Recently, cultural relics fans finally saw Sima Jinlong painted screen in Shanxi Museum.
This painted screen is very famous.
On January 18, 2002, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage issued the Catalogue of the First Batch of Cultural Relics Prohibited from Going Abroad for Exhibition, stipulating that 64 first-class cultural relics (groups) are cultural relics prohibited from going abroad for exhibition. One of the cultural relics of the Northern Wei Dynasty is Sima Jinlong painted screen.
According to Wei Shu, Sima Jinlong is the ninth grandson of Sima Kui, Sima Yi's younger brother. His father Sima Chuzhi attached himself to the Northern Wei Dynasty when Liu Yu persecuted Sima's family and was granted the title of Langya King. Sima Jinlong was born to Sima Chu and Princess Hanoi of the royal family of the Northern Wei Dynasty, and inherited the title. There are only a few hundred words about Sima Jinlong in the history books. However, as the descendant of the Western Jin Dynasty who married with the Northern Wei Dynasty and the representative of the famous aristocrats in the Central Plains, his cultural relics naturally have special significance for the study of the process of the Hanization of the Northern Wei society in this period.
After the Eastern Jin Dynasty, lacquerware products were rare, and the painted and lacquered screens unearthed from Sima Jinlong tomb were particularly valuable. Painted wood panels should be components of painted wood screens. There are 5 relatively complete pieces unearthed, 5 frames, 3 wooden stalls, and some fragments of paintings. Each lacquer painting is about 80cm long, 20cm wide and 2.5cm thick. It has mortises and tenons on the upper, lower and both sides, which can be disassembled or closed. It is part of a huge lacquer screen. The front and back of the wooden screen are painted with lacquer paintings. The downward side of the screen was severely corroded when it was buried, which was difficult to identify. Fortunately, the upward side was well preserved.
Experts believe that this lacquer painting is not the same painting process in the general sense, and is similar to the Northern Wei Dynasty lacquer coffin painting unearthed in Guyuan, Ningxia at the same time. With cypress wood as the board, first use fabric as the paint gray ground, paint the red ground, and then use mineral colors such as yellow, white, green, orange red, and gray blue to blend with oil for painting. This is a "paint painting" technique. In the description of objects, the line outline is mainly drawn with black paint, the ink pen is used to draw the eyebrows and eyes, and the skin color of the characters is painted lead white. These characteristics provide valuable material materials for the study of the painting technology in the Southern and Northern Dynasties.
The composition of the lacquer painting seen by the audience is divided into four layers. Each layer has a separate theme, which is accompanied by ink inscription and column title to mark the identity of the characters and explain the content. The pictures on the first floor are Yu Shun's Second Concubine, Shun's father's blind old man and Xiang Ao filling the well, and Shun's mother burning the forest. On this floor, there is only the title on the list, but no title. The second picture is composed of three mothers with four lines of inscriptions; The third picture of Lu Shichun Jiang and Chun Jiangnu, with 6 lines of inscriptions; The fourth picture, Banji bidding farewell to the chariot, has four lines of inscription. The story content of lacquer painting is the traditional theme of screen painting since the Han Dynasty, which reflects the respect of the tomb owner for the traditional culture and ethics of the Central Plains in his lifetime consciousness.
The wide cuffs, fishtail like skirts and flowing clothes of the figures in the lacquer paintings show a graceful and elegant temperament. On the basis of single line drawing and large amount of flat painting in the Han Dynasty, the iron line drawing is neat, smooth and accurate. Scholars believe that his painting style is very similar to that of Gu Kaizhi, a famous painter in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, such as "silkworms in spring" and "Wu Daidang in the wind". Its painting style, techniques and color design are full of strong characteristics of the times, which has unique value for studying the painting style in the early Northern Wei Dynasty, and further exploring the achievements of Chinese painting in the entire Wei and Jin dynasties.
On the lacquer painting, there are a large number of inscriptions in ink. The ink strokes are square and strong, and the ending characters are flat and broad, which are imbued with the calligraphic interest of the literati in the Southern Dynasty. It has the characteristics of stretch and vigor, close to regular script; But some characters still have the style of official script. The calligraphy on the lacquer screen is in the transition stage from official script to regular script, which is an uncommon authentic calligraphy of the Northern Wei Dynasty.
The four plinths are also national treasures, which may be used to insert screens or curtains. The base of the column is a drum shaped covered basin, with a square base and a round socket on the top. The base and the surface of the column base are embossed with exquisite patterns, full double lotus petals, and the head and tail are like dragons shuttling in the turbulent waves. At the four corners of the base of the column base, there are four musicians with different postures, who are playing drums, playing five string pipa, blowing pipes, or dancing elegantly, with smooth lines and vivid expressions. The overall shape is exquisite and gorgeous, reflecting the heroic and magnificent characteristics of the Northern Wei Dynasty.
Sima Jinlong's tomb is the joint tomb of his wife Ji Chen. In 1965, it was excavated by the Datong Museum, and was confirmed because of the clear epitaph table. The shape and interior layout of the tomb inherited the traditions of the Central Plains in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, and was basically consistent with the tombs of the upper ruling class in the Southern Dynasty at the same time, indicating the close cultural ties between the north and the south of China at that time. However, a large number of terra cotta figures with armour and riding gear appeared in the large-scale burial group, which shows the characteristics of nomadic economy and the northern national army. The facial features of some pottery figurines may be the images of the ethnic minorities living in Datong at that time. Some cultural relics, such as celadon spittoons, stone inkstones, lacquer food boxes, have typical characteristics of the daily life of the feudal literati and officials in the Central Plains. In addition, this exquisite painted lacquer screen is sufficient to explore the cultural choices of the traditional families in the Central Plains after their attachment to the Northern Wei regime.
People's Daily (November 28, 2018, 22nd edition)
(Editor in charge: Lu Jing, He Yinghai)
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