Poetry about the screen

Screen has always been one of the main indoor appliances in China. The ancient name "(yǐ)" is also written as "one", that is, the screen between households. There are "Fu", "Axe" and "Axe Basis" in Ci Hai, all of which have the same meaning. Refers to the screen used by ancient emperors, hence the name.

Most of the ancient buildings in China are quadrangles with civil structures, which are not as rigorous as the reinforced concrete houses in this world. In order to keep out the wind, the ancients began to make furniture like screens. The screen is not only windproof, but also an exquisite movable partition in the building. Some screens are placed behind the bed to lean on or hang things. There is such a passage in Li You's "Screen Ming" in the later Han Dynasty: "If you give up, you will avoid it, and if you use it, you will stand up." Stand straight and be cheap. Common cold, the fog is blocking. Under cover, it's normal. "It correctly describes the features and functions of the screen. On the throne in the center of the Hall of Supreme Harmony (commonly known as the Golden Hall) in the Forbidden City, there is a golden chair carved with dragons, with a golden screen carved with dragons behind it. This arrangement can not only keep out the wind, but also increase the solemn atmosphere of the throne. Because the screen is often placed in an obvious position indoors, people have made a lot of efforts to beautify and decorate the screen itself, so the screen has gradually developed into one of the famous traditional handicrafts with practical value in China.

Screen can be divided into screen insertion and screen surrounding. The screen insert is mostly single, and the screen enclosure is composed of multiple fans, ranging from two fans to twelve fans, which can be folded at will, wide or narrow, and easy to use. Generally, screens are made of wooden boards or wood as bones, covered with silk, and based on other materials such as stone, pottery or metal. The screen is decorated with all kinds of colorful pictures, or inlaid with pictures with different themes, and there are also plain screens. The screens used by emperors and nobles are especially precious in materials, fine in workmanship, colorful and magnificent. According to historical records, in the royal court of the Western Han Dynasty, colorful mica screens, glass screens and jade tortoise shells were mostly used. "Tai Ping Guang Ji She Zhao" said that when the Western Han Dynasty became emperor, Queen Chair Zhao was famous for her profligacy. At one time, her officials presented her with 35 kinds of tributes, including mica screens and glass screens. Later generations also appeared enamel screens, ivory screens and so on. These screens are priceless, and most of them are luxuries of the ruling class. Therefore, the theory of salt and iron is not enough, saying that "a cup uses the power of a hundred people, and a screen makes ten thousand people work."

In our country, although the screen has been used for thousands of years, there are few physical objects left. 1972 The screen unearthed from No.1 Han Tomb in Mawangdui, Changsha, Hunan Province can be said to be the earliest and most complete screen in China. This is a painted screen, wooden tire, rectangular, 62 cm high. The panel is 72 cm long, 58 cm wide and 2.5 cm thick. There are two supporting feet under the screen. The screen is painted with light green oil paint on one side, with a valley-shaped round wall in the center, geometric square lines around it, black paint on the edge and a diamond pattern painted with Zhu. The other side is painted black, and moire and dragon pattern are painted with red, green and gray oil. But I saw a Youlong flying in the sky, with his head held high and his mouth open. His posture was light and vigorous, his image was magical and vivid, and he was full of imagination and artistic charm. The green dragon body has red scales and claws, and the diamond pattern on the side is vermilion. The color is striking and bright, and the painting skill is superb. The pen is smart and neat, both rigid and flexible, bold and powerful.

Many bamboo slips have also been unearthed in Mawangdui No.1 Han Tomb, among which No.217 bamboo slips record: "Five wooden plates (multicolored) are painted in the same style, five feet long and three feet high." The size recorded in bamboo slips may be the size of the general practical screen at that time. Five feet in the Han Dynasty was about 1.2 meters in the current metric system. However, the painted paint screen unearthed does not match the size described in the brief article, and the area is smaller.

Unearthed from Mawangdui No.1 Han Tomb 184 pieces of colored lacquerware. As far as its fetal bones are concerned, it is nothing more than wood, bamboo and sandwiched tires. The fetal bone of this screen has been identified as eucalyptus, which is rough. It may be a sacrificial vessel that simulates the objects used by the deceased before his death, specially prepared for burial.

According to experts' appraisal, the age of Mawangdui No.1 Han Tomb is 5 years after Wendi (BC 175) and 5 years before Jingdi (BC 145). The deceased may be the wife of two or three generations of Hou, or the wife of a generation of Hou. Therefore, this painted screen has a history of more than 2 100 years. It was completely unearthed for the first time, which provided rare material for the study of screen history in China.

Are there any screens unearthed earlier than the Western Han Dynasty? Now some scholars think that the bronze seats of Cuoyin Silver Tiger, Cuoyin Rhino and Cuoyin Buffalo unearthed from the tomb of King Zhongshan in the Warring States Period in Pingshan County, Hebei Province in recent years may be the pillars of a screen. There are pins in the stands, two pins in the stands where tigers eat deer, and one in the stands where rhinos and buffaloes eat deer. There are four pins on three bases, and there are wooden tenons on the pins. Unfortunately, when unearthed, the shape and size of the screen could not be seen. It may be the pillar foundation of a screen. Of course, this point needs further study.

Compared with the lacquer screen unearthed from Mawangdui No.1 Han Tomb, there is also a painted wooden screen frame unearthed from the Eastern Han Tomb in Wuwei, Gansu, and a small ceramic screen unearthed from the Eastern Han Tomb in Qilihe, Jianxi, Luoyang, Henan.

Speaking of ancient practical screens, we should push a lacquer painting screen from Sima Jinlong's tomb in Shijiazhai, Datong, Shanxi, which was unearthed at 1966. This is the work of Wei Taihe in the Northern and Southern Dynasties after eight years (484), most of which have been destroyed, and the other five screens are still relatively complete. The height of the slab is about 80 cm, and there are four small column bases carved from light gray fine sandstone, each with a height of 16.5 cm. If it is restored, it may be a four-foot screen, which is different from the screen unearthed from Mawangdui No.1 Han Tomb, but a screen placed at the bedside for one person to use.

Behind the thrones of every palace in the Forbidden City, there are almost screens, such as "Red sandalwood inlaid with boxwood carved dragon screen", "Gan Long tooth carved landscape figures dyed screen" and "carved dragon painted gold screen", all of which are extremely precious handicrafts in the Qing Dynasty. The decorative patterns on the screen are exquisite and beautiful, including embossed dragon patterns, embroidered birds, landscapes, figures and other patterns. They are masterpieces of ancient screens in China, reflecting the high level of handicrafts in China.