A Study Of The Three Main Pattern Motifs Of Songze.Liangzhu Culture

The culture sequence of Majiabang-Songze-Liangzhu of Neolithic age around Tai Hu Zone has its position been fixed in the pre-historic culture structure of China since last 80’s. Together with establishment of concept "Jade Age" and its importance among procedure of origination of Chinese Culture been acknowledged, researches on pattern motifs during this period not only help to further Early Art History research and Spiritual Archeology, but also provide new point view for local research on Liangzhu culture zone.This research is based on archeological research on pre-history culture zone around Tai hu. It focuses on three main pattern motifs of Songze-Liangzhu culture and the procedure of their development:development of single pattern during a long period and the point they met with each other. The particularity and universality of Liangzhu culture during its evolvement in pre-history period are thus been understood.Research of pattern motifs is based on macroscopically local-observation on one hand, and microscopically speculation on pattern details. Semeiological and iconographical methods have also been adopted combining archeology background to make stage and characteristic division on Late Neolithic period of the zone around Taihu area.A brief introduction of research object has been made first:the three main pattern motifs of this cultural sequencewhich has been abundantly emerged are: Circle and Curve-Triangle, bird, and spiral patter. They developed, prospered and declined together with Songze-Liangzhu Culture. A more important fact is, during high Liangzhu culture period, they are elements to compose god-man-beast face of jade article, which is a crucial image in ideal during climax period of Liangzhu culture. The next three chapters described development track of each pattern motif. Circle and curve-triangle pattern emerged in the image system of god-man-beast combination on jade articles as a symbol of sun-worship, which composed the beast-eyes structure. Image of bird can be traced back to an early history from He Mu Du culture to Liangzhu Culture, and composed a spiritual structure of bird-worship both in practical and ritual sense in this zone. This bird image emerged together with god-man-beast face image, and shared the same structure with beast-eyes. This phenomenon revealed a primitive religion ideal of Trinity[三位一体,借用基督教三位一体译法]The combination of spiral pattern and bird-head share the same structure with beast-eyes patter. Spiral pattern always emerged as a adnascent pattern since early age together with Circle and Curve-Triangle patter. It also showed itself frequently together with god-man-beast patter during middle age, and combined with bird-head pattern in the late age, which probably foretell a new worship ideal will appear.Based on above analyze, the most important significance of these 3 patter motifs have been stressed again:first, as units in a system, they constructed the god-man-beast face image which is a concentrated reflection of Liangzhu spiritual zone. The second combination formed an imaginary object for worship in early Chinese history. The particularity of pre-history belief in the zone around Tai Hu is thus drawn:the evolvement from nature worship (sun-worship) to ancestor worship, and then to imaginary object worship reflects the development of religion in a changing society:from people-belief to a belief in a power-centralized society. After this society broke, ideology of people began loose, and the imaginary object worship among people therefore started, which also became precedents of Chinese imagination of Dragon and Phoenix. These three pattern motifs thus sort out the division of period of stylization, classical period, and symbol period.