| Show SEE NATURE AS SYMBOL OF LIFE chinese art developed in that spirit ku hu ming says art speaks to the heart of 0 all nations the chinese feel a reverence for the things of f nature akin to a religious awe air water lowers flowers trees and aril ani mals to them as aa to all ancient races are honored as the indications of the presence of some deity who must be duly worshiped at the proper season nature Is a symbol of the universal life which we all share chare writes a correspondent in the auckland weekly news the largest chinese temples are always in one of the beauty spots of the district and are built in such harmony with the surrounding hills trees and rivers that the architecture enhances the loveliness lovell ness of nature and satisfies the ey eya of the beholder seeming to fulfill some need of that particular place contemplation and buddhist rites are but different paths to the same goal the realization of the oneness of nature the deep chasm which to the western mind divides nature from the human intellect does not exist for the oriental to him nature has a soul and lives as does man himself so whether revealed in snow clad mountains in ID slumberous mists drifting over rivers and lakes in maJ majestic estle trees and rugged rocks in blossoming bloss oming flowers or in birds and beasts chinese art does exercise an elevating influence on oil the observer calming yet exalting his mood nowadays when western civilization Is gradually pervading the east too much importance is 13 given to material comfort and thus the subtle charm and spiritual value of pictorial art as portrayed in painting prints tripods sacrificial bowls seals beals bronzes stones and porcelain Is in danger of perishing fruits and animals are presented as symbols the destinies of the empire are said to be under the tutelage of four supernatural super euper natural animals the stag sing the ithe tortoise the phoenix and the dragon nence their bronze figures are to be found in the palace courtyard the stag presides over literature and Is visible at the birth of sages the tortoise over virtue and appears at periods of widespread mur morality allty the phoenix controls divination and the dragon represents authority this last supernatural monster Is the natio national nol ensign of china besides his possession of authority the dragon king influences fluen ces the seasons season si eclipses are ascribed to his propensity to swallow the sun and moon leaving the world in darkness lie ile Is believed to conceal himself at certain periods under the banks of the river and tor for this reason the bronze cow has haa to watch the river and keep it from flooding the country but this ruse often falls to outwit the malice of the evil dragon and floods result other forms of the dra dragon on are the scaly the winged the corned horned the hornless born less and the dragon rolled within itself E each ach varies in color as the azure the gold the scarlet the purple the black the white the variegated and most important of all the yellow the imperial dragon Is always to be distinguished by its fifth claw which it assumes in all carvings such as carved ascents accents to the temple pertal pertaining nIng to the emperor each gateway of a temple Is guarded by winged monsters who have power over all living creatures at the yellow temple a stone lion wipes his bis eyes with his paw in grief at a good mans passing A tiger often guards graves for the mythical animal who Is supposed to eat the brains of the dead fears only tigers aud pine trees A frog Is sacred because the chanting of frogs if 19 often the only note heard among ruins |
