When did the words "lamp" and "lamp" originate? Before the Warring States period, there was no real thing called "lamp". In Oracle Bone Inscriptions of Shang Dynasty, there were no words such as lights and candles. The "candle" that appeared in people's daily life in the Western Zhou Dynasty should be the earliest record of lighting appliances.
The "candle" in the Western Zhou Dynasty should be a kind of torch made of flammable materials, commonly known as unlit torches? , so you can hug? , used to hold the torches that have been lit, called candles; Piles of fine grass and branches placed on the ground for lighting are called Liao; Candles placed outside the door are called big candles, and those placed inside the door are called palace candles.
The earliest existing lamp in China is from the Warring States Period, which was published in The Songs of the South? It is recorded in Evocation that the name stirrup appeared in the Warring States Period. In the Zhou Dynasty, "stirrup" and "Deng" were universal, "Er Ya? Interpretation: "cajanus cajan is a bean, bamboo bean is a bean, and tile bean is a board." Xu Xuan said, "Don't be a lamp in this custom. No, it's not. Jin Guo Pu Yun: A ritual vessel. The ancients called stirrup a lamp, which should be an excuse for the meaning of this word.
Development history of lamps and lanterns
the Spring and Autumn Period
"Fire" is the main tool for human ancestors to resist wild animals, and lamps are also developed because of "fire". According to the earliest records in ancient books. The appearance of lamps and lanterns and the warring states period. At that time, the structure of lamps was relatively perfect and the shape was beautiful. It can be seen that before it, the invention and evolution of the lamp has been quite a long time, but the process description has been lost.
Jade hook moire lamp
During the Warring States period, lanterns were mostly made of metal or clay, and the jade lantern was the only one, which was a masterpiece. Jade lanterns are made of sapphire from Hotan, Xinjiang, with brown immersion marks in some areas. The lamp consists of three parts: a plate, a handle and a seat, which are carved with three pieces of jade and glued together. The upper lamp plate is round and shallow, and the center of the plate is raised with five petals. The handle in the middle is cylindrical, decorated with raised trefoil relief, with waist in the middle and moire under the waist. The cover of the lamp holder is decorated with five petals of persimmon and hook moire, and the soles of the feet are also decorated with hook moire.
Humanoid copper lamp and spoon
This lamp was unearthed in 1957 Gebu Village, Zhucheng, Shandong Province. Its height is 2 1.3 cm and its diameter is 1 1.5 cm. The whole looks like a man in a short coat with lights in his hands. This person holds a curved bamboo-shaped vegetable handle in each hand, and the sub-tenon under the vegetable is inserted into the vegetable handle, which can be disassembled at will as needed, and the structure is exquisite. The human foot is a curved panlong plate. When unearthed, it was equipped with a long-handled copper spoon for oiling. This bronze lamp is ingenious in design and novel in shape. Experts believe that it should be used by the court of Qi State during the Warring States Period.
During the Warring States period, the lamps were mainly bronze, and most of them were aristocratic practical devices. Ceramic lamps are often regarded as pottery beans because they are no different from traditional pottery beans, so they are not classified as lamps. This kind of lamp is used by the lower class, and the jade lamp is a practical appliance used by the upper class. Lamps Modeling in Warring States Period
Except for a few multi-branch lamps, they can be roughly divided into two categories: statue lamps and imitation household lamps. Multi-branch lamp (also called tree lamp) is a rare kind of lamp. The most representative is fifteen lamps, which are shaped like a lush tree and support fifteen lamps. The lamps are strewn at random, decorated with Youlong, songbirds and monkeys. The figurine lamp is the most representative of bronze lamps in the Warring States period. The figurines of these lanterns are men and women, mostly lowly locals. The way to hold the lamp is to stand with open arms and hold the lamp above your head; Some people lie on their backs, their hands stretched out and their lights held in front. A Terracotta Warriors and Horses arrived in Three Lamps District. There are two kinds of lamp discs: ring groove shape and disc shape. The former has three supports, and the latter is mostly one support. The imitation of household lamps is basically the evolution of some daily necessities, mainly imitating common utensils such as beans, ding and reeds. Most of them are bean-shaped pottery lamps, but there are also some bronze lamps that imitate Ding and Reed.
The lamps cast in the Qin dynasty are also extremely gorgeous. Goose's foot lamp, shaped like a goose's leg, holds a circular lamp plate with three lamp posts on it, which can light three candles at the same time.
People ride camel lights.
Camel lamp is not only a practical bronze lighting appliance, but also an exquisite handicraft. On a rectangular flat-bottomed seat stood a two-humped camel with its head held high and its tail hanging down. A man sat on the camel, his feet behind him, and his hands firmly grasped the lamp post of a round lamp plate. The whole bronze sculpture is beautifully made, and the images of people and camels are mainly curved, with vivid expression as the purpose and no attention to details. On the whole, the base, camel, figure, lamp post and lamp plate are integrated, and the person on the hunchback is as light as a canopy, and its center of gravity design is extremely scientific and reasonable. The appearance of camel in this sculpture provides valuable information for studying the cultural exchange between Chu and northern minorities.