Figurine of monk Hanshan and Shide Figurine of monk Hanshan and Shide (late 12th - early 13th century)Wangye Museum
The red and green coloring is a type of multicolored porcelain glaze created in the Central Plains in the 12th century that was popular in the middle and late Jin dynasty.
Figurine of a servant Figurine of a servant (late 12th - early 13th century)Wangye Museum
The decorative glaze is mainly red and green but also contains other colors, and is unique for its striking but not garish colors, free and elegant strokes, and simple but not clumsy style.
The child holds Qin and sits on drum figurine The child holds Qin and sits on drum figurine (late 12th - early 13th century)Wangye Museum
These red and green porcelain statues hold a lot of information about the everyday lives of people in the Song and Jin dynasties, including information about food, clothing, recreation, and religion. They have become a valuable resource for studying the society of the time.
Figurine of child beating a drum Figurine of child beating a drum (late 12th - early 13th century)Wangye Museum
1. Ordinary people
During the Song, Liao and Jin dynasties, the regime changes in the Central Plains, along with the close trading between North and South, meant that ethnic integration was evident in the materials produced and the living customs at the time, especially when it came to food and clothing.
Figurine of child holding a puppet Figurine of child holding a puppet (late 12th - early 13th century)Wangye Museum
The popular marketplace culture that had been around since the Northern Song dynasty also developed considerably with a rich array of cultural and recreational activities.A variety of red and green porcelain statues show us the wealth of material living in the Song and Jin dynasties.
Figurine of Hu people holding bottle Figurine of Hu people holding bottle (late 12th - early 13th century)Wangye Museum
Server with Bottle
The kneeling servant is holding a wine bottle with both hands. A coin purse is hanging from the right side of their belt, and on the left side is a long pouch that may have been used for holding chopsticks or knives.
Figurine of tonsure man holding box Figurine of tonsure man holding box (late 12th - early 13th century)Wangye Museum
Person with Shaven Hair Standing on Box
This young person is shown with a shaved head, standing on a box. Their hair is split into two, hanging down in front of their chest. They are wearing a left-wrapping robe with narrow sleeves and a half-sleeved garment with a two-piece wrap skirt underneath.
Shaved hairstyles were typical of the northern Khitan people during the Liao dynasty, Jurchen people during the Jin dynasty, as well as the Mongols later on in the Yuan dynasty. They are also commonly seen on tomb murals and other archeological sites from the Liao, Jin, and Yuan dynasties. A robe that wraps to the left is traditional attire for both the Khitan and Jurchen peoples.
Figurine of beauty plas go Figurine of beauty plas go (late 12th - early 13th century)Wangye Museum
Lady Playing Chess
The woman is sitting on a drum stool wearing a long-sleeved, left-wrapping robe made of silk and a skirt. In her left hand, she is holding a square, black-framed, red chess box, and her right hand is picking a chess piece from the box. She looks elegant and demure.
Figurine of instrumentalist Figurine of instrumentalist (late 12th - early 13th century)Wangye Museum
Musician
The instrument the musician is holding is a hulei, also known as a two-stringed pipa. These are generally pear-shaped but occasionally can be square.There is a red bag with yellow piping tied around their waist, which is used as padding when playing and for storing accessories for their instrument.
Figurine of dancer with hair in two plaits Figurine of dancer with hair in two plaits (late 12th - early 13th century)Wangye Museum
Braided Dancer
The dancer has a shaved head and their remaining hair is braided into two braids. They are dressed in a red robe with a flying goose pattern and clouds covering their shoulders. They also have a purse and black boots, and their feet are crossed while they hold a white dancing scarf up their sleeve. The statue captures a moment as their body and head are tilted sideways and their arms onto either side, which demonstrates the costume and gesture of opera dance.
Figurine of child holding a lotus leaf Figurine of child holding a lotus leaf (late 12th - early 13th century)Wangye Museum
Boy with Lotus
This small statue of a boy holding a lotus is a classic example of Rahula.Rahula is a transliteration of the Sanskrit Mahoraga. He was originally one of the eight Buddhist gods. In the Tang and Song dynasties, a type of stone puppet was made using his name. During the Qixi Festival, these were used as gifts given to in-laws to pray for the birth of a boy.This was known as "birth by transformation" in the Tang dynasty.Later, these became children's toys.
Fowling children rockery ornament FrontWangye Museum
Boys Catching Sparrows
This statue vividly depicts a scene of two boys playing in the Song or Jin dynasty. It shows the friendship between two brothers.
The sparrow the younger brother was playing with unfortunately flew away, and he is left crying and holding an empty birdcage with its door thrown open.
The elder brother is trying to help out by catching the bird from the rocks. It portrays the concept of ti or love and respect for one's brother, which was promoted by the rulers at the time.It can be seen that red and green pottery was not only for entertainment and decoration, but it also had an educational purpose.
Figurine of lactating woman Figurine of lactating womanWangye Museum
Nursing Woman
A young woman lying on her side nursing her baby.While images of breastfeeding like this are rare in known ancient porcelain statues, this did not actually break with the Neo-Confucian tradition at the time, but rather it expressed an extension of the Confucian culture of filial piety.
Figurine of Zhongli Quan Figurine of Zhongli Quan (late 12th - early 13th century)Wangye Museum
2. Religious deities
Since the Tang dynasty, the integration of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism has been an important cultural development in China.
During the Song, Liao, and Jin dynasties, the collision and mixing of different cultures coupled with the national policy of Jin dynasty rulers to combine the three religions together led to the religions being further mixed and showed a tendency toward religion being popularized and secularized.Confucian doctrine and Buddhist seclusion were merged and combined during the Song and Jin dynasties.
The Sakyamuni figurine The Sakyamuni figurine (late 12th - early 13th century)Wangye Museum
Shakyamuni
The Buddhist deity is sat cross-legged on a lotus pedestal.
The pedestal is decorated in red, green, and yellow, lined with red, and has bright red flowers on a plain background.
Figrine of Maitreya whose finger points to the cloud Figrine of Maitreya whose finger points to the cloud (late 12th - early 13th century)Wangye Museum
Pointing Baiyun Maitreya
Maitreya is pointing his right arm into the air and standing barefoot on a square platform.
The square platform is divided into three layers: the bottom layer has a decorative gate painted on it and the top layer has the calligraphy "Pointing Baiyun Maitreya" written in black on a white background.
This Song/Jin dynasty red and green porcelain Buddha statue is different from the usual fixed and repeated pose, expression, and clothing of previous Buddha statues. Its lines are smooth, flowing, and vivid, which makes for a more secular, lively, and profound Buddha statue.
Figurine of Lv Dongbin Figurine of Lv Dongbin (late 12th - early 13th century)Wangye Museum
Lü Dongbin
Lü Dongbin's Taoist name is Master Pure-Yang, founded the Quanzhen School.According to Taoist legend, he was originally a Confucian scholar. He was kind and charitable, willing to help the poor and needy, and won the respect of the people. After enlightenment, he delivered all living creatures from torment and was revered as an internal martial arts forefather. He was also named as one of the Eight Immortals during a gathering at Xianyuan Shisun Mountain.
Messenger of wealth figurine Messenger of wealth figurine (late 12th - early 13th century)Wangye Museum
God of Fortune
In Chinese Taoism, the gods of fortune control the world's wealth. Belief in these gods is widespread. There are many gods of fortune, such as Bi Gan, Fan Li, Zhao Gongming, Guan Yunchang, and the five saints.
When worshiping a god of fortune, there are usually two offerings on either side of the god. The left god is a messenger of fortune and the right one is Lishi Xian Guan.This Jin dynasty red and green statue is standing on a stone platform and holding a lotus leaf tablet. In the middle of the tablet, its name, "God of Fortune," is written in red. This showing that this statue must have been a messenger of fortune that people worshiped and prayed for money and fortune.
The phoenix coronet lady figurine The phoenix coronet lady figurine (late 12th - early 13th century)Wangye Museum
Goddess
In the Jin dynasty, people worshiped the Great Emperor Dongyue and the Goddess Dongyue (Empress Shuming). Statues of them usually show the emperor and empress sitting side by side, so there are many red and green statues representing a female Taoist deity.
They look dignified with their phoenix crowns and feather clothing, beautifully adorned and sitting on chairs.However, because these female Taoist statues from the Song and Jin dynasties, including Empress Shuming, Lady Houtu, and the Queen Mother of the West, all have similar facial features and are all wearing phoenix crowns and feather clothing, it is extremely difficult to confirm the identities of many of these statues. Therefore, we call them "goddess statues."
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