HIDDEN MEANINGS IN CHINESE ART

Yesterday I went to a special exhibition at the San Francisco Asian Art Museum entitled "Hidden Meanings:   Symbolism in Chinese Art."  The following is a summary of the exhibition and the wonderful insights it offers.  Not only was it an opportunity to learn about Chinese art and culture, but also to recognize their appearance and use in Japanese art as well.

HIDDEN MEANINGS:  SYMBOLISM IN CHINESE ART

Quite frequently, the symbols and motifs seen on Chinese decorative arts, clothing, andpersonal adornments are not just decorative but represent hidden meanings that connveywishes for the good things in life.   Surrounding oneself with objects bearing      auspicious symbols was ¨C and still is ¨C commonly believed to increase the possibility of wishes being fulfilled.

Such wishes are expressed in portrayals of plants, animals, human figures, and objects ¨C alone or in combination ¨C known as rebuses, or "pictorial puns".   The Chinese language lends itself to punning because many of its words share pronunciations.  What might be thought of as a down-to-earth image maybe actually be "understood" as something inspirational.  

The use of rebuses, which began around two thousand years ago, came to full use and appreciation in the decorative arts of the Ming (1368 ¨C 1644) and Quing (1644 ¨C 1911) dynasties.   The objects in Hidden Meanings were made during those two eras, which saw much social and economic change ¨C particularly during the transition from the native Ming dynasty to the Quing dynasty established by the Manchu upon conquering China

The objects selected for this exhibition are grouped according to the kinds of meanings they carry, the most popular wishes being for:

Peace (ping'an) and wish fulfillment itself (ruyi)

• Longevity (shou).
• Rank and wealth (official salary) (lu) which sons might obtain for themselves and their families by passing the civil service examinations.
• Blessings (fu), in particular harmonious marriages and the arrival of sons to carry on the family name.

Many of the objects in the exhibit were made for emperors or exchanged among members of the upper classes.  The symbols and the requests they expressed were, however, well known among all levels of Chinese society.   Even today, the Star Gods and other folk deities are regarded as powerful agents of good fortune.  Though such accepted beliefs may be rooted in Taoism, Confucianism, or Buddhism, they have long since ceased to be associated with a particular philosophy or religion.

Paying respect to one's ancestors, doing one's duty to family and community, and calling up the assistance for folk deities in realizing prosperity and happiness were considered important by most Chinese people regardless of their other religious beliefs.   Wishes for good fortune through the representation of symbolic patterns went hand in hand with these practices, which still flourish to varying degrees in Chinese communities around the world.

LONGEVITY  (Shou)

Longevity ranks first among the Five Blessings.  The Star God, Shaoulao, a popular god of longevity, is portrayed as a kindly old gentleman who has a large head and holds a staff and the "peach of immortality".

As the chief symbol of longevity, the peach is of chief importance in Chinese culture, and it is one of the most popular images.  This fruit brings to mind Xiwangmu, the "Mother of the West", who had a peach orchard at her mountain home.  Her peach trees would bloom every three thousand years and the fruits took another three thousand years to ripen.   Harvesting these peaches was thus reason for great festivity and many of the "immortals" in Chinese history and tradition ¨C also regarded as gods of longevity ¨C were invited to attend "Mother's Peach Banquet" and to share in of the "fruit of immortality".

PEACE (Ping'an) AND WISH FULFILLMENT (Ruyi)

Often several generations of a family lived in the same house, so wishes for peace and harmony in marriage and family relations were particularly important.   Emperors too wished for a peaceful rein and for their descendents to stay on the throne forever.

The elephant, through a rather complicated pun, is associated with peaceful and agreeable times.  Before the invention of paper, strips of bamboo (zhu) were used for sending messages of peaceful tidings, which is how bamboo came to be associated with peace.

The Chinese term ruyi means "as you wish, " which is a shortened form of "May all your wished come true."  In China people often expressed wishes for others to have good fortune and for all their wishes to be granted.

The "wish-granting wand" (ryui) whose head resembles the "sacred fungus of immortality" (lingzhi) is the most important symbol for granting wishes.   Sometimes the head of the wand is isolated as a motif to adorn porcelains, furniture, and other decorative arts.  This popular decoration takes a variety of other forms, such as clouds.

RANK AND WEALTH (Lu)

Wishes For Passing Examinations

Passing the civil service examinations was extremely important in dynastic China, and was considered to open the door toward achieving position and wealth, and thus honor to one's family.   Though conventional Chinese society was class conscious, the exams were in principle open to all.  So a young man from an humble village might, by years of intense study, advance himself ¨C and his family ¨C into a much higher socioeconomic status.   Students were employed in the state bureaucracy by means of a series of meticulous, countrywide tests based on knowledge of classical texts and on literary skills which had been defined in previous centuries.   Civil service candidates might compete at as many as four levels of tests, the first three being local or prefectural, provincial, and municipal.  A final exam for a choice group would take place before the emperor, and from this grouping, the "First Scholar" ( zhuangyuan) would be chosen.

The phrase "three successive firsts" (liangzhong sanyuan) signifies a desire for candidates to successfully pass the three highest levels of examination (provincial, municipal, and imperial).   In decorative arts this wish is put across through the portrayal of three citrons (sanyuan), which is a play on words for wishing the candidate to come in first in all three exams (sanyuan ).

Other imagery associated with this idea (that can be seen on objects in the exhibition) include those of a scholar plucking a branch of osmanthus blossoms from the moon, which is a pun on the phrase " becoming the First Scholar" in the imperial exam"; lotus and egrets, a pun on "passing exams all the way"; and swallows and apricot blossoms, a coupling that represents successful candidates attending the imperial banquet in their honor.

Wishes For Rank

Luxing, the Star God of Rank and Official Salary, is usually portayed as an official on his way to court wearing a brocade robe and a jade-encrusted belt and carrying a tablet (a piece of court equipment).   Sometimes, he could be symbolized by a deer, as the word for this animal sounds like "official salary" (lu).. 

In ancient China, rank was equated with wealth; and once a man became an official he was more or less set for life.  Parents fervently wished their sons to become scholars in order that they might pass the civil service examinations and become officials.   This wish extended to getting higher in rank and to keeping an official position in the family

The monkey (hou) is an important representation of rank because its name is a pun for a high-ranking noble (hou).  The dragon and phoenix, emblems of the emperor and empress, also suggest both rank and power.

Wished For Wealth

Wealth could be accumulated not only through the esteemed official salary but also through successful business endeavors, inheritance, and so on.  Wealth and honor are symbolized by, among other things, the peony (fugui hua) because this flower was first grown in the imperial gardens.  Wishes for wealth can also be represented by gold ingots and coins, or fish ( yu), a pun for bounty (yu).  Variations on the fish motif include a pond filled with goldfish (jinyu), which suggests a household filled with gold (jin) and jade (yu ).  This is one of the reasons some Chinese kept goldfish in their homes and offices.  Other prominent symbols of longevity include pine and cypress trees, the supposedly long-lived crane and deer, the ribbon-tailed bird, and the "sacred fungus of immortality".

BLESSINGS (Fu)

The Star God Fuxing, who gives blessing (fu) ¨C which includes almost everything good ¨C is usually described as a mortal man carrying a baby boy.   In traditional Chinese culture the embodiment of blessings and marital happiness is having male children to carry on the family name.  Motifs for a affable marriage and numerous male offspring therefore would come under the heading of blessings.

Chief among motifs related to blessings in general is the bat, the word for which is also pronounced fu but which is written differently.  Among bat designs, the most popular is the image of five bats, a rebus for the Five Blessings:   longevity, wealth, health, love of virtue, and a peaceful death ¨C the most esteemed desires of many Chinese people throughout the centuries.

Wishes for a Harmonious Marriage

The most popular motif for a happy marriage is the lotus, as this plant's seed-bearing stage comes early, which proposes the early arrival of sons.  One of the many names for the lotus ( he) sounds like the word for harmony.  Images of fish (yu), which are seen as living in harmony with their surroundings, convey wishes for a long and happy marriage ¨C as do mandarin ducks, which mate for life.

Wishes for Many Sons

In Chinese tradition, sons were expected to perpetuate not only the family name but also the worship of ancestors.  Not producing a son was considered a failure in one's duty to one's parents and ancestors.   As noted earlier, sons were zealously pushed to stand out in the civil service examinations so they could become high officials and bring glory and wealth to the family.

 Photographs by Kazuhiro Tsuruta

http://darumasan.blogspot.com/  

Gabi Greve

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