Study On The Plastic Arts Of Ordos Style Bronze Wares

Ordos style bronze wares,important cultural relics of northern nomadic people of ancient China,are famous throughout the world for their exquisite and unique "beast patterns".Before the founding of the People's Republic of China,such bronze wares appeared in large numbers in the central and southern areas of Inner Mongolia.Since China was in a special historical era,it couldn't effectively protect and sort out the bronze wares,and lots of treasures were lost abroad.After the founding of the People's Republic of China,Ordos style bronze wares were effectively sorted out and protected under the leadership of the Communist Party of China,and the researches of Chinese academic circles on them were gradually in-depth and systematic.However,the academic researches on Ordos style bronze wares are mostly concentrated in the field of archaeology by far,and few systematic and comprehensive studies are from the perspective of art and ethnology.The author especially focuses on and confirms the studies on this topic,aiming to explore the plastic art characteristics and ethnic culture connotation of Ordos style bronze wares.This paper has a "deep description" of climatic revolution,ecological environment,economic model,and distribution of coppertin ore resources along the northern Great Wall since Xia and Shang dynasties to the period of two Han dynasties based on the historical documents and archaeological achievements,as well as the field investigation data.Combined with the "background" above,it respectively studies the generation and development process of weapons and tools,"ornaments",life facilities,and chariots and harnesses(decorated with animal patterns or the typical characteristics of Ordos style bronze wares),and puts forwards: Ordos style bronze wares originated from the agricultural society and matured in the nomadic society;the "dry and cold" climate made the struggle for living resources intensified,indirectly led to the mature of bronze knife modeling prior to the ornaments with animal patterns;and the distribution of copper-tin ore resources in the northern area also directly affected the specifications,shapes,and structures of the early Ordos style bronze wares.Ordos style bronze wares can be divided into two types in terms of plastic arts,relief and circular engravure.The author found that the animal pattern reliefs of Ordos style bronze wares mainly include five types: 1.Monomeric animal patterns that show the side features of animal heads or bodies and belong to the "original form";2.Axial symmetry formed by the "mirror image" of monomeric animal patterns along the virtual central axis;3.Center rotation formed by the monomeric animal patterns through their rotation around the center point of the bottom;4.Permutation and alternation formed by the monomeric animal patterns through consecutive double-square and foursquare principles;5.Occlusion and biting of visual perception forces expressed by virtue of the "gestalt" tendency of visual perception.Type 1 to Type 4 can be regarded as the evolution process from monomer to complex patterns,reflecting the pursuit of decorative implication.Type 5 is extracted from the animal biting and fighting scenes in reality,showing the constitution of the "separated" power of with the "combined" image,embodying the advocation of force and tenacity.Ordos style circular engravures themed on animals can be divided into double-beast combination and group-beast combination.Doublebeast combination mainly introduces symmetrical settings,the center of gravity moves backward,and the gravity inclines forward to create a respectful,cautious and solemn atmosphere;it's used for the shaft or pole to decorate the guard of honor.Group-beast combination creates a natural life atmosphere with different animal postures to serve the soul as the funerary ware.Different use functions determine different combination forms and emotional expressions.It can be found from the beliefs of northern ethnic groups that ornaments with animal patterns mainly exist as symbols of "deities",and the meaning of their theme is more important than the modeling and form.The early modeling was simple and rough,representing the deities that the ancestors believed in piously,expressing the hope of life,and showing the "beauty of simplicity" in aesthetic form.In the late Warring States period,Xiongnu was powerful and prosperous,and the spirit of the ethnic group affected the style of plastic arts.The themes of tiger,wild boar,and "monster" showed strength,counterbalance,tenacity,and solemn and stirring emotions through the composition of occlusion and biting,and was embodied as a kind of "beauty of sublime" in aesthetic form.After the formation of nomadic economy,the lifestyle of "living where there is water and grass",the simple and easy legal system,and frugal and pragmatic stipulations and customs all had close relations with the nomadic means of livelihood.The simple theme,concise form,exquisite shape and structure,and portable features of ornaments with animal patterns were all suitable for the nomadic life taking economy and pragmatism as the "survival principle",and they were reflected as the "beauty of simplicity" that was easy,convenient and comfortable in the aesthetic form.After the decline of Xiongnu,Ordos style bronze wares were inherited by Xianbei people in the northern grassland,but their themes,styles,materials,and crafts were changed.They had been spread to Jiangsu as well as Guangdong and Guangxi areas to the south and were handed down to Mount Tianshan,Altay Mountains,and Ural area to the west.However,with the continuous integration of the Northern Xiongnu and the alien culture on the way of "westward migration",the models of Ordos style bronze wares were gradually integrated with new "components" and merged into a new culture;and they "precipitated" little by little into a "modeling element" with only decorative implication.