced from its concrete and intuitive image, and it is a stylized freehand brushwork of clouds, trees and flowers flowing in nature. It is not only a mode of life, but also a pure mode. It uses simple geometric lines to describe and outline, and the lines themselves constantly generate new vitality and have abstract beauty.

2. The image patterns mainly include four gods, deer, fish, dragon and phoenix totems and figures. This kind of decoration inherits the style of Zhou and Qin Dynasties, but it is different from the ferocious beauty of Zhou and Qin Dynasties and becomes more free, lively and open. For example, the "deer pattern" tiles have different themes such as singing deer, running deer and double deer, and the form is natural. However, 1956 Xi's "Four Gods" tile unearthed from Anhan Great Wall site is vivid in image, bold in form and rich in imagination, which is worthy of being a boutique. Ceramic tiles with this theme are not only the worship of animal form, but also the yearning for life vitality, with natural beauty and romantic beauty.

3. The writing mode of Han Dynasty is the most characteristic of the times, occupying a prominent position, with rich content and extremely simple words. Its contents include words of blessing, words recorded in documents, words of seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages, etc. The number of words varies from one to dozens, mostly in Yang Wen. Such as praying for blessings, such as "eternal life without promise", "long life without promise" and "long live without promise"; The purpose of recording and marking is to indicate the names of buildings, such as Changle, Weiyang and Shanglin, and to indicate the Han architecture such as Changle Palace, Weiyang Palace and Shanglin Garden respectively. Those who indicate the use of official positions are "shanglin agricultural officials" and "all are public"; The names of the tombs are "Emperor Gaozu's Eternal Life", "West Changling God" and "Yin Buried Death". There are praise words such as Korea and the World and Shan Yu World. Ziwa is the mainstream of Han dynasty, mostly written in Miao seal script, which has a high ancient taste and its superb calligraphy value is highly praised by scholars of all dynasties. Calligraphy and painting are of the same origin, and Wadang calligraphy is a unique artistic category and aesthetic phenomenon in China. Beautifying lines in calligraphy are freer than abstract geometric patterns in painted pottery. The linear motion and spatial structure of lines show and express the motivation of various body postures, emotions and interests in a variety of text modes. Ci-tile in Han Dynasty is a master of China's Ci-tile art. It uses the expansion and contraction of lines to form endless melodies, which has the classical beauty of seals and calligraphy.

Second, the shape is beautiful.

The tiles in the early Western Zhou Dynasty were plain semi-circular, called semi-regular tiles. In the Qin Dynasty, the tile was developed from a semicircle to a full circle. Round tiles were popular in Han Dynasty. Ceramic tile production in Han Dynasty was more prosperous than that in Warring States Period. Tiles, which are also accessories of pipe tiles, have circular or semi-circular tile heads. In the mature period, the production of Hanwadang is a one-step molding of face tile and pipe tile. The tile in the Han Dynasty actually refers to a kind of gray or semi-gray pottery. People often use "Qin Brick and Han Tile" to describe the achievements in building materials in the Qin and Han Dynasties. The so-called Qin brick refers to the complete hollow brick technology and quality inspection technology in the Qin dynasty; Suwei Hanwa is a unique tile-making technology and plastic arts in Han Dynasty. Usually there are several steps in tile making: tile blank making, pipe tile making, cutting, drying and firing. The method of making tiles with patterns and characters is to carve a wood grain (positive grain) first, and then press the mud tile grain (negative grain) with the wood grain. Put the ceramic tile model into the kiln, take it out after burning, and you can use it. Therefore, there are few blunt knife marks in the tile in the Han Dynasty, which is very elastic and has a rich and calm artistic style in simplicity, which is related to the pottery-making technology in the Han Dynasty. Most of the famous palace buildings in Han dynasty have ceramic kilns for firing bricks and tiles, which are specially designed and manufactured. Arc modeling is not only a consideration of architectural mechanical properties, but also a dynamic and rhythmic modeling. As the background and foil of decorative modeling, it can highlight the echo and unity of Fiona Fang combination in the whole picture and enhance the overall aesthetic feeling of artistic image.

Third, the structure is changeable.

Tile-shaped decorative patterns in Han Dynasty pay great attention to the overall modeling, and usually adopt axisymmetric structure, spiral structure, emission structure, free structure and other modeling, which all reflect different aesthetic connotations and cultural values.

1. Axisymmetric structure

The symmetrical structure of the central axis presents the beauty of symmetry, which refers to aesthetic categories such as equivalence, equivalence, inequality and inequality. At all times, many ancient cities, palaces, houses and tombs are also relatively left and right. This symmetrical design of spatial position is an organic imitation of nature, in which human beings gain sensory pleasure and cultivate sentiment, and then produce aesthetic feeling beneficial to people's physical and mental health. In the Han Dynasty, the central axis or center point was used as the fulcrum, and tiles with the same or similar shape and size were decorated up, down, left and right, which made the whole picture unified, symmetrical, solemn and generous, full of rhythm and sense of rhythm. Unearthed tiles, such as "tree with two beasts", are typical axisymmetric structures, with abstract trees as obvious axisymmetric lines and symmetrical structures with or without obvious axes. For example, the axis tree is an animal on one side and a human on the other, which is equal and unequal, and belongs to asymmetry in symmetry and symmetry in asymmetry. However, most moire tiles are generally symmetrical structures, with care as the center point, divided into symmetrical grids, and each grid repeats a continuous pattern as a unit. Primary and secondary, density are unique, and its lines are unpredictable, which adds beauty to this symmetrical structure.

2. Spiral structure

Heaven worships beauty, and spirals are everywhere in nature, which usually embodies natural beauty. These beautiful shapes have a mysterious regularity, which is in sharp contrast with the chaotic world around them. This structure is mainly used for sunflower tiles in China. The sunflower pattern rotates from the driven state to the left and right, and the petals are connected with each other in geometric outline, emphasizing the pursuit of internal rhythm. The whole picture is vivid, concise and beautiful, with strong sense of rhythm and healthy aesthetic taste.

3. Launch structure

Emission presents a beauty of diffusion or convergence, which refers to uniform expansion or contraction around a center. Emission is also a common form in nature, indicating the balance of forces in all directions. Some moire tiles pay attention to caution, radiate in all directions, and depict strong radiation patterns with simple lines. Its structure is symmetrical and stable, charming and radiant, symbolizing perfection.

4. Free structure

In the art of ceramic tile in Han dynasty, free structure is an important modeling structure, which is free and eclectic. This structure is mainly used for corrugated tiles with characters and corrugated tiles with animal images. Free structure is divorced from the formal rules of symmetry, spiral, radiation, proportion, harmony, hierarchy and rhythm. The layout changes according to the size of the shape, which has a lively and vivid aesthetic feeling. For example, the word "Long live" tile breaks the static structural space, and the dots and paintings blend, and the lines are even up and down, and the left and right sides care for each other, which makes each other interesting, magnificent and free and easy. Its momentum is overwhelming, occupying most of the picture, setting off a dynamic image with asymmetric flexible composition, and rendering a simple and brilliant feeling with rough brushwork. It is completely different from the light and smart beauty of later generations, and does not pursue glitz and stunning. The whole painting shows the simplicity, solemnity and beauty of Gu Zhuo.

A large part of the animal image decoration in Han dynasty is also this arbitrary structure, and a main decoration comes from the whole picture. In particular, the four gods "Qinglong", "White Tiger", "Suzaku" and "Xuanwu" in the Wangmang era are representative because of their free form. The four gods are the four gods in ancient legends, among which Qinglong is the first of the four gods, which can call the wind and rain, symbolizing the east, left and spring. Suzaku is an ideal auspicious bird, symbolizing the south, the lower ground and summer. The white tiger symbolizes the west, the right and autumn. Xuanwu is a combination of tortoise and snake, symbolizing the north, the sky and winter. The four gods are considered as symbols of four colors at the same time, namely blue, red, white and black. There is an obvious center in the pattern of the four gods of Wadang, that is, the chest nail, which echoes the strong sidebar and gives people solemn beauty in style. Around the center of the pattern of the four gods of Wadang, the pattern is stable, plump, abundant and suitable for both movement and movement.

Fourth, both form and spirit.

In the pre-Qin period, Confucius and Confucianism emphasized the literature of rites and music and the political enlightenment of art. The official religious theology system of Han Dynasty developed this kind of aesthetics of Confucianism into mysticism aesthetics. In the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, there appeared a new tendency, emphasizing the beauty of nature itself and that art should lead to nature. Han dynasty is a transitional link from pre-Qin to Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. Liu An's Huai Nan Zi and Wang Chong's Lun Heng are important philosophical works in the Han Dynasty, which contain rich aesthetic thoughts and give full play to Lao Zi's philosophical thoughts to confront and criticize the official religious theology system in the Han Dynasty. Therefore, Wang Chong himself thinks that his thought of "the unity of man and nature" is "contrary to Confucianism and consistent with the righteousness of Huang Lao". The theory of primordial energy in Huainanzi emphasizes: "Heaven and earth are in harmony, and everything is born by itself." The "theory of form and spirit" in Lun Heng emphasizes: "To be a man of form, give up his life; Angry people are full of life; God, the system of life; Losing your position is three evils. " Both the theory of vitality and the theory of form and spirit believe that matter is the carrier of breath and spirit; Spirit and artistic conception are the reflection of material appearance. The viewpoints of "theory of vitality" and "theory of form and spirit" had a great influence on later philosophy and culture and art at that time.

Hanwadang is an unusually lively world, full of extraordinary vitality and exuberant vitality. With a unique sense of artistic sensitivity, the ancients contained political, economic, artistic, cultural and religious contents in social life in an extremely limited space. From the unearthed data of Han Wadang, it embodies the aesthetic thought of "both form and spirit" in Han Dynasty.

The aesthetics of Han Dynasty is different from that of Western Zhou Dynasty and Pre-Qin Dynasty. The Western Zhou Dynasty and the Pre-Qin Dynasty worshipped totems and clan symbols, advocating mysterious and ferocious beauty. During the Western Zhou Dynasty and the pre-Qin period, ceramic tiles showed gluttonous patterns, dragon patterns, Bian Que patterns, deer patterns and tiger patterns. For example, the deer pattern, the ancestor of Qin, Fei Lian, became the leader of Qin because he was good at running and hunting deer, and the deer became the totem of Qin tribe. Qin people are very careful in observing animals, and they are superb in expression. There are vigorous running deer, alert lying deer and delicate female deer on the tile, all of which are vividly displayed. This is the reverence of Qin people for their ancestors and the memory of deer. The Han Dynasty advocated "attaching importance to reason and not being pragmatic" and "those who practice reality do not practice China". Wang Chong has three levels of "truth", "goodness" and "beauty" when discussing art, emphasizing "true beauty". In the Han Dynasty, tiles were used to remove lead and restore the beauty of simplicity and nature. Vivid images such as plant pattern, animal pattern, human pattern, cirrus pattern and water pattern in Han dynasty portrait bricks are the embodiment of ancient people's love and embrace of nature. The four gods are often associated with time, solar terms, orientation, stars and yin and yang. People must use green dragon, white tiger, suzaku and Xuanwu to achieve their inspiration, which also reflects the idea that form and spirit depend on each other.

The composition style of writing patterns in Han dynasty is rich, which is manifested in the layout of different characters in Chinese writing tiles, including unbounded grid, two grid, three grid and four grid, such as Guan, Shanglin, Yongchang, Changle Weiyang, longevity with heaven and longevity. Word tiles are often combined with circle boundaries in the form of Miao seal, leaving white space and black space. Considering the reading order of words, the stroke spacing between words borrows the idea of harmony and consistency. Diversified, free and decent space division ability is relatively mature, the words on the tiles are orderly but not scattered, and the line distribution of each Chinese character glyph calls itself orderly, thus creating a neat and orderly chaotic rhythm. The thickness rhythm and morphological rhythm of lines effectively ensure the balance and stability of caution and circular boundaries. Line is not a rigid pattern, but more a rhythm of life, which obviously reaches the superb level of calligraphy seal cutting, embodies the aesthetic feeling of calligraphy itself, and embodies the idea of calligraphy with both form and spirit.

References:

Ye Lang. History of Chinese aesthetics. Shanghai People's Publishing House, 1999.

Political prayer. On the Dual Category of China's Painting. Jiangsu Fine Arts Publishing House, 1998.

Tian Zibing. History of arts and crafts in China. Oriental Publishing Center, 1999.

Wang Bomin. A general history of China's painting. Sanlian Bookstore, 2000.

Chen Zhenlian. Calligraphy aesthetics. Shaanxi People's Fine Arts Publishing House, 2000.

-From the Internet