The tiles are mostly carved with various patterns. Common ones include text tiles, animal pattern tiles, plant pattern tiles, geometric pattern tiles, and combination pattern tiles (such as geometric pattern text tiles, animal pattern text tiles, There are tiles with plant and animal patterns, etc.), and there are also plain tiles without carvings.
Most of them are plain semi-circular tiles, and some have semi-circular tiles with heavy ring patterns. In the Warring States Period, when the Seven Heroes were competing for hegemony, the tiles used by various countries had strong local characteristics, but they were basically graphic tiles. For example, the half-tiles with two-animal patterns and trees unearthed from the ancient city of Qi in Linzi, Shandong; Half tiles with Taotie pattern; round tiles with animal patterns unearthed in Yongcheng, Qindu, Fengxiang, Shaanxi; and tiles with moire and sunflower patterns unearthed in Xianyang, among which the Qin animal pattern tiles are the most outstanding. After the Qin Dynasty, moiré and sunflower pattern tiles became popular. Entering the Han Dynasty, tiles reached their heyday in terms of extensive use and artistry. Distributed over a wide area. In addition to the various types of moiré tiles in the Western Han Dynasty, the last and most important category of tiles appeared in the middle of the Western Han Dynasty - text tiles. Most of their diameters ranged from 15 to 18.5 centimeters, with small diameters of 13 centimeters and large diameter tiles. up to 22 cm. The text can range from 1 character to 12 characters. According to the written content, it can be divided into several categories such as palaces and gardens, official offices, ancestral tombs, residences, auspicious words, and chronicles. The writing lines of the text have reached a high degree of harmony in many aspects such as hardness and softness, curvature, squareness, density, and straightness. They may be square and steep, or flowing and beautiful, and are completely natural and breathtaking. The Western Han Dynasty calligraphy "Wadang" is a precious relic of the calligraphy of the Western Han Dynasty. The characters are large and beautiful, numerous and varied. Image tiles are no longer the mainstream of tiles in the Han Dynasty, but the four gods tiles of Qinglong, White Tiger, Suzaku and Xuanwu in Chang'an City of the Han Dynasty are the highlight of image tiles. The Four Gods represent the four directions of east, west, south and north. There are several different versions of the Four Gods tiles, with graceful compositions, meticulous production and extremely high artistic standards. After the Eastern Han Dynasty, the art of tiles declined. With the introduction of Buddhism, tiles with characters and patterns gradually declined, while tiles with lotus patterns flourished, and there were also a few tiles with Buddha images. After the Song Dynasty, the art of Wadang was in decline and completely lost its former charm.
Shape
When the tiles were first made, they were plain. As people in ancient times improved their artistic appreciation of architecture, tiles were decorated with animals, plants and other images.
The tile decorations of the Qin Dynasty were diverse, including animal patterns, insect patterns, bird patterns, plant patterns, etc. For example: Kui pattern, deer pattern, four animal patterns, leopard pattern, Feihong pattern, phoenix pattern, cicada pattern, cloud pattern, tree pattern, etc. Wadang script refers to the text decorated on tiles. Wadang fonts usually use Qin seal and Liao seal, as well as official script. The fonts are full of changes, often curved at will, straight and vigorous. The number of characters on the tiles may be more than ten characters, while the few characters may be only one character. Tile tiles with written characters played a major role in the Han Dynasty, and can be roughly divided into two categories. One is dedicated to buildings, such as the tiles of Ganquan Palace "Eternal Life". The tiles of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's Lantian Palace, "Dinghu Yanshou Palace" and so on. Then there are the most numerous tiles with words of praise and auspicious words. Such as "Long live forever", "Eternal life", etc. There are many tiles with four characters, and the largest number can reach 12 characters.
The tile decorations of Qin and Han dynasties are beautiful and elegant, with lively images and exquisite conception. The tile decorations are carefully designed and the text layout is exquisite. In the circular or semi-circular pictures, the animals appear natural and lively, with innocent and lifelike expressions. The words are reasonably arranged, dense and arranged, showing the genius and wisdom of the Chinese working people. Qin and Han Dynasty tiles are more decorative with their unique style and various artistic styles.
The Four Gods tiles unearthed from the ruins of Chang'an City in the Han Dynasty in Shaanxi Province are more distinctive, with unified style and matching groups.
The dragon-patterned tile has a diameter of 18.6 cm and a rim width of about 2 cm. The surface composition is semi-relief decorated with a green dragon, with a strong body and a wide mouth, showing extraordinary momentum. The dragon was supreme in the hearts of the ancients, and it was also a symbol of gods and authority. Emperors of the past dynasties called it the "true dragon emperor" and so on.
Tiger pattern tile, 19 cm in diameter, 2.1 cm wide in edge wheels, with a majestic tiger body surrounding the central circle, a majestic posture, a gaping mouth, sharp teeth exposed, and the head and claws facing each other front and back. , the tiger tail curves upward, filling the extra space, coordinating the entire picture and making its composition balanced.
Vermilion bird pattern tile, 15.8 cm in diameter, 2 cm wide in edge wheels. The Suzaku is a mascot imagined by the ancients. It is a complex of peacocks, golden pheasants, ribbon birds and other birds. It has a rich color, and its image is constantly changing due to the changes of the times. The red bird in the middle of the tile holds a pearl in its mouth, stands erect with its head held high, and its tail is curled up, making it even more majestic and fierce.
Xuanwu tile has a diameter of 18.5 cm and a rim width of 2.1 cm. The composition of the tile surface shows a turtle in a crawling state. In order to harmonize the space, the snake is bent and coiled around the snake body, making the dull turtle and the agile snake become a turtle-snake fusion. In this way, the extra space is staggered and scattered, making the whole picture compact but not dull, but vivid. In addition to indicating the direction on the building, this kind of tile is also used for Xuanwu Tower.