The beauty of our country's prehistoric faience pottery

Beauty is in the Ma Jia Yao culture

Take a closer look

Every line

It's all like a well-laid out design

Every pattern

It's all just right

"Symmetrical Beauty" 5000 Years Ago

was "pinched" by the Ma family

Black, red, white

Frog pattern, fish pattern, human face pattern

……

Art comes from life

Ancient ancestors made "paintings" on clay

It condenses the ancients' observation and thinking about all things in life

and the pursuit of beauty

Swirl pattern

It is one of the representative ornaments in the Majiayao cultural faience

This pattern resembles a nebula in the sky or a vortex in the water

Full of movement and rhythm

Perhaps it represents the ancestors' awe of the flow of life

Quilted pattern

It is also a more common ornament in Majiayao cultural painted pottery

These repeated, intertwined patterns

Perhaps it reflects the ancients' understanding of order and law

String pattern

It's both concise and crisp

Like the notes of an ancient movement

Constantly play the aesthetic chapter of natural life

Grid pattern

May represent a field

It may also symbolize fishing nets

Majiayao people in the Yellow River Valley

Turning the way of life into an artistic chant

I saw so many Majiayao cultural painted pottery

Attentive readers may observe

In addition to the artistic imagination

The Majiayao people on these clay pots of different shapes

It can make the painting present

Balance, harmony and symmetry

Why is that?

Some scholars believe

Majiayao culture has appeared a specialized social division of labor

Painted pottery production may have a production "assembly line"

Some scholars believe

In the eyes of Majiayao people

Painted pottery is more than just a living utensil

It also carries spiritual beliefs

Therefore, the ancestors painted carefully, seriously and rigorously

But no matter what

One thing is for sure

About 5000 years ago Majiayao people

has been on mineral pigments, painting tools, compositional art, etc

There is a certain level of awareness

The level of craftsmanship in social production is also at a relatively high level

The Majiayao culture, represented by painted pottery, has a wide influence

It was transmitted westward along the Hexi Corridor to Xinjiang

South to the northwest of Sichuan

southwest to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

With the spread of Majiayao culture

The ancestors of various places used the Majiayao cultural painted pottery at the same time

It is also accepting and identifying with the cultural concepts carried by the utensils

Ma Jia Yao culture

It vividly shows the development process of Chinese civilization in diversity and integration

Majiayao cultural faience

It is a precious "image" left by the ancestors

These ancient memories are full of mystery and creativity

Integrate into the cultural genes of Chinese civilization

Dialogue with generations of Chinese descendants

And the people of today are inspired

and in a new era

Go to the inheritance

Go to innovation

Reporter: He Wen, Wang Peng, Zhang Rui

Design: Liao Yi

Co-ordinator: Chen Qian

Academic Advising:

Tang Huisheng, professor of the School of History and Culture of Hebei Normal University

Image source: Lintao County Museum