The History of Door Knocker In China

China has used the large door knocker at the latest in the Han Dynasty according to historical records and archaeological evidence, which has a history of more than 2000 years.

 

 

1. Introduction of Door Knocker

Just as the decorative cylinder is to fix the door and the door nail is to fix the door panel, the metal door knocker is to open and close the door and is to be knocked, which is a kind of practical object.

 

Door knocker is a handle installed on the door of a house and is for knocking on the door. The door knocker is also known as the knockerbase or door cymbal in China. But strictly speaking, the knockerbase and door cymbals are just different forms of bases for the brass door knocker. To be exact, knockerbase holding ring is a complete door knocker.

 

Chinese door knocker is often made of metal and there are strict grade regulations in ancient China. It is often based on a knockerbase or a door cymbal. The knockerbase is in the shape of an animal head, such as Jiaotu, one of the nine sons of the dragon. Door cymbals are of cymbal shape, with round, hexagonal, octagonal and so on around periphery. Human portraits are made as the base for door knockers in some other countries of the world.  

 

 

2. The History of Chinese Door Knocker

There are different opinions about the origin of knocker base in ancient China. Yingshao's‘Common Customs’of the Eastern Han Dynasty claims that the knockerbase was invented by Lu Ban in the spring and Autumn Period, imitating the image of Li (a kind of spiral shell). But in fact, there was knocker base holding ring in Shang and Zhou Dynasty pottery and bronze ware. According to‘the Book of the Later Han’, people in the Shang Dynasty hung the heads of spiral shell on the doors, hoping that the doors would be closed like shells of spiral shell and away from danger. According to this, Yang Shen, a Ming Dynasty man, believed that Jiaotu was shaped like a spiral shell, which originated from the tradition of hanging the door with spiral shell in the Shang Dynasty.

 

According to the archaeological findings, the first knocker base holding ring has already appeared in the bronze wares of Yin Ruins in the early third period and the late stage of the second period, while the simple knocker base without ring can be traced back to the earlier Erlitou culture. Some modern scholars believe that the knocker base originated from the Taotie pattern on bronze wares in the Shang and Zhou dynasties.

 

In the Han Dynasty, it was very popular to install knocker base on the door. The common people express their inner wishes in their own way, and create many door decorations and funny door knocker patterns with profound meaning and beautiful appearance. The traditional door knocker in the Han Dynasty has many shapes. For example, the knocker base in the Xiaoyuan Temple of the Western Han Dynasty is a turtle and snake, which is the northern Xuanwu shape among the four images. In the Han Dynasty, there were also front door knockers made of rosefinch, two phoenixes, sheepshead, tiger and lion. The eyes of the animals were wide open and their teeth and rings were exposed. It was very majestic. After the Han Dynasty, the form of antique brass door knocker has not changed much and has been extended to this day. Later, Jiaotu is often used as knocker base.

 

In Ming and Qing Dynasties, there were some vintage door knocker on the front door of some palaces, which were just shaped like rings, without actual door knockers, so they only had decorative functions. The door cymbals are often used as the base of the door knockers instead of animal's knocker bases. They are round, hexagonal, octagonal and other geometric shapes. The central part is uplifted, so it is named because it is like the shape of cymbals. At present, the largest knocker base is located in the Medical Saint temple in Nanyang. The bronze knocker base is tiger's mouth holding ring, weighing 300 kg.

 

In the past, whether it was the imperial palace or residence of the emperors and generals or the small courtyard of the common people, there was usually a gate with a door knocker or a pendant hanging on the door. They are important components of the gate. Nowadays, with the evolution of living style and architecture, the utilization of personalized door knocker has been greatly reduced.