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The true meaning of auspiciousness, http://www.fzzj.org/Article_Print.asp?. ArticleID = 985

Red symbolizes the origin of good luck.

In the eyes of China people, red means good luck. Stick red couplets on holidays and Chinese New Year; Marry a woman, marry a woman; Give red eggs when you have a baby; Gifts should be wrapped in red paper; To lay the foundation for the opening, we should cut red silk. In a word, everything that means happiness and good luck can't be separated from red. In fact, China didn't use red to indicate good luck from the beginning.

As early as ancient times, our ancestors used yellow to represent auspicious days, and also used black and white to represent auspicious days. In the Han Dynasty, Emperor Gaozu called himself "the son of Chi Di". Red is red. Since then, red has become the color people admire. After the Han Dynasty, the customs and habits of advocating red in various parts of China have basically tended to be consistent and have been passed down.

The origin of auspicious patterns

Auspicious patterns are an important category of ancient decorative arts in China, and their history can be traced back to the ancient Stone Age. In the creation of rock paintings or stone carvings at that time, it appeared in the form of totems. Then it experienced bronze wares in Shang and Zhou Dynasties, portrait bricks in Qin and Han Dynasties, stone carvings in Sui and Tang Dynasties, flower and bird paintings in Song and Yuan Dynasties, embroidery in Ming and Qing Dynasties, porcelain and other aspects, and this art form became more and more mature. It has a long history, rich connotation, good prayer and praise, and is deeply loved by the people, showing strong vitality. It is a pearl in the treasure house of traditional art in China.

The combined use of the word "Ji" is believed to have originated from "Zhuangzi on Earth": "An empty room makes white, and good luck stops." The success of the Tang Dynasty had a solution to this problem: "Lucky people have good things; Auspicious, auspicious. " Try to explain the emergence of many Ji Xiangwen pictures with this relief, that is, draw beautiful stories and festive signs into images to express the concept of seeking good luck and exorcism; It can be self-prayer or mutual blessing. On the other hand, many themes and compositions of Ji Xiangwen's paintings are based on "good luck" and "good celebration".

Ji Xiangwen's paintings are deeply loved by people because of their basic connotations of avoiding evil spirits, exorcising evil spirits, praying and congratulating, and at the same time, they have the essential characteristics of "symbol". Expressing thoughts and feelings by symbolic means is more subtle, subtle and intriguing than using straightforward language. Being good at expressing abstract concepts with utensils is one of the characteristics of China's traditional Ji Xiangwen paintings. For example, spiders hanging on the line contain blessings for happy events. The five chicks beside the playful nest have placed their hopes on their children's success; A pair of birds flying between plum blossoms and bamboo branches is a tribute to the love and longevity of the new couple, and so on.

Image Meaning and Style Features of Auspicious Paintings

Auspicious painting is an art form in the traditional culture of China, which can best reflect the life pursuit and ideal of China people and reflect a nation's cultural outlook, aesthetic taste, aesthetic concept and customs.

Auspicious painting is an important part of traditional plastic arts in China. Different from other artistic styles, in auspicious paintings handed down from generation to generation, the implication of its content and the symbol of its form are often unified, thus becoming the main feature of auspicious paintings. However, as a visual art, the content and form of auspicious painting exist as juxtaposed elements in composition, and on this basis, the expression form of auspicious painting is formed.

As a special artistic style, auspicious paintings are mostly conceptual, but the images appearing on the screen are concrete and colorful. "There are different kinds of things, but there are no kinds of things." The selection of content elements of auspicious paintings involves almost all categories of nature. People have a clear understanding of its natural attributes and physical characteristics, and it is more easily accepted as the content element of auspicious paintings.

When the formal elements in auspicious paintings are used as artistic images, they are often idealized. Some of them extend their natural attributes, while others are quite different from their original natural attributes and are given new symbolic meanings.

The pictographic, cognitive and phonetic features of Chinese characters provide convenience for the selection of auspicious painting elements. Sometimes, with the help of natural things represented by homophony and homophony, auspicious meaning can be expressed, which is also common in auspicious painting elements. Since the Song Dynasty, many auspicious idioms and symbols have been created and shaped according to homophony.

The image composition of auspicious paintings comes from the traditional mascots in China, and the combination method is the same; As far as the formation of China mascots is concerned, there are mainly the sounds of taking things, such as the homophonic sound of bats and blessings; Mascots that take the shape of things, such as ganoderma lucidum, look like wishful thinking, that is, ganoderma lucidum is used as a metaphor for wishful thinking; The natural mascots such as pine, bamboo and plum are noble and clean, so they are known as the three friends of the cold. As for the mascots that take the meaning of things, such as the peony with rich flowers, take its noble meaning as a symbol. These things are ordinary things, and the reason why they are mascots is mainly to take their symbolic significance. Among the mascots in China, many mascots are produced because of Chinese homonyms and names that are the same as or close to auspicious meanings.

In fact, there are not many auspicious paintings that express auspicious meanings with a single content element. People usually use more than two content elements to form a certain relationship to express one or more auspicious meanings. In the process of auspicious painting composition, the relationship between images as content elements should basically conform to natural jurisprudence intuitively; When expressing auspicious meanings, the relationship between content elements and symbolic meanings should be logical. Here, the elements of content have actually been transformed into the elements of form, which has played a normative role in the composition of auspicious paintings. People often use homophonic methods to reflect auspiciousness. If all goes well, they will combine persimmons with wishful thinking, beaming, and they will form a picture in the form of magpies climbing plums.

The appearance of auspicious painting and mascot is not at the same time, which is inseparable from the development of painting itself. Historically, auspicious paintings were basically mature in the Song Dynasty. Of course, this is based on the moral transmission of auspicious painting itself, and also includes the perfection of its own content elements. Generally speaking, after auspicious paintings and mascots are produced, painting skills are developing at a high speed. On the one hand, it is endowed with auspicious ideas, on the other hand, it is artistic conception, which should be two aspects that can not be ignored in understanding auspicious paintings.

Generally speaking, the paintings with auspicious themes are mainly flowers and birds, followed by figure paintings. Most of the materials come from folk auspicious patterns, but the expression forms and techniques have changed greatly. Interpretation of auspicious paintings generally starts with the image itself. The figure paintings with auspicious themes include: the Antarctic immortals, the two immortals in harmony, the Eight Immortals, bangs and toads, Ma Gu's birthday celebration, Hejing Tan Mei, Mi Dian's stone worship, Su Wu's sheep herding, Zhong Kui, historical stories and so on.

The paintings with auspicious themes are mainly flower-and-bird paintings. In a long tradition, the title and theme of a painting always have auspicious meanings, or should be chosen accordingly. The auspicious flower-and-bird paintings are rich and colorful, and almost all the folk mascots such as flowers, birds and animals are reflected in the paintings, and their combination is also directly derived from auspicious patterns. The main themes are "the king of flowers" peony, peony, "three friends in the cold" pine, bamboo and plum, "four gentlemen" Meilan, bamboo and chrysanthemum, "The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival" evergreen, western bamboo, narcissus and "noisy" not only have flowers, but also fruits: orange, orange, jujube, persimmon, lotus, pomegranate and ganoderma lucidum. This of course means good luck. Animals have "four spirits": Qinglong, White Tiger, Suzaku, Xuanwu, and "Ruishou": Kirin, evil spirits, lions, others such as monkeys, sheep and cats, and birds include Pulsatilla, cranes, peacocks, swallows, magpies, mandarin ducks and quails.

Auspicious painting, image is the most important. Therefore, the study of auspicious painting itself has the significance of iconology. Iconology is more concerned with the extension of works of art than the materials of works of art, and it aims to understand the symbolic, educational and mythical significance expressed (or hidden) in plastic arts. Auspicious painting is the expression of auspicious concept in painting and the materialized expression of auspicious concept. It appeared only after the development of painting in a certain period, and it is the art of concept. The primary significance of auspicious painting lies in its connotation.

Auspicious paintings are developed on the basis of auspicious patterns. It is the practical application of auspicious patterns in traditional painting, and the meaning of auspicious painting is equivalent to the meaning of auspicious patterns. However, auspicious painting has its special side. After all, it is not the same as auspicious patterns. Although its form of expression has the essential characteristics of traditional painting, as far as image is concerned, it has formed a colorful situation in style with a meaningful formal carrier. This is inseparable from the painter's own style and characteristics. When creating auspicious paintings, painters should pay attention to objects on the one hand, and the characteristics of the painting itself (pen and ink, color, modeling and composition) on the other hand, rather than paying more attention to objects such as New Year pictures or patterns, which is the essential difference between the two. Therefore, when we understand auspicious painting, as far as the image itself is concerned, the purpose is to understand the symbolic meaning expressed (or hidden) in the modeling form. Although the style characteristics can not be ignored, they should be relegated to a secondary position. However, as painting, the formal factors and style characteristics of auspicious painting must be paid attention to, which is an important content of auspicious painting appreciation.

Compared with patterns, patterns with strong interest in patterns are generally not shown in traditional paintings, such as bumper harvest, instant blessing, heavenly blessing and so on. Some themes can only be suitable for pattern expression, which is also an important difference between auspicious paintings and auspicious patterns, and of course it is also limited by painting factors. A considerable number of auspicious patterns can only be applied to the performance of decorative arts, and are sometimes used in New Year pictures. At the same time, the combination of auspicious themes in traditional painting is also influenced by painting conditions.

Auspicious painting, on the one hand, of course, attaches great importance to the meaning of images in order to conform to the specific meaning of specific painting themes, but at the same time, it must be accompanied by the painting itself, and we can't ignore this when discussing the painting with auspicious themes.

As one of the specific themes of painting, auspicious painting itself develops according to the law of painting development. Therefore, in each development stage of painting, auspicious painting is consistent with the overall style of painting, so it shows the development status and style evolution of Chinese painting from another side, and its appearance is also colorful. For example, in the history of painting, ink painting originated in the Tang Dynasty has developed into Taoism, figures, flowers and birds, landscapes and other professions, and its expressive force has also increased. In the Northern Song Dynasty, it reached its climax. Flower-and-bird painting started with the two basic painting methods of Huang Quan's "Yellow Pen (with lines as the key link)" and Xu Pen's "No longer with lines as the key link, but mainly with ink and wash" in the Five Dynasties, and went to Xu Chongsi's colored boneless painting (with five lines as the key link) in the early Northern Song Dynasty, which marked the development of flower-and-bird painting in these periods. At this time, auspicious paintings also show this feature. In Song Dynasty, meticulous painting flourished, and auspicious painting also showed this feature. Ji's "Lotus Golden Rooster Map" depicts two hibiscus and a golden pheasant, which is flourishing, hibiscus is in full bloom and butterflies are flying, vividly showing the dynamics of the golden pheasant and the echo of the scenery. The brushwork is meticulous and colorful, similar to the style of the Yellow School. The same is true of another work by Evonne, Ruihetu, which depicts a solemn palace with a clear sky and auspicious clouds. Twenty red-crowned cranes flew over the palace, and some of them stood on the kiss of the temple ridge, echoing organically from top to bottom, left and right, and contrasting with the scattered scenery, they dyed the flying momentum and the singing sound of cranes. In addition, the flower basket of Song Li in the Southern Song Dynasty painted a rattan flower basket filled with all kinds of spring flowers, such as peony and camellia. The painting method is extremely exquisite and colorful, which clearly shows the characteristics of flower-and-bird painting in Song Dynasty.

Yan Hui's Li Xian Portrait in Yuan Dynasty reflects the development trend of figure painting in Yuan and Ming Dynasties. This painting, Tie Guai Li, covered with hair and beard, squints and barefoot, vividly depicts the strange shape of this immortal. The brushwork is vigorous, freehand brushwork, thick lines, thick ink and heavy colors, and magnificent, which is the first in Wu Wei. Tie Guai Li is a figure of the Eight Immortals. It is obvious that depicting him can ward off evil spirits, so it is naturally understood as an auspicious painting. In this regard, Wang Yuan's "Peach, Bamboo and Golden Rooster" shows that ink and flower painting gradually entered the historical stage in the Yuan Dynasty, reflecting the establishment of a new painting style. The golden rooster ink painting, which lives between peach, bamboo and stone, has thick feathers and vivid shapes; Flowers and leaves are decorated with ink, and the shade of ink is used to express the yin and yang of leaves. Using the method of ink and bamboo double hook, the pen is powerful; The water is hooked by a line, and the hook of the lake stone is rough. The brush and ink of the whole painting are steady and concise, full of ancient charm. It is a masterpiece of the transition from "color" to "ink" in Yuan Dynasty, which provided conditions for the development of flower-and-bird painting in Ming Dynasty. But as far as the picture is concerned, the picture of Taozhu Golden Rooster is obviously an auspicious painting. The same is true of others, such as the golden stone and golden rooster map in Shanxi Museum and the bamboo and stone bird collection in Shanghai Museum.

With the rise of freehand brushwork in Ming and Qing Dynasties, auspicious paintings also developed freehand brushwork, as did figure paintings and flower-and-bird paintings. In Ming Dynasty, Liu Jun's "Liu Hai Da Toad" is a typical auspicious painting. In this painting, Liu Hai is wearing a robe and floating on the sea. The sky is hazy and the sea is surging under his feet, which further highlights the immortal temperament of Liu Hai. Yu Bin's "Picture of Ma Gu's Birthday Festival" Ma Gu is dignified, holding a line drawing, looking back at her companion and holding the birthday messenger of Xiantao. Clothes pleats float like a breeze in the sea of clouds, looking kindly at the land of Sang Hai, increasing life and reducing happiness for the world. The figures are elegant and charming, and the folds are full of movement and decorative beauty, which makes the picture full of magic and peaceful charm. Sun painted two hollyhocks in Sunflower Stone. The stems stand upright on the tall and straight lake stones, and the leaves are lush. Sunflowers in full bloom are pale ochre Abelmoschus manihot adopts double cross flowers, with neat brushwork and novel composition. The hollyhock chart is usually hung during the Dragon Boat Festival. Lu Zhi's "Dragon Boat Festival Beauty" also painted pomegranate and hollyhock in full bloom to decorate the festival, and then set off the picture with red Shandan and Ganoderma lucidum, which is not only lively, but also richer in meaning.

At the same time, auspicious paintings are also varied in specific technical processing (image composition and topic selection methods). Sun's "Portrait of an Eighty-year-old Man" relies on images to prove the problem. The brush smudges a cat looking up at a flying butterfly. Simple composition and vivid expression. You must draw a wonderful sketch.

In Qing Dynasty, Shen Quan painted hibiscus, xuanhua and flower cat in the map of Jide Hongji, and took the homonym of these things to show the meaning of birth. The pen is exquisite, the color is gorgeous, and the cat's modality is vivid, which is worthy of being a masterpiece. Li painted peony, okra and daffodil in Ruitu Baihua Map, with bright colors and unique composition. Look at the title in this picture. "A hundred flowers are rich and long" means good luck. In the first half of Bian Shoumin's "For the Picture of the Qing Dynasty", the long title of the running script is New Year's Eve, which means auspiciousness. In the second half, he painted with pine branches and red coral beads to set off the atmosphere. The layout of the whole painting is appropriate, the style is fresh, elegant but not vulgar. Xu Gu's "Wisteria Goldfish Map" means "Purple Gold Medal". Draw a number of wisteria upside down, with lush foliage and rattan flowers in full bloom; The three-tailed goldfish in the pool under the vine swam to the deep water, which was very lively and lovely. It is made of goldfish with broken strokes, but it is vivid and detached. The branches are dotted with flowers, with vigorous strokes and harmonious and bright colors. Wu Changshuo's The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival is full of auspicious pictures, accompanied by poems and songs. This picture is rich in composition, complex but not chaotic, with a blend of color and ink, calm and bright, and a combination of dry and wet with a pen, which is profound and powerful.

Generally speaking, auspicious paintings conform to the characteristics of the times and personal painting style. In a word, auspicious painting, as a painting style with special significance, also has its own development law, that is, auspicious painting in each period must first adapt to the evolution of the style of the times. For example, auspicious paintings in the Song Dynasty show the style of painting in the Song Dynasty. This is an important problem that must be paid attention to when understanding auspicious paintings, and it is also a problem that must be considered as a painting. The formal factors of painting itself cannot be ignored because of its limited subject matter. The development of auspicious paintings is in line with the development and style evolution of China's paintings.

But there are also paintings that are contrary to the secular auspicious meaning. This is because, in what the literati express, there is always the inherent meaning and desire of the literati. Badashan people's peony and bamboo stone paintings, although similar in subject matter, also painted peony, bamboo and other auspicious things in the traditional sense of China, which cannot be understood as auspicious paintings here. This painting is unique in composition, simple and unrestrained in brushwork and extraordinary in style. Judging from the style and artistic conception, it is not correct to understand it as auspicious painting. Here, the author just uses this to express his feelings, as well as peony, bamboo and so on. Obviously, it has become a form carrier or materialized sustenance of his pen and ink. In this sense, most flower-and-bird paintings in Tu Youyou in the Ming Dynasty also had this situation. Although Xu Wei's flower-and-bird paintings constitute the traditional mascots in people's minds, most of his paintings cannot be understood as auspicious paintings, which are related to the author's life background and emotional world and must be considered in painting. Painting, in Xu Wei's view, is a way to express feelings, and the theme is just a formal emotional expression carrier.

At the same time, it should be pointed out that although a considerable part of flower-and-bird paintings are accompanied by auspicious images, they can not only be understood as auspicious paintings and need to be treated differently. For example, the traditional "Four Gentlemen" painting can't be considered auspicious. Some works used to make friends and reward can of course be regarded as auspicious paintings. For example, in Yuan Dynasty, Ke's Evening Fragrance Festival was written by the author for his friend Gao Chang, just to thank his friends. The picture is painted with bamboo, chrysanthemum, thorns and plagioclase stones, which are combined into an auspicious picture to praise the recipient's noble character. Even so, if his work "Wen Lin Tong Mo Zhu Tu" is regarded as an auspicious picture, it will inevitably be far-fetched. Another example is Li Zhongbin and Zhen Wu's "Mozi Bamboo Book", which is not considered as an auspicious picture, but more importantly, as a carrier for painters to explore techniques. In the painter's view, bamboo and orchid are the objects of pen and ink training.

For this reason, the Nanjing Museum has ten pages of Flower Book, which depicts peony, daffodils, dead trees, lilies, peaches, begonia, wildflowers, chrysanthemums and other flowers and trees with the brushwork of Song Dynasty, Zhao, Cao, Ke, Qian Xuan, Tang Yin and Tao Cheng.