Lingering and charming: When painted pottery patterns meet dyeing techniques_Guangming.com

　　Author: Xianyu Shengzhe

The patterns on painted pottery are like elves from ancient times, dancing on the body of the pottery, either simple or complex, revealing a simple and mysterious beauty. Valerian dyeing technique is a bright pearl among folk skills. It shines with dazzling brilliance on simple fabrics. After years of baptism, it makes people fall in love with it.

In ancient times, painted pottery decoration and dyeing techniques were like two silent dancers, dancing gracefully in the long river of history, jointly performing the legend of human civilization. However, with the development of the times, they have gradually faded out of people’s sight.

Feng Can, the representative inheritor of the Hunan South African Heritage Project “Valerian Dyeing Technique”, uses his own hands to continue this ancient technique, allowing the painted pottery patterns and Valerian dyeing techniques to meet in the fabric “Hunan”, and in the new The era is filled with new vitality.

Feng Can is creating.Photo courtesy of the author

　　Romance from ancient times

There is a saying: “To understand China, you must first understand Chinese traditional culture; to understand traditional Chinese culture, you must first touch Chinese painted pottery.” Among the mysterious and charming primitive art, the art of painted pottery shines dazzlingly of brilliance. Its simple and smooth shape and colorful patterns convey to people the passionate emotions of primitive pottery craftsmen in praising life and pursuing beauty.

Painted pottery was produced between about 3000 and 5000 years ago and is mainly distributed in the Yellow River Basin. The most concentrated areas are Qinghai, Gansu, southern Shaanxi and northern Henan. Most of the painted pottery is red pottery pots, bottles, plates, beans and other containers. The original artist used a brush dipped in black, white and red to paint on the surface of the utensils. There are two major categories of painted pottery patterns, one is abstract patterns, and the other is concrete images of people, animals, or insects. There are a large number of patterns and decorations, and there are many types. Common ones include water ripples, rotating patterns, circle patterns, zigzag patterns, mesh patterns and more. The lines are drawn neatly and smoothly, and the pattern organization pays attention to symmetry, balance, change, appropriate density, and certain routines and rules.

Most of the painted pottery found in the Majiayao area of ​​Gansu Province, known as the Majiayao type, depicts water ripples and swirling patterns. These patterns are well-proportioned, smooth and wonderful. They really look like flowing water, making people feel relaxed, lively, peaceful and friendly. Facing these historical relics from more than 5,000 years ago, we can easily imagine the scenes of primitive clan society described in history: men farmed, hunted, and fished, and women engaged in housework or gathering, a harmonious social scene. The patterns of the mid-mountain type and horse farm type painted pottery slightly later have changed. Those zigzag patterns, four large circle patterns and frog patterns appear to be ups and downs, rough and fierce, and even weird and mysterious. At that time, primitive society was about to disintegrate, social changes occurred, and uneasy emotions such as war and turmoil were also revealed in the patterns. The associations triggered by the patterns of painted pottery are not subjective conjectures of romanticism. Patterns and pictures of the past dynasties all implicitly or explicitly reflect the tone of the social style and the main spirit of the times.

　　The splendor flowing through your fingertips

“Dyeing” is the general name for the ancient silk printing and dyeing process. The dyeing of valerian began in the Qin Dynasty, and there is a record of Qin Shihuang’s first dyeing of valerian in “Notes on Ancient and Modern China” written by Ma Xi of the later Tang Dynasty. Volume 10 of “Shijiyuan” by Gao Cheng of the Song Dynasty quoted “Eryi Shilu” also said that dyeing valerian “began to exist between the Qin and Han Dynasties, and it was used by both the noble and the lowly in the Chen and Liang Dynasties.” Although the craftsmanship of dyeing valerian has already appeared in the Qin and Han Dynasties, it has not yet been discovered. There are very few dyed valerian products from the Qin and Han Dynasties.

During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, dyeing valerian was widely used in clothing. “Book of Sui Dynasty: Shi Huo Zhi” records: Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty ordered the production of five-color valerian skirts to reward the palace officials, mothers and wives of hundreds of officials. A piece of valerian dyeing dating from the sixth year of the Sui Dynasty (AD 586) was unearthed from the Astana Ancient Tomb in Turpan, Xinjiang. The sky blue silk ground was covered with small white flowers, like stars twinkling in the night sky, indicating that the valerian dyeing technique had reached its peak in the Sui Dynasty. Very high level. In the Tang Dynasty, a kind of costume of “green green valerian clothes, flat head and small flowers and grass shoes” was popular among the people. In addition to being used as women’s dresses, dyed valerian is also a decoration for furniture. There are many kinds of valerian-dyed screens from the Tang Dynasty in the Shosoin Temple in Nara, Japan.

During the Five Dynasties, Valerian dyeing continued to develop following the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty. At that time, the popular names of dyed valerian among the people included deer fetus valerian, brocade valerian, cocoon valerian, Shu valerian, Zhuo valerian, pulp water valerian, sandalwood valerian, zhe valerian, three sets of valerian, etc. Some of these names are based on the color of the flowers. For example, deer tire valerian comes from the pattern of yellowish brown with white spots. Some are named according to their place of origin, such as Shu Valerian. Some are named after the printing and dyeing process, such as Chuu Valerian, which is a twisting Valerian resist-dye printing.

In order to curb luxury and promote simplicity, during the Song Dynasty, the government banned the production and use of dyed valerian. Song Renzong stipulated that “the common people are not allowed to wear black and brown clothes with white flowers and halo patterns in blue, yellow, and purple.” During the Yuan Dynasty, due to differences in aesthetic taste, the traditional dyeing of valerian could no longer occupy a place in mainstream society.

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, woodblock printing technology led to the development of woodblock, paper and silk screen dyeing and over-color printing technologies. All kinds of silk cooked fabrics of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, famous for their brilliant colors, not only display the exquisite weaving and embroidery skills, but also reflect the superb color dyeing skills. As the saying goes, “Although it is artificially ingenious, it is also due to the good water vapor.” During this period, most of the famous “Feng Guan Xia Pei” were hand-painted. There are as many as 88 colors in the dyeing spectrum of various types of silk printing. At the same time, each color is also subdivided into different shades. The complete color spectrum and the large number of colors show that during this period, China’s traditional silk hand printing and dyeing was in the mastery of raw materials and The mastery of dyeing technology has reached its peak.

Feng Can’s zigzag and zigzag painted pottery patterns 2023

　　Dancing on the modern stage

As the most successful decorative technique in the Neolithic pottery making process, painted decoration more intensively reflects the brilliant achievements of pottery art in the primitive period of China. Valerian dyeing technique, as a unique folk dyeing technique, still exudes charming charm. These traditional cultural crafts need to be passed down and protected, and people need more ways to understand Valerian dyeing techniques and older cultures like painted pottery decoration.

On the edge of the clear Lujiang River in Jinggang Town, Changsha City, Feng Can, who has been working tirelessly in the field of Valerian dyeing for a long time, is committed to making the traditional craft shine again. In 2009, Feng Can went to Guizhou to learn from the national batik art master Yang Chengzhou. After completing her studies, she returned to Changsha and found a new way. Based on traditional crafts, she produced notebooks, bookmarks, coasters, etc. in more than 50 categories and hundreds of valerian dyeing works. Ancient and modern collide, tradition and fashion blend. , people can’t put it down.

This time, Feng Can made an even more bold attempt, focusing on the fusion of valerian dyeing techniques and painted pottery patterns. She presented these exquisite patterns on the painted pottery using Valerian dyeing techniques, inherited and carried forward the Valerian dyeing techniques, and also used her way to express her admiration and admiration for traditional Chinese culture. Drawing, tying, dyeing, removing stitches, drying, cleaning… every process embodies her hard work and sweat. While painting these works, she stayed up countless nights, the wax knife abraded her fingers, and the skin on her hands was burned by the hot molten wax, but she never gave up. Finally, she presented these painted pottery patterns and dyeing techniques to people.

In spring, an exhibition of “Longing and Charming” painted pottery patterns and valerian dyeing techniques was on display at the Hunan Provincial Cultural Center. Feng Can’s Valerian dyeing technique works – 31 painted pottery pattern Valerian dyeing technique paintings series, the 16-meter-long scroll “Along the River During Qingming Festival”, and more than 100 Valerian dyeing technique cultural and creative works were unveiled one by one. “Linglun”, “Shuowen Xinfu” says, “Lianglun, never separated.” “Charming” is extended to describe the beauty of painted pottery patterns. The title of the exhibition is “Longing and Charming”, which expresses that the dyeing technique and the painted pottery decoration are both traditional Chinese cultures and are related and inseparable.

These painted pottery decorative works with dyeing and valerian techniques seem to be the key to ancient history, taking us into that gorgeous time. In the association and evaluation of the blue and white distant and mysterious symbols, we can discover the splendor and variety of painted pottery patterns, re-understand and enrich its cultural content, feel the aesthetics and concepts of the Chinese ancestors, and appreciate the profoundness and long history of Chinese civilization. .

During the same period of the exhibition, Hunan Museum held the “Rose of Longyuan – Gansu Painted Pottery Culture Exhibition”, displaying more than 200 exquisite pieces of Neolithic painted pottery from Gansu Province. The ancient painted pottery patterns and the inherited valerian dyeing skills echo each other, giving the public a vivid and perceptible scene to understand traditional culture. (Xianyu Shengzhe)

[
责编：刘冰雅 ]