T
he Middle Ages in Europe were marked by an intricate interweaving of the divine and the human, a contrast to the Chinese Middle Ages where a clear distinction between the spiritual and the secular was evident. In China, the concerns of everyday life were deemed far more significant than religious discourse.
Reaching back to the pre-Qin period, the separation between man and the divine—or man and heaven—was not nearly as impermeable. Engagement with the divine realm was possible through ritualistic practices at the altar.The crafting of ritual vessels and the act of prayer were grounded in the belief that the divide between humans and the divine could be bridged by a mere thought—an embodiment of the idea that heartfelt sincerity could evoke a spiritual response. This notion was arguably more tangible and practical than the abstract philosophical pursuit of unity between humanity and the cosmos that later thinkers sought.
Ritual acted as a key, unlocking the gates to the heavens, also, reflecting the reality, cast into oracle bones and bronze inscriptions. These complex glyphs and patterns, which today seem inscrutable, were at the time understood by only a select and knowledgeable few.
This collection, spanning from the Shang through to the Tang dynasty, is divided into objects used in rituals and those that emulate life, offering us the opportunity to unearth subtle clues to the relationship between ritual and reality.
歐洲的中世紀是神性與人性糾纏不休的時期，而中國的中世紀已基本上人神分離，世俗生活遠比考究針尖上能站立幾個天使重要。 唐宋以前，以至先秦時期的中國，人與神，或者說，人與天的分隔，卻不那麼不可逾越。 透過祭壇，或是溯天河而上直達崑崙，便可與神界相同了。
人們造器，禱禳，皆因秉承一個信念，即是天人之際，在一念之間，亦所謂心誠則靈，遠比後世理學家追求的天人合一更為實際。 禮樂就像一套密碼，可以打開天門，而這套密碼就刻鑄在甲骨金石之上。 那些奇異詭譎的紋飾和文字今天看來不可思議，其實在當年也只有很少一部分人才能了解其中的涵義。 本場收錄商周至唐代文物，分為禮樂用器與像生器物兩類，希望可以從中找尋天人之際的蛛絲馬跡。
