ancient screen (Wang Rhine)

Screen has always been one of the main indoor appliances in China. It was called "(yǐ)" in ancient times, and it was also written as "Yi", that is, a screen between households. Cihai contains "Fu (ǔ)", "Axe" and "Axe according to", all of which have the same meaning. They refer to the screens used by ancient emperors, hence the name.

Most of the ancient buildings in China are courtyards with civil structures, which are not as tight as the reinforced concrete houses in the present. In order to keep out the wind, the ancients began to make furniture like screens. In addition to wind protection, screens are also exquisite movable partitions in buildings. Some screens are placed behind beds for leaning or hanging things. There is such a passage in Li You's "Screen inscription" in the later Han Dynasty: "If you give up, you will avoid it, and if you use it, you will set it up." Standing must be straight, and it must be cheap. Yong Kui common cold, fog and dew are resistant. Under the cover, it is normal. " It correctly describes the characteristics and functions of the screen. On the throne in the center of the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City (commonly known as the Golden Hall), there is a golden chair carved with dragons, and a golden screen carved with dragons is placed behind the chair. This arrangement can not only keep out the wind, but also increase the solemn atmosphere of the throne. Because the screen is often placed in an obvious position indoors, people have made a lot of efforts in beautifying and decorating the screen itself, so it has gradually developed into one of the famous traditional handicrafts with practical value in China.

screens can be divided into screen insertion and screen enclosure. The screen insertion is mostly single, while the screen enclosure is composed of multiple fans, ranging from two fans to twelve fans, which can be folded at will, wide or narrow, and is convenient to use. To make a screen, wooden boards are generally used, or wood is used as the bone, covered with silk as the screen surface, and other materials such as stone, pottery or metal are used as the column base. The screen is decorated with various colored paintings, or inlaid with pictures with different themes, and there are also vegetarian screens. The screens used by emperors and nobles are especially precious in materials, fine in workmanship, colorful and magnificent. According to historical records, in the royal court of the Western Han Dynasty, bright and colorful mica screens, glass screens and miscellaneous jade tortoise shell screens were used. "Tai Ping Guang Ji Luxury Zhao Feiyan" said that when the Western Han Dynasty became emperor, Zhao Feiyan, the empress, was famous for her profligacy. At one time, her officials presented her with 35 kinds of tributes, including mica screens and glass screens. Later generations also appeared enamel screens, ivory screens and so on. These screens are priceless, mostly luxury goods for the ruling class. Therefore, the theory of salt and iron is insufficient, and it says, "One cup uses the power of a hundred people, and one screen will make ten thousand people work."

In China, although screens have been used for thousands of years, there are few physical objects left. In 1972, the screen unearthed from No.1 Han Tomb in Mawangdui, Changsha, Hunan Province, can be said to be the earliest and most complete screen in China. This is a painted lacquer screen, wooden tire, rectangular, with a height of 62 cm. The panel is 72 cm long, 58 cm wide and 2.5 cm thick. There are two supporting foot seats under the screen. The screen surface is painted with light green oil paint on one side, a valley-shaped round wall in the center, geometric square lines around it, the edges are painted with black paint, and a diamond pattern is painted with Zhu. The other side is painted black, and moire and dragon patterns are painted with red, green and gray oil. However, I saw a Youlong flying in the sky, with his head held high and his mouth open, and his posture was light and vigorous, his image was magical and vivid, and he was full of imagination and artistic charm. Green dragon body, red scales and claws, the diamond pattern on the edge is vermilion, the color is striking and bright, the painting skill is superb, the pen is smart and neat, the combination of rigidity and softness is bold and powerful.

There are also many bamboo slips unearthed from Mawangdui No.1 Han Tomb, among which the 217th bamboo slip records: "The wooden five dishes (colorful paintings) are painted in parallel with the wind, five feet long and three feet high." The size recorded in the bamboo slips may be the size of the general practical screen at that time. Five feet in the Han Dynasty is about 1.2 meters in metric system now. However, the unearthed painted lacquer screen is not in conformity with the size described in the brief article, and the area is smaller.

184 colorful lacquerware pieces were unearthed in Mawangdui No.1 Han Tomb. As far as its fetal bone is concerned, it is nothing more than wood, bamboo and sandwiched tires. The fetal bone of this screen has been identified as eucalyptus, which is relatively rough. It may be a sacrificial vessel that simulates the objects used by the deceased before his death, specially prepared for burial.

According to expert appraisal, the age of Mawangdui No.1 Han Tomb is after the 5th year of Emperor Wendi (175 BC) and before the 5th year of Emperor Jingdi (145 BC). The deceased may be the wife of the second and third generation Hou, or the wife of the first generation Hou. Therefore, this painted screen has a history of more than 2,111 years. It was completely unearthed for the first time, which provided rare material for the study of screen history in China.

Is there any physical screen unearthed earlier than the Western Han Dynasty? Now some scholars think that the bronze seats of Cuoyin Silver Tiger, Cuoyin Rhino and Cuoyin Buffalo unearthed from the tomb of Zhongshan King in the Warring States Period in Pingshan County, Hebei Province in recent years may be the pillars of a screen. There are pins on the stands, the tiger deer-eating stands are double pins, and the rhinoceros and buffalo stands are one pin each. There are four pins on the three bases, and there are still wooden tenons on the pins. Unfortunately, the shape and size of the screen surface were not visible when it was unearthed. It may be the pillar foundation of a screen. Of course, this point needs further research.

Compared with the lacquer screen unearthed from Mawangdui No.1 Han Tomb, there are a painted wooden screen frame unearthed from the Eastern Han Tomb on the dry beach slope in Wuwei, Gansu, and a small ceramic screen unearthed from the Eastern Han Tomb in Qilihe, Jianxi, Luoyang, Henan.

when it comes to ancient practical screens, we should push a lacquer painting screen unearthed in 1966 from Sima Jinlong's tomb in Shijiazhai, Datong, Shanxi. This is a work written by Wei Taihe eight years ago (484) after the Northern and Southern Dynasties, most of which have been ruined, and the remaining five screens are still relatively complete. The board is about 81 centimeters high, and there are four small column foundations carved with light gray fine sandstone, each of which is 16.5 centimeters high. If it is restored, it may be a four-foot screen, which is different in shape from the screen unearthed from Mawangdui No.1 Han Tomb, but a screen set at the bedside for one person to use.

Behind the thrones in every hall in the Forbidden City Palace, there are almost screens, such as "Red sandalwood inlaid boxwood carved Yunlong screen", "Ganlong tooth carved landscape figure dyed screen" and "carved dragon painted gold screen", which are extremely precious handicrafts in Qing Dynasty. The decorative patterns on the screen are exquisite and beautiful, including embossed dragon patterns, inlaid and embroidered flowers and birds, landscapes, figures and other patterns. They are the masterpieces of ancient screens in China, which reflect the high level of handicrafts in China.