1. The Stone Carving Art of Han Dynasty
The Qin and Han Dynasties are an important stage in the history of Chinese sculpture.
During the Qin and Han Dynasties, the sculpture was used as a tool to promote political unity, just like other art categories. With the large-scale construction of palaces, ancestral halls, and tombs, sculptures have also appeared on an unprecedented scale and number. According to its materials, it can be divided into pottery figurines, stone carvings, bronze carvings, wood carvings, jade carvings, clay sculptures, etc. According to the functions of the sculptures, it can be roughly divided into large-scale monumental stone carvings, architectural decorations, craft decorations, and pottery figurines.
To ward off evil spirits in the Eastern Han Dynasty
The monuments are often used as specific settings in front of palaces, gardens, and tombs. Que is a symbolic decorative sculpture embodying feudal etiquette, generally standing in front of palaces, official offices, and tombs. There are 28 tombs in the Han Dynasty, including 21 in Sichuan. Its representative is Ya'an Gaoyi Que, which is several meters high and carved stone beasts in front of it.
②Stone carvings in front of the tomb
This is an indispensable part of the tombs in the Qin and Han dynasties. Most of the stone sculptures in front of the tomb are stone beasts. These beasts are wild beasts imagined by people in the Han Dynasty. They have the body of a tiger and leopard, the wings of a bird, and the head of a lion. They are symmetrical to the tomb passage, guarding one side, suppressing evil, and warding off evil spirits. Existing stone sculptures in front of the tomb of Zongzi in Nanyang, Henan, stone sculptures of evil spirits unearthed in the northern suburbs of Taiyuan, Shanxi, stone sculptures of Tianlu evil spirits unearthed in Deyang, Sichuan and Ya'an, etc.
Compared with the vigorous stone beasts, the portrait sculptures of the Han Dynasty are naive and primitive, and they are slightly carved on the stone surface of the square column.
Among the many sculptures in front of the tomb of the Han Dynasty, the most outstanding is the sculpture in front of the tomb of Huo Qubing. Huo Qubing was a general of the Western Han Dynasty Sima Hussar. He went on expeditions to Mobei six times. He was only 24 years old when he died. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty built a large mound for him to commemorate his military exploits. Most of the sculptures in front of his tomb are based on Malay themes that sing praises of heroes. The horse is the companion of the soldiers of the Western Han Dynasty, and the cavalry of the Western Han Dynasty is strong because of the horse's bravery. Therefore, there are prancing horses, lying horses, and standing horses (or horses stepping on the Xiongnu) in front of the tomb. Horses have different looks, and each creation creates an atmosphere in the form of a horse. This batch of stone sculptures is not only exquisitely designed in the subject matter, but also embodies the ancient and clumsy beauty of Han Dynasty art, and is an outstanding creation of large-scale monumental sculptures in ancient China.
2. The colorful Qin and Han pottery figurines
① "Strike a million, a thousand chariots"-Qin Shihuang's Terracotta Warriors and Horses
The Terracotta Warriors of the Qin Dynasty have entered a period of great development. The Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Qinling Mausoleum, known as the "Eight Wonders of the World", are enough to represent the glorious achievements of pottery art at that time.
In the 1970s, a large number of terracotta warriors were discovered on the east side of the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang in Lintong County, Shaanxi. These sacrificial pottery figurines are in a tunnel about 6 meters below the surface. Pit No. 1 is 230 meters long and 62 meters wide. It is composed of 6000 warrior figurines. Pit No. 2 is 124 meters long and 98 meters wide. It is made of chariots. A military formation composed of cavalry, crossbowmen, and infantry; Pit No. 3 covers an area of about 520 square meters, with dozens of warrior figurines, and there is a large pit in the middle where there is no time to place the figurines. The entire layout is planned according to the military organization system of the Left Army, the Right Army, and the Chinese Army.
The terracotta warriors and horses are shaped very realistically. Soldiers and horses are similar to real horses. Their costumes and attire are realistic, their appearances are different, and their images are distinct. The military officials are mighty and strong, and the command is steady, while the soldiers are witty, brave, and persevering. . Different personality characteristics are unified in the mighty and majestic momentum of the whole army. The terracotta warriors stand still and give people a sense of order and uniformity. This overall beauty reflects the extraordinary artistic skills of the craftsmen.
②Drumming and rap figurines
The pottery figurines of the Han Dynasty have a wide range of subjects, and the craftsmen freely exert their shaping skills to create many exquisite works of art. In 1969, a group of painted pottery figurines with music and dance, acrobatics, and banquets were unearthed from the Western Han tomb in the northern suburb of Jinan, Shandong. The figures are lively and lively. The static of the viewers set off the dynamics of the performers and achieved a strong artistic effect. Most of the pottery figurines in the Han dynasty used daily life as the objects of performance, and various laborers, musicians, and rappers were all full of fun under the hands of potters. Among them, the "Drumming and Rap Figurine" unearthed from Tianhui Mountain in Chengdu is a wonderful work, which vividly shows the expression and form of a rap figurine. When he talked about the beauty, he couldn't help but raised his arms, his eyebrows were flying, and the humorous and lively vitality overflowed in his hands and feet.
3. Exquisite work-Qin and Han bronze sculptures
With the changes of the times, the bronze craftsmanship that once prevailed in the Shang and Zhou dynasties was liberated from the mystery of ritual vessels and works that truly shaped real-life appeared in the Qin and Han dynasties. Two sets of large copper carriages and bronze figurines were unearthed in Qinling in 1980. The craftsmanship is extremely exquisite. "Changxin Palace Lantern" and "Horse Stepping on Feiyan" are representative works of bronze statues in the Han Dynasty. The Changxin Palace Lantern was unearthed in the tomb of Dou Wan, the wife of Jing Wang Liu Sheng, Zhongshan in 1966. The shape of this lamp is a palace lady holding a lamp. The lamp plate can be rotated to change the angle of light irradiation. The smoke of the lamp rises into the body through the hand. The whole lamp is a perfect round sculpture, the proportions of each part are appropriate, and the character looks serene.
In 1969, a bronze horse guard of honor was unearthed in Leitai, Wuwei, Gansu. A total of 38 bronze horses, 14 bronze carts, and dozens of bronze figurines were unearthed in Leitai, Wuwei, Gansu. Among them, the Pegasus (Horse Stepping on the Flying Swallow), which is stepping on the dragon bird, is particularly outstanding. The head of Ma Ang hissed, three feet into the air, one foot over Feiyan. From the perspective of sculpture skills, the artist has mastered the principle of mechanical balance and is a masterpiece in the history of sculpture.
In the history of bronze art in the Han Dynasty, the Dian bronze sculpture is an extraordinary creation. They welded and cast various figures and animals in groups on the bronze cover. Mainly based on the folk customs and sacrifices of the time, such as textile workshops, wars, paying tribute, and killing sacrifices. Most of the animal sculptures decorated on weapons such as axes and Ge and the sculptures decorated with copper ornaments are based on hunting, animal fights, or scenes where the weak and the strong eat the strong. These sculptures in ethnic minority areas are different from the seated statues and styles of Shakyamuni in the Yangyungang Grottoes in the Central Plains, reflecting their outstanding artistic expression.
4. Grotto statues
Buddhism was introduced to China at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and it became popular in the Wei, Jin, and Southern, and Northern Dynasties. Buddhist grotto sculptures began to prevail in the Three Kingdoms and Jin Dynasties with the wide spread of Buddhism. It increased day by day during the Sui and Tang Dynasties. It was the golden age of Chinese sculptures until the 13th century. The grotto statues start from Xinjiang in the west, pass through Gansu, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, and then from Sichuan to Yunnan and Guangxi, all over China. In these dozens of grottoes, they can be divided into three periods in terms of their style: the early period is the Wei, Jin, Southern, and Northern Dynasties, the middle period is the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and the late period is from the late Tang to the Song Dynasty.
The Yungang and Longmen Grottoes of the Northern Wei Dynasty are early representatives of Chinese grotto sculptures. Yungang Grottoes, Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, and Longmen Grottoes are also known as the three treasure houses of ancient Chinese Buddhist cave art. The Yungang Grottoes are about 1 km long, with 53 main caves and more than 51,000 stone Buddha statues. The main sculpture is the sculpture of the Tanya King Cave, a representative work of the early Northern Wei Dynasty. The main image of the grotto occupies most of the space in the cave. The main image has deep eyes, a high nose, broad shoulders, and a thick chest, wearing a shoulder-length coat. The main Buddha image is solemn and peaceful, yet super quiet. The pattern of the Buddha's clothes has both the raised pattern of thick clothes and the lines of thin clothes. Cave 20 is a 13.7-meter-high seated Buddha statue. Because the front wall of the cave has collapsed and the statue is completely open to the sky, this statue has a majestic body and profound spirit and has become a symbol of Yungang Grottoes. The style of the statues of the Tanya King Cave still has the atmosphere of Gandhara, Central India, and Western Regions.
The Longmen Grottoes are in the southern suburbs of Luoyang, Henan. Guyang Cave is the earliest cave to be excavated. In the cave, the main statue of Buddha Shi Yingmuni sits in a squat, wearing a robe and a belted robe, which looks dignified, graceful, and serene. The bodhisattva on the two walls is chic and elegant. At this time, the style of statues is close to the aesthetic form of the Han nationality in the south.
Originally, the "Ritual Buddha Picture" in this cave (now in the Kansas State Museum of the United States), shows the scene of the emperor and the queen facing the Buddha. Using flat relief, the characters all move forward, and the smooth expression of the lines gives people a sense of movement. From this work, we can see the level of Chinese grotto sculpture art at that time.
