祝寿图像的文化艺术价值

The Cultural and Artistic Values of Birthday-celebrating Images

祝寿图像作为一种人生礼俗极为常见和极具生命力的传统美术类型之一,其文化的选择与艺术价值既是根植于民俗文化沃壤之中,也于与敬老、孝道的传统在根基之上。这种图像兼具实用性、仪式性和审美性于一体,其存在的合理性与应用的普遍性,以及其长期在被不同社会阶层关注和在不同历史时期中受到重视的程度而言,可见国人的生命意识、渴望长寿、企盼福寿康宁的心理诉求。事实上,这种图像绝非一些人理解的仅仅用于人伦日用中,就艺术价值而言,很多祝寿图像不仅有独立的审美价值,而且民俗、社会和文化等综合价值也非常突出。在社会繁荣时期,或在经济发达的地区,或者太平盛世,或在深受孝道伦理影响的地域,祝寿图像更是祝寿礼俗中不可缺少的美术样式。尽管在中国美术史上的长河中,包括祝寿图像在内的人生礼俗图像一种处于非主流的地位,但其作为一种特点文化生态下生成的图像样式的存在价值,以及对于其他不同艺术载体的影响等方面还是值得梳理和阐释的。

As one of the most common traditional arts with great vitality in etiquettes and customs,the cultural choices and artistic values of birthday-celebrating images are deeply rooted in the folk culture and in the tradition of respecting the elders and filial piety as well.Integrating utility,ceremony and aesthetics,these images reflect Chinese people’s life consciousness,their yearning for longevity and their psychological appeal for good fortune,health and peace.These are due to the facts their existence is justified,their application is universal and they have been highly valued by people from different social strata in different historical periods in a long term.In fact,they are definitely not only articles of everyday use in ethical sense as some people think.Instead,in terms of artistic values,some birthday-celebrating images not merely acquire independent aesthetic value,but have outstanding comprehensive values in folklore,society and culture as well.They have become an indispensable art as part of the etiquette of birthday celebration in the period of social prosperity,or in areas with well-developed economy,or in the peaceful and prosperous times,or in the area deeply influenced by the ethics of filial piety.Although images related to etiquettes and customs in life,birthday-celebrating images included,are not in the mainstream in the long history of Chinese painting history.Its existing value as an image generated by a specific culture ecology and its impacts on other artistic carriers are worth of clarifying and interpreting.