¡ñThe pattern of flowing clouds and divine
The ¡°pattern of flowing clouds and divine
animals¡± is a name used in Annals of Eastern Han Dynasty to record a
pattern on lacquer works, referring to the pattern of flowing clouds
with divine animals added. According to Annals of Han Dynasty: The Book
of Rites, ¡°The bells, the divine animals and people all take part in
the rite.¡± Annals of Eastern Han Dynasty: The Book of Carriage and Attire
also records that the empress dowager¡¯s carriage ¡°is painted with the
pattern of flowing clouds and divine animals¡±. This pattern is sometimes
abbreviated as the pattern of divine animals. The most common divine
animal that appears in this pattern is one with antlers. This is perhaps
the divine animal that is frequently referred to as ¡°xu¡± by the people
of the Han Dynasty. The inscriptions on bronze mirrors from the Han
Dynasty say ¡°xu¡± is a divine animal that can ¡°exorcise demons¡±, ¡°drive
away ill omens¡±, ¡°prolong life¡±, and ¡°extends happiness for eternity¡±.
Therefore, it is considered as a mascot and painted on all kinds of
utensils for birth and burial so as to bless the living and the dead,
to keep them safe and bring them luck. (Picture Twenty) The pattern
of flowing clouds and divine animals was very popular during the Han
Dynasty and continued for almost one thousand years when it was still
used for decoration in the Sui Dynasty.
The Chinese catalpa, also named ¡°small-leaf
phoenix tree¡±, is a deciduous tree and a well-known decorative plant.
It is also one of the first high-quality timbers used widely by us.
Many Han Tombs used Chinese catalpa wood for coffin. This kind of timber
is particularly good at withstanding corrosion. After one or two thousand
years, coffins made of Chinese catalpa are still firm like new and can
still produce sonorous sound when knocked.
Embossment is a lacquer-coating technique
that calls for applying lacquer or lacquer paste onto the base to form
ridged patterns for carving and polishing. The Record of Lacquer-Coating
describes embossment as ¡°the patterns are ridged for carving, with relief
and intaglio intermingled¡±. The bright colors ¡°are inclusive of all
shades¡±, as noted by Yang. The specific method is to apply lacquer paste
or oil-added color mixture to form the embossment, and then use a tool
similar to a spray gun to squeeze out lacquer liquid to form relief
lines, not unlike the embossment used in latter dynasty frescos. This
Coffin with Painted Design on Black Lacquer Coating adopted this method,
with the result that the contour lines of the cloud patterns and the
cloud patterns themselves are obviously ridged from the base lacquer
to create stereoscopic effect.