|
Chinese Art
Teacher's Resource
Lesson Plan: Icons and Symbols
Lessons submitted by: Patti Burkhardt
Animal
Symbols:
Grades 3-5
Comparing and contrasting four objects from the Song of Life: Chinese
Art
from the Gow Family Collection.
Sunshine State Standards: VAC121, VAC122, VAD121
Goal:
These various activities will ready Grades PreK-12 students for
their visit to the Naples Art Museum where the Gow
Collection will be explored. Three lessons are included: one each
for Grades PreK-2, Grades
3-5, and Grades 6-12. Additionally, two
on-site lessons are included for use by students while touring the collection
at the museum. They are titled Picture This,
targeted at Grades 9-12, and this one:
Animal Symbols, targeted at Grades 3-5.
Background Information:
Symbolism
in China is a complex system that permeates all aspects of life and
thought. Because of the enormous number of symbols
and their variations, entire studies have been dedicated to their meanings.
Some Chinese believe that natural forces and animals possess spirits
which are represented either in realistic form (birds, reptiles, insects,
etc.) or mythical combinations (the phoenix, dragons, etc.)
Considered the most important symbol, the dragon is highly regarded
and complex. Originally a symbol of rain, fertility, and male vigor,
the dragon possessed the power to navigate between heaven and earth.
Beginning with the Han Dynasty, the dragon became the exclusive symbol
of the Emperor, the Son of Heaven, who was the person who had the power
to mediate between the worldly and the heavenly.
The ancient Chinese showed concern for the structure and form of the
world and the mysterious forces that operated within it. Rocks, mountains,
clouds, water, and other natural forces had their own spirits and are
represented in Chinese art with their own symbols. A great symbolic
picture of the universe in which the world was devised could be reduced
to a miniature symbolic pattern in the design of a holy shrine, the
structure of a palace, the plan of a city, or the layout of a garden.
The Chinese believed in the divinity of nature, and man was a natural
component, not a separate entity, who was to live in harmony with nature.
SELECTED SYMBOLS
- BAT: Good luck
and happiness.
- CLOUDS: Good
fortune and happiness, especially when they have more than one color.
- CRANE: One of
the many symbols of longevity.
- DRAGON: One
of the most complex symbols. From the Han Dynasty on, it is the symbol
of the Emperor or Son of Heaven. Unlike its Western counterpart, the
dragon is a good-natured and benign creature.
- MOUNTAINS: Cosmic
order and permanence.
- PEARL: Purity
and preciousness.
- RAINBOW: Emblem
of marriage.
- STONE: Longevity.
- SWASTIKA: Immortality.
- PHOENIX: The
male phoenix, if represented with the female unicorn and the five
magic beings, is a sign that the land is being ruled by a just king.
Depicted with a dragon, it symbolizes the empress. (http://www.ucf.edu)
Activity:
- Name symbolic
animals in our own culture. (the American eagle, political symbols,
team emblems, advertising logos and so on.) Discuss the meanings of
two or three, for instance: Why would America choose the eagle as
its national symbol? Discuss what a symbol is. Why do people use them?
- Look closely
and find similarities in the animal symbols found in these three artifacts:
the Embroidered Brocade Yoke Collar, the Dragon Robe, and the Pair
of Yellow Velvet Eucharist Covers.
- What animal
symbol was repeated in these works?
- What does the
symbol (dragon) mean in Western culture?
- Do you think
the Chinese symbol is the same or different from ours?
- What might the
meaning be?
- Explain the
Chinese meaning of the dragon. The dragon is the centerpiece of an
elaborate set of images that symbolize the emperor's authority as
an intermediary in the universal order between heaven and earth. The
great and beneficial power of the dragon could be brought to the people
by the good governance of the emperor. How did this belief help to
guide the behavior of the Emperors?
- The pearl within
the dragon's grasp is a symbol of wisdom. Like a worthy emperor, the
dragon always seeks wisdom. Note the time span between the three pieces.
- Look at the
Two Tomb Guardians.
- What kind of
an animal is this?
- Is this the
same as the dragons we have seen before? Why?
- How does this
animal make you feel?
- What might the
purpose of such an animal be?
- Guardians such
as these sat in pairs at the entrance of a tomb to safeguard the deceased.
The tradition of their use may be traced back to the Zhou dynasty
(ca. 1100-256 B.C.), when it was recorded in the rituals of Zhou that
the fang xiang shi, a legendary monster hunter, was responsible
for all exorcisms of evil spirits. Dressed in a black jacket and red
garment covered with a bear's skin, the fang xiang shi would
put on a facemask with four golden eyes and hide in the tomb before
the funeral ceremony takes place. Then brandishing his dagger-ax,
he would strike at the four corners of the tomb to fight and expel
the fang liang---a ghost believed to suck out the brain
of the deceased. Later, people made sculptures of tomb guardians which
could remain on guard for eternity. Thus, they replaced the lively
performance of fang xiang shi exorcisms.(Chang,
2000) What other cultures or groups enclose objects with
their departed loved ones? What are some of these objects? What would
they be good for in the afterlife?
Assessment of
Effort / Perseverance
Rubric
- 4- The
project was continued until it was as complete as the student could
make it; the student gave effort far beyond that required; the student
took pride in going well beyond the requirement.
- 3- The
student worked hard and completed the project, but with a little more
effort it might have been outstanding.
- 2- The
student finished the project, but it could have been improved with
more effort; there was adequate interpretation of the assignment,
but the student neglected the finishing touches; or the student chose
an easy project and did it indifferently.
- 1- The
project was mostly completed with a few loose ends left off; the student
displayed minimum involvement and lackadaisical effort.
- 0- The
student did not adequately finish major portions of the work.
(Here are
related lessons for Grades PreK-2, Grades
3-5, Grades 6-12, and a walk-about called
Picture This, targeted at Grades 9-12.)
|