Author Archives: Kuan Yin

About Kuan Yin

Mah Jong enthusiast

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Met Ma Lin circa 1200

It is finally feeling like spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and thoughts do turn to beautiful flowers; few are more lovely than orchids. The Chinese love orchids, and consider them to be among the four most important plants, the others being bamboo, chrysanthemum and plum blossom. And in China, the orchid is the plant associated with spring.

The ink drawing above is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It is believed to have been done by Ma Lin around 1200. It is not so very different in design from those Mahjong Flower tiles that feature orchids. Today's post will be just a short introduction, with more next week.

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These wood tiles are thought to be French-made, although the words on them are in English. They are very similar to some made by the Galleries Lafayette.  You can see a very stylized orchid in the 3rd row, the third tile from the left.

 

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Above we see a beautiful purple orchid on tile #2, top row.

 

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We end with this beautiful orchid, one of the stars of the orchid show at the New York Botanical Garden.

We thank mahjongmahjong for allowing us the use of the photograph of the lovely Flowers just above this photograph.

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freersacklersunkehong1532-1610This ink drawing of bamboo growing in a pot, done by Sun Kehong who lived from 1532 until 1610, is in the Freer Sackler Collection.  People in China often had bamboo growing in pots in their homes.

 

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On the hand carved Chinese Bakelite set we see above, you'll find bamboo in a pot on tile #4  (see, it is not always 3!) on the top row of Flowers.

 

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And above on these hand carved  bone and bamboo tiles, it's back on tile #3.  You will notice a longevity stone next to each pot, a common pairing .

 

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The somewhat genteel pot with bamboo growing can even be seen on these Imperial tiles which were made in France and have a rubber-like backing and plastic tile face. It is felt that red image to the left is probably a stone.

 

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And here, on the left, the hand-carved bone and bamboo tiles feature bamboo with a longevity stone yet again.

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From the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art we have this beautiful scroll entitled Poetry Cottage, done in 1914. The setting for the house is quite lovely, nestled into the mountainside, surrounded by bamboo. You can almost hear the rustle of the plants as they move with the wind. The spot looks like a perfect place to inspire any artist.

In Chinese art there are many scenes of bamboo and other plants and trees near a house or a window, and those images are seen on our Mahjong tiles too, but might be easily overlooked.

 

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Above we have some hand carved Chinese Bakelite tiles. The lower row has images of ladies, and outside the windows there are plants growing. Look at tile #3. We see bamboo, and we have the corresponding Chinese character right above it.

 

KH

Above is another set of Chinese Bakelite tiles, this time showing eight ladies, some of whom may be dancing or at least the bottom row looks that way. Look at the top row: one lady is looking out her window, and what does she see? A bamboo stalk! Once again it is tile #3, but this is not always the case.

 

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But it is still the case here!

So you can see how these artists worked in the bamboo theme into the scenes on the tiles, so that the four plants representing the four seasons (plum blossom, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum, as seen above in that order ) could be featured on the tiles.

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metfinchesandbamboo1082-1135

From the Metropolitan Museum of Art we have this lovely work of art showing finches and bamboo. The bamboo is strong, growing right out of a rock cliff, yet it has a graceful elegance to it. Bamboo attracts wildlife, and birds often are seen perching and flying between the bamboo stalks.

 

folk art Flowers

Above we see some charming hand carved Mahjong Flowers with a bit of a folk art feel to them. Note the top row #3, a bird flying by a stalk of bamboo! You can recognize the triangles facing the left, the Chinese character for bamboo. What is fun about this type of tile is that it is made of bone and bamboo, so bamboo is present twice, front and back.

 

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Bamboo can even appear on a One Bam, complete with its avian friend. Here we see one carved in  Chinese Bakelite.

 

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And here again from another bone and bamboo Mahjong set, on tile (you guessed it!) #3.

My book, written with Ann Israel, is coming out! To see about the book:

www.mahjonggtheartofthegame.com 

to order the book:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mah-jongg-ann-israel/1118759459?ean=9784805313237

or

amazon.com/gp/product/4805313234/ref=s9_newr_gw_d33_g14_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0VDFGYSYF35F849MH93Q&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1688200382&pf_rd_i=507846

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We'll begin today's post with a close up of a painting in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. You will quickly see cranes in water, some flying and even swooping down(!), and bamboo, that every present plant that means so much to the Chinese. It is said that in China alone, more than 300 varieties of bamboo grow. Some of you know that Bamboo was probably the first material used to make mahjong tiles. Craftsmen took the images that were on paper cards and carved them into the harder bamboo surface. Bamboo was cheap (perhaps even free?) and abundant. It is no surprise it appears so often on Mahjong tiles, sometimes as itself in a pot, and sometimes worked into the scenes on the tiles and boxes.

 

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Above we have the crane and the bamboo stalk, both part of the Bamboo suit, as we all now call it. But calling it bamboo, certainly in the early days of the game, was something of a misnomer. Through the years the suit certainly morphed into looking like bamboo stalks, and thus can properly be called that today, but in the early days it was called String of Cash, close to its original money-based suit inspiration. You may want to read Michael Stanwick's website for more information about the development of the suits.

As many of you already know, bamboo is one of the Four Gentlemen, and is one of the plants frequently appearing on Flower tiles.

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The Flower in the top row, tile #3 is the Bamboo. It is one of the easiest Chinese characters to read, I think.

 

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The above top row #3 tile is also a bamboo, looking very much like we would expect.

From Wikipedia:

"The Four Gentlemen, also called the Four Noble Ones, in Chinese art refers to four plants: the orchid, the bamboo, the chrysanthemum, and the plum blossom.[1][2] The term compares the four plants toConfucianist junzi, or "gentlemen". They are most typically depicted in traditional ink and wash painting and they belong to the category of bird-and-flower painting in Chinese art.

The Four Gentlemen have been used in Chinese painting since the time of the Chinese Song Dynasty (960–1279) because of their refined beauty, and were later adopted elsewhere in East Asia by artists in Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. As they represent the four different seasons (the orchid for spring, the bamboo for summer, the chrysanthemum for autumn, and the plum blossom for winter), the four are used to depict the unfolding of the seasons through the year."

So, the Bamboo Flower tiles we have just seen show us Bamboo growing out of a pot, and a close-up of it growing in the ground.

 

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Above we see a much more simplified bamboo, but recognizable nevertheless. Once again on #3, the lower row of tiles, with a slightly different rendition of the Chinese character.

 

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And here it is again, this time just represented in the Chinese character seen on the #3 tile.

The third and fifth images are from the collection of mahjongmahjong

We end the post by looking at an ink painting of bamboo

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dating from the Ming dynasty, in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. You can easily see the nodes on the stalks, and the simple leaves of the plant, very much like what we see on Mahjong tiles.

The book I wrote with Ann Israel is being published by Tuttle. To see more about it:

www.mahjonggtheartof thegame.com

To order it click here:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mah-jongg-ann-israel/1118759459?ean=9784805313237

or here from Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Mah-Jongg-Collectors-Guide-Tiles/dp/4805313234/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1414844427&sr=8-7&keywords=mah+jongg

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Our last post was about swooping cranes, those often found on One Bam tiles. Now we'll explore standing cranes, more often found in Chinese art and Mahjong.

The crane is both a symbol of longevity and of high rank. As such it is a valued bird in China, and it frequently appears in art.

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Above we see a magnificent hanging panel, in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. The crane is posed on a rock, standing on one foot, looking toward the ruyi shaped (wish granting) clouds. The swirled forms below the rock are waves. When a crane is seen facing the incoming tide, as here, it means

"May you become an official of the first rank and preside at the court. The crane symbolizes the first civil rank. The tide is a pun for court."  Hidden Meanings in Chinese Art by Terese Tse Bartholomew.

 

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This one above, a Flower tile from the collection of Michael Stanwick , features a crane in a position quite similar to the one we just saw above from the Museum. Once again it is posed on a rock, perhaps with very stylized waves below the rock, looking quite a bit like the following photo of a panel dating from the Ming or Qing Dynasty, in the same Boston museum.

 

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On this panel too we have a crane standing on a rock, surrounded by water and flowers.

 

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From another set of tiles we have what probably is a crane, this time near what may be a rock outcropping, enjoying a nice dip in the water. A lotus is seen growing above, right out of the stone. According to Hidden Meanings in Chinese Art by  Terese Tse Bartholomew, a crane paired with a lotus means "may you continuously be promoted to the first rank. The crane symbolizes the first rank. Another name for the lotus is lianhua, a pun for "continuous."

How easy it would have been to overlook that symbolic pairing, those two details on that tiny tile. And that's why it is fun to learn more about these symbols, so that we can better understand all the meanings on these tiles we love.

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Cranes are very important symbols in Chinese art. They are said to represent longevity, a theme near and dear to the Chinese (and many other peoples in the world!). According to Patricia Bjaaland Welch, the phoenix is the king of the birds, but the crane is the #1 bird, symbolizing both status and longevity.  Interestingly, in Chinese art, unlike what we see on our Mahjong tiles, cranes are normally seen standing or flying upwards. When two cranes are seen together, one standing and one flying upward, the one flying up symbolizes the wish for a good position (job).

In hours of searching through books and on the internet, it was almost impossible to find any images of cranes flying downward, other than on Mahjong tiles!  But let's go ahead and enjoy these swooping crane One Bam tile images.

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We are starting off with one of the most beautiful cranes in Mahjong, made of mother-of-pearl,  part of a set belonging to Bill Price. The small thin wafer is mounted to the back of the tile, believed to be horn, by two small gold nails seen diagonally across from each other, top right and bottom left.

 

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Quite close in design to the one above is this pyralin version made by Pung Chow.

 

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A bone and bamboo version, seen above, is from another set.

There are few images of swooping cranes in Chinese art, and we are grateful reader Ray found one

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This lovely plate being auctioned off at Christies shows a swooping crane and a deer, with cranes around the edge of the plate.

Next is another crane that is not actually flying toward the sky:

 

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This plate is in the collection of the Brooklyn Museum, and dates from the Ming Dynasty. Given the presence of two cranes, one on the ground and one in the air, the pairing probably represents good wishes for a good job position. To be truthful, the flying crane is not swooping, but since he does not really look as if he is flying upward, we will count it as another example of a swooping crane in art!!

So we will end this post with two cranes we have seen before:

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the above one (note he has gold "just" like the one we started off with)

 

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and this one by the Fulton Company.

We have gone from the sublime to the ridiculous in this post, and don't we love them all?

 

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la clars republic pd phoenix and peony This lovely porcelain (from Clars Auction House dating from the Republic period) ) shows us a phoenix (actually there are a couple you can see, one is hidden on the far right) standing near a peony, a common theme on porcelains.

 

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Another standing phoenix with peony, this time from Christies.

But here we have a lovely French Ivory standing phoenix, with peony, sent to us by reader Laurie!

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It's a lot of detail to fit on one small tile.

 

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This fabulous Mahjong box is inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Isn't it magnificent? You will notice the two phoenixes up at the top, surrounding an irregular round shaped object. I would venture to guess that the brass is a stylized peony. Peony brass hardware similar to that is still made today, so it may not be as wild a guess as it would seem! On top of the brass, of course, is a bat. The bat also appears on the bottom of the cabinet, probably between two plum blossoms. Plum blossoms can be recognized by their five petals.

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The above tile has one of the most delightful images we see on One Bams:  a phoenix with a peony. Their pairing is important because the phoenix is the king of the birds, and the peony the king of the flowers.

In Chinese art the image of a soaring phoenix holding a peony is rare, and to date I have not been able to find one. What I have found is a soaring phoenix approaching peonies. Following is a detail of a porcelain screen offered by Ruby Auctioneers

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and here you can see the phoenix in flight, flying among butterflies and a possible sparrow, approaching a peony.

 

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Another porcelain from the Lucas collection, shows us a phoenix in flight, yet again approaching a peony.

 

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The above vase from John Nicholson shows a phoenix between two peonies.

 

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Here we see the phoenix mid-flight, with a peony in her mouth. The simplicity of the design goes beautifully with the simple though elegant other Bams. The set was made of Resopal by the German Company Hein Plastics in the 1970s, and is similar to the set made in the 1920s or 1930s with the phoenix, seen in the top photograph.

The top phoenix is in the Katherine Hartman collection, and the bottom tray of Bams is in Tony Watson's collection. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Tony's collection, and those of you who would like to peruse it again, you can find it here. Tony pointed out on his website how similar the two phoenixes, the old and the new, are.

 

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KH

This is a spectacular lacquer Mahjong box. Notice the fabulous dragon on the right, with his open mouth trying to get the flaming "pearl." The phoenix is on the left, with her head just below her feet, facing toward the dragon. This Mahjong box has been beautifully and elaborately painted, using mostly gold and silver paint, with delicate brushstrokes and great detail.

 

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This photo of a porcelain at Frank Marshall shows the dragon and phoenix together too.  The dragon is guarding the top of the vessel, and the rounded forms below him show he is in the clouds. The phoenix is on the lower half, with her beautiful flowing tail, and she's seen flying over the water and the waves (the triangular shapes.) Once again we see the flames, those bright orange squiggles.

 

michaans Auctions Republic period

These porcelain tiles above, offered by Michaan's, have our beloved pairing again. This time two different dragons are seen with the phoenix, although the phoenix has not changed much. The flaming "pearl" is in the central position again, and stylized clouds surround our couple. Once again,  triangular waves are seen at the bottom of the tiles.

 

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Above is another delightful dragon One Dot and Phoenix One Bam, different yet from the ones the other day. You have to look really carefully to see the dragon's head, on the circle's lower right side, his mouth open to catch the flaming "pearl." The phoenix has a wonderful perky look, with her one leg raised as is often seen on Mahjong One Bams.

 

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We end this post with these two beautiful tiles from a set that was broken up years ago. You can see the phoenix on the left, representing the Green Dragon, looking quite the lovely female. The dragon, her leonine husband, is the Red Dragon, soaring in the sky near the flaming "pearl," partly hidden by those rounded clouds similar to what we have been seeing on the other forms of art.

The above tiles and the lacquer box are in Katherine Hartman's collection. The Chinese Bakelite tiles are from the collection of Michael Stanwick:

www.themahjongtileset.co.uk

As always, if you have photographs or write-ups about Mahjong you would like to share, please email me at

kuanyinart@gmail.com

 

The book I wrote with Ann Israel is being published by Tuttle. To see more about it:

www.mahjonggtheartof thegame.com

To order it click here:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mah-jongg-ann-israel/1118759459?ean=9784805313237

or here from Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Mah-Jongg-Collectors-Guide-Tiles/dp/4805313234/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1414844427&sr=8-7&keywords=mah+jongg