USEUROPEAFRICAASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
    China
    Home / China / Cover Story

    Accouterments of beauty that tell a dynasty's tale

    By Zhao Xu | China Daily | Updated: 2017-02-11 07:15

    Song jewelry designers gave us something to sing about

     Accouterments of beauty that tell a dynasty's tale

    Top from left: Earrings from the Song Dynasty; gold bracelets; scarf weights; the Chinese words inscribed on the hairpin read zi jin zao, meaning made from self-provided gold. Below from left: A gold hairpin from the Song Dynasty features two heads-a gourd and a litchi fruit; phoenix hairpins; gold rings; gold earrings. [Photo provided to China Daily]


    When Shi Chao of the Zhejiang Provincial Museum was busy preparing last year for an exhibition on gold and silver jewelry and wares unearthed in the province, he found a line of words inscribed on a gold hairpin. The words read: zi jin zao, or made from self-provided gold.

    "The hairpin is from the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), one of China's most culturally accomplished era," Shi says. "The inscription indicates not only the source of material, but also the fact that the owner of the hairpin may have had a say in its making.

    "Usually, a goldsmith produced his designs based on what was in fashion before trying to sell them to a potential buyer. In this case, he may have listened to what his customer had to say before picking up the hammer."

    The final result is a combination of popular aesthetics and personal preference. With two flying phoenixes adorning its body, the hairpin widens and bifurcates toward one tip to feature two heads - one a gourd, the other a litchi.

    "In traditional Chinese culture, gourd, with its entangled wines, symbolizes productivity, the continuity of a bloodline," Shi says. "The litchi seems to have been directly borrowed from the paintings of the time - an example of how painting, for which the Song era was famous for, had influenced jewelry design."

    Accouterments of beauty that tell a dynasty's tale

    "While most hairpins from the era feature only one theme - either gourd or litchi fruit for example, this one has two," he continued.

    In the exhibition nearly 200 pieces are on display in chronological order from the Tang Dynasty (618-907) all the way to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). However, the real emphasis, Shi says, is on the Southern Song period.

    "It's impossible to have a deeper understanding of the exhibition without knowing the history of Song, a dynasty cut - both in time and space - into two parts: the Northern Song and the Southern Song."

    Relocation

    The Song Dynasty was founded in 960. In 1125 war broke out between Song, which had long passed its zenith, and Jin, a rising power set up by the horse-riding Manchus from the north. In 1127 two Song emperors, Huizong and his son Qinzong, were taken prisoners by the Jin army. Deeply ashamed, Song was forced to relocate its court from what is today Kaifeng city in central China to what is now Hangzhou, then called Lin'an, in southeastern China. The surrounding region is known as Jiangnan, meaning "area south of the Yangtze River".

    The removal of the capital signaled the loss of control on Song's part of the vast land in central China. A return was never seriously discussed; successive Song emperors seemed to be equally impressed with the richness of their adopted home as they were with their enemy's military might. The regional culture, famed for its strong literary tradition, suited the artistically minded Song emperors very well.

    Although on the defensive most of the time, Southern Song was not without military triumph in its continued wars with Jin. For the next hundred years the retreat and its surrounding region south to the Yangtze River enjoyed a period of peace and prosperity. Population expanded and arts and crafts flourished.

    Previous Page 1 2 Next Page

    Editor's picks
    Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
    License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

    Registration Number: 130349
    FOLLOW US
     
    国产亚洲精品a在线无码| 国产高清中文欧美| 亚洲欧美精品综合中文字幕| 日韩国产精品无码一区二区三区 | 国产资源网中文最新版| 亚洲av中文无码乱人伦在线播放| 中文字幕久精品免费视频| 人妻少妇乱子伦无码视频专区| 91中文字幕yellow字幕网| (愛妃視頻)国产无码中文字幕| 中文有码vs无码人妻| 一区二区中文字幕| 中文字幕精品无码一区二区| 国产爆乳无码一区二区麻豆| 亚洲AV无码欧洲AV无码网站| 在线中文字幕精品第5页| 欧美乱人伦人妻中文字幕| 亚洲gv天堂无码男同在线观看| 国精品无码一区二区三区左线| 一夲道无码人妻精品一区二区| 最近新中文字幕大全高清| 中文字幕丰满乱孑伦无码专区 | 精品无码综合一区| 日韩欧精品无码视频无删节| 精品久久亚洲中文无码| 五月天中文字幕mv在线女婷婷五月| 最近免费中文字幕MV在线视频3| 国产亚洲精品无码拍拍拍色欲| 久久久久久国产精品免费无码| 亚洲AV无码乱码在线观看裸奔| 中文字幕AV中文字无码亚| 无码人妻丰满熟妇区96| 亚洲AV中文无码乱人伦在线视色| 国产日韩精品中文字无码| 日本久久久精品中文字幕| 国产中文字幕在线视频| 天堂中文在线资源| 亚洲欧美日韩一区高清中文字幕| 中文字幕在线视频播放| 亚洲日韩国产二区无码| 亚洲AV无码一区二区三区牛牛|