The meaning of the pattern composed of pine trees and cranes

The pattern of pine trees and cranes symbolizes longevity.

The Chinese people regard pine trees as a symbol of firmness, chastity and longevity.

The crane is considered an auspicious symbol. He is recognized as a first-class literary bird in Chinese history. The Ming and Qing dynasties gave the red-crowned crane the cultural connotation of loyalty, integrity, and high moral character. Civil servants of the first rank embroidered the red-crowned crane on their uniforms, which was listed as an important symbol second only to the dragon and phoenix used exclusively by the royal family. Therefore, people also called the crane the "first-rank bird."

People also regard the crane as a symbol of high officials. An auspicious pattern of a crane standing on a rock at the head of a tide, which is a homophony of "tide" and "chao", symbolizes "one rank in power" like a prime minister; a pattern of cranes flying in the clouds symbolizes "one rank rises high"; The pattern of flying cranes at sunrise symbolizes "the rising sun". ?

In fact, the legendary crane is the red-crowned crane. It is a large wading bird that lives in swamps or shallow water areas. It is often dubbed the "God of Wetlands". It has nothing to do with the pine trees that grow in the mountains and hills. However, because the red-crowned crane has a lifespan of 50 to 60 years, people often paint it together with pine trees as a symbol of longevity. ?

Residents in East Asia use red-crowned cranes to symbolize happiness, luck, longevity and loyalty. It appears frequently in literature and art works from various countries. In the tombs of the Yin and Shang Dynasties, the image of the crane appears in sculptures. Bronze bells and crane-shaped ritual vessels have appeared since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.

Extended information

As early as 2100 years ago, the pattern of the red-crowned crane was clearly painted on the lacquerware unearthed from the Han tombs in Mancheng, Hebei Province. During the reign of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty (156 BC to 143 BC), Lu Qiaoru once wrote "Fu on Crane", which he pointed out at the beginning: the red-crowned crane is a "white bird with a red crown". Lu Ji, a native of Wu in the Three Kingdoms, gave a detailed description in "Mao Shi, Birds, Animals, Insects and Fishes": "It is as big as a goose, with long legs, green wings, more than three feet high, a red top, red eyes, a beak more than four inches long, and many Pure white".

The poets of the Tang Dynasty wrote many sentences about red-crowned cranes. For example, Xue Neng wrote in "Answers to Jia Zhishi's Cranes": "Ruiyu's strange posture and staggering shape are called immortals riding over Qingming." Bai Juyi said in "Chihe": "When you lower your head, you are afraid of the red sand falling, and when you are drying your wings, you are always suspicious of the white snow disappearing." Zhang Bi also has a sentence: "The top of the house is fresh and the hair is docile, and the sand is full of troubles in leisure time."

It can be seen that the ancients believed that the beauty of the red-crowned crane lies in the harmony of its entire body, and the mystery of this beauty is undoubtedly because it also has a wood (zhu) on top of the jade feathers and frost feathers. ) top, cinnabar, looks elegant and romantic, unforgettable. Wang Xiangjin of the Ming Dynasty commented on the red-crowned crane in "Qunfangpu": "The body is clean, so the color is white; the sound is heard from the sky, so the head is red."

And: "The red crown has red eyes, red cheeks and green feet." Red-crowned cranes and most other cranes have bright red exposed skin above the neck. This color is actually a blend of skin color and blood color.

Pine painting art: The pine tree has a masculine beauty, and its branches are soft yet strong. The pine leaves give people a sense of freedom. It is an auspicious tree in the eyes of our nation and a symbol of evergreen and immortality.

Pine trees, some resemble horned dragons, so they are called horned pine trees. Their branches are changeable, straight and straight, and curved and contained, showing the shape of a dragon exploring the green mountains; some are curved and straight, with extraordinary changes. , like a dragon entering the sea; some have giant arms covering the sky, standing tall and resolute, and some have the potential to rise up from the ground and drill into the clouds. Pine trees are one of the most commonly used trees in landscape paintings. They grow in both wilderness and mountain tops.

Pine trees can also be used as the main image. The pine trees that grow in the fertile plains are tall and lush, often reaching into the clouds; those that grow in the gaps between the rocks are often winding and winding like a black dragon. Their most common characteristic is that when they grow to a certain age, their branches no longer grow to high places, but more branches grow horizontally, forming an umbrella shape, "the branches are like a swimming dragon, and the leaves are like a flying phoenix."

To paint pine trees, you must first "move with emotion". Jing Hao, a master of landscape painting in the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, when he saw the graceful pine trees, he "warned out their differences and appreciated them all over."

Tomorrow I will take a pen and copy it, and if there are tens of thousands of copies, it will be true." This "truth" is not the same as taking a photo, but captures the soul of the pine tree. Therefore, it is possible to describe the pine tree's "skin with old moss, soaring scales in the sky", "the power of the cricket, trying to attach itself to the clouds", or "holding knots" "Bend oneself" or "return to the roots to unearth". It is precisely because of Jing Hao's deep affection for pine trees that he was able to observe and study them carefully and realize the wonderful principles of painting pine trees.

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