Exploration of animal patterns on the brocade entitled"Five Stars Rising in the East Benefit China"
The brocade entitled"Five Stars Rising in the East Benefit China"of the Han Dynasty unearthed from the Niya ruins is regarded as one of the greatest discoveries of Chinese archaeology in the 20th century.It has bright colors,rich patterns and unique meanings.There are eight Chinese characters on the blue and white brocade meaning"Five Stars Rising in the East Benefit China".In addition to these characters,there are typical Chinese patterns woven out of the five colors of red,yellow,blue,white and green,including the bird and animal pattern,the sun,moon and star pattern,the cloud and air pattern,and the dogwood pattern.At present,many scholars still have different conclusions about the identity of the animal patterns such as Luan bird,ostrich and azure dragon on this brocade.For example,Mr.Yu Zhiyong believed the animals should be peacocks,cranes and dragons;Mr.Sun Yu'an thought they should be big birds,Bixie(birds for warding off evil spirits)and spirit birds;Mr.Li Ling held they should be winged spirit birds,ostriches and divine beasts.The study took the controversial animal patterns in the brocade as the research object,adopted the two-fold evidence method,and compared and analyzed the animal patterns of the same type on different cultural relics of the Han Dynasty with the documents,summarized and analyzed the relevant documents that record the animals'morphological characteristics,and compared and analyzed the patterns on other cultural relics of the same period,such as brocades,stone reliefs and bricks.The morphological features of animals were drawn in line,and it was proved that the controversial animal patterns on this brocade are:Luan bird,ostrich and azure dragon from right to left.Through the historical records related to the inscriptions on the brocade,the implication of animal patterns and the cultural connotation behind them were discussed.The combination of rare birds such as Luan birds and auspicious beasts with inscriptions and five stars in this brocade should be an affirmation of the merits and virtues of the tomb owner.The simultaneous appearance of an ostrich in the five-star brocade with the azure dragon,the white tiger and the Luan bird proves that the Han people regarded the ostrich as a lucky bird with the same status as the azure dragon,the white tiger and the Luan bird,which demonstrates the tolerance and absorption of Central Asian culture by Central Plains culture.The white tiger and the azure dragon,as spirit animals that can ward off evil spirits and symbolize auspice,are combined with military and political divination words into the brocade pattern,which is more likely to bring blessings and victory.As the spirit of guarding the four sides and protecting the immortal to heaven,the azure dragon represents the orientation of the sky,and also reflects the artistic style of the Han Dynasty society's advocating masculinity and unrestrainedness.Therefore,the simultaneous appearance of the auspicious birds and beasts,the gods that guard and guide people,and the sun,moon and star pattern,cloud and air pattern,dogwood pattern and Chinese characters in the brocade,is not only an affirmation of the merits of the tomb owner,but also a protection of the owner of the tomb before and after his death,and a blessing for the Central Plains with a hope that China will prosper.
the Han DynastybrocadeLuan birdostrichazure dragonwhite tiger