CHINESE SYMBOLISM
Very comprehensive is this symbolism. It includes not alone a multitude of things from the floral and animal kingdoms, but even certain utensils had a meaning; social, ethical, or moral, if not religious. The bat, the bird, the butterfly, the dragon, the kylin, the Foo dog, the leopard, the elephant, the horse, the phœnix, the stork,—the list is altogether too long to permit of any thorough tabulation. The old symbols of primitive religion, found in Turanian rugs and dating back to the very morning of mankind, do not seem to appear in the Chinese weavings; but it is manifest that somewhere, at some time, the Chinese symbols and their attendant meanings were derived directly from some imaginative form of nature worship (witness the cotyledon or seed germ, which was adopted by Persia from China and appears so often in the high-school Persian rugs of Sefavian times). The meanings, once established, have been maintained in popular understanding. Every intelligent Chinaman today knows them as his remote ancestors did. It is a part of the great fund of popular information that bird, bat, deer, and butterfly convey wishes for long life and good fortune.
ONE OF THE OLDEST AND FINEST EXAMPLES OF CHINESE RUGS
The dragons at the center and the corners are in marvellous blue on a background of pure gold. The “tiger” marks are in brown
Chinese symbolism has developed some eccentric and even egregious things; such, for example, as the dragon and the kylin. Each and every of such impossible creatures had his sphere and his legend. Of the dragons, there are several kinds,—one of the heavens, one of the mountains, one of the sea. The emperor’s dragon has five claws. So has that of the first- and second-class princes. The next two classes of the royal family may display only a four-clawed one; while ordinary mortals must be content with three. A four-clawed serpent bespeaks a mandarin or a prince of the fifth rank.
AN UNUSUAL SADDLE CLOTH
It has religious symbols in the center on a yellow background. The border shows Hindu influence. The coloring is splendid
The kylin, a fearsome four-footed beast, means long life and good government. The phœnix, in addition to his indestructible life, was reputed to live high in the air, and to descend to earth only as the bearer of good news. The catalogue is endless, and perhaps to the Occidental useless, unless it be for the information of the collector or to divert the curious mind.
Many of the superstitions common in Turkey and Persia, seem to prevail throughout China. For example, I have found a “cash” (perforated Chinese coin) sewed fast to an old Chinese rug to bring good luck. It should be noted that the “cash” is one of the Buddhistic “symbols of happy augury.” Few people in any part of the world will fail to see the fitness of this. The Mohammedans indulge this same practice, using sometimes a gay bead or a scrap of cloth.
In weaving rugs the Chinese in earlier times had one custom of which I have found no trace in western Asia; namely, that of weaving a rug in two, three, or four sections, breaking an elaborate design without respect for its continuity, and knitting the parts together by the warp threads, evidently to produce just the required size. This is most prevalent in large temple rugs.
A word should be said concerning the assigning of rugs to specific periods. There are persons who will name a period for any Chinese rug. I believe more of these are wrong than right. There are some rugs which present coloring or design of distinct period character, and in general it is probable that the earliest are the simplest. The poor old Ming dynasty has had an awful burden to carry. Ability to tell when any and every rug was made would imply an intimate and detailed familiarity with the civil and artistic history of China for unnumbered years, and the person who professes such knowledge should be ready to give a reason for the faith that is in him. Not too much is known about Chinese rugs. They offer an ideal field for the ambitious student, and when he has mastered it thoroughly he will know much besides rugs.