普天之下，沒有人可以拒絕一隻金牛帶來的好運。
從華爾街到中原大地，金融家們對它只有美好的期待，不能說都完全發自內心，也談不上完全了解其歷史，只能說流露出的是人性最原始的愛慕。
牛在古代是貴族的至愛，眾所周知，王羲之出行用的是牛車。在北朝時代，牛是十分神聖的存在。唐代的牛，也是經常出現在佛教地宮，貴族的窖藏中。
No one in the world can refuse the good fortune brought by a golden bull. From Wall Street to the Central Plain of China, financiers all have good expectations and high hope for it, one cannot say that they are completely grateful for this adorable creature from the bottom of their hearts, nor do they completely understand its history, their admiration comes from the most primitive and brutal adoration of human nature, which is nice.
Cow in ancient times is the nobility's favourite, as we all know, Wang Xizhi travel with an ox cart. During the Northern Dynasties, the ox was a sacred creature. In the Tang Dynasty, cows were often found in Buddhist palaces and the cellars of the nobles.
在古代中國，只有通過文官考試的人才有機會獲得功名，而文官制度只提供給具有高教育程度的人。中國文人官員的日常工作就是在辦公室裡進行行政工作，他們喜歡在書桌上擺放一些珍貴的物品，以分散注意力，並顯示出他們的品味，同時也能享受把玩這些物品的樂趣。
到了明朝 (1368-1644) 和清朝 (1644-1911)，這些文人工作室的用具也成為收藏品，並被視為藝術珍品。
這件牛形鎮紙以實心鎏金青銅製成，擺放在文人的書桌上。牛是珍貴的牲畜，因為它們可以拉車和犁地。
在山水畫和春耕圖中經常可以看到牛的身影，牛的性情傳統上被比喻為忠心耿耿的公僕，可以無怨無悔地承擔辛勤的勞動。
This solid-cast bronze bull has carefully defined skin folds on its neck.
China, Tang dynasty (618-907)
gilt bronze
Overall: 3.5 x 7 cm (1 3/8 x 2 3/4 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1985.74
Provenance
Dr. Zheng Dekun 鄭德坤 [1907–2001], Cambridge, England
?–1985 (J. E. Eskenazi, Ltd., London, England, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
1985– The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
In China, access to political power was granted to those who passed the civil service examinations, a system that offered official service only at a high level of education. Chinese literati-officials whose daily routine was administrative work in an office, enjoyed precious objects on their writing table that offered distraction and demonstrated good taste, as well as the pleasure of holding and handling them. By the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1911) dynasties, these utensils of the literati studio also became collectibles and were treasured as artworks.
Made of solid gilt-bronze, this paperweight in the form of a recumbent bull was meant to be placed on a scholar’s desk. Oxen were precious livestock as they could pull carts and plows. Often depicted in landscape paintings and in pictures of tilling the spring soil, the bull’s nature was traditionally likened to the willingness of a loyal civil servant who bears the burden of hard labor without complaint.
唐代也有陶牛，與常見的馬相比，牛的數量較少。克里夫蘭博物館收藏的這隻牛，並不是簡單的耕牛，它更像如今華爾街崇拜的紅牛。
Pottery bull were also found in the Tang Dynasty, and were less common than the common horse. The bull in the Cleveland Museum of Art's collection is not simply a ploughing ox, but more like the money OX worshipped on Wall Street today.
Comments