THE TWELVE ANIMALS OF THE ZODIAC
China, Tang dynasty (618-907)
Painted pottery
H. 12”
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THE TWELVE ANIMALS OF THE ZODIAC |
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| According to the Chinese lunar calendar the zodiac consists of twelve-year cycles, each of them symbolically represented by an animal (rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, serpent, horse, sheep, monkey, chicken, dog and pig). Just as in the Western zodiac each astral constellation corresponds to a certain personality, so in the Chinese one those who are born in a specific year-animal combination inherit its distinctive characteristics. The Chinese zodiac is the result of a careful observation of nature linked to hunting, cattle breeding and agriculture which went beyond the economic value of the animals and endowed them with symbolic and psychological implications. While some legends connect its origin with Buddhism and Taoism, this complex cosmological system has much remoter roots going back to the slow formation of Chinese civilisation. The earliest sets of the twelve animals were manufactured in the first centuries AD, but it was only during the Tang dynasty (618-907) that they began to be represented with a human body and an animal head, like the figurines illustrated in these pages. The faces are carefully modelled to differentiate the various animals, and the wide-sleeved garment typical of high-ranking officers lends solemnity to the figures. |
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© Renzo Freschi