This is a rather peculiar piece of pottery from the Western Jin period, with a rather lewd looking monster as its main subject.
Celadon Glazed Porcelain Zun With Design Of A Monster 青釉神兽尊
Pottery | Western Jin Dynasty (265-316 A.D.) | H: 27.9 cm, D (mouth): 13.2 cm, D (base): 16 cm | Unearthed from Zhoumudun, Yixing, Jiangsu Province (1976) | Nanjing Museum collection. 陶器｜西晋（公元265-316年）｜高27.9厘米，口径13.2厘米，底径16厘米｜1976年宜兴市周墓墩出土｜南京博物院藏1
One day in 1976, in Zhoumudun 周墓墩 (lit. “Mound of Zhou Tombs”), Yixing County, Jiangsu Province, archeologists excavated a very special celadon in Tomb No. 4. Zhou Tombs are the clab tombs of the Zhou family in Yixing. According to the genealogy records, there are a total of six tombs belonging to Zhou Bin, Zhou Fang, Zhou Chu, Zhou Yu, Zhou Yi and Zhou Jing dating back to Western Jin. For these six people, everyone may only be familiar with “Zhou Chu 周处”, and his grave is also the largest among these six people.2
Although his father, Zhou Fang 周鲂3 , was a famous minister of Eastern Wu, and left the allusion of “cut off his hair to earn Cao Xiu” “断发赚曹休”. It was also in the tomb of Zhou Fang that this celadon beast was excavated. In ancient times, Zun 尊 generally played the role of wine and ceremonial utensils, and was buried in the tombs of nobles in the image of gods and beasts to dispel evil in the tomb. 4
During the Western Jin Dynasty, due to the turbulence of the times and the continuous chaos, the fates of officials and rich families were often unpredictable. Therefore, there was widespread passive avoidance in society. This beast-shaped celadon was buried in Zhou Fang’s tomb, most probably put in there by Zhou Chu. Perhaps it was Zhou Chu who wanted to protect his father’s peace in the underworld and not be disturbed by evil spirits in his afterlife.
This pear-shaped Zun celadon is 27.9 cm high, with a max diameter of 13.3 cm. The body is decorated with a divine beast with a high forehead, upturned eyes and nostrils, and pearl in its mouth. The long beard of the lower jaw hangs down to the abdomen, and the body is decorated with mottled patterns by castor patterns 蓖纹, impressions 戳印纹 and relief textures 堆贴纹, symbolising its mane, wings and moustache. The green, shiny glaze is slightly grey, and the bottom of the Zun is engraved with the word “Dongzhou”. 5
The craftsman used the shape characteristics of the shoulders and bulging abdomen, to cleverly integrate “Zun” and “Beast” in a single object. He used the Zun mouth as the top of the divine beast, the body as the abdomen of the divine beast, and replaced the ears of the divine beast with the Zun’s handles, which achieved the effect that the beast was part of the Zun and not attached later before firing. This was the oldest piece that is found to utilise such technique and is regarded as a unique celadon creation.6
Zhou Chu Eradicates the Three Scourges 周处除三害
A folk story about Zhou Chu appeared in “A New Account of the Tales of the World” 世說新語7 and proved to be very popular. The story claims that Zhou Chu was such a cruel and violent ruffian in his younger days that he was called one of the “Three Scourges” by the villagers in his native Yixing County (zh) (present-day city of Yixing, Jiangsu), along with a tiger and a dragon.
Prompted by a villager, Zhou Chu took on the challenge to seek out and kill the tiger and the scaly dragon that lived in a stream (the jiao). His battle with this dragon endured for 3 days in Lake Tai, and since he did not return on time, the villagers thought he was also dead and started celebrating the demise of the scourges when Zhou Chu returned triumphant with the dragon’s head. That was when he realised that he was the last scourge that the villagers feared. Determined to mend his old ways, he sought out Eastern Wu literati Lu Ji 陸機 and Lu Yun 陸雲, and received tutelage under Lu Ji. Eventually he became an accomplished general beloved by his people.
While Zhou Chu did exist in history, the story of the three scourges was more a myth than a historical record. Linking this celadon with the story was just the tour guides adding some spice to their narratives.
About Chinese Treasure Series
中華國寶系列 Chinese Treasure series feature specific artefacts and relics from museums all around the world that are historically significant to be considered a National Treasure. The series covers the 5,000 years of Chinese civilisation from Neolithic periods before the Xia dynasty (c. 2070-1600 BC) to modern day.
Footnotes :
- 西晋青釉神兽尊，是南京博物院十件国宝级文物之一， [1]为浙江越窑的产品，1976年出土自江苏宜兴周处家族墓，现藏于南京博物院。 [2]
西晋青釉神兽尊高27.9厘米，口径13.2厘米，高27.9厘米，口径13.2厘米，底径16厘米，造型略微呈梨式，肩部两侧和腹部各有三只横系，上大下小，作品字形排列，平底微内凹；西晋青釉神兽体量大，神兽的神态惊人，全身刻满纹饰，造型独特而又具有西晋瓷器的典型特征。 [2]
2013年8月19日，西晋青釉神兽尊被中华人民共和国国家文物局列入《第三批禁止出境展览文物目录》。 [3]
https://baike.baidu.com/item/西晋青釉神兽尊/6764996, accessed 21 Dec 2025 ↩︎ - 1976年的一天，在江苏省宜兴县周墓墩，考古人员在4号墓中发掘出土了一件外形非常特别的青瓷。周墓墩，是宜兴周世家族的族墓，按照族谱记载，周墓墩一共有6座墓地属于西晋时期，墓主分别是周宾、周鲂、周处、周圮、周勰、周靖。对于这六个人，大家可能只对“周处”熟悉，而他的坟墓规模也是这六人中最大的。https://baike.baidu.com/tashuo/browse/content?id=936cd57107cb52d060412a7e&lemmaId=6764996&fromLemmaModule=pcBottom&lemmaTitle=西晋青釉神兽尊&fromModule=lemma_bottom-tashuo-article, accessed 21 Dec 2025 ↩︎
- https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/周魴, accessed 21 Dec 2025 ↩︎
- 其父周鲂虽然没有得到朝廷厚葬，但好歹也算是东吴名臣，还留下了“断发赚曹休”的典故。也正是在周鲂的墓中，出土了这件最为特殊的陪葬品——青瓷神兽尊。在古代，尊一般会扮演酒器和礼器的角色，并以神兽形象陪葬入世家贵族的墓中，取其镇墓祛邪之意。在西晋时期，由于时局动荡、祸乱不断，普通百姓生活在水深火热之中，官吏富户们也常常是祸福难料，因此社会上普遍存在着消极避世的观念。这件神兽形状的瓷尊葬在周鲂墓中，或许也正是周处想要让其保护父亲身后安宁，不被后世打扰。https://baike.baidu.com/tashuo/browse/content?id=936cd57107cb52d060412a7e&lemmaId=6764996&fromLemmaModule=pcBottom&lemmaTitle=西晋青釉神兽尊&fromModule=lemma_bottom-tashuo-article, accessed 21 Dec 2025 ↩︎
- 在制作之时，工匠一反常态，利用形削肩鼓腹的形体特征，巧妙地将“尊”与“兽”融为一体，将顶部空口作为神兽透顶，将尊腹作为神兽腹部，用尊耳来代替神兽耳朵，几乎达到了尊兽难辨、无法剥离的效果，看成是独具一格的青瓷精品。因此在被收入南京博物院后，此物被当做国宝对待，并入选《第三批禁止出境展览文物目录》，静静陈列在橱窗之中接受游人观赏。https://baike.baidu.com/tashuo/browse/content?id=936cd57107cb52d060412a7e&lemmaId=6764996&fromLemmaModule=pcBottom&lemmaTitle=西晋青釉神兽尊&fromModule=lemma_bottom-tashuo-article, accessed 21 Dec 2025 ↩︎
- 西晋青釉神兽尊的制法为轮制和手制合制，先用轮制后，再用手制零部件及装饰物。匠师紧紧抓住器形削肩鼓腹的形体特征，运用夸张写意手法，以盘口作兽的头顶，以器腹为兽腹，以器耳为兽耳，兽爪兽脊等都有序地布列在器物的各个部位。让人“尊”、“兽”难辨。 [5]西晋青釉神兽尊双翼及翎毛用线条刻划的手法简单勾勒，使兽毛轻柔的质感跃然壁上。施釉的方法是用刷子将釉水刷上去的。 [1]尊胎质厚重、釉色莹润、釉层均匀、制作精细。代表了当时瓷器工艺的最高水平。https://baike.baidu.com/item/西晋青釉神兽尊/6764996, accessed 21 Dec 2025 ↩︎
- https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/世说新语, accessed 21 Dec 2025 ↩︎
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