Chinese ancestors began to make lacquerware
about 7,000 years ago. In 1978, red lacquer bowls and tubes of the Hemudu
Culture were found in Yuyao, Zhejiang Province. According to scientific
analysis, the coatings are natural lacquers.
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Cloud pattern lacquerware |
After the
Han Dynasty, the variety of lacquerware increased, and the craft flourished for
five centuries starting in the Warring States Period (475-221BC). The scale of
lacquerware production had already become very large in the Warring States
Period. Lacquerware was one of the main economic resources of the time, and
there were specific officials in charge of its production. According to
historical records, the ancient Chinese sage of Zhuangzi used to be an officer
in charge of lacquerware production. The production process was very
complicated, necessitating a strong work force and long working hours.
Lacquerware was very expensive. It came in many varied forms and was widely used
for furniture, utensils, stationary, art works, musical instruments, funeral
goods and weapons. The nobles moved their attention from bronzeware to
lacquerware because the latter was bright, light, easy to clean, had heat
insulation and corrosion resistant qualities and could be inlaid and painted
with many colors.
Lacquerware was, however, usually coated
black and decorated with red designs or coated red and decorated with black
designs. About 220 lacquerware objects were unearthed in Zeng Houyi's Tomb in
Hubei Province. They are the earliest and most superb lacquerware of the Chu
Kingdom of the Warring States Period. Lacquerware items, including clothing
storage boxes, which were unearthed in the tomb, are richly varied, of large
size and simple style; they reflect the charm of the culture of the Chu Kingdom.
The designs on some of the boxes make them very valuable. In the center of one
is a Zhuan calligraphy character, meaning a star, surrounded by the
names, also in Zhuan characters, of the phases of the moon in a circle.
On the two ends are designs of a blue dragon and a white tiger. This box is a
rare relic of great value for research into ancient Chinese astronomy as it is
the earliest written record of moon phases yet found in China.
Some lacquerware was painted with fairy
tales. For example, the ancient Chinese tale of Hou Yi Shooting the Sun
was painted on a black coated and red design clothing box. Mushroom-shaped and
colored clouds and two twisting double headed snakes with human faces form the
background. On the two sides are two trees, the tall one with 11 branches and
the short one with nine. On the tip of each branch is a circle radiating
brilliant light, symbolizing the sun. Between the two trees, a man shoots an
arrow at a bird on the tall tree. The story demonstrates mankind's successful
battle against nature.
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Lacquerware painting on a clothing box
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Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD) lacquerware mainly used
black and red colors. In the painted design of one piece, there are 90
immortals, and birds and beasts with different postures and expressions. The
immortals are dancing with their long sleeves waving in the air, sitting quietly
with their chins in their hands, or shooting arrows with concentrated
expressions. The animals being hunted are turning their heads in panic and
running swiftly away. Beautiful patterns of dragons, phoenixes, leaves, grass,
cloud and various other things were drawn on the lacquerware objects to add to
their elegance. Lacquerware reached its heyday in the Han Dynasty and more
lacquerware products emerged. These included boxes, plates, earrings, bowls,
baskets, trunks, rulers, kettles, chessboards and stools. Meanwhile, many new
crafting techniques and decorative methods were also developed.
The patterns on the lacquerware are simple lines
or complicated pictures, depending on the items' different functions. The
contrast between the black and red colors creates a special artistic effect. The
black and red pictures on the lacquerware present a mysterious and ever-changing
fairy world inhabited by human beings and
immortals.