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The phoenix, which only appears in times of fair and just rulers, is associated with peaceful and happy times. Patricia Bjaaland Welch's book: Chinese Art A Guide to Motifs and Visual Imagery is the source for the art information in this post. She  writes the phoenix is known in China as the king of the birds, but its origins are complex. Today the phoenix is considered to be a combination of several creatures: the head of a pheasant, the body of a duck, the legs of a crane, the tail feathers of a peacock, the mouth of a parrot and the wings of a sparrow.  The female phoenix has a tail with two feathers, and the male has one with five feathers. When a phoenix is paired with another mythological creature,  a dragon, the phoenix automatically becomes the female partner.

Most of you are familiar with this symbol that appears on the early sets made by the Mah-Jongg Sales Company of America,  that was discussed earlier on this blog. It was simply the Chinese Character for the male phoenix.

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Nowadays we call it the Green Dragon, and many of today's players are unaware of this different character that served as the Green at the beginning of the Mahjong craze.

In the earliest days of Chinese art, the phoenix was shown as a striding creature with outstretched wings, up until close to 600 AD, perhaps a bit of a version of this One Bam, though of course this one does not have outstretched wings:

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The jaunty attitude of this bird is enchanting.

The next Chinese Bakelite One Bam features another phoenix, posing with leg raised in a similar way to what we often see with peacock One Bams.

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The two feathers reveals it to be a female. (It is from the personal collection of mahjongmahjong.)

Later on in time, during the Tang Dynasty the phoenix was depicted in flight, and by the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1126) it was shown rising in flight with legs tucked up.

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On the above lovely hanging dating from the Song Dynasty in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, we see the phoenix  on the left; the two feathers indicate a female. Interestingly, the tail does not have the peacock-like look to them we normally see.

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A bit later in time we see the above panel dating from the Ming Dynasty in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The phoenix now looks a lot different, and its tail has the more ornate feathers we expect. Look carefully and you will see four phoenixes.

In yesterday's blog we discussed Five Bats which are symbolic of the Five Blessings: old age, wealth, health, love of virtue and a natural death, an image that frequently appears in Chinese art. The rare dish below was auctioned off at Sothebys. Five bats surround a stylized Shou in the center, and although hard to see the "cavetto," the part of the plate surrounding the center flat part, has three phoenixes. Note they only have two tail feathers, and thus are females.

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Below is a version of a flying phoenix on a Mahjong tile

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It is a female, and she looks it, doesn't she?

Below is the accompanying bird from the same set:

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You can see the similarities to the phoenix, but it really is  a pheasant, indicated by the feathers  that don't resemble those of peacocks.

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The Chinese consider bats to be good luck, and they are symbols of a long life and happiness. In Chinese, the word for "bat" is the same sound as the one for "good fortune." Bats were thought to live for a thousand years.

You will often see a bat on a tile, sometimes readily identifiable and sometimes so stylized it is hard to see. Today we will see a few easily recognizable ones. Many have ears and even whiskers, making them quite endearing.

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The tile above from a Shanghai Luck Set has two bats, one on each side of the Wan. Paired with the peaches on the top and bottom of the tile, the tile augers well for longevity.

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This bat is a bit more stylized, though recognizable. Note the rounded shapes to the left in front of the bat, and to the right behind it, symbolizing clouds.

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The bat on the above tile is one of four flying creature tile Flowers in a set; the other three are birds.

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Above is a similar one from Katherine Hartman's collection. You will notice that each bat is cropped by the tree. The tree, a pine, is another symbol for longevity.

Bats appear in many forms of Chinese art, and they were deemed important from very early days. Here are some captured on robes made for royalty.

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This robe, auctioned off at Sothebys during Asia Week 2014, is an Imperial robe from the 19th Century. You can see a bat flying toward the upper left.

The beautiful robe below was shown by Alan Kennedy in his Asia Week Exhibition : Qing Dynasty Women Concubines & Meiren.

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The bat is flying just above the dragon.

There are some other fabulous robes in the Metropolitan Museum collection.

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The garment above uses peacock feathers twisted into silk thread for the embroidery, a technique dating from the fifth Century. The bat is just over the dragon's head.

A better view of the greens:

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Bats remain important to Chinese culture. Here's a different kind of robe done by the artist Wang Jin in Dreams of China. The pvc robe is embroidered with fishing line to create the patterns.

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Don't forget the bats!

Please email us if you have any recognizable bats in your mahjong collection.

kuanyinart@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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In Chinese art there is no requirement that an object be seen in its entirety, and this idea has existed for hundreds of  years. In landscapes, water scenes with boats, mountains and rock outcroppings with trees often appear, sometimes in simplified form.

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These two tiles are from a Chinese Bakelite set. You can see the boat continues from one tile to the next, but still not seen in its entirety. Notice how a tree trunk is captured on the right tile.

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This special ink and color scroll was painted by Zhang Daqian (Chang Dai-chien) who lived from 1899 until 1963. It is entitled The Bridge to Eternity. You can see a lone fisherman in his boat at the water's edge, with the boat somewhat hidden behind a small projection of the landscape. But objects don't have to be hidden to be simplified:

 

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(This tile is not half of a two tile set)

There is no need to show the whole object if people can figure out what it is.

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Looking at these tiles again you can note how here too boats are somewhat hidden by land outcropping, with trees along the rocky shoreline and mountains. You will see a partial bridge on the lower left tile,  a structure also seen on the Zhang Daqian scroll above.

 

 

 

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From the Metropolitan Museum website:

"Images of nature have remained a potent source of inspiration for artists down to the present day. While the Chinese landscape has been transformed by millennia of human occupation, Chinese artistic expression has also been deeply imprinted with images of the natural world. Viewing Chinese landscape paintings, it is clear that Chinese depictions of nature are seldom mere representations of the external world. Rather, they are expressions of the mind and heart of the individual artists—cultivated landscapes that embody the culture and cultivation of their masters."

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/clpg/hd_clpg.htm

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The artist who carved these bone and ebony tiles created designs similar to those done by other Chinese artists who worked in other media such as watercolors and ink drawing. Objects were captured with a few strokes giving the viewer all necessary clues to know what was depicted.

Here are two works from the Metropolitan Museum of Art:

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The artist has captured the essence of the scene, with a fisherman in a boat halfway up on the left, and two bridges, one in the forefront and one in the center.

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This beautiful work features sailboats in the distance. The boats in each help to fill the void created by the water, fitting in with Chinese design principles.

This from the Metropolitan Museum website describing these works:

"In 1691 Wang Hui, the leading artist of his day, was summoned to Beijing to oversee the creation of a mammoth imperial commission documenting the Kangxi emperor's southern inspection tour of 1689. The painting, consisting of twelve monumental handscrolls, is the largest pictorial work of the Qing dynasty. (The Metropolitan owns one scroll from this set; acc. no. 1979.5.) Since the finished set bears no artists' signatures or seals, it is only through group works such as the Museum's new acquisition that the identity of Wang's artistic team can be established. The album, in which four younger artists from Wang's home region practiced the methods of ancient artists, is a rare example of a master painter's having recruited assistants and shaped their style to conform to the orthodox manner, which epitomized scholarly taste at that time. This academic style became the hallmark of all later Qing court commissions.

The leaf illustrated here, Mountain Waterfall, is by Wang Hui's leading disciple, Yang Jin, who has inscribed it with a poem:

For ten days spring clouds have obscured the stream's source;
In the middle of the night a west wind brings rain to the [mountain's] foot.
But I feel the urgent thunder roar in the empty valley,
So from a distance I know that the myriad gorges are competing in their flows."

Anyone else notice the artist wrote a poem on the painting?  It is just like the carvers who added poems and sayings on many of our Mahjong tiles!

This paraphrase from the Ink Dance Chinese Paintings's website helps to explain the reliance on boats in waterscape scenes:

When painting a landscape scene featuring water, a mountain is the face, buildings on ridges are the eyes and  a fisherman in a boat is the soul. Water becomes charming when it embellishes a mountain; it becomes clear when it has buildings near it; it shows greater perspective when there are boats.

Following are examples of some boats on Mahjong tiles.

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You can see different  boats on these tiles, a sailboat and some small fishing boats.

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A sailboat from The Pung Chow Company

And a small Chinese Bakelite boat

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As collectors and people who want to have a better understanding of images on Mahjong tiles, we look for sets that have something different about them. This set certainly does, including that wonderful One Bam we saw yesterday. You will quickly see the details making the set so unusual, especially in the lower row with the clothing and the facial painting on the third person from the left. The robe of the far left man has several longevity symbols on it, including on the sleeves and lower robe. The third person has spirals on the robe, and the fourth a floral pattern.

Ray Heaton has once again provided translations and an understanding of the story behind these Mahjong tiles.

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"I don't think there's a simple translation directly into English that'd make sense, so I have interpreted a bit.
 
Bottom set are 包公出世, Bao Gong Chu Shi.  
 
I think this translates effectively to 'the Biography of Bao Gong".  Bao Gong is also known as Judge or Justice Bao, Lord Bao and Bao Zheng.
 
Chu Shi (the second two characters) mean "to be born", but looking at other uses of the phrase, it probably means here "...the life of...", hence the translation suggested.
 
There is an opera with the same title"
"Bao Gong lived from the year 999 to 1062 and was a government officer during the reign of Emperor Renzong in the Song Dynasty. Bao consistently demonstrated extreme honesty and uprightness, with actions such as sentencing his own uncle, impeaching an uncle of Emperor Renzong's favourite concubine and punishing powerful families. His appointment from 1057 to 1058 as the prefect of Song's capital Kaifeng, where he initiated a number of changes to better hear the grievances of the people, made him a legendary figure."
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Top set set, 狸貓換子.  Li Mao Huan Zi.  The first two are "Leopard Cat", a small wild cat from Asia.  Third one means "to exchange", and the last one means "child".

 
This is referring to the "Wild Cat Exchanged for Crown Prince" episode (in full, there's one more character for this, 狸貓換太子)."
From Wikipedia:

Wild Cat Exchanged for Crown Prince (狸貓換太子): Bao Zheng met a woman claiming to be the mother of the current Emperor Renzong. Dozens of years ago, she had been Consort Li, an imperial concubine of Emperor Zhenzong's, before falling out of favor for supposedly giving birth to a bloody dead Chinese wild cat. What really happened was a jealous Consort Liu plotting with eunuch Guo Huai to secretly swap Li's infant son with a skinned Chinese wild cat minutes after birth. The infant eventually became Emperor Renzong, but he refused to accept Bao's findings. As Kou Zhu, the palace maid who defied orders to help smuggle the baby to safety, had already died, getting a confession from Guo Huai presented a challenge. With the help of a woman dressed as Kou's ghost, Bao dressed himself as the hell overlord Yama and used Guo's fear of the supernatural and guilt to extract the confession. After the verdict was out, Bao also ordered a set of beatings for the emperor for failing to oblige filial piety; the emperor's Dragon Robe was beaten instead. Eventually Emperor Renzong accepted Consort Li and elevated her as the new Empress Dowager.

To read more about Bao Gong, click here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bao_Zheng

Thank you, Ray!

 

 

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This very thick bone and bamboo mahjong set, not intended for export because of the lack of Western letters and Arabic numbers, has a few touches to delight the player and collector. The chirping bird One Bam is one of them.

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Notice the bird's mouth open in song, the claws wrapped around the branch, and the detail given to the neck and eyes.

The other Bams are rounded, and the Dots vary from the six petaled flower within flower seen on the One Dot, to the six petaled flower within a circle seen on the others.

As often  happens, mahjong tiles were lost over time. The owner of this set, however, was quite industrious; other bone and bamboo mahjong tiles were substituted for missing ones and another was carved. It is believed the other tiles were from another set because only the substituted tiles have pencil written letters and numbers.

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The substituted tile.

 

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Carved tile with S for South.

 

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Carved 8 Bam and North.

 

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An attempt to match the bird in song.

 

 

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This bone and bamboo Mahjong set of Flowers bears studying.

Some of the images are somewhat difficult to really understand but a few come readily to mind.

Ray Heaton has helped with translations of these Mahjong tiles.

"Top row with the green Chinese characters are the Four Noble Professions: 漁樵耕讀, Yu, Qiai, Geng, Dou or Fisherman, to Gather Wood (an abbreviated way of saying Woodcutter), to Plow and Read (or to Study). These represent Fisherman, Woodcutter, Farmer and Scholar.  The images on the tiles representing "tools of the trade".
You can see the fishing creel and line on tile 1, the axe in the lower left corner on tile 2, the rake on tile 3 and symbols of reading and writing on 4. What's also fun is to see other images in the background: the umbrella used to shade the fisherman on 1, the trees, twigs gathered into a bundle and birds on 2, perhaps crops (rice?) growing in the foreground and trees in the background on 3, and what appears to be a lamppost in the back and candle burning on tile 4.
"Bottom row with the red Chinese characters are 琹棋書畫, Qin, Qi, Shu, Hua; these are the Guqin or Zither, Chinese chess or Go, Calligraphy and Painting.  The last character is more like the simplified character 画.  "

These Mahjong tiles also are intriguing. Tile 1 clearly is a musical instrument, but it appears with what looks like a steaming pot on a stand with other pots behind. Tile 2 has a real teapot, mugs and part of a board for the game of Go. Tile 3 looks like an abstract desk used for calligraphy. Tile 4 is quite interesting. Clearly there is an abacus, what looks like a ruler, a building and a pennant. It is very hard to make out what is written on the pennant, but it may be all about pursuing knowledge, as this is what is associated with the work of the scholar. Note the use of the diagonal going from lower left to upper right on all four Mahjong tiles.

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This is a wonderful bone and bamboo Mahjong set, with thick bone tiles. Many of you will remember seeing this Phoenix before.  It probably was the big selling point for the set. Phoenixes were only "seen"in times of good fortune, so they are strongly associated with good luck. This one seems to be quite prideful, with a fabulous strut.

From Wikipedia:
The fenghuang has very positive connotations. It is a symbol of high virtue and grace. The fenghuang also symbolizes the union of yin and yang. Shan Hai Jing's 1st chapter “Nanshang Jing” records each part of fenghuang's body symbolizes a word, the head represents virtue (德), the wing represents duty (義), the back represents propriety (禮), the abdomen says credibility (信) and the chest represents mercy (仁).[4]

In ancient and modern Chinese culture, they can often be found in the decorations for weddings or royalty, along with dragons. This is because the Chinese considered the dragon and phoenix symbolic of blissful relations between husband and wife, another common yin and yang metaphor.

In some traditions it appears in good times but hides during times of trouble, while in other traditions it appeared only to mark the beginning of a new era.[5] In China and Japan it was a symbol of the imperial house, and it represented "fire, the sun, justice, obedience, and fidelity."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fenghuang

The other Mahjong Bams have an unusual quality as well, with a cross between the columnar Bams we saw recently and the more rounded ones we often see.

The One Dots have a lovely plum blossom center, set within a floral outer circle. The remaining Dots have a modern circular look. The Craks have the elaborate Wan and green Arabic numbers with greatly decorative flourishes.

Each flower vase is unique, and each has a different plant. It is believed a scholar's rock is next to each vase. Notice how the plants almost interact with the rocks at their side, with echoing designs on each Mahjong tile. The Flowers have Chinese words for seasons on the left and plants on the right.

The phoenix remains an important symbol in China today. At the Cathedral of St John the Divine, a huge sculpture by Xu Bing is going on display.

http://www.stjohndivine.org/programs/art/upcoming-exhibitions

 

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This continues the discussion of the bone and bamboo Mahjong set from yesterday.

Looking at these antique bone and bamboo Mahjong tiles one is immediately struck by how bold and vivid the colors still are. Red is used for the letters on all tiles except for the Red Dragon, where green is used for contrast. Red letters used for Honors are somewhat unusual, but red is considered by the Chinese to be a good luck color, so it is not surprising to find it here.

From Wikipedia:

"Red, corresponding with fire, symbolizes good fortune and joy. Red is found everywhere during Chinese New Year and other holidays and family gatherings. A red envelope is a monetary gift which is given in Chinese society during holiday or special occasions. The red color of the packet symbolizes good luck. Red is strictly forbidden at funerals as it is a traditionally symbolic color of happiness;[1] however, as the names of the dead were previously written in red, it may be considered offensive to use red ink for Chinese names in contexts other than official seals.

In modern China, red remains a very popular color and is affiliated with and used by the Communist government."

Something about the Green Dragon with its red F (Fa for prosperity) makes it seem almost Christmasy!  The varied carving of the Western letters is fun to look at too.

You can read more from Wikipedia about the symbolism of colors in China here

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The tiles on the left represent the seasons, with the East a peony, West a Chrysanthemum, and South a lotus

From Primaltrek"Because the Buddha is often depicted as seated on a lotus, the lotus is considered a sacred Buddhist symbol (one of Eight Auspicious Symbols) representing purity and detachment from worldly cares.The lotus signifies the seventh month of the lunar calendar.The Chinese word for lotus is lianhua (莲花) or hehua (荷花).  Lian is also the pronunciation of the word for continuous (连) and he is also the pronunciation for the word harmony (和) so the lotus has the hidden meaning of "continuous harmony".A lotus stem and lotus pod shown together symbolize marital harmony and sexual union.Lotus seeds (lianzi 莲 籽) have the hidden meaning of "continuous birth of children" because the lian sounds like "continuous" (连) and the zi has the same pronunciation as the word for son or child (zi 子)."

 

For more about the lotus from Primaltrek, click here 

The Right tiles are also visually interesting. Note how in tile 1 the birds are quite similar to the Chinese , so the 1 almost becomes a bird. On tile 3 we see a pennant which often appears on Mahjong tiles, and a pagoda. And on 4 the small boat among the reeds: the cover of the boat and the reeds echo each other.

Thanks to Ray Heaton we have a translation of the Flowers on the right:

"They are 一統山河, Yi Tong Shan He, which means to "unify the whole country".
 
This could be a reference to the post Qing era where the country was united under the
nationalists, the rise and take over of the country of the communists or (and my preference)
all the way back to the Han dynasty unifying the country after the fall of the Qin."

 

We thank mahjongmahjong for providing these photographs. For more treasures in their collection click here

 

 

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This lovely bone and bamboo mahjong set features a One Bam bird perching on a branch.

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Attention was given to depicting the different feather patterns. You can clearly see the claws holding onto the branch, and a graceful twig echoing the curve of the bird. The other Bams are of the barbed variety and here  they are much more sturdy looking than others. Notice the number of strokes used to make each Bam. There is something that always delights on this type of 8 Bams.

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The Craks have elaborate wans, and green Arabic numbers.

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The One Dot is the flower within a flower, with the outer flower looking like a sunflower, and the other Dots continue the flower pattern. The 2 Dot has eight petals and the rest of the Dots have six. Note the Arabic 5 is carved with a unique style, and the One Dot has a red number and the others have blue ones. This same arrangement is seen on the One Bams. We have seen this on other sets too.

The Winds, Dragons and Flowers will be shown tomorrow.

We thank Mahjongmahjong for sharing these photos with us. To see more of their Mahjong Collection, click here