Chapter 1727 Moderate Packaging
The palaces of the Han Dynasty mostly used lacquerware as eating utensils. The lacquerware is engraved with the words "Daguan" and "Tangguan" and is owned by the official office in charge of royal meals; the lacquerware with the words "Shanglin" written on it is used by the Shanglinyuan Palace.
According to the lacquer plate inscriptions from the Xinmang period, the only type of lacquerware used in the Changle Palace at that time was the lacquer plate, which amounted to thousands of pieces. Nobles and bureaucrats also advocated the use of lacquerware, and often wrote their titles or surnames on the vessels, such as "Changsha Queen's Family", "Hou Family", "Wang's Lao", etc. as a mark to show their cherishment.
These words are mostly written in the Han Dynasty's Bianli style. The handwriting is free and smooth, and some are exaggerated and playful. It is also a very appreciative calligraphy style.
With Zhou Zhi's current familiarity with calligraphy brushes, even if he has not studied official script specifically, he can still simulate similar handwriting with a Changfeng tracing pen.
Therefore, for this batch of black gold rhinoceros leather lacquerware, Zhou Zhi also used gold paint on the inner or outer soles of the objects, imitating the inscription method of Han Dynasty lacquerware, and also included similar ancient Chinese characters such as "Shanglin" and "Daguan".
Oddly enough, once a few Chinese characters are embellished on it, the utensils suddenly become elegant.
As an island country that uses a large number of Chinese characters and Chinese radicals, it is natural that this is also the case.
As a showpiece of traditional Chinese lacquerware, Zhou Zhi chose the "lacquer ear cup set box" which can represent the highest achievement of lacquerware craftsmanship in the Han Dynasty.
As eating utensils, lacquer ware is more superior than bronze ware, so it was favored by the ruling class of the Han Dynasty and was often unearthed in Han tombs.
However, the general lacquerware has decayed. Only the lacquerware unearthed from Mawangdui in Changsha, Fenghuang Mountain in Jiangling and Yunmeng Tomb is large in quantity, variety and well-preserved.
Among them, a large number of lacquerwares were unearthed from Han Tomb No. 1 in Mawangdui, Changsha. Among them, a set of "lacquer ear cup sets" containing seven ear cups is the most commendable.
Ear cups are ancient utensils used to hold wine or soup. They are mostly oval in shape and have two ears attached to both sides. Its ears resemble bird wings, so the ancients also called them "feather glasses".
The ear cup is oval in shape. It is made from a whole piece of wood, cut out into the shape by planing, gouging, chiseling and other techniques, and then painted.
The set of ear cups unearthed from Mawangdui consists of nine pieces in total, including a cup box for storing ear cups and a lid for the cup box. The box and lid are both in the shape of large ear cups, with letters The mouth is closed, and there are seven small ear cups inside.
Six of the small ear cups are stacked side by side, and the last small ear cup can be folded backwards with the other six. The reverse-buttoned cup has a heavy edge, and the cross-section of the two ears is triangular, which closely interlocks with the six stacked cups to form an overall ellipsoid-cylindrical shape.
This unique design requires very strict design in proportion and size. When the set is disassembled, the cup box actually looks not much bigger than the small ear cups, but it can perfectly hold seven small ear cups, and the structure is very compact.
Considering that this cup is hand-cut, it has to be admired.
The decoration of the ear cup is also very unique. The inside of the cup and the lid are painted red without any decoration. It looks very clean. It is probably for the purpose of holding food. Users psychologically require cleanliness. for the sake of.
Both the cup box and the lid are painted with dark brown paint, and then red paint and black paint are used to draw outstanding Chu-style cloud patterns, swirl patterns and geometric abstract bird patterns. The bottom is plain without decoration. Both the upper and lower rims are inscribed in red lacquer with the words "Bihou's Family".
The two ears of the small ear cup in the box and the outer edge of the mouth are painted with red rhombuses and rope patterns to form a geometric pattern. The inside is also red lacquer, but the bottom of the cup has the words "Jun Xing Liquor" written in black lacquer. This set of ear cup boxes contains their cup boxes. The shape can be so simple and beautiful because the craftsmen accurately designed and grasped the straightness, symmetry, proportion, scale and other factors of the form of the utensils, which reflects their superb skills and design. The level also reflects some of their design concepts: the first is the idea of combination, with large and small overlapping to form an organic and unified whole. When combined, they become one, and when used, they become many, which contains Taoist thoughts.
The second is the pursuit of practicality. Since the Warring States Period, people have paid special attention to the design of these daily utensils, and the design of each utensil shape has been perfected. When the ear cups are not in use, they are placed in the ear cup box, which is clean and saves space. It is suitable for home storage. When combined, it is a very convenient portable tableware for outdoor picnics, and has the dual function of home travel. In addition, its unique feature is that when the ear cup box is opened, the container and lid itself become a practical tableware, which fully reflects the practicality of this set of utensils.
This is another Taoist thought, "Because there is no use", the function of the utensils is not in reality, but in its emptiness. The cup set and the box embody this very well.
The third is the oval shape of the cup box, which is determined by its special function and design form. The shape of the cup is mainly soft curved lines, giving the overall feeling of simplicity, mellowness and fullness. The entire internal structural design of the cup box is very compact, has good stability, and is perfectly integrated with the external container shape. There is no cumbersome design at all, which fully embodies the ancients' "harmony between nature and man", "Tao follows nature", and "use utensils to follow nature". The philosophical thought of "carrying the Tao".
The last thing is of course the humanization of design ideas. For the convenience of life, the ancients perfectly reflected the consciousness of storage and classification in the detailed design of utensils. Within larger containers, multiple small containers are placed closely to save space, are easy to carry, and are clean and hygienic. , not easily forgotten.
This is called "people-oriented".
Of course, Lesoage’s level of sinology alone would definitely not be able to explain so many truths, so Zhou Zhi specially designed this set of one-to-one replicas of the “Dazzling Techniques Lacquer Ear Cup Sets” Box" and wrote a "Reflection", including all these contents, so that Lesoag would remember that if someone asks, this is the answer.
If the great craftsmen who made this set of lacquerware heard this article, they would burst into tears - if I knew so much knowledge, how could I be a lacquer craftsman in the jurisdiction of the King of Changsha? !
But the people of the island country are just like this. Lesoage finally discovered this when he visited the island country for an interview.
Although this is called "proper packaging", it is good for promotion, and Lessoag could only hold his nose and admit it.
As a minority painter who combines oil painting, sculpture, and lacquerware, Lesoage's personal exhibition in the island country has been a great success. Together with the lacquer ears imitated by the female workers from the Autonomous Prefecture lacquerware factory he brought over, Cup sets and boxes are also very popular.
At the cocktail party after the opening exhibition, Lesoage gracefully invited the patrons, visitors, and media reporters to taste the matsutake sashimi shipped to the island country through the cold chain for the first time. , the seasoning uses buckwheat soy sauce from Liangshan Prefecture and mustard native to the island country, and is paired with clarified Yi soaking wine.
The aroma and richness of the sparkling wine is comparable to the local sake of the island country, but it has an extra aroma of buckwheat, which is also very special.
These are purely natural flavors from exotic plateau forests. People in the island country still like to take the words "purely natural".
Of course, this wine can no longer be called "bubble wine", nor can it be called "pole wine" or "suck wine". When Kong Huaiming registered the trademark, he changed it to the Yi transliteration "Zi Yi" based on Zhou Zhi's suggestion. ", and it is also divided into two types, namely "Zi Yi Zhuo" in the form of pure rice soup, and "Zi Yi Qing" that has undergone a clarification process.
As soon as the name and packaging were changed, the soaked wine immediately became more sophisticated.
Wu Renzhong put in a lot of effort in all of this, and Zhou Zhi decided that the child should be rewarded.
So he said: "Don't worry, leave the wedding photos to me, and I will prepare a master carving for you as your gift."
(End of this chapter)