The Evolution of Geometric Patterns and Portrait Patterns
In the late Western Zhou Dynasty, due to the reform of the ritual system, a new type of decoration began to be popular in China. This type of decoration is characterized by points, lines, squares, circles, triangles, and swirls, forming a geometric pattern that emphasizes bisection and symmetry. String and circle patterns are the earliest and most common geometric patterns. The cloud and thunder patterns of the Shang Dynasty were mostly ground patterns with gluttonous and dragon phoenix patterns. There are also vortex patterns (also known as flame patterns) and non zigzag patterns, often playing a role in dividing or spacing.
The most commonly mentioned one is the popular "steal song pattern" in the late Western Zhou Dynasty, which is also based on animal patterns and is simplified and abstracted from dragon and phoenix patterns. The so-called "stealing songs" are actually dragons and phoenixes with their bodies hooked. This name is found in Lüshi Chunqiu · Shi Wei. In addition, the commonly used "scale pattern" is derived from the dragon pattern and can be divided into four types: long scale, round scale, composite scale, and spike shaped scale. Mountain patterns are a combination of one or two of the four types of scale patterns, along with double back curly patterns and wavy bands. In addition, there are spike patterns, tile patterns, straight patterns, etc. The most important function of geometric patterns is that they are suitable for combining different curves, points, and lines, making them a composite type of geometric pattern. This type of composite pattern combined together is what we used to call a "ring pattern" (also known as ripple or wavy pattern), but it should now be renamed as a mountain pattern.
What is a mountain pattern? For example, Li Ling mentioned that two "Ba Bo Shan Gui" were recently unearthed in Dahekou. This is a rare type of square Gui, with a cover of eight scattered mountains. The inscription states that this bronze vessel is called "Bao Shan Gui", and "Bao" is a modifier. This vessel is actually called a Shan Gui. There is also a kind of lotus shaped pot popular from the late Western Zhou Dynasty to the Spring and Autumn period. It used to be called lotus shaped pot, which means that it was covered with lotus petals. But it's not a lotus, it's actually a mountain shape. And what we used to think was like a wave was actually a continuous mountain. There is also a type of C-shaped circular scale script with eight character patterns, which used to be called mouth pattern and eight character pattern.
From human facial patterns to animal facial patterns, the decorative patterns of bronze ware have undergone a considerable evolution in the early, Shang, and Western Zhou dynasties, and there is also an overlapping relationship between the decorative patterns and the shape of the vessel at different times. In the Warring States period, the appearance of portrait patterns revealed a new change in the decoration: the scenes were more grand and the pictures were more complex, just like the camera suddenly stretched out.
What is the reason why such patterns began to appear? Li Ling believes that there is a lot of room for discussion. Some people may discuss the impact of grassland areas on the Central Plains, as there are a large number of animal fighting patterns in the grassland areas. For example, the Warring States Banquet, Hunting, Attack, and Warfare Pot, which is now stored in the Palace Museum in Beijing, has many sections of decoration. The bottom decoration shows the land and water attack, while the top decoration shows the scenes of eating, traveling, throwing pots, archery, hunting, and mulberry picking, which were not found in previous utensils.
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