The author | Feng Zhao
Recently, under the guidance of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, the Palace Museum and 29 museums jointly held a special exhibition of "Why China", the Changxin Palace Lamp attracted many tourists to stop and watch, take photos, and become a star exhibit in many national treasure-level cultural relics.
The lights of Changxin Palace are out of the circle and will be directly related to the Beijing Winter Olympics. As the "treasure of the town hall" of the Hebei Museum and one of the first cultural relics prohibited from going abroad (abroad) for exhibition, the creative inspiration for the torch relay tinder lamp of the Beijing Winter Olympics comes from this. In fact, in the previous few years, the Hebei Museum has developed a number of series of cultural and creative products around the Changxin Palace lamp.
"China Brand" magazine interviewed Luo Xiangjun, a member of the party group of the Hebei Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, the party secretary and president of the Hebei Museum, to listen to her tell the story behind the lights of the Changxin Palace and the efforts made by the Hebei Museum to promote culture.
Changxin Palace Lantern Unveiled in the Forbidden City "Why China" Special Exhibition (Courtesy of Hebei Museum)
The controversial "lineage" flows
"China Brand" Magazine: As one of the "treasures of the town hall" of the Hebei Museum, what kind of cultural relics is the Changxin Palace lamp? What are the subtleties in the shape design?
Luo Xiangjun: The Changxin Palace Lamp is a national treasure-level cultural relic excavated from the tomb of Dou Xuan, the wife of Liu Sheng, the King of Jing in Zhongshan in the Western Han Dynasty, and is known as "the first lamp in China".
This bronze is exquisitely shaped, gilded throughout, hollow in the body of the lamp, and the shape is a palace girl sitting on her knees holding the lamp. Her right arm is held high, and the hanging cuff becomes a lampshade; the left hand holds the lamp holder, the lamp holder has a lamp plate, the lamp plate can be rotated, and the lampshade is composed of two curved plates, and the upper and lower edges are embedded in the lampshade and the groove of the lamp plate, so that the size of the light port can be adjusted at will, which is convenient for changing the brightness of the light and the direction of illumination, similar to the table lamp used today.
"China Brand" magazine: It is understood that Hebei Province is not an area with more Qin and Han tombs, but because of the sub-sealing system at that time, there were many tombs of sub-fief princes. What are the little-known stories behind this artifact?
Luo Xiangjun: The lamp of Changxin Palace is engraved with 9 inscriptions such as "Yangxinjia", "Changxin Shangyu", and "Imachi Sleeper", a total of 65 characters, which records the weight, capacity, owner and other contents of the lamp, which makes the Changxin Palace lamp have certain historical research value. The inscription shows that it must have reached Dou Xuan's hands after several turns. However, for who the original owner of this lamp was and what kind of circulation experience he had, experts have two views, which have not yet been determined.
One view is that the original owner of this lamp was Liu Jie, the Marquis of Yangxinyi. Later, Liu Jie's son Liu Zhongyi was deposed for participating in the "Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms", and this gorgeous lamp was confiscated and returned to the Changxin Palace where Empress Dou lived. Empress Dowager Dou was the grandmother of Liu Sheng, the King of Zhongshan Jing, and was presumed to be related to Dou Xuan, so she gave it to Dou Xuan.
Another view is that the original owner of this lamp may have been Princess Yangxin Chang. The reason is that in 1981, the tomb of Princess Yangxinchang in Maoling, Shaanxi Province, unearthed more than a dozen exquisite cultural relics engraved with the inscription "Yangxinjia". And the inscription is very similar to the inscription on the lamp of Changxin Palace. Some experts believe that Princess Yangxin and Emperor Liu Che of the Han Dynasty were both born to Empress Jing Emperor and were the sisters of Emperor Wu of Han, so only she had the financial and material resources to cast this batch of bronzes, including the Changxin Palace lamp. Therefore, it is speculated that Princess Yangxin gave this lamp to Empress Dou, who in turn gave it to Dou Xuan.
"China Brand" magazine: As a special product of the palace and the royal palace two thousand years ago, what are the main aspects of the historical and cultural value of the Changxin Palace lamp?
Luo Xiangjun: First of all, the Changxin Palace lamp is an important physical material reflecting the social life of the Han Dynasty. From this cultural relic, we can see that the hairstyle of the palace maid is the "vertebral bun" of the Han Dynasty women, similar to today's pan head; the turban worn on the head is called "scarf", which can not only be worn on the head, but also cover the forehead, wrap around the hairline, and hang on both sides. Later, the scarf also became a synonym for women, such as "scarf hero" and "scarf does not let the eyebrows" to describe women.
She wears a deep coat with wide sleeves and trimmed cuffs. The collar of the collar part is very distinctive, and the neckline is very low, which can reveal the clothes inside. In the more than two thousand years after the Han Dynasty, although the length and width of the clothes have changed from time to time, the basic shape has always maintained the original style of Han Dynasty clothing, which can be said to have a far-reaching influence.
Judging from the sitting posture, the palace maid is tall and straight, her knees are tight, her hips are sitting on her heels, and the instep of her feet is close to the ground, looking ahead. This kind of "kneeling" sitting posture appropriately shows the solemn, solemn and humble etiquette of the Han Dynasty.
The design concept is in line with the Green Winter Olympics
"China Brand" Magazine: Before becoming the creative source of Tinder lights for the Beijing Winter Olympics, how did the Changxin Palace lamp gradually enter people's vision?
Luo Xiangjun: Since its discovery in the Mancheng Han Tomb in 1968, the Changxin Palace lamp has been highly valued by experts and scholars from all walks of life such as history, archaeology, art, and technology. In 1973, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications of the People's Republic of China issued a set of four stamps of "Changxin Palace Lamp"; in 2000, the State Post Bureau again issued a set of four stamps for the cultural relics excavated from the Han Tombs in Mancheng, "Changxin Palace Lamp", "Wrong Jinbo Mountain Furnace", "Suzaku Ring Cup" and "Panlong Pattern Copper Kettle"; in 2010, it was exhibited as an exhibit of the Shanghai World Expo in China.
In 2018, in the special program of the Hebei Museum in the second season of "National Treasures", the three national treasures of the Hebei Museum - the Changxin Palace Lamp, the Wrong Gold and Silver Four Dragons and Four Phoenixes Copper Scheme Seat, and the Painted Scattered Reliefs triggered many viewers' strong interest in Hebei Treasures. After changxin palace lamps were selected for the special exhibition of the closing ceremony of the second season of "National Treasures", their popularity was even higher, and they were invited to participate in many major exhibitions, such as participating in the "National Treasures Exhibition season" at the end of 2021 and being selected for the special exhibition "Why China" in the Palace Museum in early 2022.
Dismantling the changxin palace lamp (courtesy of Hebei Museum)
"China Brand" magazine: We know that the scientific and technological level of the ancients is far behind that of modern times, so what are the main aspects of the scientific nature of the Changxin Palace lamp? From the design concept, what are the similarities with the Torch Relay Tinder Lights of the Beijing Winter Olympics?
Luo Xiangjun: In the Han Dynasty, bronze lamps were fueled by animal fat, and when the lamp was lit, the fumes that did not burn completely would fill the room. The exquisite feature of the Changxin Palace lamp is that when used, the fumes can rise with the push of hot air, enter the hollow lamp body along the cuff of the palace girl, and gradually cool down after contact with the metal wall, condensing on the inner wall. Since there is no bottom cover at the lower end of the lamp body, this lamp can also be placed on the water tray, and the oil smoke will condense when it meets water, so as to avoid indoor air pollution. And the whole lamp is composed of a cast head, body, right arm, lamp holder, lamp plate, lampshade, which can be disassembled and assembled to facilitate the cleaning of accumulated oil fumes inside.
In the West, it was not until the 15th century that the famous painter Da Vinci completed a similar design for the metal guide to solve the smoke problem, more than 1600 years later than the changxin palace lamp. When former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger visited China, he couldn't help but marvel after seeing the lights of the Changxin Palace: "China already had environmental awareness two thousand years ago, which is remarkable." ”
The advanced environmental protection concept of Changxin Palace lamp is in line with the green Olympic concept of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games, and has become the design element of the relay fire lamp of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games, which we are proud of and honored.
"China Brand" Magazine: Starting from the cultural relics and cultural resources of Hebei, what other work has the Hebei Museum done to help the Beijing Winter Olympics?
Luo Xiangjun: As a provincial-level comprehensive museum and a national first-class museum, the Hebei Museum has the responsibility and obligation to help the Beijing Winter Olympics. Under the leadership of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage and the People's Government of Hebei Province, Hebei Province has established a site exhibition hall at the ruins of Zhangjiakou Prince City, curated and organized the "Ice and Snow, Twin Cities, And Grand Event - From 1202 to 2022 Exhibition", which collected 138 pieces (sets) of precious cultural relics from 14 cultural and museum units in 6 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities across the country, telling the story of the "Twin Cities" in Beijing and Chongli, helping the Olympic Games and spreading Chinese civilization.
In addition, the Beijing Winter Olympics mascot ice pier "Ice Sugar Panda" is deeply loved by the public, and at present, the Hebei Museum is intensively preparing for the summer special exhibition "Panda Era - Unveiling the Past and Present Life of giant Pandas". From the perspective of scientific knowledge and green environmental protection, we will show our most adorable friend Panda.
Let ancient artifacts shine into real life
"China Brand" magazine: In recent years, the state has continued to increase its support for cultural and creative industries. As a classic IP in the national treasure-level cultural relics, what cultural and creative products has the Hebei Museum developed around the Changxin Palace lamp?
Changxin Palace lamp warm series products (Hebei Museum courtesy photo)
Luo Xiangjun: The cultural and creative products designed by the Hebei Museum around the Changxin Palace lamp are rich in categories, covering a wide range of fields, including cultural relics reproduction, book publishing, stationery toys, daily necessities and other categories, and there are simple line versions, "cute version", "Q version", two-dimensional and other different styles, using soft glue, metal, resin, wood, paper and other different materials to meet the cultural consumption needs of different audiences.
The replica of the Changxin Palace lamp made by 3D scanning three-dimensional data can be divided into several parts such as the head, body, right arm, lamp holder, lamp plate, and lampshade to achieve disassembly and assembly, which can allow us to better understand the ingenuity of the design of the Changxin Palace lamp and the environmental protection concept contained therein.
Extract the unique shape of the Changxin Palace lamp as a pattern of pen bags, business card bags, universal draw bags and other linen series products, the process of using pure cotton cloth wrapping edges, zipper on the pure handmade buckle, exquisite workmanship, literary fashion, simple and generous; can be placed in the photo frame, can be used as a pendant U disk and other enamel series products, but also extract the Changxin Palace lamp shape as a decoration, refined by alloy enamel porcelain material, both beautiful and practical.
In terms of changxin palace lamp cute version series products, we have developed refrigerator stickers, luggage tags, key chains, nail clippers and other products that make the image of changxin palace lamp cartoon and form a huge contrast with solemn and solemn cultural relics, so that Changxin palace lamps can enter people's lives in a warm and playful form.
In view of the aesthetic habits of young consumer groups, Hebei Museum has also created a beautiful, flexible, flowing Changxin Palace lamp two-dimensional image, making the product very vital and infectious, Changxin Palace lamp warm series products combined with the light, bring warmth and named, including Changxin warm cake and Changxin warm tea two kinds of food, as well as tape, notebooks and other stationery supplies, T-shirts, silk scarves and other clothing decorations, enamel cups, refrigerator stickers, mouse pads and other daily necessities. This series won the gold medal with the first place in the 3rd Hebei Provincial Cultural and Creative and Tourism Commodity Creative Design Competition.
In addition, we have also developed two flavors of gilded mango and vintage chocolate, Changxin Palace lamp ice cream, so that the audience can feel the charm of cultural relics from the tip of their tongues.