A thousand Chang'es in a thousand painters' eyes
By: No Author Indicated
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
A thousand Chang'es in a thousand painters' eyes
Chang'e, the goddess of moon in Chinese legend, is one of the most famous beauties in China. People give mooncakes in her honor and tell descendants the story about how she flew to the moon. As the symbol of love and beauty, Chang'e is an eternal theme for Chinese painters. As the Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, let's check out some stunning Chinese paintings which depict the same Chang'e in different styles.
This painting of Chang'e by Yan Jiyuan sold for 9,968,000 yuan ($1,495,200) at the Chongqing Shangwenzhai 2011 autumn auctions. [Photo/artron.net]
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This painting of Chang'e by Zhang Pingshan (Ming Dynasty) sold for 1,265,000 yuan ($189,750) at the 26th China Guardian Quarterly Auction. [Photo/artron.net]
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This painting of Chang'e by Zheng Mukang sold for 345,000 yuan ($51,750) at the Beijing Hanhai 2013 autumn auctions. [Photo/artron.net]
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This painting of Chang'e by Fan Zeng sold for 235,200 yuan ($33,600) at the Beijing Yongle 2008 Chinese painting and calligraphy spring auctions. [Photo/artron.net]
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This painting of Chang'e by Cheng Shifa sold for 1,058,000 yuan ($158,700) at the Zhejiang Nanbei 2011 summer auctions. [Photo/artron.net]
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This painting of Chang'e by Zhang Daqian sold for 2,240,000 yuan ($336,000) at the Zhongshengjiamao 2010 summer auctions. [Photo/artron.net]
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Chang'e depicted by Tang Dynasty's famous painter Tang Yin (L) and the Duplicate of Tang Yin's Chang'e depicted by Wu Hufan (R). [Photo/artron.net]
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This painting of Chang'e by Tu Xiaoying sold for 89,600 yuan ($13,440) at the Chengminghanmo 2009 spring auctions. [Photo/artron.net]
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This painting of Chang'e by Liu Danzhai sold for 134,400 yuan ($20,160) at the China Guardian 2011 spring auctions. [Photo/artron.net]
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The Mid-Autumn Festival, commonly also known as the Mooncake Festival (because we eat those delicious cakes during the festival) was described in a video article I posted a couple of days ago on the Discovery Group and it was, of course, and as expected, wiped off the Front (Home) Page within hours. The voyage to the dark side of the moon and back that was carried out by the Chinese government recently was done using a space-craft named after that beautiful woman, Chang'e, who had flown to the moon.
Chang'e and Houyi the Archer
Written by Cindy
Legend has it that Chang'e was a beautiful and kind woman, and her husband Hou Yi (后羿, Hòu Yì /ho ee/) was a brilliant archer.
During a time, thousands of years ago, when there were 10 suns, the Earth could not endure the smoldering heat. To save the earth, 'Lord Archer' Hou Yi shot down nine of the 10 suns, leaving behind just one.
Hou Yi was respected as the Earth's hero and received an elixir of immortality from the Queen Mother of the West as a reward for saving the Earth and its people.
However, the elixir was only enough for one person, and Hou Yi didn't want to gain immortality without his beloved wife. So, he did not consume it straight away, but let Chang'e keep it with her.
But one day, one of Hou Yi's students named Pang Meng tried to steal the elixir when Hou Yi wasn't home. In order to protect the elixir from the evil person, Chang'e drank the elixir of immortality. Then she flew to the moon and became the Moon Godness, leaving her husband behind.
Hou Yi was heartbroken when he was told what had happened to Chang'e. He shouted to the sky and surprisingly discovered the moon was extremely bright that night. He caught sight of a swaying figure that was exactly like Chang'e. Then he displayed the fruits and cakes that Chang'e had enjoyed to convey to Chang'e that he missed her.
Moved by their true love, the Mother of the Moon allowed Chang'e to reunite with Hou Yi every year on the full moon of the eighth lunar month.
Since then, on lunar month 8 day 15 every year, which has become Mid-Autumn Festival, people look forward to their reunion (and their own family reunions). Worshipping the moon and eating mooncakes have become traditions of Mid-Autumn Festival.
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These are very nice. I especially like the pieces by Zhang Pingshan and Tang Yin because of my love of traditional Chinese painting.
I don't think I ever appreciated traditional Chinese art until I came to China. Now I think that its delicacy is absolutely wonderful. However, my favourite painting of all time is still J.M.W.Turner's Fighting Temeraire.
That is a wonderful painting. I'm not sure that I have a favorite painting because I like so many. It's like picking a favorite song. If I did have to pick I can say that when I was at the Maurithuis in the Hague and stood in from of Vermeer's View of Delft I was so enthralled I had to study it for a very long time. And I kept returning to it to study it further while we were at the Museum. It was the greatest painting I have ever seen. If I had to pick a favorite song I would pick God Only Knows by the Beach Boys, written by the genius, Brian Wilson. I've read that it is Paul McCartney's favorite song, too. McCartney called it "the greatest song ever written". I would have to agree. Also, my client and very close friend of 40 years, Hal Blaine, was the drummer, but that's another story.
My feeling about songs (or classical music) is similar to yours about paintings, but I could not possibly choose a favourite song, because, as you've said about paintings, there are too many. But with The Fighting Temeraire, which was also chosen by a poll of the British population to be THEIR favourite painting, I saw more in it than just a painting - it tells a story. The sunset background sets the theme of the end of something, be it the day, or the era of sailing warships (it is being towed into its dock by a steamship), or just the end of its many glorious battle victories. When I was in London more than half a century ago I spent a long time viewing that painting at the National Gallery, and besides, I enjoy the stories of personal rivalries, in this case the rivalry between Turner and Constable, two then contemporary well-known artists with differing styles.. As for personal rivalries I posted on another article yesterday the story of the rivalry between Disraeli and Gladstone.