Yellow Earth Above and Below - A Collection of Art and Archaeology

Author: Zhang Pengchuan / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: The Artistic Value of Neolithic Polychrome Pottery and Painted Pottery
The primitive art of ancient China was highly developed, but after nearly ten thousand years of long history, the patterns painted on human bodies, hemp fabrics, and wooden objects have long disappeared. Today, the patterns on the well-preserved polychrome pottery and painted pottery that have been left behind serve as the main material for studying Chinese primitive art. The production and development of Chinese polychrome pottery and painted pottery span the entire Neolithic Age, which holds significant value for studying the origin of Chinese art and the unique developmental process of its early stages. Overall, the origin of polychrome pottery art is closely related to people's social life. The styles of polychrome pottery are primarily related to people's material life. Out of practical habits and needs, they always imitated the shapes and textures of previously used vessels, believing that only in this way could they maintain the functions of the vessels they were imitating. As practical needs and pottery-making techniques developed, the shapes and painted patterns of pottery gradually deviated from the styles of the vessels they were originally imitating and were designed according to aesthetic principles, transforming into abstract geometric patterns that became purely spiritual products. Polychrome pottery and painted pottery also feature many profound symbolic and biomorphic animal patterns and personified animal patterns. For example, the Banpo type polychrome pottery primarily features fish patterns, and even unique patterns combining fish and human faces are found, which are considered to be totemic patterns. Totems are animals or supernatural beings regarded as the ancestors of clans, emphasizing the kinship ties of clan members from a spiritual perspective. Totemic patterns then become the artistic expression of clan communities. Therefore, totemic patterns on polychrome pottery were products of spiritual production from the very beginning. In the Guanzhong region, Banpo type polychrome pottery also features patterns combining fish, bird heads, and human faces. Bird patterns are the main motifs of Miaodigou type polychrome pottery and are considered one of the totemic patterns of the Miaodigou clan. In adjacent areas where Banpo and Miaodigou type polychrome pottery coexists, these unique composite patterns reflect the fusion of clans that revered fish and birds as totems, a phenomenon that emerged when different clans formed tribal alliances. As the scope of "clans" expanded, realistic animal patterns that represented a single clan could no longer convey the more complex of broader tribal alliances. Therefore, symbolic composite patterns had to be designed. Thus, from the perspective of the patterns and motifs on polychrome pottery and painted pottery, whether natural or geometric, they all underwent a developmental process from concrete to abstract. The Chinese nation is a multi-ethnic community. The mutual influence of different ancient cultures' polychrome pottery and the development of complex composite patterns reflect the unique formation process of the Chinese nation as a community, which also determined that Chinese art took the path of abstract expression. The patterns on polychrome pottery and painted pottery primarily adopt dynamic forms and formats, with motifs often composed of arcs, curved lines, and dots, fully within these dynamic formats, showcasing a smooth and elegant style. Chinese polychrome pottery frequently employs point (dot) positioning methods, allowing patterns to extend from all directions of the positioning points, achieving freedom in design within minimal constraints, ensuring that multi-unit patterns remain dynamic yet orderly, rich yet harmonious, and endlessly variable. The Miaodigou type polychrome pottery also uses non-uniform positioning points to create scattered, flowing, and asymmetrical patterns, achieving harmony in the motifs through unified shapes and dynamic trends. This scattered composition form has become one of the main structural forms of traditional Chinese patterns. Among the various dynamic formats in the patterns of polychrome pottery and painted pottery, rotational patterns are a primary motif format. Diagonal arrangements are also common dynamic formats in polychrome pottery patterns, and polychrome pottery patterns sometimes combine diagonal and rotational formats, creating evenly spaced, interlocking rotational movements. Additionally, polychrome pottery patterns feature dynamic formats such as hooked curves, wave-like patterns, hanging arcs, zigzag patterns, and entwined branches, all of which break the constraints of space through continuous movement, showcasing the enterprising spirit and vigorous creativity of the ancient Chinese people. In the traditional art with a long history, polychrome pottery and painted pottery were among the earliest works that combined painted patterns with shapes. Chinese polychrome pottery pays great attention to the relationship between patterns and shapes, achieving unity and harmony. It also pays attention to the different visual effects produced by patterns from different perspectives, ensuring that beautiful scenes can be seen from all angles. This artistic technique, which perfectly integrates painted patterns with shapes, has also become a distinctive expression in traditional sculpture and handicraft. Polychrome pottery and painted pottery art is a brilliant page in the preface of traditional art, reflecting the rich and diverse cultural faces of various tribes in ancient China. Throughout history, the cultural exchanges and multi-layered integration among tribes have made it an important source of bronze art. From the developmental process of polychrome pottery and painted pottery art, we can study the methods ancient Chinese people used to observe things and the formation of their aesthetic concepts, as well as the developmental process of abstract expression methods. We can also study the different developmental paths of ancient art in China and other parts of the world. Polychrome pottery and painted pottery of the Neolithic Age in China are not only treasures of ancient Chinese cultural art but also an important part of the world's ancient cultural art, shining brilliantly in the treasury of ancient art. P10-P11