What magical and magnificent silk paintings were there during the Warring States Period?

At present, the earliest independent painting in China is the silk painting in the Warring States period, which is painted directly on silk with ink.

The appearance of silk painting is due to the origin and popularity of replacing "corpse" with portrait in mourning hall. In ancient times, after death, relatives stood by the body to express their condolences, and then buried near their homes, imagining that the deceased was still alive by their side. Later, some customs changed. People are buried in time after death, and living relatives dress up as the deceased before their death and accept worship from relatives and friends. This is the "corpse". In the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, "corpse" was gradually replaced by "wooden sign" and portrait. Most of the portraits are portraits of tomb owners, which are hung in the mourning hall for worship. At the funeral, the deacon walked in front of the coffin with a pole. After the coffin of the deceased is buried, the silk painting is covered on the coffin cover, which is called "Ming Jing".

There are two famous silk paintings of the Warring States period, namely 1949, a figure with dragon and phoenix painted on white silk unearthed from the Chu tomb in the southeast suburb of Changsha, and 1973, a figure with dragon control unearthed from the Chu tomb in Changsha, Hunan, which can be regarded as companion pieces.

The dragon and phoenix picture shows the scene where dragons and phoenixes lead the tomb owner's soul to heaven. In the picture, there is a middle-aged woman standing sideways, with long sleeves and folded hands, as if praying. There is a flying phoenix on the woman's head, and its tail feathers are rolled up. On the left is a twisted dragon, rising upward. The image of the dragon in the painting was once regarded as osmium (the legendary dragon with only one foot) because the left foot of the dragon was damaged when it was first discovered and only the right foot was seen. This work is also named "Kuifeng Map".

This is a silk painting that guides the dead in the tomb to pray in heaven. There are dragons and phoenixes around the middle-aged woman in the picture, showing that the deceased ascended to heaven with dragons and phoenixes. Flying dragons and phoenixes all have an upward momentum, while the people standing below show a characteristic of following. People, dragons and phoenixes have certain decorative shapes. There is no background in the painting, but the full and dynamic images such as figures, dragons and phoenixes still make the picture complete and substantial. This silk painting is outlined with ink lines, and the required image is outlined with smooth and powerful lines, which is full of rhythm and ups and downs.

The characters who control dragons are more mature in painting skills than the former. The middle of the picture depicts a middle-aged man standing on his side, with a beard and high hair, wearing a sword around his waist, holding a reins in his hand and driving a dragon. The faucet is high, and the dragon is flat, like a boat. On the cocked tail stands an egret. It has a long neck, a long mouth and a furry top. There is also a cover above the person, and three streamers are fluttering in the wind.

The painter is good at setting off the theme from nuances. In the painting, both the dragon and the figure face to the left, while the ribbon of the figure and the decoration on the cover face to the right, showing a strong directionality and a sense of movement when people control the dragon. Traditional culture in China regards "dragon" as a sacred object, and thinks that dragon is a spiritual thing connecting heaven and earth, which can carry people and gods roaming. This silk painting reflects the ancestors' longing for immortality after death, a trip to Lapras or Lapras's ascension to heaven. Egret symbolizes men's personality style, and it is also a legendary fairyland. The whole silk painting shows the man's journey to heaven after his earthly journey. Riding the dragon and the wind, accompanied by egrets, shows the king's demeanor of men. This broad mind embodies the unique understanding of life and death of the Chinese nation.

These two silk paintings both show the theme of "drawing souls to heaven". The image-building of the characters in the painting and the grasp of the proportion of the human body are quite accurate and the skills are very skilled. The former is mainly ink lines with a little dark red light color, which is relatively simple; The latter line has changed in lightness and rigidity, and the color has both flat painting and rendering after being outlined by a single line, so it is chic with a pen. It can be said that in the Warring States period, the style of Chinese painting depicting characters with lines has been formed. These two silk paintings also represented the highest level of figure painting at that time.