My system is not decent

Chapter 1768 A Few Toys
The easy-to-use inkstone drop is used with the inkstone and ink, and it is wonderful. It is a rare and elegant tool in the study of ancient literati.

Who doesn't like such a toad-shaped inkstone drop?

It is a pity that there must not be many inkstones handed down from the Han Dynasty, and more from the Northern Song Dynasty.

Moreover, compared with the inkstones of the Han Dynasty, the porcelain inkstones of the Northern Song Dynasty are more beautiful.

The first thing Chen Wenzhe saw was a Song Dynasty Longquan celadon toad inkstone.

Longquan kiln toad drops in the Song Dynasty were all discovered in the kiln site in the early years.

One of them is 7 cm high, in the shape of a three-legged toad, with round eyes and a wide mouth, a pair of tentacles on the head, a slightly raised back, and large and small nipple patterns on the back.

There is another one, the breast milk is slightly thicker, and the other two are as fine as pinpoint patterns.

These milk nail patterns are like the warts on the back of a toad. The middle of the back is decorated with scroll patterns, and a round hole for water injection is opened in the center.

The abdomen is light, the bottom heart is astringent and the placenta is burned, and the three legs are naturally supported.

The whole body is full, and the shape is vivid and lifelike.

These three toad drops not only have a high degree of similarity in appearance, but also have similar glaze characteristics, all of which are gray and white, with a greenish-yellow glaze color and a glassy luster.

Based on its firing style, the three toad drops should be products of the same period.

This can also be regarded as physical evidence of the popularity of Chandi in the Song Dynasty.

In addition to Longquan Kiln, Yue Kiln, Jingzhen Kiln, etc. also have similar three-legged toad drop products.

For example, in 1983, the cyan-glazed toad inkstone of the Yue Kiln in the Northern Song Dynasty collected by the Cixi Cultural Relics Department is now in the Cixi Museum;
Unearthed from the cellars of the Southern Song Dynasty in Jinyu Village, Suining, Sichuan Province, two Jingzhen blue and white porcelain toad water bowls, one large and one small, are now in the Sichuan Provincial Song Porcelain Museum.

In addition, Chen Wenzhe also saw a three-legged toad inkstone made of celadon from Yue Kiln in the Northern Song Dynasty.

This piece is 6.2 cm high and 10.4 cm long;

The tray is 1.5 in height, 10.8 in diameter, and 3.5 cm in bottom diameter.

Take the lotus leaf as a tray, and the three-legged toad stands on the lotus leaf with its head held high.

The toad's eyes are peach-leaf-shaped, its two front feet are naturally supported, and its rear foot is bent and squatting as if about to jump.

A water inlet hole is opened on the back of the toad, and a small opening is left in the mouth of the toad for water outlet.

This utensil is exquisite in craftsmanship, with a green glaze color, unique shape and full of interest. It can be called a classic masterpiece of Chandi in the Song Dynasty.

There should be only four or five pieces from the Northern Song Dynasty, followed by works from the Southern Song Dynasty, among which there is a fine piece, which should be a small-mouthed toad-shaped three-legged porcelain water bowl from Jingzhen Kiln in the Southern Song Dynasty.

It is 7.4 cm high and 10.3 cm long.

Although this piece is named "water bowl", the diameter of the mouth is only 1.5 cm.

Except for the specific difference in the shaping of the image of the toad, its shape and size are similar to those of the Longquan kiln toad drop, so it is more appropriate to call it an inkstone drop.

There is another one similar to this one, but this one is much bigger.

This is a blue-and-white glazed large-mouthed toad-shaped three-legged porcelain water bowl from a Jingzhen kiln in the Southern Song Dynasty. It is 11.2 cm high and 18 cm long.

The details of this toad image are exquisitely shaped. Unlike the pictorial representation, the "beast-like" charm of the toad is more vivid and strong.

Its mouth is larger, and its overall size is also significantly larger than inkstone-like products. It is a typical water bowl (Shui Cheng).

In addition to porcelain, there were also three-legged toad drops made of other materials in the Song Dynasty.

For example, two three-legged toad drops were unearthed from the cellars of Jiange Song Dynasty. One is made of jade, 4.6 in height and 11 cm in length.

The other is made of copper, 4 cm high and 13.3 cm long.

The one seen by Chen Wenzhe belongs to the copper three-legged toad drop. It is 4.8 cm high and 8.2 cm long.

Liu Kezhuang in the Southern Song Dynasty wrote a poem "Toad Inkstone Drops": it is cast in the shape of climbing sand, and children compete to stroke it.A person with a back like a thousand years old has a round belly.The utensil is smaller than the bottle poppies, and has more merits than a few inkstones.The trickle of water that is contained, future generations will depend on the aftermath.

It can be seen from the word "casting" that it is likely to be a copper toad drop.

The above examples of toad drops (excluding water bowls) can actually be divided into two categories in terms of use.

One is to open two holes, which have both water inlet and water outlet, such as the above Yueyao toad drop.

The copper toad drop unearthed in the Jiange cellar (Hanyang Township) also has a hole in the mouth and back.

Yu Yan of the Song Dynasty wrote in "Ru Tan on the Seat": ... It is like a copper water drop. If you twist its orifice, the water will not drip, but if you let it drip, it will drip.

That is, press and hold the water inlet to cut off the water, release the water, or press or release to freely control the flow of water at the water outlet.

The other is only one hole in the back, such as the Longquan kiln above.

The blue-and-white glazed toad drop unearthed in the cellar of Jinyu Village, and the copper toad drop unearthed from Yuan at the bottom of the temple also have only one hole.

Chen Wenzhe believes that this kind of toad drop with only one hole should be used in conjunction with the drop column.

The drip column is a hollow thin tube, which can be regarded as a matching stationery.

Press and hold the small hole on the top of the drip column with your finger to suck out the stored water, and release your finger to drip it into the inkstone pool.

A Song Dynasty bronze toad inkstone collected by the Wanwan Palace Museum is equipped with copper pipes.

This copper toad inkstone is 6.4 cm high and 12.8 cm long, while the one Chen Wenzhe saw was a three-legged golden toad inkstone from the Song Dynasty.

The three-legged golden toad is an auspicious thing in myths and legends, and it can absorb wealth and town houses to ward off evil spirits.

In Taoist stories, he is a demon who can spit money out of his mouth. He was once a disaster to the world, and later he was subdued by Liu Hai and became a fairy.

Therefore, there is a folk saying that "bangs play with golden toads, and catch money step by step".

The back of the golden toad is open, and water can also flow out of the mouth, which is relatively rare.

Generally, this kind of stationery has only one water outlet, and the dragon handle spoon was equipped after the Qing Dynasty.

This golden toad was made of copper, with its head held up to the sky, as if it was worried about why it had so many pimples on its back, shouldn't it be on its face?
This kind of stationery not only has the style of literati and artists, but also has unique technology, and it can even be said to be full of technological crimes.

If you really want to compare, the Southern Song Dynasty is still more prosperous than the Northern Song Dynasty, and the various works of art produced at this time are also more diverse.

For example, in the Longquan kiln of the Southern Song Dynasty, there is also a three-legged pomegranate bottle, which is similar to the three-legged toad inkstone drop. It is also equipped with a drop column, which can also be regarded as an inkstone drop.

This is the first of the two items in "Water Drop Discrimination", and the second is "Copper Water Drop". The above-mentioned three-legged toad copper inkstone drop is one of the classics.

Copper is violent, and poisonous if stored in water for a long time. It is so brittle, and there are holes in the dripping to catch dust, so the water is not clear, so it is not used for copper utensils.

Gold, silver and tin are especially vulgar.

The bronze rhinoceros, Tianlu, and toads seen today, with small bowls in their mouths, were all used by the ancients to store oil and light lamps. Today, they are mistaken for water drop ears, which can be used as toys.

Among the unearthed and handed down copper water drops of the Song Dynasty, there are only one type of toad drop, and there are many kinds.

Combined with the view of poetry and prose of the Song Dynasty, copper inkstone drops are also quite popular.

But connoisseurs like Zhao Xihu think that metal materials such as bronzes are not suitable for inkstones.

In contrast, porcelain is more suitable for storing water.

Compared with the double-hole inkstone with droplet column, the single-hole inkstone has better airtightness, does not attract dust, and can keep the water clean.

Therefore, products such as the three-legged toad drops of Longquan Kiln should meet a more particular need.

Who is Zhao Xihu? It is recorded in the summary of "Siku Quanshu. Dongtian Qinglu".

Xihu's clan son, the history of the Song Dynasty is listed under the house of Dezhao, king of Yan.

(End of this chapter)