Chaoshan traditional zodiac

12 Zodiac serial age sends away the Year of the Rat and welcomes the Year of the Ox. In the traditional culture of China, the Zodiac culture is unique. How did the Zodiac culture come from? What is the arrangement basis of the zodiac?

Jiang Wei, member of China Artists Association, director of China Artists Association, member of Shanghai Artists Association, distinguished painter of Shanghai Painting and Calligraphy Institute, and executive director of Shanghai Jiaotong University Painting and Calligraphy Art Research Institute. In recent years, he devoted himself to the creation of Zodiac animals.

The following is his speech in Shanghai Library: The culture of the zodiac is a precious legacy left by the ancients, and it is also one of the more distinctive cultures, which is still used today because of its popularity and interest. As a native of China, one of the gifts of coming into this world is the zodiac. Zodiac culture has a long history and is profound, which is an important part of China traditional culture. In recent years, there are more and more creations about the zodiac. I mainly devote myself to the painting creation of Zodiac animals, showing them together with landscapes, flowers, birds and plants, and trying to explore the humanistic connotation behind painting with animals while inheriting Shanghai style. In today's speech, I will talk to you about the culture of the Chinese zodiac. The origin of Zodiac culture is the zodiac, which is used to calculate age in China. Everyone should know more or less about the zodiac culture. Zodiac culture has been circulating for a long time, but there are various around it, and there are often no agreements. So, let me first talk about the origin of the zodiac culture. The "life" of the zodiac means "life" and "Xiao" means "elephant". A large number of documents show that the zodiac originated in China, sprouted in the pre-Qin period and was established in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Zodiac culture originated from ancestor's animal worship and totem worship, and was also the crystallization of early astronomy. Today, we can still see many animal patterns on some handed down rock paintings, even dating back to prehistoric traditional times. At that time, these patterns were mainly totems, or symbolic explanations, which had not yet reached the theoretical level. The theory of the zodiac was first seen in the Book of Songs, a collection of poems in China, and was widely used in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. Shen Jiong, a poet of Liang Chen in the Southern Dynasties, once wrote twelve poems: a case of rat dust, cattle and sheep falling at dusk. Tigers roared in the empty valley, and rabbits opened their windows. The dragon ridge is far green, and the snake willow lingers near. Ma Lanfang is far away and breeds sheep in spring. The monkey chestnut shames the fragrant fruit, and the chicken feet lead the clear cup. Dogs are proud of owning, but pigs are carefree. This poem embeds the names of the animals of the 12 Zodiac in the first letter in order, highlighting the natural characteristics of each animal and playing the role of finishing touch. Hu Yan, a gifted scholar in the Ming Dynasty, once wrote a poem: "The flying mouse drinks the river and doesn't do it. Cows and girls have known each other for many years. The rabbit grows longer in the middle of the month. Long Youzhu, who often doesn't sleep, is really tired of drawing snakes. Did the old horse grow horns? The sheep touched Francisco and moved angrily. Don't laugh at the Chu people, bathe the monkeys. I hope this chicken is empty from the old forest. Wuyang slaughtered dogs in Langzhong City, and Ping Jin put the head of the Bohai Sea. " The first couplet in the poem is the water rat, and the cow girl is the cowherd and weaver girl. The "Li Long" in the third section is a kind of dragon, and it has one under its chin, so it is called "Julie". The "licking the sheep" mentioned in the fourth series is the ram, and the "touching the fan" is the sheep hitting the fence with its horn. The fifth couplet said that "wishing a chicken" means calling a chicken. The sentence in the sixth couplet refers to Fan Kuai, the great soldier who was named Wuhang Hou by Emperor Gaozu of Han Dynasty. He used to kill dogs in Pei County, Jiangsu Province. The last sentence refers to Gong Sunhong, the prime minister of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, who once spared pigs in the East China Sea. Hu Yan wrote the zodiac with historical allusions, which is quite interesting. Related to the Zodiac culture is the ancient trunk and branch calendar in China. Heavenly stems and earthly branches, the main branch for short, originated from the observation of astronomical phenomena in ancient China. After evolution, it has been simplified into today's ten days and twelve branches. Ten heavenly stems refer to "A, B, C, D, E, Ji, G, Xin, Ren and Gui", while twelve earthly branches refer to "Zi, Ugly, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu and Hai". Ten heavenly stems and twelve earthly branches are matched in turn to form sixty basic units, and they cooperate with each other in a fixed order to form the method of stem and branch. Take one word for each of the two groups of numbers "stem" and "branch" in turn, and correspond to each other one by one. From "Jiazi" to "Guihai", it takes 60 years to complete a cycle of stem and branch combination sequence, which is called "Huajia". It is exactly 60 years from the last Jiazi to the next Jiazi. In ancient times, when the average life expectancy was relatively low, it was almost longevity. Furthermore, people use twelve kinds of animals from twelve places as relevant chronological codes, making them vivid and helpful for memory and calculation, thus forming the "Twelve Zodiacs". In addition to using "dry branches" to record the year, China also used them to record the month, day and time in ancient times. Because the number of days in a month is just a decimal and a year is just December, we use "stem" to mark the day, "branch" to mark the month and "twelve earthly branches" to mark the time. A day and night is divided into twelve hours, and each hour is equal to two hours of modern time. Now when we watch costume TV series, we will find that the ancients often say "time", which is the reason. Zodiac culture and five elements, gossip, etc. For example, the genus (mouse) is north; Hai (Pig), North of China. Yin (tiger) belongs to poplar, oriental; Wool (rabbit) belongs to the shade wood, oriental. Ugly (cattle), not (sheep) belongs to the soil, and so on. The origin of the zodiac culture is almost as old as the origin of Chinese civilization, and it is an important cultural factor that constitutes Chinese civilization. The birth of the ancient calendar and the appearance of the philosophy of the Five Elements, which have a profound influence on China culture, are all included in it. In addition, there are rich cultural and psychological connotations of China people in the meanings of the zodiac. From the meanings given to the zodiac, we can see that rats represent wisdom, cows represent diligence, tigers represent caution, rabbits represent fortitude, snakes represent flexibility, horses represent courage, sheep represent harmony, monkeys represent flexibility, chickens crow regularly represent constancy, dogs represent loyalty, and pigs represent easygoing.

◇ Jiang Wei's Painting: Twelve Elegant Series

What is the emphasis on the arrangement of the zodiac? The above simply combs the origin of the zodiac culture. Next, I want to talk to you about the arrangement of the Chinese zodiac. As mentioned earlier, the Zodiac is twelve kinds of animals, including rats, cows, tigers, rabbits, dragons, snakes, horses, sheep, monkeys, chickens, dogs and pigs. Some people may ask, why are the Zodiac animals in the order we see now? What's the point? The collocation principle of the zodiac and the twelve earthly branches is another difficult problem in analyzing the "Zodiac" in China. Since ancient times, there are many researchers, but the conclusions are quite different. Here, I only list a few representative statements. Hong Xun, a scholar of Song Dynasty in China, is a representative figure of "Balance of Power Theory". He believes that the arrangement of the "Twelve Zodiacs" is related to the philosophy of Zhouyi, and its days are: "Zi, Yin, Chen, Wu, Shen, Shu and Quan Yang (Yang refers to the masculine earthly branch). Therefore, take the odd number of genus to write the name. Rats, tigers, dragons, monkeys and dogs are all five fingers, but horses are one hoof. Ugly, ugly, awkward, unfinished, unitary, and the sea are yin (earthly branches), so take the even number of genera, cattle, sheep, chickens, and pigs are all four claws, rabbits are two claws, and snakes are two tongues. " In other words, the zodiac is composed of odd and even toes and earthly branches of twelve animals. In the Ming Dynasty, Ye Shijie tried to explain his selection by using the "shape deficiency" of "Zodiac" animals. In his view, "the artist matches the zodiac with the zodiac, and each has its own shortcomings, such as the mouse has no teeth, the cow has no teeth, the tiger has no spleen, the rabbit has no lips, the dragon has no ears, the snake has no feet, the horse has no intestines, the sheep has no pupils, the monkey has no hips, the chicken has no kidneys, the dog has no stomach, the pig has no tendons, and the human has no shortcomings."

Another contemporary scholar, Xu Li, believes that the order of the zodiac is related to the order of the stars in the sky. Twenty-eight lodgings are distributed around Sunday, with a value of 12 points. There are two boarders and three boarders every hour, namely children, mothers, mothers and mothers. Every residence is different. The animals in Twenty-eight Nights are arranged in the order of the sky, from north to east and from south to west. All the above statements have their own reasons. Perhaps taken together, it is a relatively complete explanation. Related to the arrangement of the zodiac, another question that people often ask is: Why is the mouse at the top of the list of the zodiac? Well, there are many stories, but in fact this arrangement is exquisite. What we usually call the zodiac embodies the principles of relaxation, yin and yang, motion and static, and even and odd. Hong Xun believes that most animals in the zodiac, whether they have two feet or four feet, have the same number of front and rear toes. "Only the mouse has four toes on the front foot and five toes on the back foot, which is odd and even, so it is the first of the twelve zodiac animals." This means that the mouse has four toes on its first two feet and five toes on its last two feet. It is the only unique one among the 12 Zodiacs in China. This characteristic of mice is comprehensive. Coincidentally, Lang Ying, a scholar in the Ming Dynasty, also said in the "Seven Revised Manuscripts" that a rat has four paws on its front foot, even paws are yin, five paws on its back foot, and odd paws are yang. The first half of the child is the shadow of the night before, and the second half is the sun of the day, just using the mouse to symbolize the child. Liu Xianyan's Miscellaneous Notes in Qing Dynasty quoted Matsushita Pass in Qing Dynasty: Why is Zi a mouse? Yue: Born in the child, it will not open until it dies. Rats eat insects. Therefore, in night is still young, positive mice have to wait, so children belong to mice. It's the night before dawn, and it's time for rats to haunt. It can be seen that rats rank first in the zodiac, which is related to heavenly stems and earthly branches and the five elements. So, why is steak second? In addition, the more well-founded statement is as follows. There is a saying that "mice bite the sky". After the sky opened, the land was reclaimed, and "the land was reclaimed into ugliness". Cows have to plow fields, so ugliness belongs to cows. There is also a saying that comes from the "parity theory". Cattle have four toes (even number), ranking behind rats and before tigers. Maybe someone will ask, rabbits, sheep and so on. Four toes, too. Why is the steak in front? This may have a lot to do with the importance of cattle in ancient labor life. There are also many poems about cows, such as Li Bai's "Flowers are warm, green cows lie down, white cranes are loose" and Zhang Ji's "When you enter the grass, many cows are scattered, and when you are white, you sing to the reeds." There are also poems extended by the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, such as Du Mu's "Make the night cool like water, lie down and watch the morning glory Vega". Of course, the cows here are no longer cows in daily life, but it also shows the widespread use of the word "cow". And Mr. Lu Xun's phrase "Look at a thousand fingers coldly, bow your head and be a willing ox" has become the motto of many people and a symbol of our virtue and spirit of self-improvement. A few years ago, some people in the world suggested that we change the zodiac again-let the derogatory "rat, snake, chicken and pig" and the more auspicious "lion, fish, phoenix and crane" take office. At that time, some media refuted its absurdity. Zodiac is composed of twelve earthly branches and twelve kinds of animals, which contains profound traditional cultural heritage. If there is no cultural zodiac, it can only be a joke.

The traditional theme of the zodiac culture has been given new vitality. I briefly combed the zodiac culture. Of course, these are rough and can only provide a rough idea. Next, I'd like to focus on the Chinese zodiac culture in Shanghai. Because I am a painter, I mainly talk about Shanghai Zodiac culture from the perspective of painting. What is Shanghai Zodiac Culture? As the name implies, it is the zodiac culture that embodies the characteristics of Shanghai style. Because the zodiac culture has a long history, it has been combined with local culture in the long development process, reflecting different regional characteristics. Of course, "Shanghai School" is not limited to Shanghai, it originated and developed in Shanghai. Therefore, the main features of Shanghai, such as its boundless rivers and modest atmosphere, are embodied in the "Shanghai style". When we say "Shanghai School", we can't simply understand it as something from Shanghai, but multiple elements collide and develop here, forming unique style characteristics. The great influence of Shanghai Zodiac culture continues to modern times. There are many painters engaged in this kind of creation, and many excellent works of art of the zodiac culture have been born. Such as: Chen Laolian, Ren Xun, Ren Xiong, Ren Bonian, Yu Ren (four masters of the Ming and Qing Dynasties), Xu Gu, Hu Gongshou, Zhang Zixiao, Zhang Yuguang, Zhang Daqian, Zhang, Xu Beihong, Ge, Liu Danzhai, Cheng Shifa, Zhu Wenhou, Xiong Songquan, Wu Shougu, etc. What is listed here is mainly engaged in. From the perspective of painting, the cultural types of Shanghai Zodiac are basically divided into three categories. One is the traditional type. Mainly from teachers to students, taking the route of China traditional painting school. The second type is homologous. For example, calligraphy and painting are in the same strain. Some people paint with calligraphy and paint in calligraphy works. The third is the combination of Chinese and western. The future culture should be combined with the traditional culture of China. These three types are reflected in the cultural paintings of the zodiac. For example, Zhang Cheng, who created Six Squirrels, is an innovative painter. At that time, the painting world was shrouded in the painting style of the four kings of Wumen, and everyone stuck to the rules and dared not cross the line. However, Zhang Cheng participated in painting techniques, innovated painting methods and combined with sketching, which created a new look outside the popular painting school and was unique in modern painting circles. Someone once asked me why I like to create zodiac pictures. In my opinion, animals are friends of human beings, whether they are Yin Hu wandering in the cold forest and snowy fields on a moonlit night, or a pair of mice whispering in a stream in winter snow and early spring, they are all integrated into nature and have an irreplaceable interest in close-up composition. This kind of artistic thinking, perhaps, is attached to the quiet scenery of mountains and valleys, birds and flowers, and expresses the feelings of being close to animals. Therefore, I regard creating every Chinese zodiac painting as a kind of enjoyment. In painting, I organically absorbed the elements of western painting and integrated the essence of Shanghai style. I'm not interested in truth, and birds and animals are beautiful. Today, in its heyday, the traditional theme of Zodiac culture has been endowed with new vitality and put forward higher requirements for painters. If you don't understand the zodiac culture, you can't create a zodiac painting. For a painter, it is necessary to ensure that the pen has a history and can stand chewing. Many predecessors are models of rigorous art, such as Xu Beihong's efforts to draw horses. It seems that there are only a few strokes. His basic skills, interests and artistic summary are in it. Why is Chinese painting difficult to learn? Because it is comprehensive and polished by long-term accumulation, it is difficult to achieve "short, flat and fast".

In my opinion, any work must start with the theme shaping, draw bits and pieces from the ancient treasure house of China culture, and strengthen the consciousness of self-shaping. Painting relies on technology, but it is an art, which needs to be realized with more secondary elements and styles. Therefore, the attitude towards creation must be rigorous, and there can be no grandstanding. Making people appreciate his paintings is like tasting wine, which is interesting and meaningful; Another example is drinking tea, which is fragrant and memorable. Nowadays, the zodiac culture shines brilliantly in many fields. Zodiac gold bars, gold coins and commemorative coins are sought after by the market. For example, Chinese Commemorative Coin adopts the traditional technique of stone relief in Han Dynasty, and shows the artistic characteristics of China sculpture through the integration of line sculpture and body sculpture. For another example, the commemorative coins of the Zodiac series adopt famous paintings designed by Qi Baishi and Xu Beihong, which reproduce these unique styles through relief and have high artistic appreciation value. In addition, the design of the zodiac is never a lofty artistic creation, but more and more products are integrated into daily life, from nail clippers, teacups, small electric fans, coin purses and lighters to tea spoons, knife holders and kettles. Many items in ordinary life have added value by incorporating the elements of the zodiac. China's Zodiac culture has also attracted the attention of foreign designers. An American toy designer designed the dolls of the zodiac, which were very popular. In the eyes of many foreigners, the culture of the zodiac is an indispensable element of the Year of China. The Zodiac culture, which originated in China, has penetrated into the life memories and habits of hundreds of millions of people, into all aspects of production and consumption on which people depend for survival, and into important life processes such as birth, illness, death, weddings and funerals. In this sense, the Zodiac culture is the root of traditional civilization growing on the land of China, and it is the blood of civilization flowing in our bodies.

: Daily, Shangguan News

The above is related to the age of the 12 zodiac, and it is about the sharing of the zodiac. I saw the picture of 12 zodiac, I hope this will help everyone!