魏晋南北朝时期的铜香炉——兼论魏晋南北朝时期的熏香习俗

魏晋南北朝铜香炉可分为熏炉和熏斗两大类,总体上为汉代铜香炉样式的延续和发展,而形制有所简化。装饰艺术方面有所创新,融合新的时代因素,与同时期的其他生活家居用品风格配套。尽管受到瓷器制造业兴起的影响,铜香炉仍在生活中占有一席之地。这一时期,熏香习俗更加普及,内涵更为丰富,生活用香和宗教用香在文献中有不少记载。香料、香具和熏香习俗也随着贸易和交往传播域外。

Bronze Censers and the Customs of burning Incense during the Wei,Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties

Incense burner or censer is a kind of utensil to bear and burn or fumigate spices in,to which previous studies have paid much attention.Incense has entered people’s daily life since the Han dynasty,as more incense utensils have been discovered,explorations have been made on the shapes of incense burners,the customs of using incense and the evolution of incense culture in the Han dynasty and the Sui-Tang dynasties.This paper focuses on the bronze incense burners and the customs of burning incense in the Wei,Jin and Southernand Northern dynasties.This paper sorted 30 pieces of bronze censers of Wei,Jin and Southernand Northern dynasties.According to their shapes,they can be roughly divided into tripod style,vertical-handle style,sidehandle style,phoenix style etc.,which can be further divided on the basis of the shapes of lid.Based on typological study,this paper holds that bronze censers in this period stand as simplified continuation and development of those in the Han dynasty.From the perspective of decoration,they fused with newly emerging factors to create a matching style with household articles of that time.It seems that bronze censers still had a share despite the impact or competition from the rising ceramic industry.Based on the study of physical samples combining historical records,this paper continues to explore the customs of using incense in the social life of Wei,Jin and Southernand Northern dynasties.Obviously,censers and spices were luxuries in antiquity,as bronze censers were mostly unearthed in high-level tombs.However,the use of incense was not limited to the upper class,but gained popularity and richer connotations,which is reflected in the records of using incense for domestic or religious purposes.Not only can it help to clean the surroundings,but also help to improve one’s mood.The use of incense was a symbol of refined taste for life,which inspired literary creation and assisted Buddhist or Taoist meditations.The incense culture in this period which was composed of spices,incense utensils and the customs of using incense also spread overseas following trade and communications.The circulation of material and spiritual culture promoted by aroma was boundless.