Study On The Plaque Ornaments With Tiger Pattern Of Yuhuangmiao Culture

The bronze plaque ornaments with tiger pattern which were widely popular in the grasslands of northern China from the Bronze Age to the early Iron Age,have attracted the attention of academia.However,there are few special analyses on the bronze plaque ornaments with tiger pattern since the past investigations on such bronze articles have often been integrated into the relevant comprehensive research.Due to the increase of unearthed archaeological information,it can be found that such ornaments collectively known as bronze plaque ornaments with tiger pattern actually have a distinctive regional style.Among theses regions,abundant bronze plaque ornaments with tiger pattern of Yuhuangmiao Culture were unveiled in mountainous regions of north Hebei during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty,and unearthed materials were also relatively detailed,which would have provided a good foundation for the concentrated explorations of the plaque ornaments.As no special research on the bronze plaque ornaments with tiger pattern has been conducted so far,this thesis tries to make a systematic investigation on the plaque ornaments of Yuhuangmiao Culture in order to develop a comprehensive and profound understanding of the regional characteristics of the plaque ornaments and the unearthed bronze articles from Yuhuangmiao Culture as well as some relevant issues.This thesis tries to analyze the bronze plaque ornaments with tiger pattern of Yuhuangmiao Culture mainly from five aspects,specifically type and style of the plaques,staging and evolution of the plaques,origin and distribution of the plaques,usage and symbol of the plaques as well as its relevant issues and moreover,put forward a series of new insights by employing the research methods such as literature review,archaeological typology,comparative analysis,situational analysis and so on.According to the characteristics of the shape and construct,the ornamentations of the bronze plaques from Yuhuangmiao Culture could be generally divided into four different decorative types,namely,the crouching tiger type,the standing tiger type,the type of a head of a tiger,the type of curly animals.Among them,there were alarge number of ornamentations of the crouching tiger and curly animals,especially the type of the crouching tiger,which could be further divided into several types.All sorts of the plaque ornaments were portable,small in shape,light in weight and easy to hang.The vast majority of plaque ornaments were made of bronze,among which the bronze plaques inlaid with turquoise were particularly exquisite.The main line of the plaque ornaments would aim to outline the simple life,and only a few categories are slightly exaggerated.Fused with different characteristics of the bronze plaques in the period,such tradition of the plaques of Yuhuangmiao Culture came into being.The bronze plaque ornaments with tiger pattern of Yuhuangmiao Culture were mainly popular from the mid Spring and Autumn period to the early Warring States Period.According to the stages of Yuhuangmiao Culture,the development of the plaque ornaments has experienced four periods of initial creation,prosperity,transition and decline.The comparative research has shown that the bronze plaque ornaments with tiger pattern of Yuhuangmiao Culture probably origins from the similar kinds of bronze articles of Upper Xiajiadian Culture.Besides,some categories of the plaque ornaments may origin from the remains of Yu village,Ning county,which was located in the west of the Great Wall in north China.On the basis of some early factors,the bronze plaque ornaments with tiger pattern of Yuhuangmiao Culture may have continued to absorb and integrate some new types of the plaque ornaments in the place like Central and Southern Inner Mongolia during the process of its development.Correspondingly,the bronze plaque ornaments with tiger pattern of the Central and Southern Inner Mongolia and the central Hebei with this period would have also greatly influenced by the bronze plaque ornaments with tiger pattern of Yuhuangmiao Culture.To the early and middle Warring States Period,the bronze plaque ornaments with tiger pattern extended to the western Liaoning Province and other places as Yuhuangmiao Culture declined.In the light of the unearthed background,the plaque ornaments of Yuhuangmiao Culture were generally worn on the neck,and a few with the ornamentations of curly animals would be worn on the waist or other parts of the body.These plaque ornaments once belonged to people when they were alive,which to a certain extentreflected the aesthetic attributes of Yuhuangmiao Culture.Widely used in all levels of the society of Yuhuangmiao Culture,the bronze plaque ornaments with tiger pattern were considered as a kind of ornaments of universal significance.However,in the society of Yuhuangmiao Culture,the bronze plaque ornaments with tiger pattern have not only the practical functions but also the gender symbolism.For example,adult women could not wear such plaque ornaments.The research on the bronze plaque ornaments with tiger pattern would further support the division of western and eastern areas of Yuhuangmiao Culture and more clearly show the role of Upper Xiajiadian Culture in the rise of Yuhuangmiao Culture,highlighting the close relationship between Yuhuangmiao Culture and Zhongshan Culture.Very complicated reasons exist for the bronze plaque ornaments with tiger pattern becoming popular in the grasslands of northern China,including Yuhuangmiao Culture.The specific exploration process of this thesis would also show the important role of typology analysis and situational analysis in the research of bronze articles.Research on the bronze plaque ornaments with tiger pattern of Yuhuangmiao Culture would be of great importance for the further academic understanding of cultural relations and also be a very important historical reference for the analysis of the ornamentations of the plaque ornaments and the bronze articles in the grasslands of northern China,so it is of important academic value.