Confucianism and Daoism
My primary areas of research are exploring how Confucianism and Daoism are relevant to our contemporary world. I frequently present in both the United States and China on this topic. My work is removed from Confucianism and Daoism as an historic religious practice, and rather focuses on the significance of Confucian and Daoist values as an ethical or moral guide today. My work has been heavily influenced by my Confucian teachers including Roger T. Ames of the University of Hawai'i at Manoa and Peking (Beijing) University. Tian Chenshan of Beijing Foreign Studies University, and Henry Rosemont, Jr. of Brown University. The foundation of their wisdom has been an inspiration in the classes I teach, my publications, and my continued study of the Daodejing, the Analects of Confucius, Mengzi (Mencius), and related writings. The following are examples of my current work and writing.
Becoming Confucian in today's worldThe Master said, “Having studied, to then repeatedly apply what you have learned – is this not a source of pleasure? To have friends come from distant quarters – is this not a source of enjoyment? To go unacknowledged by others without harboring frustration – is this not the mark of an exemplary person (junzi).” (1.1 The Analects of Confucius. Ames and Rosemont 71)
This first of the analects or teachings of Kong Fuzi, better known as Confucius, is probably one of the most often quoted passages and the beginning of any class or course on Confucianism. This first analect speaks of the importance of education, friendship and appropriate behavior; surely the foundation of a Confucian person. But what is a Confucian person? What does it really mean to follow the teachings of a man who lived 2,500 years ago? Do the teachings of Confucius still hold any meaning or relevance to contemporary society in either China or the rest of the world?. |
Daoism and the enviornmentThe Daodejing is the foundation of Daoism while the Lunyu, or the Analects of Confucius, is the central text for Confucianism. Both classic Chinese texts emphasize working toward a harmony with nature without the assumption of man set above plants, animals, mountains, water and other aspects of nature; rather man is a part of this greater whole. This position challenges the western view of man’s superiority or dominion over nature and explores specific references in both classic texts that reinforce this idea of man being simply part of the natural world. This positon also explores parallels and similarities between Native American beliefs and spiritual practices as compared to ancient Chinese philosophical texts such as the Daodejing and the Lunyu. In particular can Chinese or Eastern philosophical thinking influence contemporary sustainable environmentally responsible attitudes? Are the philosophical concepts in the Dao De Jing and the Analects of Confucius relevant to environmentalists and ecocritics today?
|
Women hold up half the skyAlthough for many years China has been viewed as a patriarchal male-dominated culture, this wasn’t always so. Often the patriarchy has been blamed on Confucianism. Perhaps later permutations of Confucianism were indeed patriarchal and subjugated women particularly in the Song and later dynasties, but the original classic text of the teachings of Kongzi, or Confucius, is distinctly gender-neutral for the most part. Even earlier the Dao De Jing contains many passages that celebrate the balance of male and female, yin and yang; with a clear indication that both are co-relational and interdependent. Indeed that an imbalance ensues when one dominates the other or is subject to domination. Both are necessary to each other.
|
Texts and Translations: Understanding and Reciprocity
Pamela G. Herron
March 30, 2012
18th Annual Asian Studies Development Program Conference
For those of us who are monolingual or not sufficiently fluent in another language, we rely upon the expertise of translators for interpreting texts. Good translations open windows to other concepts, literatures and cultures. Bad or inadequate translations may be better than no translation at all, but in many cases they can be responsible for misunderstandings and misinterpretations. For example, if two or three translations of the Dao De Jing are read side by side, the reader could be excused for thinking they are translations of entirely different texts.
At the Nishan Confucius Summer Institute in July 2011, the participants had firsthand experience in understanding the importance of sensitive translation, the difficulty of trying to capture the true meaning and intention of the original text, and the subjectivity of the entire task of not only translation, but the holistic aspect of attempting to understand significant texts in another language for another culture. Some scholars have argued that translation is a science, others an art. I would venture to say it is more closely related to craftsmanship. Douglas Robinson says, "translation is an intelligent activity involving complex processes of conscious and unconscious learning”(p.49. He continues with, "translation is an intelligent activity, requiring creative problem-solving in novel, textual, social, and cultural conditions" (p.51).
Aiwei Shi, a professional translator and faculty at Xinzhou Teachers University, Shanxu China says:
Translation is communication. When the translation causes trouble in understanding or results in zero communication, it is a failure. . . . What causes such failure: one is a misconception that translation is a word-for-word process whereas the other is the translator’s blindness to cultural differences. Translation does not only happen intra-linguistically but inter-linguistically. It is natural that different languages entail different cultures behind it. Without such consciousness and appropriate cultural knowledge it would be no surprise that communication failed.
Our hope and our task at the first Nishan Confucius Summer Institute was to acquire cultural knowledge and achieve meaningful communication. Our texts were ancient writings of Chinese philosophy, ethics and spirituality. Our partners were young Chinese scholars who were as eager as we were to understand, to gain knowledge and to effectively communicate
This past summer our constant companion was The Analects of Confucius: A Philosophical Translation by Roger T. Ames of University of Hawai’i Manoa and Henry Rosemont, Jr. of Brown University. Daily we immersed ourselves in the Analects. Our Chinese partner scholars carried electronic dictionaries, I had my battered well-traveled Oxford Chinese-English Dictionary and daily we struggled to identify, process and genuinely comprehend and internalize the meaning of individual Analects and the Analects and other texts as a foundation and influence on China and Chinese culture. Although I was familiar with the Ames/Rosemont text, I gained a new appreciation of their task of translating and interpreting the Analects.
Chinese is a concept based language without an alphabet. Each character is freighted with meaning that can alter or be enhanced by its juxtaposition with other characters. One day we spent nearly an hour on the seven words contained in Analect 6.25 and we all learned that a gu, a bronze ritual vessel. A gu might refer to important traditions and rituals (Analect 6.25) or it might be an instruction for those who aspire to be junzi or exemplary persons (Analect 2.12). The gu might even be a metaphor for a trusted and respected disciple like Zigong (Analect 5.4).
Having the translators Drs. Ames and Rosemont as our instructors was immensely helpful and they were encouraging and open to the participating scholars to discover and interpret our own meaning to the Analects. We sometimes found in our group discussions that we didn’t always agree with each other. We didn’t always agree with Ames and Rosemont’s translation, but that all became part of our discovery and personal understanding and appreciation of the Analects.
Dr. Chenshan Tian, Director of the Center for East-West Relations at Beijing Foreign Studies University, the third member of our faculty had a unique and difficult task. His lectures gave us a Chinese perspective on approaching the Analects and Confucianism. In their book of the Analects, Roger Ames and Henry Rosemont gave as faithful a translation as possible, especially considering that their primary audience are English speakers and come from a Western tradition. But Professor Tian read and understood the Analects in Chinese and his interpretation was that of a person steeped in Chinese culture. It was evident from the beginning that the Chinese scholars immediately understood and accepted the concepts Professor Tian presented while the Western scholars struggled to grasp the subtle cultural differences that affected interpretation and understanding. We don’t come from the same cultural background or context. It was evident we were not all approaching the Analects in the same way.
Professor Tian received his Ph.D. from the University of Hawai’i Manoa and was a student of Roger Ames. We found that even his interpretation of some of the theories and concepts developed by Roger Ames were filtered through his experience as a Chinese student, a Chinese scholar and, later, as a university professor. His approach was essential for bridging communication with the young Chinese scholars, many of whom had been his students at Beijing Foreign Studies University.
Li Hsiang Lisa Rosenlee, in her book Confucianism and Women: A Philosophical Interpretation said:
In the same way, without a genuine understanding of Chinese culture, [this] reflects more the assumptions that Western observers have in organizing the world and in making the world of others intelligible to themselves than the reality. . . .
As individuals and as a group we made a concerted effort to remain a learning community throughout the Institute. Each of us, Chinese and Westerners, faculty and scholars, realized the value and importance of what we aimed to accomplish at Nishan. As Mem Fox once said:
Most of us think we know what reading is. . . . Reading is being able to make sense from the marks on the page. . . . Reading is getting the message.
I think after the end of our month at Nishan, we got the message.
Authors Kam-por Yu, Julia Tao and Philip Ivanhoe in their book Taking Confucian Ethics Seriously point out that many studies of Confucianism strive to learn about a culture instead of approaching study with the intention to learn from the culture. The model at the Nishan Confucius Summer Institute was to learn about, and to learn from the teachings of Confucius. This is a subtle but significant difference. Yes, learning about Confucius does indeed help us in the West to learn more about China, its history and its culture, but much more important is the fact that there is much to learn from the study of these ancient texts especially if we treat them as a documentation of ethics, a way of life and appropriate behavior for all.
All of us attended the Institute which was in an isolated rural area of Shandong Province. Being outside an urban area reduced the distractions. Nishan fed us local food from gardens and crops actually on the grounds and from nearby farms. Some food was unexpected including this local delicacy of fried locusts which the local people would catch at dusk.
Field trips were coordinated for our group including visits to what is said to be the birthplace of Confucius at Nishan. We visited Confucian classrooms and a Confucian ballet. Musicians performed traditional instruments and young musicians from Taiwan visited Nishan. We participated in recreated Confucian ceremonies. We saw cultural relics both manmade and natural. We visited the famed Tai Shan or Mount Tai, one of the most famous landmarks in China.
But some of the most significant elements of the Institute for me happened outside the walls of Nishan. It was the opportunity to mingle with the local people. My husband and I try to avoid traveling like American sheep in a pack with a tour guide. I reveled in being able to stroll the streets and lanes of a nearby village. For some of our contacts, we became the first non-Chinese faces they had ever seen. But they welcomed us to their village and into their homes. They were as curious about us as we were about them. They put us to work. We used our fractured Chinese and warm smiles to communicate. We laughed together. And as we said goodbye to Nishan and the land of Confucius we realized that although our languages are different, our cultures are different; we are all still people and we are all connected.
References
Fox, Mem. Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever. Harcourt. New York. 2001.
Li-Hsiang, Lisa Rosenlee. Confucianism and Women: A Philosophical Interpretation (Suny Series in Chinese Philosophy and Culture) (E-book] http://www.sunypress.edu/p-4263-confucianism-and-women.aspx
Ordudari, Mahmoud. “Good Translation: Art, Craft, or Science?” http://www.translationdirectory.com/articles/article1589.php
Robinson, Douglas. (1997). Becoming a translator: an accelerated course. London: Routledge.
Shi, Aiwei. “Causes of Failure in translation and strategies.” http://www.translationdirectory.com/article129.htm
Pamela G. Herron
March 30, 2012
18th Annual Asian Studies Development Program Conference
For those of us who are monolingual or not sufficiently fluent in another language, we rely upon the expertise of translators for interpreting texts. Good translations open windows to other concepts, literatures and cultures. Bad or inadequate translations may be better than no translation at all, but in many cases they can be responsible for misunderstandings and misinterpretations. For example, if two or three translations of the Dao De Jing are read side by side, the reader could be excused for thinking they are translations of entirely different texts.
At the Nishan Confucius Summer Institute in July 2011, the participants had firsthand experience in understanding the importance of sensitive translation, the difficulty of trying to capture the true meaning and intention of the original text, and the subjectivity of the entire task of not only translation, but the holistic aspect of attempting to understand significant texts in another language for another culture. Some scholars have argued that translation is a science, others an art. I would venture to say it is more closely related to craftsmanship. Douglas Robinson says, "translation is an intelligent activity involving complex processes of conscious and unconscious learning”(p.49. He continues with, "translation is an intelligent activity, requiring creative problem-solving in novel, textual, social, and cultural conditions" (p.51).
Aiwei Shi, a professional translator and faculty at Xinzhou Teachers University, Shanxu China says:
Translation is communication. When the translation causes trouble in understanding or results in zero communication, it is a failure. . . . What causes such failure: one is a misconception that translation is a word-for-word process whereas the other is the translator’s blindness to cultural differences. Translation does not only happen intra-linguistically but inter-linguistically. It is natural that different languages entail different cultures behind it. Without such consciousness and appropriate cultural knowledge it would be no surprise that communication failed.
Our hope and our task at the first Nishan Confucius Summer Institute was to acquire cultural knowledge and achieve meaningful communication. Our texts were ancient writings of Chinese philosophy, ethics and spirituality. Our partners were young Chinese scholars who were as eager as we were to understand, to gain knowledge and to effectively communicate
This past summer our constant companion was The Analects of Confucius: A Philosophical Translation by Roger T. Ames of University of Hawai’i Manoa and Henry Rosemont, Jr. of Brown University. Daily we immersed ourselves in the Analects. Our Chinese partner scholars carried electronic dictionaries, I had my battered well-traveled Oxford Chinese-English Dictionary and daily we struggled to identify, process and genuinely comprehend and internalize the meaning of individual Analects and the Analects and other texts as a foundation and influence on China and Chinese culture. Although I was familiar with the Ames/Rosemont text, I gained a new appreciation of their task of translating and interpreting the Analects.
Chinese is a concept based language without an alphabet. Each character is freighted with meaning that can alter or be enhanced by its juxtaposition with other characters. One day we spent nearly an hour on the seven words contained in Analect 6.25 and we all learned that a gu, a bronze ritual vessel. A gu might refer to important traditions and rituals (Analect 6.25) or it might be an instruction for those who aspire to be junzi or exemplary persons (Analect 2.12). The gu might even be a metaphor for a trusted and respected disciple like Zigong (Analect 5.4).
Having the translators Drs. Ames and Rosemont as our instructors was immensely helpful and they were encouraging and open to the participating scholars to discover and interpret our own meaning to the Analects. We sometimes found in our group discussions that we didn’t always agree with each other. We didn’t always agree with Ames and Rosemont’s translation, but that all became part of our discovery and personal understanding and appreciation of the Analects.
Dr. Chenshan Tian, Director of the Center for East-West Relations at Beijing Foreign Studies University, the third member of our faculty had a unique and difficult task. His lectures gave us a Chinese perspective on approaching the Analects and Confucianism. In their book of the Analects, Roger Ames and Henry Rosemont gave as faithful a translation as possible, especially considering that their primary audience are English speakers and come from a Western tradition. But Professor Tian read and understood the Analects in Chinese and his interpretation was that of a person steeped in Chinese culture. It was evident from the beginning that the Chinese scholars immediately understood and accepted the concepts Professor Tian presented while the Western scholars struggled to grasp the subtle cultural differences that affected interpretation and understanding. We don’t come from the same cultural background or context. It was evident we were not all approaching the Analects in the same way.
Professor Tian received his Ph.D. from the University of Hawai’i Manoa and was a student of Roger Ames. We found that even his interpretation of some of the theories and concepts developed by Roger Ames were filtered through his experience as a Chinese student, a Chinese scholar and, later, as a university professor. His approach was essential for bridging communication with the young Chinese scholars, many of whom had been his students at Beijing Foreign Studies University.
Li Hsiang Lisa Rosenlee, in her book Confucianism and Women: A Philosophical Interpretation said:
In the same way, without a genuine understanding of Chinese culture, [this] reflects more the assumptions that Western observers have in organizing the world and in making the world of others intelligible to themselves than the reality. . . .
As individuals and as a group we made a concerted effort to remain a learning community throughout the Institute. Each of us, Chinese and Westerners, faculty and scholars, realized the value and importance of what we aimed to accomplish at Nishan. As Mem Fox once said:
Most of us think we know what reading is. . . . Reading is being able to make sense from the marks on the page. . . . Reading is getting the message.
I think after the end of our month at Nishan, we got the message.
Authors Kam-por Yu, Julia Tao and Philip Ivanhoe in their book Taking Confucian Ethics Seriously point out that many studies of Confucianism strive to learn about a culture instead of approaching study with the intention to learn from the culture. The model at the Nishan Confucius Summer Institute was to learn about, and to learn from the teachings of Confucius. This is a subtle but significant difference. Yes, learning about Confucius does indeed help us in the West to learn more about China, its history and its culture, but much more important is the fact that there is much to learn from the study of these ancient texts especially if we treat them as a documentation of ethics, a way of life and appropriate behavior for all.
All of us attended the Institute which was in an isolated rural area of Shandong Province. Being outside an urban area reduced the distractions. Nishan fed us local food from gardens and crops actually on the grounds and from nearby farms. Some food was unexpected including this local delicacy of fried locusts which the local people would catch at dusk.
Field trips were coordinated for our group including visits to what is said to be the birthplace of Confucius at Nishan. We visited Confucian classrooms and a Confucian ballet. Musicians performed traditional instruments and young musicians from Taiwan visited Nishan. We participated in recreated Confucian ceremonies. We saw cultural relics both manmade and natural. We visited the famed Tai Shan or Mount Tai, one of the most famous landmarks in China.
But some of the most significant elements of the Institute for me happened outside the walls of Nishan. It was the opportunity to mingle with the local people. My husband and I try to avoid traveling like American sheep in a pack with a tour guide. I reveled in being able to stroll the streets and lanes of a nearby village. For some of our contacts, we became the first non-Chinese faces they had ever seen. But they welcomed us to their village and into their homes. They were as curious about us as we were about them. They put us to work. We used our fractured Chinese and warm smiles to communicate. We laughed together. And as we said goodbye to Nishan and the land of Confucius we realized that although our languages are different, our cultures are different; we are all still people and we are all connected.
References
Fox, Mem. Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever. Harcourt. New York. 2001.
Li-Hsiang, Lisa Rosenlee. Confucianism and Women: A Philosophical Interpretation (Suny Series in Chinese Philosophy and Culture) (E-book] http://www.sunypress.edu/p-4263-confucianism-and-women.aspx
Ordudari, Mahmoud. “Good Translation: Art, Craft, or Science?” http://www.translationdirectory.com/articles/article1589.php
Robinson, Douglas. (1997). Becoming a translator: an accelerated course. London: Routledge.
Shi, Aiwei. “Causes of Failure in translation and strategies.” http://www.translationdirectory.com/article129.htm
Translation and Transformation in Yulin Wang's Boya Haogu: Time Space Legacy
by Pamela Herron
Esplanade Arts & Heritage Centre
Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada
Exhibition September 29 - November 17, 2018
(copy from gallery publication)
A work of art is in effect an act of translation. Artists have an idea, a vision, a concept; but for this to become art they must render the intangible into a visual tangible experience. They bring to this their training, their craftsmanship, their body of work. We, the viewers, are participants as we interpret and appreciate the art. Since we also bring our own experiences to the viewing, each viewer translates the art once again.
At first glance, Yulin Wang’s work may appear to be strictly representational, but it holds much more meaning than that. Early in the twentieth century, the German philosopher Martin Heidegger explored the idea that objects change into things when they no longer serve their original function. This “thingness of things” frequently has been applied to art. Unquestionably the vases, cups, plates, and vessels you view in the works created by Yulin Wang once served a useful, ritual, or decorative function, but these paintings compel us to view them as two-dimensional art irrespective of their original intended use. By selectively painting in painstaking detail every minute element of each piece, Yulin has captured their essence and offers us an opportunity to contemplate these works with a fresh contemporary view. Heidegger’s idea of the “thingness of things” has been discussed by many regarding[JM1] the miracles attributed to Thomas Becket or Saint Thomas of Canterbury. This “thingness of things” theory has been applied to the arts from Samuel Beckett’s plays and screenplays to Andy Warhol’s Pop Art repetition of everything from soup cans to iconic imagery. The images you see in this exhibition co-exist, transformed from their original purpose. The actual antique Qing and Ming vessels live on in Wang’s personal collection, but his interpretation, or translation, of them allows the viewer to bring them into their own experience.
In this new exhibition, Bogu Haogu: Time Space Legacy, Yulin Wang brings together his love and appreciation of Ming and Qing Chinese porcelain and his skill and knowledge as an experienced artist and academic. He captures on canvas the timelessness and fragility of these exquisite antiques from his collection. His detailed paintings give us a two-dimensional view of selected individual pieces, many originally created by official kilns for imperial use. His translation of the design details to canvas gives us an opportunity to experience these works in yet another medium.
Chinese porcelain holds its own vocabulary. Some motifs are obvious such as Chinese characters for longevity, but others are more subtle. Clouds, colonies of bats, twining flowers, and other symbols all hold specific meaning[JM2] . The word for bat (fú 蝠) sounds the same as the word for auspiciousness, so although bats are associated with witchcraft or Halloween in many Western cultures, the bats that dance around the flare of a Chinese plate or cup, were considered symbols of good fortune, as are clouds. The word for clouds (yún云) sounds similar to a word for good fortune. The dragon representing the male, often the emperor, and the phoenix representing the female, come in pairs. A pair of birds also reference courtship or marriage so a pair of cranes may mean a long and harmonious marriage.
Some colors and designs were unique to the Jingdezhen craftsmen creating pieces which were intended for use only within the emperor’s household. As laypersons, we may see these pieces as just beautiful vessels or plates, but to the collector and connoisseur each piece holds layers of Chinese history and culture. These decorative features combine and enhance the depth and significance of each and every object. Yulin’s rendering of these symbols and the works themselves into yet another opportunity for appreciation and understanding.
My husband and colleague, Albert Wong, and I have translated Chinese poetry in the past, but working with Yulin on his first book of Ming and Qing porcelain was our first experience collaborating on a full-length book translation project. The resulting two books, The Art of Chinese Porcelain of the Ming and Qing Dynasties and The Art of Ming and Qing Porcelain: Commentary from an Avid Collector catalogue an extensive and diverse collection of unique pieces. The Ming Dynasty began in the fourteenth century, then gave way to the Qing Dynasty in the seventeenth century which lasted until the early twentieth century. It is astounding that these fragile Ming and Qing pieces, some as delicate as an eggshell, have survived. Their luminous beauty shines forth for a new generation in Yulin’s written work and now is captured and illuminated in this painting series.
Translation is an intricate craft which involves staying true to meaning and intent of the original language, while at the same time conveying and clarifying that same meaning and intent in the target language. Translation is by no means as simple as word for word translation, which is virtually impossible to do when translating from Chinese to English. So too is this true with Yulin’s paintings. At first glance, one might assume that the artist is attempting a photo-realistic rendition of a three-dimensional object, but these paintings are much more than that. Even the act of painting on canvas a three-dimensional subject requires choices to be made; the power to select the detail, the quality of light, a luminescence to be portrayed. Yulin’s matte background throws into vivid relief the exquisite elements of the original porcelain and bronze. We hold with our eyes what was once held in the hands of emperors.
The title of this exhibition, Bogu Haogu, might be translated as “expansive antiquity” and this indeed highlights these treasures of Chinese pottery culture. Yulin Wang’s paintings lift these porcelain and bronze works to an expanded dimension where they can no longer be considered solely as objects, simply as bowls, or plates, or vessels from an historic time and place. These iconic relics of imperial life in China glow with new life on the canvasses of Yulin Wang.
by Pamela Herron
Esplanade Arts & Heritage Centre
Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada
Exhibition September 29 - November 17, 2018
(copy from gallery publication)
A work of art is in effect an act of translation. Artists have an idea, a vision, a concept; but for this to become art they must render the intangible into a visual tangible experience. They bring to this their training, their craftsmanship, their body of work. We, the viewers, are participants as we interpret and appreciate the art. Since we also bring our own experiences to the viewing, each viewer translates the art once again.
At first glance, Yulin Wang’s work may appear to be strictly representational, but it holds much more meaning than that. Early in the twentieth century, the German philosopher Martin Heidegger explored the idea that objects change into things when they no longer serve their original function. This “thingness of things” frequently has been applied to art. Unquestionably the vases, cups, plates, and vessels you view in the works created by Yulin Wang once served a useful, ritual, or decorative function, but these paintings compel us to view them as two-dimensional art irrespective of their original intended use. By selectively painting in painstaking detail every minute element of each piece, Yulin has captured their essence and offers us an opportunity to contemplate these works with a fresh contemporary view. Heidegger’s idea of the “thingness of things” has been discussed by many regarding[JM1] the miracles attributed to Thomas Becket or Saint Thomas of Canterbury. This “thingness of things” theory has been applied to the arts from Samuel Beckett’s plays and screenplays to Andy Warhol’s Pop Art repetition of everything from soup cans to iconic imagery. The images you see in this exhibition co-exist, transformed from their original purpose. The actual antique Qing and Ming vessels live on in Wang’s personal collection, but his interpretation, or translation, of them allows the viewer to bring them into their own experience.
In this new exhibition, Bogu Haogu: Time Space Legacy, Yulin Wang brings together his love and appreciation of Ming and Qing Chinese porcelain and his skill and knowledge as an experienced artist and academic. He captures on canvas the timelessness and fragility of these exquisite antiques from his collection. His detailed paintings give us a two-dimensional view of selected individual pieces, many originally created by official kilns for imperial use. His translation of the design details to canvas gives us an opportunity to experience these works in yet another medium.
Chinese porcelain holds its own vocabulary. Some motifs are obvious such as Chinese characters for longevity, but others are more subtle. Clouds, colonies of bats, twining flowers, and other symbols all hold specific meaning[JM2] . The word for bat (fú 蝠) sounds the same as the word for auspiciousness, so although bats are associated with witchcraft or Halloween in many Western cultures, the bats that dance around the flare of a Chinese plate or cup, were considered symbols of good fortune, as are clouds. The word for clouds (yún云) sounds similar to a word for good fortune. The dragon representing the male, often the emperor, and the phoenix representing the female, come in pairs. A pair of birds also reference courtship or marriage so a pair of cranes may mean a long and harmonious marriage.
Some colors and designs were unique to the Jingdezhen craftsmen creating pieces which were intended for use only within the emperor’s household. As laypersons, we may see these pieces as just beautiful vessels or plates, but to the collector and connoisseur each piece holds layers of Chinese history and culture. These decorative features combine and enhance the depth and significance of each and every object. Yulin’s rendering of these symbols and the works themselves into yet another opportunity for appreciation and understanding.
My husband and colleague, Albert Wong, and I have translated Chinese poetry in the past, but working with Yulin on his first book of Ming and Qing porcelain was our first experience collaborating on a full-length book translation project. The resulting two books, The Art of Chinese Porcelain of the Ming and Qing Dynasties and The Art of Ming and Qing Porcelain: Commentary from an Avid Collector catalogue an extensive and diverse collection of unique pieces. The Ming Dynasty began in the fourteenth century, then gave way to the Qing Dynasty in the seventeenth century which lasted until the early twentieth century. It is astounding that these fragile Ming and Qing pieces, some as delicate as an eggshell, have survived. Their luminous beauty shines forth for a new generation in Yulin’s written work and now is captured and illuminated in this painting series.
Translation is an intricate craft which involves staying true to meaning and intent of the original language, while at the same time conveying and clarifying that same meaning and intent in the target language. Translation is by no means as simple as word for word translation, which is virtually impossible to do when translating from Chinese to English. So too is this true with Yulin’s paintings. At first glance, one might assume that the artist is attempting a photo-realistic rendition of a three-dimensional object, but these paintings are much more than that. Even the act of painting on canvas a three-dimensional subject requires choices to be made; the power to select the detail, the quality of light, a luminescence to be portrayed. Yulin’s matte background throws into vivid relief the exquisite elements of the original porcelain and bronze. We hold with our eyes what was once held in the hands of emperors.
The title of this exhibition, Bogu Haogu, might be translated as “expansive antiquity” and this indeed highlights these treasures of Chinese pottery culture. Yulin Wang’s paintings lift these porcelain and bronze works to an expanded dimension where they can no longer be considered solely as objects, simply as bowls, or plates, or vessels from an historic time and place. These iconic relics of imperial life in China glow with new life on the canvasses of Yulin Wang.