無夜不相思

 #送給LongD的你「一別行千里，來時未有期。月中三十日，無夜不相思」這是文物館展出中的長沙窯壺上的一首詩——你有沒有想起哪個「無夜不相思」的人？ 

長沙窯是唐五代時期的南方民窯，它其中一個特點是多以詩歌、格言、諺語，寫於茶酒具流的下方作為裝飾，然而，不少見於長沙窯器上的詩歌卻沒有收錄於《全唐詩》。換言之，沒有陶瓷的裝載，這些用陶泥與窯火寫就的通俗民歌恐怕就無法來到我們眼前了。 

有趣的是，長沙窯器主要針對外銷市場，從考古發現來看，其市場遍及中、西亞、東南亞，甚至非洲。對於不懂漢語的外國顧客來説，這些詩歌大抵不過是富含中國風情的裝飾綫條，但對於看得懂的我們來説，這些就是難得的民間文學見證了。 

來文物館看 #窯火天工 展覽，探望一下這件與文學crossover的文物吧！ 

“A Farewell means thousand miles of travel, 

I know not when the day of return would be.  

There are thirty nights in a month, 

I spend each of them thinking of you.”   

The above is a rough translation of the poem written on a Changsha ware currently on show in the Art Museum. Does it remind you of anyone you miss so dearly? 

Changsha ware was a kind of relatively low-end product manufactured in the South during the Tang to Five Dynasties. One of its characteristics was the use of poems or sayings as decoration under the spout of tea or wine pots. However, many of these poems were not included in Quan Tang Shi (The Complete Collection of Tang Poetry). In other words, if it weren’t for the ceramics bearing these poems, they would not have travelled across time and been revealed to us. 

Interestingly, Changsha ware was primarily an export ceramic. From archaeological findings, we learnt that its markets extended to Central and West Asia, Southeast Asia, and even Africa. That is to say, for those foreign customers who didn’t understand the scripts, the literature would probably be perceived as nothing more than exotic and beautiful curves. But for those of us who understand their meanings, these ceramics are objects that bear valuable folk literature. 

Take a closer look at this fascinating art-literature crossover at the Art Museum! 

關於作品 About the work: 

褐綠彩詩文壺 Celadon ewer with poem 

湖南長沙窯，唐晚期 Changsha ware, Hunan province, Late Tang dynasty 

鄒紀新先生惠贈 Gift of Mr. Roger Chow

館藏編號 Acc. no. ：1999.0405 

#文物館 #中大文物館 #ArtMuseumCUHK #文化 #藝術 #Art #Culture #窯火天工 #AmazingClay #文物暖故事