My system is not decent

Chapter 1956 The rise and fall of culture from mud and fire

Previously, the National Museum, Gan Provincial Bureau of Cultural Relics and museums and more than a dozen cultural and museum units jointly held the "National Beauty First Light-Gan Painted Pottery Art Exhibition".

After the opening, 195 pieces (sets) of exquisite prehistoric painted pottery were exhibited.

Including the Banshan period painted pottery urn with vertical arc zigzag pattern and the early variant fish pattern basin of Yangshao Culture in the Gan Provincial Museum.

In addition, there is also a vase with a salamander pattern that is considered to be the image of Fuxi with a human head and a snake body.

Then there are Majiayao in the National Museum, early four-series painted pottery pots with swirl patterns, etc.

These are concentrated prehistoric painted pottery products in the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River, showing the profoundness, long history, brilliance and splendor of the prehistoric civilization in the Yellow River Basin.

About 8000 years ago, the ancestors in the Weihe River Basin fired the first batch of painted pottery in northern my country.

Since then, painted pottery has widely appeared in various Neolithic cultures in the Yellow River, Liaohe River, and Yangtze River basins.

The painted pottery in Gan Province in the upper reaches of the Yellow River is the most developed, forming a unique painted pottery culture.

The painted pottery culture in Gansu spans 5500 years and has a long history, including many Neolithic and Bronze Age cultures.

A total of 195 pieces (sets) of exquisite prehistoric painted pottery were exhibited in the exhibition, including two exquisite pieces from the collection of the National Museum.

It is divided into four units in terms of content, covering various historical periods of painted pottery in Gansu.

The content involves various themes such as cultural background, painted pottery making, style genre, natural objects, spiritual life and so on.

Many of them are high-quality goods, and many painted pottery is exhibited to the public for the first time. It can be called a collection of fine prehistoric painted pottery in the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River, which fully demonstrates the profoundness, long history, glory and splendor of the prehistoric civilization in the Yellow River Basin.

For example, the painted pottery urns with vertical arc and zigzag patterns from the Banshan period, with black and red double colors connected left and right, and expanded layer by layer, a blooming flower is depicted on the pottery urn, which also symbolizes the splendor and magnificence of the heyday of painted pottery art in Gansu Province.

There are also variant fish-pattern basins. Fish patterns were the most common symbolic pattern in the early Yangshao culture, and gradually disappeared in the middle Yangshao culture.

Most of the fish patterns are drawn around the pot-shaped vessel, about 2 to 3, connected end to end.

The initial fish pattern was more realistic, and later it was simplified from the head, and then merged with the fins, and finally became a very fixed stylized pattern, showing the development law from concrete to abstract.

The reason why this exhibition is famous is that these are all ancient treasures.

The first unit "Colorful World Under the Loess" mainly shows the cultural background of Gansu painted pottery.

It is divided into three groups: "discovery", "mud and fire", and "cultural rise and fall".

The "Discovery" part traces the process and significance of Gansu painted pottery discovered by Swedish scholar Andersen in 1923-1924.

It also describes the contribution of Chinese archaeologists in correcting An's misjudgment and perfecting the historical sequence of painted pottery in Gansu Province.

The part of "clay pyrotechnics" shows the process of pottery from the perspective of the history of science and technology from making pottery blanks, painting colors and firing finished products, as well as two production methods of applying mud patches and mud strips.

The "Cultural Rise and Fall" part gives an overview of different stages and types of Gansu painted pottery culture in the form of historical narrative.

Some of the masterpieces here are of great historical significance.

Like a salamander-pattern bottle, the head of the salamander-pattern is a human face, the eyes are open, the mouth is open and teeth are showing, the body is bent and twisted, with scale-like grid patterns all over the body, and claw-shaped patterns on both sides.

This work is realistic and vivid, featuring the combination of salamander, human and snake. Some scholars believe that it may be the image of Fuxi with a human head and a snake body.

The second unit, "The Sonata of Strokes and Tones", introduces the main patterns and evolution laws of various cultures of painted pottery in Gansu Province in order of time.

In terms of content, it is divided into six groups: "a touch of red color", "from straight line to curve", "turbulent current", "red and black color and zigzag pattern", "circular world" and "lingering sound".

"A touch of red color" shows the earliest characteristics of painted pottery in the Dadiwan culture period;

"From Straight Lines to Curves" introduces the evolution of painted pottery patterns from simple collocations to complex compositions during the Yangshao Culture period;
Due to the richness of painted pottery in the Majiayao culture, the exhibition divides the early, middle and late periods of the Majiayao into three groups for display.

"Surge in Torrents", "Red and Black Colors and Zigzag Patterns" and "Circular World" respectively display the painted pottery groups of Majiayao type, Banshan type and Machang type.

The representative decorations of this period, such as swirl patterns, grid patterns, black and red color zigzag patterns, gourd grid patterns, four large circle patterns, and zigzag patterns, are analyzed separately.

Focus on displaying painted pottery in Gansu Province, the most glorious stage of artistic achievement;

Entering the Bronze Age, the quantity and quality of painted pottery decreased.

Therefore, painted pottery from the four Bronze Age cultures of Qijia, Siba, Xindian, and Shajing are grouped into the group of "Yin Mian Mian" and displayed in chronological order.

Painted pottery from different cultures has different styles and distinctive features.

The third unit is "Songs of Life in Nature".

Through figurative decoration, it shows the rich and colorful life phenomena in nature, as well as the characteristics and changing laws of main biological decorations.

In terms of content, it is divided into four groups: "luxuriant flowers and leaves", "birds riding on the wind", "aquatic family", "domesticated and wild".

As the name implies, "luxuriant flowers and leaves" expresses the morphological characteristics of petals, leaves, fruits, gourds and other plant patterns.

"Birds Riding on the Wind" shows the shape and evolution of bird patterns.

"Aquatic family" shows the shape and change characteristics of aquatic organisms such as fish pattern and frog pattern.

"Domesticated and Wild" shows domestic animals such as pigs, dogs, and sheep, and animals related to animal husbandry and hunting such as deer, beasts, and lizards.

Some of these images are purely artistic decorations, while others contain belief connotations.

The decorations of the sun, plants, animals and human figures show the natural ecology of the place where people live.

One of the classics is Majiayao's early four-series painted pottery pot with swirl pattern. This kind of painted pottery pot is tall and tall. The mother river is deeply nostalgic.

There is also a thin-necked jug with pig-face pattern. On the shoulder and abdomen of this thin-necked jug, four pig noodles are drawn in a two-sided continuous manner.

Each pig shares a pair of eyes with the one next to it, which is vivid and ingenious.

The domestic pig is one of the earliest domesticated livestock by the ancestors, and it is also a proof of the prosperity of primitive agriculture.

The fourth unit, "Spiritual Homeland", gathers and displays the painted pottery patterns related to people's spiritual life in various cultural stages.

The content is divided into three groups: "primitive beliefs", "plastic art" and "music and dance".

In ancient times, primitive belief was the main spiritual pillar of people.

"Primitive Faith" mainly displays the salamander pattern and the god-man pattern that best embody these characteristics.

Among them, the god-man pattern is the most abundant, and the change rule is also very clear;

While exploring the decorative art of painted pottery, the ancestors also paid a certain amount of attention to three-dimensional shaping.

"Plastic Art" displays a variety of pottery cultural relics, reflecting the accurate observation ability, excellent performance ability and increasingly rich aesthetic taste of prehistoric ancestors.

Music and dance are the most direct art forms for human beings to express their emotions.

(End of this chapter)