Therefore, the dragon patterns that later generations saw on Yuan Dynasty porcelain were all fierce and powerful images, commonly known as "snake-neck dragons".

By the late Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty, another unique style had emerged. The dragon's face was round, and its eyes resembled those of a cat; later generations referred to the dragons of this period as "cat-faced dragons."

During the Yongle and Xuande reigns of Zhu Di and Zhu Zhanji, the dragon motifs depicted piercing eyes, bristling manes, and a fierce and powerful appearance. The upper jaw of the open-mouthed dragon curls up like an elephant's trunk, while the closed-mouthed dragon has a blunt snout like a pig, commonly known as the "pig-snout dragon."

During the Chenghua, Hongzhi, and Zhengde periods, the dragon statues appeared to be wearing glasses, giving them a slightly silly and cute look, hence the nickname "glasses dragon".

During the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, the dragons were characterized by large heads and small bodies, long and curved whiskers, and hair that was tied back. The lower jaw of the dragon was significantly longer than the upper jaw, and people called this type of dragon "earth-enclosed dragon".

The dragon patterns on porcelain during the Yongzheng reign were relatively conventional. However, starting from the late Qianlong period, as the country's power gradually declined, the dragon patterns on porcelain, like those of that era, became distorted, strange, and weak.

In short, the artistic characteristics of an era are always inextricably linked to the national strength of that time, and are even a direct reflection of that national strength.

Li Xiangdong silently reviewed the differences between the dragon patterns of the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties in his mind, and carefully wrapped the two plum vases.

Just as I was about to leave, an elderly monk hurried up behind me. He was wearing a work hat and a pair of tortoiseshell reading glasses pressed against the bridge of his nose.

"Wait a minute!"

Yuan Dynasty Dragon Pattern

Hongwu Dynasty Cat-faced Dragon

Yongle, the most ferocious dragon of the Xuande reign.

Kangxi Earth Dragon Pattern

Jiaqing dragon pattern

Was the Tongzhi dragon design a bit hasty?