Chinese Iconography Thesaurus

📢 We’ve just completed the update of our #CIT database🎉 🖋️ 14,844 terms now in our terminology database 🖼️ 10,857 artworks available for exploration 🔗Discover the latest updates - Terminology: chineseiconography.org/terms/ Artworks: chineseiconography.org/search/ #VAM #NPM #MET #CMA #HYL

📝 #MiBuqi, or Zijian, was a #ConfuciussDisciple renowned for his virtue. He was a magistrate in the State of Lu, promoting benevolent governance and moral cultivation. In the #Analects, Confucius praised him as a junzi (#Gentleman). Look closer:chineseiconography.org/items/cit_O153… #NPM #CIT

⛰️ #ZhangrenFeng is located at northwest of the main summit of #TaiShan. Named for its shape resembling a bent old man, the peak features numerous stone inscriptions, including poems by Emperor Qianlong of the 18th century. Look closer:chineseiconography.org/items/cit_O155… #NPM #CIT #Geography

✒️ #PoundingTheInkMixtureIntoADough is a step in the #InkMaking process. After placing the thoroughly steamed ink balls in a mortar, ink-makers press the mixture flat by hand, then pound it gently and evenly with a pestle. Look closer: chineseiconography.org/items/cit_O153… #NPM #CIT

🔮 #StarLordOfOx is a deity able to offer divinations and skilled curing many diseases, but he often performs fortune-telling irresponsibly or uses flattery with malicious intent to persuade people. Look closer:chineseiconography.org/items/cit_O152… #NPM #CIT

📝 This print shows the #DaoistImmortal: #ZhangDaoling, traditionally the founder of religious #Daoism and the first Celestial Master. Here, he appears standing alone, watching the #BigDipper, though he is often portrayed riding a tiger: chineseiconography.org/items/cit_O170… #HYL #CIT

🪶 According to #TheClassicOfMountainsAndSeas, the #CrossedShinsPeople are about four feet tall, with hairy bodies. Their legs and feet are bent and crossed, so when they lie down, they can’t get up without assistance. Look closer: chineseiconography.org/items/cit_O170… #HYL #CIT

🕊️ The watercolour depicts a scene of #TrainingWhiteRumpedMunia. A flying #WhiteRumpedMunia is performing at the command of the trainer, who is likely to be a diviner because trained munia was often used in divination in late imperial China: chineseiconography.org/items/cit_O857… #VAmuseum #CIT

🏔️ #FeiyunYan is a cliff in #HuaShan, the most majestic among the #FiveSacredMountains. The mountain rises sheer and spans a thousand li. It embraces a fortress amidst a forest in its east and produces the fine jade of Lantian in its west: chineseiconography.org/items/cit_O155… #NPM #CIT

✒️ This picture shows #SteamingTheInkMixture for #InkMaking. Wrapped ink balls are placed in a wooden steamer above water and covered with bamboo leaves. After steaming over high heat, ink-makers take them out and pound while hot. Look closer: chineseiconography.org/items/cit_O153… #NPM #CIT

🔮 #StarLordOfDipper is one of the #StarLordsOfTheTwentyEightLodges. In Chinese #astronomy, the deity is said to govern the forces of #YinAndYang, regulating their balance. Look closer:chineseiconography.org/items/cit_O152… #NPM #CIT

🪷 The painting is an album leaf made by Ming artist Chen Hongshou (1598-1652), known for his quirky style and refined brushwork. The #Lotus and #StandingRock together represents integrity and honour in traditional Chinese symbolism. Look closer: chineseiconography.org/items/cit_O176… #CMA #CIT

🖌️ #ZhuansunShi, also known as Zizhang, was one of the seventy-two #ConfuciussDisciples. He accompanied Confucius in his travels abroad, and later started his own school of Confucianism. Look closer: chineseiconography.org/items/cit_O153… #NPM #CIT

⛰️ The painting depicts #Diaotai, a natural rock terrace in #HuangShan in #Anhui province. It is said to have been the angling spot of the Yuan dynasty scholar-hermit Zheng Yu (1298–1358). Look closer: chineseiconography.org/items/cit_O145… #MET #CIT #Geography

✒️ This image depicts #MixingGlueWithLampblack in #InkMaking. The #Artisans places collected soot into clean bowls, heat it with dissolved glue and herbs until it reaches a sand-like texture, then knead it into balls and wrap them in cloth: chineseiconography.org/items/cit_O153… #NPM #CIT

🔮 #StarLordOfRoom, an extremely malevolent character in Chinese #astronomy. As one of the #StarLordsOfTheTwentyEightLodges, the deity is both human and non-human, as well as both man and woman - truly a hermaphrodite. Look closer:chineseiconography.org/items/cit_O152… #NPM #CIT

🕯️ #WeiBoyang is a #DaoistImmortal, depicted here gazing at a #TripodAndFurnaceForCoagulationOfTheElixir. He is noted as the one of the earliest alchemists to have publications in Chinese history. Look closer:chineseiconography.org/items/cit_O170… #HYL #CIT

🪶 In #TheClassicOfMountainsAndSeas, the #PerforatedChestsPeople is described as all have large holes in their chests. In their society, superiors are carried about by inferiors with a pole inserted through the holes in their chests. Look closer: chineseiconography.org/items/cit_O170… #HYL #CIT

🖌️ The watercolour below depicts a scene of #RunningAPeepShow in 19th-century China. A #Performer stands on a #Stool behind the #PeepShowBox to operate internal slides, while a child watches through its viewing lens. Look closer:chineseiconography.org/items/cit_O857… #VAmuseum #CIT

⛰️ Located at the intersection of the provinces of #Shanxi and #Shaanxi, #HukouWaterfall is the largest waterfall on the #HuangHe. In Chinese mythology, it is said that #YuControllingTheFlood began his efforts here. Look closer:chineseiconography.org/items/cit_O155… #NPM #CIT #Geography

✒️ This picture shows part of the #MixingIngredients process in #InkMaking: #AddingHerbsIntoTheMixture. This step enhances the ink’s durability and visual quality, helping the its adhesive stay strong and colour remain vibrant. Look closer: chineseiconography.org/items/cit_O153… #NPM #CIT