A blog of Chinese art, culture and design

A red lantern calls the spring clouds from my sleep…
Wang Chien, Palace Poems

On the 15th day of the first lunar month, people across China commemorate the Lantern Festival-the last day of Chinese New Year celebrations and the first full moon of the year. Red lanterns are strung across plazas, hung outside homes, and carried through streets. This ancient Spring Festival encompasses many traditions: the reunion of families, the veneration of spirits, and the birthday of Tianguan-the Taoist god of prosperity.

Although the Lantern Festival dates back thousands of years, it was not until the early Qing Dynasty (1663-1796) that Emperor Qianlong popularized the custom of “raising the red lantern.” Decorated with the color of wealth and good fortune, red lanterns are said to beckon luck from the hearth gods who protect the home.

An ancient symbol, the lantern represents many things. In Buddhism, lanterns of all kinds-particularly those with a lotus shape or pattern-symbolize illumination and knowledge. Poems and riddles are often inscribed on lanterns. In traditional folklore, lanterns are associated with fertility. People in Yunnan Province traditionally place “Children and Grandchildren Lanterns” under the bed to encourage conception.

Lanterns come in diverse shapes and sizes, from paper spheres to intricate metal and wood frames lined with fabric. The lantern’s soft light-evoking the ethereal glow of a full moon-has inspired artists, designers, and architects from John Singer Sargeant to Rem Koolhaus. In homes, lanterns make striking pendant lights, table lamps, centerpieces, and garden decorations. They can be wired with a bulb or used as traditional votives, infusing a home with the warm glow of good luck.

All night, the sound of rain on my sail, among the reeds-

drop after drop

leading my dreams through the rivers and lakes.

-Chin Nung (1687 – 1764), from Mooring in the Rain at Sung-Ling

Rain Drums, also known as Bronze Drums, are functional objects with a higher purpose. Originally crafted as tribal drums used in Southeast Asian rituals, their hollow bronze shape transforms the sound of monsoon rains into music. The characteristics that once endowed these drums with sacred power now make them objects of great aesthetic and acoustic beauty.

Rain Drums originated with the Dong Son culture in Southeast Asia, dating as far back as the mid-to-late Bronze Age (1,000 – 700 BC). Metal workers poured and set molten bronze in a cast, freed the hardened drums from their molds, then carved them with intricate motifs as the metal cooled. The art of sculpting bronze drums remains a refined skill, acquired over many years and passed on through apprenticeships.

Long associated with water and rain, the drums were at one time used in boats to keep time for oarsmen and signal to other ships. In Southeast Asian ritual, rain drums were played to make music for spirits and communicate with ancestors. The intricate patterns on the tops of rain drums reference creatures associated with the rainy season. Toads and frogs, for example, are water creatures that symbolize the moon. Geometric motifs, such as eight-pointed stars or wheels with 12 spokes, are often inscribed on the drums to bring luck.

Families that owned rain drums were blessed with wealth and power. The ability to offer music to the rain gods implied a measure of control over agrarian China’s most valuable resource. As the incarnation of female yin and male yang, rain was not only important to physical sustenance, but spiritual survival as well. Even today, rain drums are highly valued objects. Prized for their longevity, rain drums combine the yang attribute of strength with the yin quality of delicate beauty.

In modern gardens, rain drums continue to fulfill their age-old purpose, echoing the music of rainfall. Bronze drums can also be used indoors as tables, stools, and plant stands. The graceful combination of opposites that ancient craftsmen used to evoke the harmony of yin and yang now appeals to contemporary designers for similar reasons-bronze drums are durable yet delicate, a striking balance of form and function.

Traditional courtyard gardens are the literal and figural heart of the Chinese home. In a classical house, the main rooms open into a private garden that not only fills the home with sunlight but also serves as a space for contemplation and meditation. These natural spaces are often referred to as “scholars gardens,” used by artists and philosophers to seek spiritual shelter.

Both modern and classical Chinese gardens are influenced by Confucian and Taoist philosophies—particularly the belief that balance can be achieved through the coupling of opposites. Within the garden, a microcosm of the larger universe can be unearthed within four major elements: water, stone, plants, and architecture.

Water

The lifeblood of the world, water fills the streams and rivers that compose the earth’s arteries. Water carries the feminine energy of yin—soft and yielding, yet capable of overcoming hard stone. In the garden, water also introduces the element of reflective light. Suzhou, China’s “garden city”, is known for ornate ponds and fountains that decorate its water gardens. Ponds combine the dual concepts of emptiness and fullness—they mirror the clear, empty sky but are also “filled” with everything they reflect.

Stone

Stone is the yang to water’s yin. Symbolic of longevity, stone makes up the skeleton of the earth. Since the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), specially placed stones have been an integral part of Chinese garden design. Beautifully shaped rocks—such as twisting Taihu stones—are given honored placement. Stones are also functional, used to mark paths, separate space, and create shorelines around ponds.

Plants

Plants are chosen not only for their beauty but also for their poetic and symbolic properties. Because plants represent vitality, the garden must support living species throughout all four seasons. Pine, bamboo, and plum trees are the “three friends of winter,” plants that survive the whole year, representing longevity and resilience. Spring flowers are chosen for their splendor. The “three famous flowers”—azalea, primrose, and gentian—cover the mountain slopes of Southwest China during the flowering season. Magnolia and tree peony symbolize wealth and status, while chrysanthemums—once used for medicinal purposes—represent the “courage to make sacrifices for a natural life.” The lotus, an emblem of enlightenment, is particularly important in Chinese gardens. Its pure petals rise out of muddy water, symbolic of the soul that emerges from darkness into light.

Architecture

Architecture represents the presence of human beings in the natural world. Pavilions, bridges, patterned tiles, pagodas, and gates are important elements of traditional gardens. In walled gardens, “empty” windows and doors often permeate manmade structures, framing views and revealing glimpses of the landscape to those outside the garden. Lattice screens also punctuate the windows of courtyard walls, weaving sunlight into intricate patterns.

Striving for harmony, Chinese garden design uses these four elements to unify contradictory but complimentary pairs. Untamed plants invigorate ordered flowerbeds; crooked paths merge into straight ones; hard yang blends with soft yin. Timeless details woven into the fabric of ancient tradition can inspire contemporary home gardens that serve as spaces for relaxation, contemplation, and meditation.

Years ago we leveled a parking lot and planted traditional and symbolic botanical specimens to create our interpretation of a classical Chinese garden featuring myriads of collectible stones. It is a hidden oasis tucked behind our Winnetka gallery. Recent additions to our collection of mysterious stones include an organic moon-shaped fountain that was originally a post anchor, and a wall of old roof tiles installed to mimic the natural bamboo surrounding the garden walls. Ancient fu dogs, a lifesize mythical dragon said to have protected a 19th century village from rising rivers, an auspicious limestone fortune fish and stone troughs planted with prehistoric looking succulents make our intimate garden an inspiring space to visit. The scene changes daily as blossoms and pieces come and go. There is always something new.

Pagoda Red’s Scholars’ Garden
902 Green Bay Road
Winnetka
847.784.8881

Tuesday – Saturday, 10 – 5