China News Service, Xi'an, March 12th: What kind of cultural connotation does the dragon pattern on Shang and Zhou bronzes contain?
——Exclusive interview with Bi Jingwei, professor of the School of History and Culture of Shaanxi Normal University
China News Service reporter Alina
China's dragon culture originated very early. What cultural connotations do the dragon patterns on Shang and Zhou bronzes contain?
Why is the dragon pattern said to be the "dominant" decoration on Shang and Zhou bronzes?
Bi Jingwei, a professor at the School of History and Culture of Shaanxi Normal University, recently accepted an exclusive interview with China News Service's "East-West Question" to answer this question.
The interview transcript is summarized as follows:
China News Service Reporter: What kinds of decorations were popular on Shang and Zhou bronzes? How do these ornaments relate to dragons?
Bi Jingwei:
Around 2000 BC, China entered the Bronze Age.
By the late Shang Dynasty, bronze casting technology continued to improve, and the first peak of China's bronze civilization arrived, which lasted until the early Western Zhou Dynasty.
After the middle of the Western Zhou Dynasty, the use of bronzes gradually became secular.
After the late Spring and Autumn Period, the secularization of bronzes became more obvious, and they began to become tools for the aristocratic class to display their status and wealth. Coupled with the popularity of sharp iron carving tools, a large number of exquisite bronzes with gold and silver, inlaid red copper and portrait patterns were produced. appeared, thus forming the second peak of China's bronze civilization.
After the Warring States Period, with the rise of iron ware, primitive porcelain and lacquer ware, bronze ware gradually declined.
A bronze plate with dragon patterns was unearthed from Fuhao's tomb in Anyang, Henan Province in the late Shang Dynasty.
Photo provided by interviewee
As far as the current archaeological discoveries are concerned, most of the early bronze decorations are geometric patterns composed of simple lines.
From the Shang Dynasty to the early Western Zhou Dynasty, the most popular patterns on bronzes were animal face patterns, Kui dragon patterns and bird patterns.
From the middle of the Western Zhou Dynasty to the early Spring and Autumn Period, animal facial patterns decreased significantly, while Gu Shoulong patterns increased. At the same time, new abstract patterns such as curved patterns, wavy patterns, vertical scale patterns and heavy ring patterns (horizontal scale patterns) were also popular.
By the middle of the Spring and Autumn Period, the abstract patterns popular in the early period declined, and the panchi pattern quickly became popular.
After the late Spring and Autumn Period, in addition to the continued popularity of the Pan Chi pattern, the Pan Chi pattern was also popular.
A line drawing of an animal face pattern on a late Shang Dynasty bronze.
Photo provided by interviewee
Careful observation reveals that most of these patterns are closely related to dragons.
In addition to the Kui dragon pattern and the Taoqu pattern and Panchi pattern formed by the deformation of the dragon pattern, the animal face pattern popular on bronzes from the Shang Dynasty to the early Western Zhou Dynasty is actually composed of two Kui dragons with their snouts downward. It belongs to a double-body Kui dragon pattern.
The corrugated pattern popular after the middle of the Western Zhou Dynasty is the image of the dragon's trunk, and the hanging scale pattern and the double ring pattern are the image of the dragon's scales.
The Pan Chi pattern that became popular after the late Spring and Autumn Period is actually a smaller or abbreviated version of the Pan Chi pattern.
In summary, the nine most popular main body patterns on Shang and Zhou bronzes include, in addition to bird patterns, animal face patterns, Kui dragon patterns, wavy patterns, curved patterns, hanging scale patterns, heavy ring patterns, panchi patterns, and pan. Eight kinds of patterns, including the dragon pattern, are closely related to the dragon pattern.
Gui with an animal face pattern, Western Zhou Dynasty, collected by Shanxi Archaeological Institute.
Photo by Sun Xinming
Reporter from China News Service: Why is it said that the dragon pattern is the "dominant" pattern on bronzes of the Shang and Zhou dynasties?
Bi Jingwei:
This issue can be explained by time periods.
From the Shang Dynasty to the early Western Zhou Dynasty, the most popular main decorations on bronzes were animal face patterns, Kui dragon patterns and bird patterns. Among them, animal face patterns had an absolute advantage. Coupled with the large number of Kui dragon patterns, dragon patterns were the most popular during this period. Bronze vessels with patterns as the main decoration should account for the majority.
From the middle of the Western Zhou Dynasty to the early Spring and Autumn Period, the six most popular main body decorations on bronzes were the curved pattern, the heavy ring pattern, the hanging scale pattern, the wavy pattern, the Gu Shoulong pattern and the hanging crown bird pattern. The first five of them are related to Dragon patterns are closely related.
The neck of the Dake Ding of the Western Zhou Dynasty is decorated with three sets of symmetrical deformed Taotie patterns, with protruding ridges protruding from the joints; the belly is decorated with a large curved pattern (i.e., corrugated pattern) that is continuous on two sides and surrounds the entire vessel. .
The upper part of the tripod is also decorated with three groups of prominent Taotie images.
The tripod's ears are decorated with opposing dragon patterns.
Photo by Zhang Hengwei
From the mid-Spring and Autumn Period to the Warring States Period, the most popular main decorations on bronzes were the dragon pattern and the dragon pattern.
Gui with loose snake pattern, Spring and Autumn Period, collected by Shanxi Museum.
Photo by Sun Xinming
Moreover, even from the late Shang Dynasty to the early Western Zhou Dynasty when bird patterns were most popular, the total number of bird patterns was far less than that of animal face patterns and Kui dragon patterns.
Not only that, many three-dimensional decorations on Shang and Zhou bronzes are also closely related to dragons, such as the animal face pattern at the base of the tripod in the two-week period, the animal head on the ear of the vessel, the paving head and climbing dragon on the body of the vessel, and the coiled dragon on the cover of the vessel wait.
Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that the dragon pattern occupies an absolutely dominant position in the main body decoration of Shang and Zhou bronzes, and is the most important pattern in the Bronze Age of China.
An early Western Zhou Dynasty bronze dragon-covered dragon liu was unearthed from Yejiashan in Suizhou, Hubei.
Photo provided by interviewee
A goblet-shaped bronze statue with a climbing dragon on top was unearthed from Sanxingdui in Guanghan, Sichuan in the late Shang Dynasty.
Photo provided by interviewee
The variability of dragon images is mainly due to the fantasy attributes of dragons.
During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, the image of the dragon had not yet been fixed.
"Guanzi·Shui Di" says that the dragon "if it wants to be small, it will turn into a silkworm; if it wants to be big, it will be hidden in the world; if it wants to be high, it will rise above the clouds; if it wants to go down, it will enter the deep spring; it will change without the sun, and it will rise and fall without time." "Wen·Long Bu" also says, "Dragon is the length of a scale insect. It can be dark or bright, thin or giant, short or long. It ascends to the sky at the spring equinox, and dives into the abyss at the autumnal equinox." These descriptions are consistent with the dragon patterns on bronzes of the Shang and Zhou dynasties. Complex and varied images are consistent.
China News Service reporter: Why are the bronze decorations in the Shang and Zhou dynasties mostly related to dragons? What kind of concepts and thoughts does this reflect on the Shang and Zhou people?
Bi Jingwei:
The animal patterns on the bronzes are a medium for communication between humans and gods. This medium is mainly the imaginary dragon, and other animals are just auxiliary to the dragon.
The reason is: dragons can be big or small, long or short, they can soar beyond the nine heavens, and they can submerge under the nine abyss. They have divinity and ability that are ever-changing and can penetrate the heaven and earth. Therefore, they have become the ancient people's means of communicating between heaven and earth. Best medium.
This can also be confirmed by the "Silk Painting of Figures Yulong on the Dragon" from the Warring States Period, the T-shaped silk painting unearthed from the Mawangdui Han Tomb, and early documents such as "The Book of Changes", "Gui Zang" and "Shan Hai Jing" that record the five emperors ascending to heaven on dragons.
A T-shaped silk line drawing unearthed from the Mawangdui Han Tomb in Changsha, Hunan.
Photo provided by interviewee
In addition to bronzes decorated with a large number of dragon patterns, many images of dragons can also be seen on high-standard ritual vessels such as jade, stone, bone, and ivory vessels from the Shang and Zhou dynasties.
It can be said that the dragon pattern in the Shang and Zhou dynasties achieved a qualitative leap and became the dominant theme of decoration at that time, especially the decoration of ritual vessels. It was a milestone in the history of the development of the dragon image.
A large number of dragon patterns are decorated on bronze ritual vessels with sacred meanings. Their numerous shape changes, long duration, and large proportion reflect the unparalleled importance and sacredness of the dragon in the concepts of the ancestors of the Shang and Zhou dynasties. It has become the symbol of the Chinese nation and laid the conceptual and ideological foundation.
A bronze dragon and tiger statue from the mid-Shang Dynasty was unearthed from Taijia Temple in Funan, Anhui Province.
Photo provided by interviewee
A bronze Wen Ding from the mid-Western Zhou Dynasty was unearthed from the Baijiao Collection in Fufengzhuang, Shaanxi Province.
Photo provided by interviewee
China News Service reporter: What characteristics of Chinese civilization do the dragon patterns on Shang and Zhou bronzes contain?
Bi Jingwei:
First of all, continuity.
China's dragon culture originated very early. Mature dragon images appeared in the early Neolithic Age, such as the stone dragon sculptures from the Xinglongwa Culture period at the Chahai site in Liaoning, the dragon patterns on the Gaomiao Culture pottery at the Gaomiao site in Hunan, and other examples. There are clam shell sculptures of dragons from the Yangshao Culture period at the Xishuipo site in Puyang, Henan, pebbles sculptures from the Daxi Culture period at the Jiaodun site in Hubei, jade dragons from the Hongshan Culture in southeastern Inner Mongolia and western Liaoning, and dragons from the Longshan Culture period from the Taosi site in Shanxi. Painted dragon patterns, etc.
A jade dragon from the Hongshan Culture was unearthed in Sanxingtala Village, Wengniute Banner, Inner Mongolia.
Photo provided by interviewee
So far, dozens of dragon-patterned artifacts have been discovered at the Erlitou site, including pottery models, turquoise ornaments, and pottery fragments.
Strongly influenced by early dragon culture, the animal face patterns and Kui dragon patterns on Shang Dynasty bronzes are different manifestations of dragon patterns on Shang Dynasty bronzes.
The dragon patterns on bronzes and jades in the early Western Zhou Dynasty continued the characteristics of the late Shang Dynasty and were still very popular; the dragon patterns after the mid-Western Zhou Dynasty remained as popular as before, but there were some changes in the form of expression.
A turquoise dragon-shaped vessel from the late Xia Dynasty was unearthed at Erlitou, Yanshi, Henan.
Photo provided by interviewee
Second is unity.
Dragon is an imaginary animal that does not exist in reality. However, since the Neolithic Age, images of dragons have appeared in many places in China. During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, the number of dragon images was larger and more widely distributed. This shows that dragons are a symbol of This spiritual belief has formed a broad cultural identity as early as the Shang and Zhou dynasties, reflecting the outstanding unity of Chinese civilization.
Since the Xinglongwa Culture Chahai built dragons, after about 8,000 years of spiritual "nourishing", the dragon has finally been sublimated into the spiritual symbol, cultural identity, belief carrier and emotional bond of the Chinese nation, embodying the continuity and unity of Chinese culture. .
The dragon is a constant witness to the history of Chinese culture. The history of the dragon is the history of the origin, spread and integration of Chinese civilization, as well as the history of the formation of the Chinese national community.
Interviewee profile:
Bi Jingwei is a professor and doctoral supervisor at the School of History and Culture of Shaanxi Normal University, director of the Department of Archeology and Museology, and director of the Archaeological Center of the International Institute of Chang'an Studies.
Mainly engaged in teaching and research on Xia, Shang and Zhou archeology and bronzes, as well as comparison of Chinese and Western bronze civilizations.
Hosted the National Social Science Fund projects "Collation and Research of Shang and Zhou Bronze Ware in Haidai Area" (completed project, excellent grade), "Research on the Genetology of Ancient Chinese Bronze Ware" (under research), and participated in scientific research projects of the National Social Science Fund and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage. Several items.
He has published 4 books including "Asking about the Qi: Research on Shang and Zhou Bronze Ware in Haidai Area", and published more than 40 papers in newspapers such as "Historical Research", "Acta Archeology", "Archaeology", and "Guangming Daily" (Theoretical Edition).
The research results have won the first prize for outstanding achievements in humanities and social sciences of Shaanxi universities and the second prize for outstanding achievements in philosophy and social sciences of Shaanxi Province.