The emergence of T-shaped silk paintings shows that in the early Han Dynasty, they had national characteristics and were painted with brushes. They had reached a superb level in terms of painting skills, coloring and layout. He is proficient in painting skills and can use the brush freely. The images are vivid, both realistic and fictional; the coloring is diverse, including monochrome and toning. The objects are different, the colors are different, and the layout is even more clever. Just like the separation between heaven, earth, and earth, the sky is marked by the gate of heaven, and the earth is limited by the platform. The space between heaven and earth is naturally the human world. In all walks of life, typical things are used to highlight the space, which is not too messy and orderly. Especially in the human part, the image of the tomb owner is prominent and the theme is prominent, which is completely in line with the purpose of silk painting. It can be said that the artistic language of T-shaped silk painting is very clear. Luxurious burials were popular in the Han Dynasty. People believed that the soul after death was immortal and could ascend to heaven. The feudal ruling class even hoped to enjoy the same power and wealth after death as before life. Therefore, they built tombs and carved sculptures to compare with each other. Paint the walls of the tomb to make the underworld look like the human world. On the silk paintings covering the coffin, they depicted the scene of the soul ascending to heaven and the fairyland in which the soul lived, to express their reverie of longing to become immortal. Although this kind of content that leads souls to ascend to heaven has already appeared in Warring States silk paintings, the most imaginative and romantic painting is undoubtedly a T-shaped silk painting unearthed from the Western Han Dynasty tomb in Mawangdui, Changsha.
In 1972, three tombs from the Western Han Dynasty were excavated in the eastern area of ??Changsha City. The owners of the tombs were: Li Cang, the Prime Minister of Changsha in the early Han Dynasty, his wife and one of their sons. A T-shaped silk painting was unearthed from Tomb No. 1 and Tomb No. 3 respectively. The T-shaped silk painting from Tomb No. 1 is the most eye-catching. The shape of this silk painting is like a capital English letter "T". It is called "Feiyi" because its appearance "looks like clothes but not clothes". The use of Feiyi at that time may have two meanings: one is to summon spirits. As early as the Warring States Period in Chu State, the custom of summoning the souls of the dead was popular. It is recorded in "Calling Souls": "Qin bonfires are all lined with threads, Zheng Mianluo is more", which refers to using threads of cotton to make flags to attract the souls of the dead. It has a strong superstitious color. During the burial, a special person will hold it and walk at the front of the procession to guide the soul to heaven. Another meaning is to wish that the soul of the deceased, wearing Feiyi, will fly to the sky like a bird. In the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, the ruling class believed in Huang Lao's techniques, prayed for gods, and sought immortality. They believe that after death, people can become immortals and fly to heaven like birds.
The entire silk painting is drawn on a piece of brown silk, and its content is divided into three parts. The top part depicts the scene of heaven: directly above sits a god with the head of a human and the body of a snake. He is the legendary Candle Dragon God. Legend has it that he has great power. When his eyes are open, it is daytime, and when he closes his eyes, it is night. He can also decide the weather, the ups and downs of wind and rain, and he is simply the supreme master of heaven. To the left of the Candle Dragon God there are nine suns perched on a tall hibiscus tree. There is a black bird inside one of the big and round suns. Some scholars believe that it is the sun spots, which are sunspots, discovered by our ancestors when observing the sun. In fact, our ancestors began to observe sunspots as early as the end of the Neolithic Age, and the earliest record of sunspots was found in historical materials in 28 BC. This is also the world's recognized record of sunspots. Earliest recorded. Since then, as of 1638 AD, my country has recorded 112 sunspots. In records at that time, sunspots were called "black air", "spots" or "crows", and their sizes were described as "big as money", "big as eggs", peach, plum, etc., describing Very vivid. To the right of the Candle Dragon God is a depiction of the Moon Palace, with a curved moon and a huge toad on top of the moon. In the toad's mouth is a century-old Ganoderma lucidum that can cure all diseases. Under the moon, there is a beautiful woman holding the moon up slowly. Under the Candle Dragon God, there are two monsters with animal heads and human bodies respectively riding on the sacred horse Feihuang. They are running to the left and right with a rope in their hands. The other end of the rope is pulling a musical instrument - Duo. The sound of the Duo is a welcome to heaven. The highest ritual of a person. Below the duo is the Tianmen, which is guarded by the Leopard and the Door God respectively.
The middle part is the human world: under the canopy, there is an old lady standing with a stick. She is Xin Zhui, the owner of Tomb No. 1. Look at her: she has a fat and plump body, her head is tilted forward, her back is slightly hunched, her movements are solemn and slow, and she quite successfully portrays the image of an aristocratic woman. The depiction of Mrs. Xin Zhui adopts a realistic approach. In front of her, two men wearing Liu's long crowns were kneeling to offer something, and behind her were three maids to send them off. This is the center of the picture and the focus of the author's depiction. At the lower end of the middle part, jade bis hang down, and colorful silk curtains are floating left and right. Below them are the family members of the old lady Xin Zhui. They all have blue faces and sad expressions, as if they are mourning the passing of the old lady, but their ancestors have passed away. , I can only listen to the sad music played by the eight-shaped chime above my head.
The bottom part is the underground part: it depicts a naked earth god, Gun. He is holding up the earth, with two huge turtles stepping on his feet. According to legend, only Gun can stabilize the earth and make waves. Aoyu to prevent earthquakes and landslides. There are also ferocious-looking strange dogs and wide-eyed owls in the underworld. Although they are unlucky, they can suppress the demons in the underworld from disturbing the old lady's peaceful undead soul.
The content of this silk painting is extremely rich and complex, ranging from the human world to heaven and earth, from reality to fantasy. Looking at it as a whole, the expression techniques are diverse and coordinated, just like a song played with a variety of musical instruments. A symphony of strange changes and harmony. At the same time, the combination of a high degree of decorative style and realistic techniques is a major feature of this silk painting. The content of the silk painting is very complex, but it can be processed so that it is spread across the whole frame, very full, and connected with each other, without feeling cluttered at all; it can not only highlight certain main contents, but also have the subject and the guest, and the flowers are clustered together without appearing isolated. It shows the highest level of ancient Chinese painting art. It is a rare masterpiece in the history of ancient Chinese painting and has inestimable artistic value.
The entire silk painting perfectly unifies myth, imagination and real life, and reflects the ancients’ imagination of heaven and pursuit of eternal life everywhere. It can be called an artistic treasure of the Chinese nation!
In addition, other forms of silk paintings were unearthed in the tomb. The discovery of these silk paintings of the Western Han Dynasty not only filled the gaps in Han paintings and refreshed people, but at the same time, the artistic achievements they achieved influenced and created the rise of artists in later generations.