The Fragrance of a Full Courtyard - The Life of the Song Dynasty in Gold and Silver Wares

Visit the temporary exhibition hall on the third floor of the Chengdu Museum, The Fragrance of a Full Courtyard - The Life of the Song Dynasty in Gold and Silver Wares. Gold and silver wares, as precious utensils, were born in the early stages of human civilization. During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the dazzling presence of gold and silver wares carried the elegance and brilliance of an era, and they were widely popular at the time; in the long and tumultuous years that followed, they witnessed the changes of dynasties and the myriad states of society. In the Song Dynasty, which lasted for more than three hundred years, culture and economy were highly prosperous, and the humanities and arts were brilliant, creating another peak in the development of gold and silver wares. In the vast northern lands, by the banks of the Yi River, it was an area where multiple ethnic groups lived together, and politics, military, and culture converged and integrated here. The exquisite craftsmanship reflected in the more than four hundred pieces of buried gold and silver wares illuminates the splendid secular world of an era, and also preserves the lofty aesthetic interwoven between the north and the south. The cultural integration and mutual learning of ethnic groups are like lingering images, shimmering endlessly. In the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, the Land of Abundance, many invaluable buried gold and silver wares have also been unearthed. One in the south and one in the north, separated by thousands of miles, yet they share similar cultural connotations and characteristics of the times, which are powerful proofs of the broad and profound influence of Chinese civilization, outlining the graceful profile of the artistic life of the two Song dynasties with the brilliance of gold and silver. 'Markets adorned with pearls appear, and houses are filled with silk and brocade,' the prosperity reflected by gold and silver wares paints the splendor of the Song Dynasty that has stirred for a thousand years; 'Smoke-willow painted bridges, wind curtains and green screens, interspersed with a hundred thousand households,' the continuous sense of wealth and happiness has left behind the cultural pinnacle of the two Songs. An artifact, a piece that has circulated for a thousand years, reflects the social customs and the face of the times of the Song Dynasty, like a light breaking through the dust of the years, tracing back and admiring endlessly. In the golden and silver paintings, the Song people turned the beautiful life into daily minutiae, composing a picture of serenity, fairness, and overflowing brilliance, with hairpins scented with plum and cups shadowed by the moon, unfolding the incomparable prosperity of the great Song.