The dragon pattern that appeared on porcelain in Hongwu period has the characteristics of the times, and its image is quite puzzling. The plum vase with long life in Hongwu blue-and-white spring collected in Shanghai Museum has the same posture as Yuan's old vessel, but its head changes greatly, showing a round cat face, commonly known as cat-faced dragon. The image of this dragon has also appeared on the glazed plum bottle in Hongwu, and its head is characterized by soft horns, round face and cat's eye, which is very strange. Hongwu once lived for 365,438+0 years, not far from the later Yongle, but the dragon of Hongwu is very different from the dragon of Yongxuan, especially where Hongwulong was, before me, those long gone years? Behind me, where is the next generation? Who seems to be intentional, only an epiphany.
Ming Hongwu Blue Flower Spring Longevity Long Mei?
Shanghai Museum?
Every cultural phenomenon must have its reasons, but later generations may not be able to fully explain it. The cultural reason of Hongwu Cat-faced Dragon is obviously the product of a turbulent and changeable era. In the early days of regime change, there were many tentative reforms in history, which needed to convey the information of the new regime. I wonder if this cat-faced dragon is sending some kind of message.
The fiercest dragon pattern on porcelain in Ming Dynasty was Yong Xuan Dynasty, followed by Yong Xuan Dynasty. The image of another kind of dragon works in Hongwu period is close to it, so the time should be close to it. This batch of official kiln porcelain in the late Hongwu period has a clear concept of dragon pattern, and its image is almost the same as that of Yongxuan in both seal and depiction. For example, the blue-and-white Yunlong plate in the Palace Museum and the blue-and-white printed dragon plate with sauce glaze outside the British Museum are undoubtedly official kilns in terms of quality. The image of dragon pattern is obviously different from that of cat-faced dragon, which reflects the strangeness of cat-faced dragon from another angle.
Ming Hongwu blue and white Yunlong pattern plate?
The Palace Museum?
In the following Yong Xuan period, the number of dragon's works increased greatly, and the image became more and more perfect. The most typical is the performance on the blue-and-white magnifying glass.
Blue-and-white spherical vase with dragon pattern, blue-and-white oblate vase with dragon pattern and blue-and-white glazed plum vase unearthed from Yongle stratum in Jingdezhen are collected in the Palace Museum. The image of the dragon is vigorous, with strong body and powerful limbs. Compared with Long Yuan, toenails are shorter and shaped like daggers. The bibcock is full, the upper jaw of the mouth-opening dragon is curled like a trunk, and the mouth-closing dragon is as dull as a pig, commonly known as the pig-billed dragon; Eyes are like gods, horns are like knives, and forks are few; The mane is plump, spherical, lively and neatly arranged; In short, the school is full of vitality, reflecting the national strength and national conditions in the early Ming Dynasty.
Ming Xuande Blue and White Yunlong Fairy Bottle
Collected in the Palace Museum
Ming Yongle blue and white underglaze red Long Mei vase
Unearthed in Zhushan, Jingdezhen
Xuande blue and white dragon patterns are common small pieces, such as bowls, plates and washing. Due to the limitation of form, the posture of dragon pattern is different, and the one who lives in the center of the object is the most vivid and powerful. For example, Xuande blue-and-white sea dragon plate is in the National Palace Museum in Taipei. The dragon flies, its body is bent three times, its forelimbs are turned back, and its five claws are windmill-shaped, which is the most powerful one in Yongxuan period.
Ming Xuande blue and white wavy dragon plate?
Collected by the National Palace Museum in Taipei
The image of dragon pattern in Yongxuan period is the heaviest period in history, and the dragon pattern in the early Yongle period inevitably left traces of dragon pattern in Yuan Dynasty, such as the popularity of three claws and the unfashionability of five claws; In the later period, Xuande inherited the overall image of Yongle, only slightly improved, such as the windmill-shaped five claws. According to statistics, the dragon pattern works in Xuande period are dominated by five claws, and three claws are rare, which shows the evolution process of porcelain pattern.
In the middle of Ming dynasty, the dragon pattern on porcelain gradually changed. Taking Chenghua Hongzhi's works as an example, the dragon pattern has changed from the fierceness of Yong Xuan to the beauty of Cheng Hong. The Palace Museum has a jar with a dragon pattern in the shape of a bucket of colorful flowers. Long Ben crossed the sea, even if he bent three times, his elbow was up. Wearing a pair of glasses always gives people a look of playing with water and not making progress.
Ming cheng Hua dou Cai hai shui long Gai Hu
Collected in the Palace Museum
Another Hongzhi Blue-and-White Lotus Pond Youlong Bowl, the dragon pattern is still full of movement, but compared with Yongxuan dragon pattern, we can know Long Zhixin's mood. Although fish patterns in lotus ponds were common in Xuande Dynasty, ichthyosaurs were different. Hongzhilong swims in the lotus pond, which is a peaceful scene.
Ming Hongzhi Blue and White Lotus Pond Youlong Wen Bowl
Collected in the Palace Museum
Ming Zhengde's blue and white should have dragons and halberds.
Collected in the Palace Museum
In the middle of Ming Dynasty, Emperor Chenghong ruled for 4 1 year. The Ming Dynasty was greatly weakened by the change of the civil fort, and the orthodox, Jingtai and Tianshun dynasties failed to fully recover. Cheng Hong and his son are cowardly by nature, and they take a peaceful defense attitude towards Jiangshan. The dragon follows suit, only defending and not attacking, only maintaining the image of the emperor.
Emperor Zheng De, who followed closely, rebelled against the old system, liked martial arts and hated literature, and let the dragon put on its wings and soar in the sky. In the Ming Dynasty, the image of pterosaur basically only appeared in the Zheng De period. Zheng Deqing's flowers in the Palace Museum are decorated with dragon patterns, and his neck, abdomen and feet are decorated with dragon patterns, with wings on his shoulders, which makes the dragon's flight concrete and no longer abstract, which is Zheng De's unique contribution. In Ying Long, the folk saying is that a thousand-year-old dragon has wings and a 500-year-old dragon has horns.
Guangya Interpretation: The dragon has scales, Ying Long has wings, the dragon has horns, and the dragon has horns. According to legend, when Dayu was harnessing water, Ying Long helped him to divert water into the sea. Therefore, Ying Long is the dragon of dragons.
Zheng De was the most unruly king in the Ming Dynasty. He went his own way and called himself "General". It is no accident that Ying Long's image once appeared in Zheng De in large numbers. Instead of letting dragonflies fly, let the subjects see that dragons can fly, thus reflecting the emperor's intention.
Ming Taizu's blood gradually passed to Jiajing Emperor, and the top ten imperial cities came down in one continuous line. Because there was no benevolence and righteousness, his cousin was invited from Wudang Mountain in Hubei Province and sat on the throne in a hurry. Jiajing didn't adapt to this sudden life for a long time, and he was infatuated with the immersion of Taoism in his childhood, which had a far-reaching influence on the porcelain of Jiajing Dynasty.
At this point, the dragon pattern in Jiajing period has become rough, and there is a feeling that you can't find the north. Compared with other Taoist-related patterns, the dragon pattern is careless, especially the dragon pattern on the instrument, which should have twisted the body, but Jiajing removed the twisting, leaving only the action, and the claws were no longer sharp and powerful, but loose like crab claws, with hair like a wet hat, round head and closed mouth. Look at the collection of the Palace Museum.
Mingjiajing Qinghua Yunlong Gai Guan
Collected in the Palace Museum
Another kind of dragon's expression is excited, such as the painted dragon embroidered pier in Jiajing period of the Palace Museum. The dragon on the seat is a positive image. This kind of dragon began in Jiajing. The dragon is in a state of excitement, like the first performance, and its limbs are exaggerated like Latin dance; The dragon is covered with colorful clothes, the fins on his back and the flies on his abdomen are outlined by thick colors, and his hair is fluttering like colorful flags; This is similar to some colorful dragon works in Wanli of later generations.
Mingjiajing Cai Wu Longchuan Lianchi Embroider Shield
Collected in the Palace Museum
Colorful flowers, dragon patterns and water patterns in the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty
Collected in the Palace Museum
After Wanli, the Ming Dynasty entered a period of decline. You can only see the signs from the dragon pattern.
A pair of blue-and-white dragon-shaped vases with lids unearthed from Dingling of the Ming Tombs are consistent with similar works collected by the Palace Museum, and they are the heavyweight wares of Wanli Imperial Kiln. Only this heavy weapon can still be regarded as the decline of the country. The proportion of dragon pattern in the whole device is obviously reduced, and some people can't grasp the feeling of space; The posture is unchanged, from arrogance to fear, especially the hind limbs, which makes people feel heartache.
Daming arrived in Chongzhen and ran out of luck. Although Emperor Chongzhen was full of ambition, there was nothing he could do. Look at the dragon pattern in Chongzhen period, and you will feel the miracle of sociology.
There is a blue-and-white dragon cylinder in Guanfu Museum during Chongzhen period, which is senile, with sparse hair and looks like snow. There seems to be endless difficulties. History books show that he died not in Chongzhen, but in Wanli. Although Chongzhen has never heard of this, he must have felt it. Otherwise, the dragon pattern can't be presented to the society in this bleak situation, solemnly conveying the information that the curtain call is coming.
Ming Chongzhen Plain Sanse Longfeng Bowl
Collected in the Palace Museum
Blue and white dragon pattern cylinder in Chongzhen of Ming Dynasty
Collection of Guanfu Museum