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Chinese Art
Teacher's Resource
Lesson Plan: Icons and Symbols
Lessons submitted by: Patti Burkhardt

Dragon Puppet
Grades PreK-2
Sunshine State Standards: VAA111, VAA112, VAA113, VAA114, VAB111, VAC112

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 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/~oma/lesside3.htm)

The Chinese dragon was a divine bringer of rain, necessary for the good of all. The dragon was also a symbol of the good emperor whose wisdom and divine power assured the well-being of his subjects. Many legends draw connections between the dragon and the emperor. Some emperors even claimed to have descended from the dragon. For others, dragons were special protectors.

Chinese dragons could make themselves as large as the universe or as small as a silkworm. They could also change color and disappear in a flash. Dragons were rarely seen because they cleverly hid in caves burrowed into lofty mountains or coiled up on the bottom of the deepest seas. Any sight of a dragon boded well; it meant that heaven was letting the people know that their ruler was doing a good job. Obviously, rulers were eager to hear of any reports of dragons in their domain. (http://www.artsMIA.org)

A Chinese dragon is the sum of many parts: its head is said to be shaped like a camel's; it has magic creature eyes, fins, horns, pointed beard, tusks; a snake's neck, fish scales, belly of a clam, eagle's claws, and the paws of a tiger.

Objective:
The student will complete a dragon puppet.

Materials:
pencils, Kraft paper bags, 9" x 12" color construction paper (assorted for legs, tail, and details), red and orange tissue paper, scissors, tempera paint, oil pastels, glue, pipe cleaners, plastic wiggle eyes (may substitute with paper circles)

Teacher Preparation:
Gather examples of Chinese dragon images. Walk through the process prior to instruction and have completed a teacher-made example of a dragon puppet.

Activity Description:

1. Students will listen to teacher presentation about the attributes of Chinese dragons before they explore their own interpretations.
2. Students will make a dragon puppet using a standard paper bag. The mouth of the dragon can be achieved by folding the bottom of the bag in half.
3. Students will paint the entire body of the dragon first using tempera paint. The face of the dragon can be three-dimensional through cutting, folding, and gluing construction paper to the bag.
4. The students should be sure to include all of the attributes of the dragon.

Suggested resources:
Culture Smart, Susan Rodriguez, Prentice Hall, 1999, pp.5-6.

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; 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 3-5 and Grades 6-12.)