Hello everyone, I'm Zhixin Jason Sun
curator of Chinese art, Asian art of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Please join us to celebrate the Lunar New Year
February 1st, 2022
is the first day of the Lunar New Year
also marks the beginning of the Year of the Tiger
We are pleased to present an exhibition celebrating the Year of Tiger
with 20 remarkable works from
the museum's permanent collections and fantastic loans.
A most striking work is this zodiac figure of a tiger
which dated from Mid-Qing Dynasty (18th century) and
is made of porcelain with colorful glaze in Jingdezhen, China.
It is from a set of 12 zodiac animals in the museum.
These zodiac figures used to decorate the room
and protect the residents from harm.
This is a very animated tiger.
He looks vivid and full of energy.
His arms are strong and powerful.
He is waving his arms and opening the mouth widely.
as if he is saying
"Hey, this is my place, dare you come close".
In China, the association of 12 zodiac animals
with the calendar and time
has been more than 2000 years of history.
In The Met's collection, the earliest one is
this set of twelve zodiac animals from the Tang Dynasty (8th century).
They were made of pottery and originally coated with bright colors
like the example on the right which was found by archaeologists
in recent years in northwest China.
This set from The Met, has been buried for 1000 years
since the Tang Dynasty.
These figures have lost all their original pigments
except the white slip
that was the base for the colors
The 12 zodiac animals has a standard sequence
From left to right
they are: the rat, the ox, the tiger, the rabbit
the dragon, the snake, the horse, the sheep
the monkey, the rooster, the dog, and the pig
each one has an animal's head
and a human's body
they are all dressed in official uniform with long robe and wide sleeve
like those officials standing at an audience court
In the lunar calendar, zodiac animals
pared with 12 Earthly Branches (Di Zhi) symbols
which are Zi, Chou, Yin, Mou...
Each symbol corresponds a zodiac animal
and that repeats in a 12-year cycle
Each animal is believed to embody certain traits
that are shown in the characteristic or personality
of the person born in that year
For example, person born in the year of tiger
may share the similar traits with tiger
such as: authoritative, brave, resolute and robust
maybe the temper is hot as well
Tigers have closely associated with human life for thousands of years
It has been reflected in many works of art
Now you are looking at
is a marble sculpture of tiger from Western Zhou Dynasty (11-9 century B.C.)
It Is a delicate work from 3000 years ago
The artist has made smart use of the nature pattern
of the black and white veins in the stone
to represent the striped coat of a tiger
Another masterpiece
is a bronze oil lamp in a tiger shape from Han Dynasty
which has more than 2000 years history
The tiger has a hinged folder on its back
When the hinged back is opened
it becomes an oil lamp with a tray
for a wick to connect to the reservoir in the tiger's hollow body
very exquisite design
From Qin and Han Dynasty (3rd century B.C.)
The tiger has become an important element
in Chinese cosmology
it symbolizes one of the gods of the four cardinal directions
White tiger is a symbol of the West
other three animals are
the dragon on the East
magic bird for the South
and intertwined turtles and snakes for the North
They were depicted on many places
especially in buildings
such as walls of the buildings, molded bricks
and roof tiles (Wa Dang) as shown here
These four pictures are the four gods in tile decoration from Han Dynasty
Wa Dang is the decoration piece of the top roof tile
It is to ward off evil spirits
and protect the living
They are also depicted on tomb chambers
to protect and ward off evils
The image of tiger was often depicted on the official uniforms
Especially during the Ming and Qing dynasty (14th-19th century)
government officials wore square badges
sewn colorfully on the front of the official robes
they are the marks of their official rank
These badges were embroidered with birds for civil officials
and with animals for military officials
such as a senior military commander's badge
was adorned a tiger
as a symbol of authority and brave
Tiger is a very popular figure
in Chinese folklore
Tiger is the king of wild animals
also the exotic mount for many deities
Deities usually don't choose
an ordinary horse or cow as their mount
They select exotic animals
For example, the God of Wealth in Chinese folk art
Zhao Gongming, sometimes called General Zhao Gong
rides on the back of a tiger
he holds a gold ingot in his left hand, which is a symbol of wealth
and a gnarled steer bar in his right hand
He travels between heaven and earth on the back of a tiger
and brings good fortunes to those who have been kind and done good
In the coming Year of tiger
we wish the God of wealth will drive away the pandemic
and bring you and your family
health, wealth, prosperity, and happiness
Thank you