Evolution and Characteristics of Dragon Patterns on Ancient Porcelain in Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties

In addition to the flower pattern of twining branches, "dragon" is also a common decorative pattern on blue and white porcelain. After thousands of years' development, this unique theme of China is vigorous, vivid, flexible and superb in image, which has already become the keynote of dragon patterns in past dynasties. However, in the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, due to the different painting techniques and aesthetic concepts, various generations of potters still gave dragon patterns many different changes. Therefore, this paper explains the evolution of blue and white dragon patterns according to the times. ?

First, the dragon pattern of pottery in the Yuan Dynasty outlines the shape of the dragon pattern with lines. The faucet leans to one side, the mouth is slightly open, and the tongue is exposed. Round eyes like wearing glasses, forehead slightly raised. The hair on the head and the joint hair on the legs are banded. Thin lines are used to draw scales or grid patterns on the body surface. Each limb has three or four claws, and the claws are as sharp as eagle claws.

The related pictures of this theme are as follows:

For example, the figure 1 shows the blue-and-white dragon pattern in the Yuan Dynasty. This dragon is located on a blue-and-white flat pot in Yuan Dynasty. The pot body of the device is slightly trapezoidal with a wide upper part and a narrow lower part. The surface is divided into two decorative themes by a cloud pattern, and the cloud pattern is covered with dense flower patterns, with two phoenix birds shuttling in the middle. On the other hand, there are two dragons playing side by side on the waves in the form of one liter and one drop. As can be seen from the close-up of the part captured in the picture, the dragon pattern of the Yuan Dynasty outlines the image of opening one's mouth and sticking out one's tongue with thick and thin lines, and the long hair flies away, showing a lively and vivid style with rhythmic lines. The same dragon pattern can also be seen on the blue-and-white flying dragon flat pot collected by Bigong Museum in Topca. Although the spout was replaced with a gold sleeve and the double system on the shoulder was gone, the pot body was still intact. In addition to the flowers wrapped in clouds on the surface, there is also a dragon pattern in the middle, flying alone on the waves. Dragon's limbs are flexible, and Ran Ran's long beard and hair fly out of its eyes and claws.

Secondly, although the blue-and-white porcelain wares with dragon pattern in Ming Dynasty were developed on the basis of Yuan Dynasty, the image of dragon pattern has changed obviously, which is most obvious in the dragon head, dragon body and dragon claw.

The related pictures of this theme are as follows:

For example, Figure 2 is a partial close-up of the blue-and-white sunflower mouth plate made by Xuande Dynasty in Ming Dynasty. The inner bottom of the dish depicts a strutting Youlong, surrounded by clouds, as if rolling in the clouds. The head of the dragon keeps the shape of a spectacle dragon. But the mouth is closed, the lips are upturned, the forehead is flat, the hair on the head floats forward in bundles, and the body surface is coated with scales of green substances. The five claws are evenly distributed, like a windmill, and the overall style is quite stable. This kind of glasses, upturned lips, flat forehead, windmill claws, bundles of hair floating forward, is the biggest feature of the dragon pattern in Ming Dynasty. For example, there are many bowls, bowls, cups and plates decorated with dragon patterns in the blue and white porcelain of Xuande Dynasty collected by the Palace Museum in Beijing, all of which have the above characteristics. However, after the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, the blue and white dragon patterns had some changes under the change of painting techniques.

The related pictures of this theme are as follows:

For example, Figure 3 is a close-up of the blue-and-white disc during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. The dragon pattern shown in the picture is painted on the inner bottom of the disc, and the dragon head is still inclined to the side. The hair on the head floats forward in bundles, and the open five claws are like windmills. The shape is similar to that of Xuande period. The dragon-shaped figure is to outline scales with simple lines, and then fill them with uniform colors by long pen drawing. Finger bones and sharp claws are all painted one by one, and the interior is filled with the same color. This simplified brushwork and flat painting coloring method make the dragon pattern in the late Ming Dynasty look scrawled. For example, in the collection of the Palace Museum, there are many blue and white porcelain wares from Jiajing, Qin Long and Wanli periods, that is, many dragon patterns present such a simplified style.

Thirdly, the blue-and-white porcelain wares of the Qing Dynasty not only imitate the antique works of the Ming Dynasty, but also have contemporary innovative styles. This phenomenon is naturally reflected in the production of dragon patterns. However, the imitation dragon pattern in Qing dynasty is mostly invisible, which is not as good as that in Ming dynasty. But the new dragon pattern designed at that time became the symbol of this generation because of the brand-new weather. The emerging dragon pattern in the Qing Dynasty changed from the primitive simplicity in the late Ming Dynasty to a more vigorous and realistic image. Because there is a lack of blue-and-white dragon pictures here, it is used temporarily? The yellow, green and colored dragon patterns shown in Figure 4 are for illustration. ?

The related pictures of this theme are as follows:

Painted on the inner bottom of yellow-green plate, this dragon pattern is a work of Kangxi Dynasty in Qing Dynasty. The faucet roared with its mouth open, its eyes slightly protruding, its forehead protruding upward, its chin as long as a bucket, its hair fluffy and messy, and its scales have a realistic three-dimensional effect. The five-claw Zhang Kaicheng's "four plus one" shape is like chicken feet, and its joints are short and pithy, which has become a typical feature of the dragon pattern in Qing Dynasty. The same dragon pattern can also be found in the blue-and-white sea water dragon pattern bottle and the blue-and-white sea water dragon pattern Yin He in the Palace Museum. Its twisting, jumping and powerful image shows the unique momentum and spirit of Kangxi dragon pattern. During the Qianlong period, dragon patterns, led by positive images, began to rise. For example, the hexagonal bottle with blue and white longevity pattern in Qianlong period collected by the Palace Museum in Beijing was designed by Tang Ying, the kiln supervisor at that time, for the birthday of Emperor Qianlong. The bottle body of the device is hexagonal, and there are different decorative patterns from the bottle mouth to the ring foot. The six dragon patterns located in the abdomen of the device are the main patterns of the device. The biggest feature of the dragon pattern is that the faucet is taken from the front, the forehead is raised high, the eyes are wide, the mouth is opened to reveal the fangs, and the fluffy hair flies up from both sides of the cheeks and the top of the head.

The related pictures of this theme are as follows:

However, after Jiaqing, the dragon pattern in Qing dynasty, which is famous for its bold and realistic image, began to change. As shown in Figure 5, this dragon is painted on the inner bottom of Guangxu blue-and-white dragon bowl, with high forehead, biconvex eyes, fluffy and messy hair, claws like chicken feet and short joint hair, which is a typical feature of the dragon pattern in Qing Dynasty. However, the messy hair hangs backwards, the body outlines scales with simple lines, and then fills colors in the way of approximate plane painting, which not only lacks the three-dimensional sense and realism of the dragon pattern in the early Qing Dynasty, but also the spirit of the dragon pattern is not as vigorous as it was in the early days. The blue-and-white dragon patterns in ancient China are vivid, steady and realistic under different painting techniques, which not only embodies the different styles of the times, but also is the basis for us to appreciate blue-and-white porcelain.