Chinese Waterfall painting

For Chinese waterfall Fengshui painting, every element has its own meaning. The moutain just behind waterfall stands for the patron. The faraway mountains are symbolic of long standing and well established. The morning sun implies lucky strike, also means that the hard times already past and the good days has come. Trees on the left side painted for bringing wealth, trees on the right side painted for keeping off misfortune. If there is a path on the left side of waterfall, it will lead the wealth to your home. And if there is a person who carrying firewood (with a shoulder pole), he represents lucky boy.

In composition of some waterfall paintings, there is a lake or plunge pool next to the fall. It has a very auspicious name called "treasure bowl", which can make wealth increase at an alarming rate according to legend. And if two waterfalls are painted in one painting (one is on the left, another is on the right), that means owner will be blessed with good luck all along.

As you probably know, traditional Chinese painting has three major branches: landscape, flower-bird and figure. Flower-bird painting includes flowers, fruits, vegetables, birds and fish. As for the painting technique styles, it can be Meticulous (gongbi) using contour methods, outline the object first, then color it. Meticulous style requires great care and grace; the strict composition has fine elaboration. The effect is highly decorative; or Freehand (xieyi) — Freehand style generalizes shapes and displays rich brushwork and ink technique. Paintings in this group are freehand style.

Chinese Lotus Painting

And then, late in the Tang dynasty, Chinese artists began using “ink and wash” techniques to paint birds and flowers, giving rise to a popular motif that has survived well into modern times. Popular flora subject matter includes lotus flowers, peonies, plum blossoms, orchids, bamboo, chrysanthemums, pines and cypresses. Animals featured in flower and bird paintings include not only birds but also fish, cats and even insects. Simple by design; most flower and bird paintings feature just one or two subjects, and overlapping of subjects rarely occurs.

The flower-and-bird painting is peculiar to China. From of old, all kinds of flowers, plants, and birds were given various symbolic meanings. Flowers and birds can be compared to almost all thoughts and feelings of human being. They can symbolize feminine beauty, virtues, political authority, omens, and lucky niceness. And once established, this tradition became popular in every dynasty.

Almost all Chinese love traditional flower and bird paintings. That is why this old form of art is continued till today. We know it has a long history. But not everyone knows what it stands for in China. Let’s say like this: their symbolic meaning grow increasingly rich and specific.

Dragon - Chinese Painting

Auspicious &Fengshui Meaning

Chinese Dragon Painting: In the ancient China, dragon was the symbol of imperial power and represents the emperor. Nowadays, dragon can no longer represent imperial power; however, it is still believed that it can bring people good luck. Meanwhile, it symbolizes power, nobility, and fortune.

Painting of Two Dragons Playing with A Pearl: indicates good harvest and boundless happiness.

Painting of Golden Dragon or Green Dragon: normally surround by auspicious clouds. The picture is praying for good luck or splendid prospects.

Painting of Rolling Dragon: In Ming and Qing dynasties of China, this pattern was often used for the architectural decoration of the Palace or the Royal gardens. Rolling dragon is a symbol of power, dignity and honor. It also has the meaning of getting rid of calamity and bringing good fortune.

Prosperity Brought by the Dragon and the Phoenix Painting: implying auspiciousness, nobility, happiness and joy. Also symbolize matrimonial harmony, give good blessing to a couple; peace for the country and prosperity for its people.

China artists often draw the auspicious fishes drawing as carp and goldfish, as "carp(鲤)" and "benefit(利)" are homonymic words in Chinese, and "gold(金)" represents wealth  so they often relate to the business and symbolize the advantages and benefits in business.

Lotus and Fish

Lotus Flower & Fish Feng Shui Painting: represent that you live in affluence and every year may you always get more than you wish for.

Peony & Fish Feng Shui Painting: peony is symbolic of honor and riches, so the painting  combination of peony and fish means you will become wealthy in affluence and abundance.

Two Fish Painting: In particular a Black/Blue Fish and a Red / Gold/ Colored Fish frolicking in water resemble the black and white areas of Taiji ("great ultimate"). So two fish paintings or scrolls can represent "yin" and "yang" and has very auspicious meanings.

Six Fishes Painting: symbolizes "may everything goes as you wish".

Peach Blossom&Birds

Flower-and-Bird Painting did not become an independent art form until the mid and late Tang dynasty around the 8th and 9th centuries, it is interesting to see how this form of art slowly"creeps" from the background of initially serving as ornamental pattern for daily utensils, later serving as symbolic, metaphoric and allegorical elements in the background of figure painting and all the way to the final stage where we see flowers and birds as independent themes. In pre-Tang and Tang Dynasty figure paintings we see birds and flowers symbolizing the mood and temperament of the human figures depicted, the characters seldom directly look at each other, instead there is a relationship with a flower they hold, a tree they sit beside or with the birds that fly around them. At this stage of development, flowers and birds serve as symbols, this is a further development from the ornamental function they had on bronze wear and pottery. This symbolic function was certainly an important stepping stone on the way to become an independent art form during the mid and late Tang, and indeed, Flower-and-Bird Paintings preserved their symbolic role and must be observed and enjoyed in this context.

Tiger - Chinese Painting

The Chinese Tiger is a yang animal and is associated with a potent male principle of courage, bravery, dignity and sternness. It is sometimes known as "king of the mountains" and it is said that it has the power to drive away demons.

A Chinese painting depicting a Tiger is often hung on a wall inside the building and facing the entrance - in this way "demons" are scared away and can not enter. Feng Shui practitioners often like to use the ch'i of the Tiger in this way. In ancient China the Tiger was the principle animal god and was known as the Guardian Spirit of Agriculture that was believed to devour the Drought Demon.

A Tiger's head used to be painted on soldiers' shields in order to terrify the enemy.

It was believed that Tigers turned white after 500 years, could live 1000 years and that upon the Tiger's death its spirit entered the earth and became Amber, in fact the original Chinese term for Amber was "Soul of the Tiger".

The Chinese Tiger is also associated with Tsai Shen, The God of Wealth.

Crane

The Crane has long been an auspicious symbol and next to the Pheonix is the most important bird in Chinese legends and Chinese art. The Crane is believed to be immortal and is the commonest of the many symbols meaning longevity. It is a very common symbol and is depicted frequently on Chinese paintings within China.

Crane is also a Chinese symbol for wisdom and is sometimes called the "heavenly" or "blessed" Crane. The death of a Taoist priest is said to be "turning into a feathered Crane".

The Chinese Crane is said to manifest a peculiar interest in human affairs and it is often associated with old age and also with good luck.

]]> https://www.artisoo.com/blog/crane-in-chinese-painting/feed/ 0 https://www.artisoo.com/blog/symbolic-meaning-in-chinese-flower-and-bird-painting/ https://www.artisoo.com/blog/symbolic-meaning-in-chinese-flower-and-bird-painting/#comments Fri, 11 Jan 2013 09:19:49 +0000 CNArtGallery http://www.artisoo.com/blog/?p=621 Continue reading →]]> There are lots of means of expressing symbolic meaning in Chinese flower and bird paintings. The most common means are homophony and pun, that convey endless meaning whilst reflect people's yearning for happiness. For example, the representative of symbolic birds-and-flowers painting is "Four Gentlemen" and "Three Friends of Winter". Plum blossom, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum were known as the Four Gentlemen. Their common traits are nobleness, modesty, and integrity.

And as the Three Friends of Winter, pine, bamboo, and plum blossom are often associated with man of great virtue from another level. For their own natural qualities, these five plants were given the corresponding symbolic meanings. In addition, because of their strong beauty in form, almost all artists dabbled at this theme and left many masterpieces.

Bamboo

There is another situation that some subject was given the fixed auspicious Fengshui meanings in flowers-and-birds painting history of development. For example, just like the peony represents high position, great wealth, and prosperity; pine strands for longevity and integrity; bamboo symbolizes grittiness, modesty, and successive promotion; red-crowned crane is symbolic of longevity, and so on. Their auspicious Fengshui meanings is one of important reasons that why flowers-and-birds painting is evergreen.

In the long Chinese history, everything is not single. The flower and bird paintings are all connected together with Chinese people's old faith and belief. Anyway, old things are always charming.

It is quite amazing that when painters face the same subjects they are able to create paintings in different styles. This is caused not only by technological gap but also the diversity in imagination. Chinese painting has its special features, among which the most special feature is its educational function. As we know, peony, plum blossoms and mountains the subject frequently used in traditional Chinese painting. What’s more important, peony in paintings is always auspicious symbol of wealth; Lofty Spirit is praised through the depiction of plum blossom; and the description of mountain tells us the importance of generosity. During Tang Dynasty, Chinese painting connects closely with Confucian ideology.

Lotus

Chinese painting also related with religious beliefs and state power. They can convey the value and significance of Chinese painting. The purpose of landscape painting was to eulogize the Gods by depicting the mountains. In this case, the subjects used in the painting have symbolic meaning and the function is to deliver moral messages to audience, For example, peacocks stand for fortune; bamboo symbolizes elegance; and pine trees means loyalty.

Artists tend to grant special meaning to the subjects they paint in their work just as what we have mentioned above. Whether the painting is valuable is decided by the painter’s personality and ability. In the course of creation, artists gain entertainment and self-satisfaction. The value of their work being confirmed is the greatest encouragement.