Appreciation of Toad Drops of Celadon in Guoyue Kiln: The Infinite Fun of Little Toad

The celadon toad drops in Yueyao, formerly known as "three-legged toad basin" or "three-legged toad-shaped celadon basin with tray", were unearthed in the sediment at the bridge head of Longtong Temple in Pengdong Town, Cixi City, Zhejiang Province on December 1th, 1983. The whole device is very complete, with a height of 6.7 cm. It is made up of a lotus leaf-shaped tray and a toad-shaped water bowl. Light gray tire, delicate in quality, covered with lake green thin glaze, moist and bright, with a slight surface and Zhi Ding marks on the foot.

The celadon toad drops in Yueyao were made in the Northern Song Dynasty

From the perspective of its light and skillful shape, it was a study tool. In the Qing Dynasty, Xu Zhiheng wrote "Talking about Porcelain in Drinking Liuzhai", saying: "Toad drops and turtle drops have a long history. The ancients used copper, and later generations used porcelain. In the Ming dynasty, there were crouching dragons and treasure elephants. Anyone who has a crop shape and does not store much water is called' drip'. " Based on this, this vessel should be renamed as "Yue kiln celadon toad drops".

the shape of toad drops can be divided into two parts: the upper part is a water bowl and the lower part is a lotus leaf-shaped tray. The water bowl is three-dimensional toad-shaped, with a horizontal length of 1.4 cm and a height of 6.2 cm. Toad's body is oblate, with its head held high and its neck stretched out, its mouth slightly open, water can overflow from it, its eyes are round and bright, and there are peach-leaf horns between its head and neck, which is quite magical. The back is slightly raised, and the surface of the device is decorated with ganoderma lucidum-shaped breast nails symbolizing warts, and wishful cirrus patterns are applied between the two sides; The abdominal cavity is hollow and can hold water, and a round hole for water injection is arranged on it; The lower abdomen is relatively flat, and the light element has no lines; There are two feet crouching slightly in front, webbed between the toes, arched at the back end and supported by one leg (limb) like a tail; Toad's posture is light and full of aura, and its shape is full of ambition, in order to fight for a chance, vivid, lifelike and cute.

the tray at the lower part has a big mouth and round lips, and the shallow abdomen is open and flat, so you can lie on your feet. The caliber is 1.8 cm, the foot diameter is 3.5 cm and the height is 1.5 cm. The tray is shaped like a lotus leaf with slightly rolled edges on both sides, and the inner abdominal wall is carved with slender and clear veins, which fully shows the vitality of the lotus leaf blown by the breeze. The lotus leaf tray and the toad-shaped water basin are skillfully combined into toad drops, which can be described as matching each other and bringing out the best in each other. In 1985, this toad drop was designated as a national first-class cultural relic, and in 1989, it was selected into the National Exhibition of Cultural Relics, which is an extremely rare national treasure among celadon in Yueyao.

Yue Kiln started in Shang and Zhou Dynasties, and celadon matured in the Eastern Han Dynasty, with a long history. By the end of the Tang Dynasty, the Five Dynasties and the beginning of the Northern Song Dynasty, the celadon of Yue Kiln, centered on Shanglin Lake in Cixi, had reached the peak of perfection and was listed as the first porcelain kiln in China. In particular, the "secret color porcelain" burned by Wu Yueguo is a famous high-grade palace treasure. According to the shape and glaze characteristics of this toad drop, it is a relic of the early Northern Song Dynasty, and it has the legacy of "secret color porcelain", which is just a vivid portrayal of Xu Yin, a poet in the late Tang Dynasty, praising Yue kiln celadon for "catching the bright moon and dyeing the spring water, spinning the thin ice lightly and filling Lv Yun". Its unique shape, exquisite and elegant expression, profound and peculiar meaning make people think and ponder endlessly.

Moon modeling image in Han Dynasty: Toad and White Rabbit

Toad, also known as shrimp clam, toad, toad and clam, belongs to Amphibia, Ranidae. Today, it seems ugly, with dry skin and many verrucous black spots, especially because of its leisurely disposition and slow action, it is commonly known as "toad" or "toad". However, in the eyes of our ancients, the ugly toad played an important role, was covered with a strong religious color, shining with mysterious light, injected with sacred magic, deeply imprinted in the hearts of the ancients, and became a sacred object of worship. It is believed that toads can transcend the souls of the dead and become immortals, so that deified images of toads can often be seen on many murals, silk paintings and stone carvings of Han tombs.

"Bao Puzi" says: Toad is 3, years old, with horns on his head and Dan calligraphy under his chin; "Xuan Zhong Ji" said that toad heads have horns and live for thousands of years; And the folk also have the Dragon Boat Festival to wish toads, which can avoid the saying of fighting; There is even Wang Qiao who eats white toads and lives forever. At present, the collection is sold and sent for auction, with one Wu Er, Wu Lu, Er Ba and Lu Jiu Ling Si. Ms. Wu? Committed to the construction of channels for selling folk collections. The spread of the story of attaining immortality reflects that toad is not only a symbol of longevity and good fortune, but also has the magic power to pray for disaster. Therefore, in the literature, long live toad, with Ganoderma lucidum on its back, is recorded as auspicious for the world. In the "Narration of Different Things" written by the owner of Dong Xuan in Qing Dynasty, there is also a description of "the ancient saying that a toad has three legs, lives in a cave and is a fairy worm".

Chang 'e, a well-known beauty from ancient times to modern times, became a famous folklore of toad after taking the immortal medicine of the Queen Mother of the Western Heavenly Kings, and even crowned the toad with jade toad, moon god in the sky, moon essence and fairy worm on earth, which is called the moon. "Huainanzi Spiritual Training" says: "There is a crow in Japan and China, but a toad in the middle of the month"; "Taiping Yu Lan" (Volume 4) quoted "Spring and Autumn Latitude Performance Hole Map": "Toad, the moon is also fine"; Li Bai's poem "Gulang Yuexing" includes: "Toads eclipse the shadow of the moon, and Daming night is disabled"; In the Jin Dynasty, Yuan Haowen also wrote poems for toads, saying, "Little toad walks like a drum, and big toad Zhang Yi is as angry as a tiger."

Small animals in the world are endowed with divine colors, and transformed into favored pets in the Moon Palace. They are singing idols filled by scholars throughout the ages, so they planted osmanthus trees in front of them, and the magnificent Guanghan Palace is called "themoon". Since the Tang Dynasty, the selection of officials in imperial examinations has become more and more popular, and scholars who have won the exam are often praised as "themoon won the laurels".

Five treasures of the study-water injection

This celadon toad drop is one of the indispensable tools of the study on the desk before the literati case. The toad-shaped water bowl on it, also called water injection or inkstone drop, can hold water for ink research, which is both practical and very beautiful. The model adopts the image of toad, which obviously contains the good wish of "themoon wins the laurel". I wish my master to be no.1 the best.

Toads have horns on their heads, which is a metaphor for longevity and good luck. Being a three-legged toad is exactly the same as the saying "As the saying goes, a three-legged clam can't be found anywhere" and "Toad has three feet" in the Qing Dynasty (Toads have four feet like frogs, but when they evolved from tadpoles to frogs, they had tails and two feet for a short time. The ancients didn't know the details and mistook them for "three feet", so three-legged toads were treasured by the world. The outstanding master of Yue Kiln porcelain making skillfully combines the toad with elegant modality and both form and spirit with the lotus leaf that comes out of the mud but is not stained, which not only conforms to the good longing mentality and aesthetic taste of the literati, but also is a treasure of Yue Kiln rich in artistic beauty and priceless. With its unique and novel shape, exquisite craftsmanship and extraordinary spiritual implication, it can be called a dazzling flower in China Ceramic Art Garden!