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synopsis
As a famous unified dynasty in the ancient history of the mainland, the Han Dynasty achieved a highly developed material civilization with its strong political influence.
From the perspective of jade, the jade of the Han Dynasty followed the artistic characteristics and production techniques of the pre-Qin Dynasty, and continued to develop and innovate, achieving the third peak of jade in the history of the mainland.
The first two peak periods of jade were the Hongshan and Liangzhu cultures in the Neolithic Age, and the jade in the late Yin Shang period.
Therefore, this paper summarizes the characteristics of jade in the Han Dynasty, and explores the artistic characteristics and evolution laws of jade in the Han Dynasty under the guidance of the principles of "synchronicity" and "diachronicity", so that people can have a deeper perception of the material civilization of the Han Dynasty.
The Han Dynasty interacted frequently with China and foreign countries, and Zhang Qian opened the main road to connect with the Western Regions, so that the Silk Road could be unimpeded; The establishment of the four counties of Lelang and Jiaozhi counties gradually allowed the influence of Han culture to gradually penetrate into the mainland frontier and even neighboring countries.
On this premise, the material civilization of the Han Dynasty continued to progress, and it also achieved the peak period of jade in the Han Dynasty.
The archaeology of the Qin and Han dynasties in the mainland has unearthed a large number of various types of jade, whether it is the tombs of kings, princes and kings, or the tombs of low-level officials, or a large number of civilian tombs, all of which have been unearthed.
With the widespread promotion of Confucianism by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, jade in the Han Dynasty was restored to its glory, and jade was a symbol of noble and pure virtue in Confucianism, and also demonstrated the prominent status and identity of the tomb owner.
Moreover, at this time, Taoist thought also admired jade, advocating that jade can keep the body of the tomb owner immortal for a long time, and has the unique effect of avoiding the decay of the corpse.
Due to the combined influence of the two ideas, jade achieved supremacy in the Han Dynasty, and thus mainland jade ushered in a prosperous period of great development.
The discovery and classification of jade artifacts from the Han Dynasty
So far, the number of Han Dynasty jade artifacts unearthed and handed down is unprecedented.
There are not only the Jiulongshan Han Tomb in Qufu, Shandong, the Dabaotai Han Tomb in Beijing, the Tomb of Liu He, Marquis of Haihuang in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, and many other tombs unearthed, but also the Forbidden City in Beijing, the country, the capital, Shanghai and many other museums, and even private collectors have all kinds of hand-me-down Han Dynasty jade boutiques preserved.
From the perspective of the classification of jade in the Han Dynasty, it is basically composed of four categories.
1. Jade ritual vessels. The jade ritual vessels of this period include not only a variety of traditional sacrificial jade (jade bi, jade gui, jade cong, etc.), but also a variety of burial jade for tombs (mainly jade clothes, jade group wear, "nine orific plugs") and high-grade nobles for ceremonial jade (mainly jade ge, jade yue).
2. Jade ornaments. The jade of the Han Dynasty has a particularly diverse variety of types and shapes in terms of ornaments, including jade jue and jade rings that appeared in the Shang and Zhou dynasties, and also derived many new types of utensils, such as the ornaments of the Han Dynasty with jade dancers as body decorations, and jade paving to decorate ancient buildings.
The various jade ornaments of this period are not only rich in variety, but also have a wider range of uses.
3. The practical utensils of jade, which are concentrated in the common utensils (cups, boxes, dooms, etc.) in daily life, and there are also some jade hooks, seals, etc., but as practical utensils, the number and types of these jade utensils are rare, and they have not been widely used.
4. Jade furnishing artwork. The most abundant and common of this type are the jade people and a variety of animals, which show a variety of shapes and high-end carving techniques.
Design principles for Han Dynasty jade
Throughout the history of the Han Dynasty, it radiated with unparalleled vitality and brilliance, highlighting its unique atmosphere and lofty belief overlooking the world.
From the perspective of universal aesthetic culture, the most significant feature of the Han Dynasty is the "great beauty of the atmosphere".
This kind of great beauty is manifested everywhere all the time, everywhere, grandiose, broad and spectacular, surging, and this kind of weather is also directly reflected in a variety of occasions and situations, which is shocking;
From the perspective of Shen Yun, it also shows a unique spirit, spirit, and momentum.
The analysis of the general atmosphere from two aspects, one is the direct reflection of the surface level, which is especially intuitively reflected in the large scenes, environments and atmosphere presented by aesthetic and cultural works, with prominent colors, bright rhythms and thousands of weather, which can be fully captured by people from the senses;
The second is the indirect historical imprint of cultural connotation, which expresses the ideal of aesthetic culture.
The design theme of the Han Dynasty jade just reflects the connotation of "great beauty", carries the glorious era and spirit, inherits the concrete image of the culture of the times, highlights the artistic and aesthetic value, and makes the aesthetic and cultural spirit of the Han Dynasty shared with the world.
The craftsmen of the Han Dynasty were immersed in such a broad mind imagery, and depicted the world in a square inch of land, highlighting the complexity and diversity of the content, highlighting the grandeur of all things in the world, and conveying the visual characteristics of "great beauty" from the artistic aesthetics.
To sum up, jade workers in the Han Dynasty often carve jade according to the construction method.
The various works created under the guidance of this principle not only fit the properties of the jade material itself, but also maximize its intrinsic characteristics, demonstrating the designer's unique ingenuity and innovation.
If the different forms of jade are regarded as the magic of nature, then the exquisite jade is the "opening thing" created by the jade workers on the premise of heavenly craftsmanship and human wisdom.
From the perspective of jade carving, the creator starts from the material and color, clarifies the composition and shape of the work, and simply outlines it, which can present a vivid and unique artistic image.
And the warmth and moisturizing properties of natural jade are retained to the greatest extent, demonstrating their ultimate pursuit and exploration in "natural nature".
Artistic features of Han Dynasty jade
The overall aesthetic characteristics of the Han Dynasty jade, the material, modeling, carving, ornamentation, spiritual characteristics, creative skills and other factors of the Han Dynasty jade are all the artistic styles of the Han Dynasty jade, highlighting the spiritual outlook, aesthetic interest, social heart and human life mood of the era.
(1) The creative spirit of taking the form of God
The Han Dynasty was in the initial stage of art, showing the characteristics of simplicity, singleness, and clumsiness; At that time, folk and literati art was not fully developed, it was still somewhat rude, and there was still a big gap between it and elite art.
However, Han Dynasty jade can be called a representative of Han Dynasty art, with the aesthetic characteristics of a consistent lineage, good beginnings and good ends. Han Dynasty jade represents all the characteristics of Han Dynasty art: the expression is sloppy and practically simple, the appearance is clumsy and actually naïve, and the artistic appeal is unintentionally expressed.
Although the art of the Han Dynasty is not very exquisite, it expresses a vigorous and upward vitality, and artistically embodies the determination of mankind to conquer the world, especially in movement, speed, and strength.
For example, the animals carved in the jade of the Han Dynasty are more spiritual and wild, and the exaggerated shapes without details show the shocking beauty of great strength, movement, and spirit.
For example, the Western Han Dynasty round carving jade dancer in the tomb of Zhao Yu, the king of Nanyue in Xianggang Mountain, Guangzhou, wears a long-sleeved dress on the right side, twists the waist and bends the knee, throws the sleeves to the back with the right hand, and the left hand is placed behind the head, and the long sleeves mop the floor, as if singing and dancing, and the cuffs and hem are carved with lines to create a cloud pattern.
The whole piece of jade carving is very concise, the body is vivid, showing the creative style of the road to simplicity and the form of the gods, and it is a very rare round carving masterpiece among the jade dancers in the Han Dynasty.
(2) Rough and bold, vigorous and enterprising spirit
From the overall image, the jade of the Han Dynasty is particularly concise and single, highlighting the characteristics of romantic and uninhibited, dynamic, exaggerated, and with the goal of charm, and it is more compatible with the rough and bold, with the aesthetic interest of simplicity and refinement.
The jade of the Han Dynasty not only highlighted its external form, but also paid more attention to the reflection of the themes of social and political life, expressing the spiritual world of the world.
In order to make this strong vitality manifested in jade, the jade craftsmen of the Han Dynasty attached great importance to highlighting the artistic image of abundance and relaxation from the external shape, and paid more attention to the inner vitality and spiritual world of the carved object from the aesthetic taste.
And because of the high value of jade, the number of jade carving animals in the past was not many. In the Han Dynasty, all kinds of animal jade carvings that tended to be secularized and artistic gradually increased.
The various animals of the Han Dynasty jade carvings highlight their original wildness, and the exaggerated shapes without details make people feel the beauty of strength, movement and spirit that sweep people's hearts.
For example, the animal head of the current shop around Maoling in Shaanxi Province is decorated with the head of the first ring, and the form of the four gods is carved out of the whole piece of green jade, presenting a dignified and noble and vivid and flexible shape, the beast nose is a square bridge, there is a chisel, the title, fierce but not evil, not angry and self-righteous, expressing the beauty of wild publicity.
(3) Simple, concise, exaggerated and freehand modeling
The jade of the Han Dynasty was extremely ingeniously conceived, and the shape was summarized and strived to be freehand.
Among the sculptures of the past dynasties, the jade of the Han Dynasty can be described as a monument of freehand jade.
Moreover, the freehand of jade carving in the Han Dynasty is not in terms of modeling, but is completely reflected in the spiritual freehand.
The primary purpose of Han Dynasty jade was not to reproduce the objective image, but to focus on the expression of the charm of the object, whether it is the idea, modeling, or artistic creation expression, it can be said that it is more in pursuit of imagery.
The artistic image is subjectively processed and beautified, full of exaggeration and imagination, with the imagery characteristics of not seeking resemblance and high generalization, which prominently embodies the oriental modeling concept.
For example, jade cicadas and jade pigs use very simple lines to outline the structure of the head and body.
brief summary
The Han Dynasty can be called another peak period of ancient jade in the mainland, inheriting the characteristics of jade art in the Warring States and even the Shang and Zhou dynasties, but also integrated the essence of Confucianism and Taoism of thought and art, derived the atmosphere and heroic artistic style, and is famous for the famous golden jade clothes.
The jade of this period has a particularly large number and abundant types, and is also quite skilled in carving techniques, whether round carving or high relief, all of which reflect novel and unique design themes, and have a high artistic appreciation.