Decoded Messages: The Symbolic Language of Chinese Animal Painting
Hou-Mei Sung
During the Ming Dynasty numerous new animal themes were created to convey political and ethical messages current at court. As the result a sophisticated language of Chinese animal painting was developed, employing both the animals’ symbolic associations and homonymic puns. Hou-mei Sung’s exciting rediscovery of some of these lost meanings has led to a full-scale investigation of the evolving history of Chinese animal painting.
Distinct symbolic meanings were associated with individual motifs, but all animals were assigned a place in the universe according to the Chinese concept of nature. From the very early yin/yang cosmology to later developments of Daoist ... Read more
Exhibition Schedule:
Cincinnati Museum of Art (October 2009 – February 2010)
Show LessProduct Details
About Hou-Mei Sung
Reviews for Decoded Messages: The Symbolic Language of Chinese Animal Painting