Page 53 - Chiense jades Hong Kong Sothebys April 2017

Carved from white jade with a fine texture 白玉帶皮，玉如凝脂。辟邪半臥回首，雙目圓
resembling mutton fat and patches of russet skin, 睜，張嘴露齒，毛髮後披，腦後有角。有雙
this bixie is rendered semi-recumbent with the 翼。卷尾，尾尖飾鳳首，龍鳳呈祥。
head turned backwards. Staring with large and
round eyes, it scowls and reveals its sharp fangs, 此器玉質溫潤如脂，造型威猛，充滿動感。雕
with its hair oriented backwards, and tail curled. 琢精緻細膩，線條流暢自然，工藝嫻熟，尤其
It has horns on the back of its head and wings on 頭部鬚髮，盡顯工匠之鬼斧神工。
both sides of its body.
辟邪是獨角、帶翼的獅首類神獸形象，早年從
The jade is warm and luxurious like mutton fat. 西域傳入，兩漢之際廣泛流行於各種材質，既
The carving is refined and subtle, articulating 見大型的陵墓神道石雕，亦有精巧的金銀銅玉
the bixie’s fierceness and dynamism in natural 裝飾品，造型各異，成為了中國本土化神獸藝
and fluid lines. The virtuosic craftsmanship is 術的重要題材。參見孫機，〈漢代物質文化
especially evident in the hair on the bixie’s head. 資料圖說〉，北京，1991年，頁420；李零，
〈論中國的有翼神獸〉，《中國學術》，卷5
The bixie is a mythical animal with the head ，2001年1月，頁62-135。
of a lion, a single horn, and wings. After being
introduced into Chinese culture from the western 此白玉辟邪造型特別，曲身引頸回首，下頜
regions, it became a frequent subject of visual 抵脊背，尾翼反轉撐地。同類型圓雕辟邪，
depiction during the transition from the Western 可見陝西漢元帝渭陵遺址出土的兩件白玉辟
Han to the Eastern Han dynasties. It appeared 邪，但姿勢有別，一為昂首狀，一為匍匐爬
in a variety of media, from large-scale stone 行狀，見古方，《中國出土玉器全集》，卷
sculptures along the spirit paths of mausolea 14，北京，2005年，頁163-164；裝飾豐富
to small and delicate accessories made of gold, 的尾翼造型可參考美國史密森學會賽克勒美術
silver and copper. These various artefacts make 館所藏之玉辟邪，該辟邪上騎羽人，藏品號
the bixie an important example of vernacular S1987.26。
Chinese representations of mythical animals.
See Sun Ji, Handai wuzhi wenhua ziliao tushuo/ 先秦古籍《山海經》記載：「辟邪之獸，來自
Illustrated Explanations of the Material Culture 海東神獸，能知人之忠佞不直者，觸而淡殺
of the Han Dynasty, Beijing, 1991, p. 420; Li Ling, 之。」 古人認為，一種危害生命的力量存在
‘Lun Zhongguo de you yi shenshou [Discussion 於冥冥之中，而以美玉雕琢之辟邪足以戰勝危
of Chinese winged beasts]’, Zhongguo xueshu/ 害生命之物，因此倍受尊崇。
Chinese Scholarship, vol. 5, January 2001, pp.
62-135.

This white jade bixie strikes an unusual pose: its
head turned backwards with its chin resting on its
lower back, its wings flipped downwards to touch
the ground. Of the same type are two white jade
bixie carved in the round, excavated from the
Weiling Mausoleum of Emperor Yuan of the Han
Dynasty in Xianyang, Shaanxi. However, differing
from the present work, one of the Weiling bixie
lifts its head, while the other appears to be
crawling prostrate. See Gu Fang, Zhongguo chutu
yuqi quanji/The Complete Collection of Jades
Unearthed in China, vol. 14, Beijing, 2005, pp.
163-164. The highly decorative rendition of the
rear wing is similar to a shaman wearing feathers
and riding a bixie (Collection of the Sackler
Gallery, Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D.C.,
accession number S.1987.26).

BEASTS OF ANTIQUITY – IMPORTANT JADE ANIMALS FROM THE CHANG SHOU STUDIO 51