Siyangfang respects the square body, with a square mouth and a large side. The neck decoration is slightly outside, each side is 52.4 cm long, and its side length is almost 58.3 cm high. Long neck, high circle feet. The neck is towering, and all sides are decorated with banana leaf patterns, triangle-shaped and animal-faced patterns. The shoulders, abdomen and feet are cleverly designed as a whole into four rolled-horn sheep.
On the four corners of the shoulder, there are four sheep's head horns. The sheep's head and neck extend out of the device, and the sheep's body and legs are attached to the stomach and feet. The pattern of the whole device is exquisite and beautiful, and the lines are smooth and rigid. The belly is the front chest of the sheep, and the leg of the sheep is attached to the feet and bears the weight of the body. The back of the sheep's chest, neck and back are decorated with scales, and the two sides are decorated with exquisite long-crowned phoenix patterns, and there are real inscriptions on the circle.
Fang Zun's neck is decorated with banana leaf pattern and strip gluttonous pattern composed of real dragon pattern, and his shoulders are decorated with claw dragon pattern and high relief snake body. In the middle of the four sides of the statue, that is, where two sheep are adjacent, there is a diagonal and a dragon protruding from the table, winding in the middle of the front room from the right shoulders on both sides of Fang Zun. Are decorated with exquisite thunder patterns. Edge lines are designed at the intersection of the four corners of the vessel and the center lines of the four sides to cover up the dislocation patterns that may appear when they intersect, which not only covers up the traces of intersection, but also improves the monotony of the edges and corners of the vessel, enhances the modeling momentum and is seamless.
Extended data
Four sheep and four dragons represent the supreme weather in wine vessels with their relative shapes. Sheep become the object of bronze heavy objects, which has its unique symbolic significance. In the pre-Qin period, there were two kinds of generalizations about sheep's character: kindness and politeness; Soft outside and rigid inside. Sheep's habit of "kneeling and sucking milk" is regarded as kindness and courtesy, and even interpreted by later generations as a model of filial piety; Soft outside and hard inside have also been extended to many sacred properties. Hao Tao, the legendary ancestor, worships sheep, and The Book of Songs, Zhao Nan, also has the saying that "the king of literature is in charge, honest and hearty, and his virtue is like a lamb".
The most popular or folk symbolic meaning of sheep is "auspiciousness". Sheep have been associated with auspiciousness since at least the Han Dynasty. The inscription "Houyi Wang Dayang Tan (Auspicious)" is common in inscriptions such as tiles and bronze mirrors in the Han Dynasty. Auspiciousness is sometimes directly written as "Auspicious Sheep".
The bronzes unearthed in Hunan, represented by the Four Sheep Fang Zun, not only retain the original totem worship, but also have the significance of replacing sheep as a sacrifice to the gods. At the same time, it also contains the expectation of the prosperity of livestock breeding such as sheep, and may sprout various ideas about sheep in later generations.
Fang Zun of Siyang is called "the perfect bronze model" by historians. In May 2000, the Museum of Chinese History selected the top ten national treasures of bronzes for the first time, and Siyang Fangzun was among them. On 20 13 08 19, Fang Zun in Siyang was identified as the third batch of cultural relics prohibited from leaving the country for exhibition.
Baidu Encyclopedia-Siyang Fangzun