In China there was a belief that the whole Earth was on the back of a giant turtle. The giant turtle (or sometimes fish) ‘Ao’ features in some creation myths. We also have the explanation of how the rather strange Chinese calendar determines dates on festivals.Ī date for your new diary: Chinese New Year for 2022 is on Tuesday 1st February, a year of the Ox.
#Animal s bair art full
We have a full set of calendars on this web site showing all the public holidays and festivals in 20. In a state of feverish activity and excitement. The ant is rarely portrayed symbolically in works of art. Although hard-working it is considered self-interested and so is sometimes used proverbially for selfishness. The black ant is considered useful as it attacks the dreaded white ant (termite) 白蚁 bái yǐ which eats away at anything wooden. The second part of the name (yi) means righteous, denoting its apparent display of Confucian virtue which sounds the same as 义 (old form 義) yǐ ‘respectful manner’. Here are some animals that are noted for their symbolism in Chinese art: Animal Ant Ao Badger Bat Bear Bee Butterfly Carp Cat Centipede Cicada Crab Deer Dog Donkey Dragon Dragonfly Elephant Fish Fox Gecko Glow worm Hare Horse Lion Monkey Ox Panther Pig Rat Rhinoceros Sheep Snake Spider Tiger Toad Tortoise Unicorn WolfĪnts are hard-working and well-ordered. In the theory of five elements of nature each of the five classes of animals are associated with a compass direction dragon: east phoenix: south unicorn: west turtle: north and humans: center.Īnother set of five animals are the five noxious creatures: snake, centipede, scorpion (or spider), gecko (or lizard) and toad. Glazed animal sculptures on the palace roof of the Forbidden City, BeijingĪnimals are traditionally classified into five groups: scaled animals are led by the dragon, naked creatures by man, furry animals by the unicorn, feathered birds by the phoenix and shelled creatures by the turtle.