Chinese Painting LotusTiger Knowledge-国画荷花和虎知识-CNArtGallery教材.pdfVIP

Chinese Painting Knowledge Chinese Paintings Chinese LotusTigers Painting (Provide by CNArtGallery) Chinese Lotus Painting To the Chinese, the lotus is the most important of all the cultivated flowers, grown for both its beauty and its usefulness. It has large blossoms, tinted pink, creamy white or yellow, growing on stalks six or seven feet high, appearing from the centre of very broad, (sometimes three feet in diameter), nasturtium- shaped leaves. Every part of this plant has special use; the fruits and leaves are used as food; the dried yellow stamens are used as an astringent and as cosmetic; the seeds can be used as medicine or eaten as a dessert. The kernels are boiled in soup, roasted or eaten raw, while the stems are sliced and boiled. The leaves can be taken medicinally or used dried to wrap food. The lotus is also known as a symbol of purity and perfection, growing out of the mud into a state of blossoming beauty and fruitfulness. The flowers are open for a mere three days, then petal by petal they disintegrate, leaving the green seed head exposed. It has become very positively connected to Buddhism, partly because of the symbolism; partly because of the visual representation of the Wheel of the Law by the flower form, with the petals taking the place of the spokes. Buddha is usually represented as seated on the sacred lotus and, in imitation of this, Buddhist priests have developed the lotus posture –a cramped position which develops a state of bodily peace. The flower is also one of the eight treasures, said to be auspicious signs seen on the sole of Buddhas foot. It is not only a symbol important to Buddhists, that the lotus is recognized, but also as an emblem of one of the Eight Immortals of Taoism –the other main Chinese religion. The seed-cup on the lotus stem, holdin