Meaningful Mythology of China
The purpose of this blog is to educate readers about common legends known in China. The blog will explain the symbolism and meaning behind art work and statues found in Buddhist and Taoist temples in Xiamen, China. A majority of the symbolism found in temples originates from stories told throughout China's vast history intended to help with understanding, the blog will focus on clarifying why certain artwork would appear in temples and what spiritual purpose the artwork bestows upon the temple.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Horses
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Mulberry Silk Legend
The story could have different connotations when told to an adult audience. An interesting interpretation of the story is given through Freudian analysis. In this interpretation, the story is built from adolescent fear and sexual desire. The daughter, therefore, desires the father but is too young to understand the desire. The girl places the father into two counterparts, her father and her horse. Her actual father is perceived as the good and innocent while the family's horse represents the bad and unknown aspect of her desires. When the father chooses to kill the horse, he is essentially killing the bad father. The silkworm and mulberry results of the story would be the fruit of the marriage between the girl and the horse.
Another interesting perspective on the story is the difference between the natural world and the magical world. The fact that audiences listening to the story may have interpreted the story as a true event that had occurred centuries before is telling of the Chinese culture. When analyzing stories in different time periods from the original era of the story, the reader needs to interpret the consciousness level intended for the story and whether the story was meant for the natural or magical world. This story can be interpreted as originating from the magical side of the mind to people in the twenty first century, but people in earlier time periods may not have seen the story in this light.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Qilin
The symbolism described above is prominent and well documented. In addition to these meanings, a few stories exist that act as an elaboration on the full story of the Qilin. A myth exists in which the Qilin's horn is burned in order to see the future. In addition, the Qilin was also a confusing figure in China when a traveller brought a giraffe to a Chinese emperor as a gift. Years after this occurred, the image of a Qilin and giraffe were still mixed in historical and cultural records. This is historically and culturally relevant because the giraffe and Qilin became linked by the common word used to name them. The confusion speaks to the idea that the Chinese people had at the time about the Qilin.
The pictures attached to this blog are both examples of the Qilin imagery in temples in Xiamen, China. The first picture is a Qilin with a scaly, dragon type body. The head of the creature is very much like a dragon as well. This Qilin is spitting a book. This story is linked to a myth that before the birth of Confucius, a Qilin appeared spitting up a book. The book prophesied a man with the ability to be a king would be born but he would not become a king. This symbolically links to fertility because this became attached to the birth of a wise sons. The prayers for fertility, as stated before, are for sons that will grow to be intelligent and prosperous men. The Qilin in the second picture is shown amongst clouds, solidifying the creature's auspicious and mythological labeling.
Duda, Margaret. "Qing Dynasty Silver Qilins." Ornament. 23.1 36-41. Web. 10 Sep. 2012.
Eberhard, Wolfram. A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols: Hidden Symbols in Chinese Life and Thought. New York: Routledge, 1986. 79. Print.
Jones, Lindsay. "Politics And Religion: Politics And Chinese Religion ." Encyclopedia of Religion. 2nd Edition. 11. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 7266-7270. Print.
Walters, Derek. Chinese Mythology: An Encyclopedia of Myth and Legend. San Francisco: The Aquarian Press, 1992. Print.
Watt, James. "The Giraffe as the Mythical Qilin in Chinese Art: A Painting and a Rank Badge in the Metropolitan Museum." Metropolitan Museum Journal. 43. (2008): 111-115. Print.
Williams, C.A.S. Outlines of Chinese Symbolism and Art Motives. 3rd Edition. 1983. Print.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Deer
To begin
I want to begin this blog explaining that I am by no means an expert on things Chinese. I am just a student like yourself looking to gain insight into a culture that is very complex and different than our own. My major at my university is not Asian Studies, nor am I Asian myself. All I know as I start this blog is that I have an interest in learning about Chinese culture and I have a work ethic that makes me willing to research in order to find answers to my questions. Throughout this blog, you will find that I am telling you a story of my discoveries; a story that will describe how I reached understanding and closure on the vast topics I am covering. Hopefully, you can follow my findings with the research I cite and learn about Chinese mythology without reading a long and intricate textbook.