In the Tang Dynasty, some plum bottles were called drumsticks because their bellies were as thin as drumsticks, while in the Song Dynasty, they were called "wine classics" or "bottle classics". According to the literature, the title of "Plum Bottle" only appeared in the late Qing Dynasty, and it was named because its small mouth could only hold a thin plum branch, but it was not specially used for inserting plums. There is also a saying that plum bottles are mostly used to hold wine and are often named after their "plum wine". The former is more acceptable.
Wine storage device
As for the use of plum bottles, we can know from literature records, handed down objects and ancient paintings that plum bottles should be practical at first, mostly used for holding wine or other liquid substances. Its function continued until the Yuan and Ming Dynasties. The use of plum bottles as wine vessels is reflected in many inscriptions on plum bottles. For example, the Shanghai Museum has two plum blossom bottles from Cizhou Kiln in the Song Dynasty, with white and black flowers, one with the words "sake" written on the abdomen and the other with the words "drunken wine sea" written on the abdomen.
In addition, there are other inscriptions that reflect the basic functions of plum bottles from the side. For example, there is a Tao Mei bottle unearthed from the local folk kiln in the Ming tomb in Guilin Museum, and the word "Forever" is engraved on the shoulder of the bottle. "Forever and ever" itself has the meaning of blessing, but also implies the harmonious meaning of "Tianzang wine", which shows its dual functions of blessing and wine storage.
Unscramble culture
1972 The blue-and-white plum vase unearthed from King Jingjiang's tomb in Ming Dynasty in Guilin, in addition to exquisite craftsmanship, is also unforgettable. On the servant's shoulder, one end is a three-layer vegetable basket woven with bamboo, and the other end is a plum bottle with a lid, which contains wine. It can be said that this porcelain painting reflects the practicality of plum bottles more intuitively than any plum bottle with the word wine written on it. Therefore, visiting friends with Qin (seeking fragrance with wine) bottle not only reflects the superb achievements of porcelain making in Ming Dynasty with its perfect technology, but also reproduces the origin of China's long history and culture with its unique expression.
1May, 983, when the blue-and-white high-waisted Ssangyong grabbed the plum bottle with a lid, the bottle cap was sealed tightly by lime paste mixed with glutinous rice pulp. When I opened it, I found that it was actually a bottle of mellow rat-sucking wine. There are three hairless suckling mice in the wine, as well as various nourishing Chinese herbal medicines. This wine is crystal clear and red. After more than 400 years, this bottle of wine is so well preserved and precious. According to textual research, this is a nourishing milk mouse wine specially made by Guilin Sanhua Liquor in Ming Dynasty, which has made great contributions to postpartum women. Guilin Sanhua Liquor is a famous wine in Guangxi with a history of 1000 years. In the Song Dynasty, it paid tribute to the imperial court in the name of "Lu Rui". Therefore, the excavation of this bottle of wine is not only an extremely rare material to study the origin of ancient Guilin wine culture, but also directly reflects the wine storage function of plum bottle from another side. In addition, placing wine bottles in front of the grave is nothing more than hoping that the deceased will be "safe for a long time." Some people interpret this phenomenon as letting the dead live a quiet life in the underworld. No matter what kind of explanation, there is some truth, which may be the profound and wonderful connotation of China culture.
Decorative furniture
With the development of society, plum bottles gradually have the function of display and decoration, and even plum bottles are often buried as funerary objects, as evidenced by a large number of Ming Dynasty plum bottles unearthed in Fanwangling District of Guilin City. These plum blossom vases have become the symbol of the hierarchical status of the upper rulers and the symbol of the meaning of "Feng Shui".
After the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the ornamental function of plum bottles became more and more obvious. Plum bottles were handed down from generation to generation in Qing dynasty, which should be related to the fact that plum bottles were mainly used for display and decoration at this time.