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Published on April 26, 2008

Manote Tripathi

The Nation

I t's easy to fall in love with Chinese art, but decoding the meanings behind the complex motifs that make the art so rich, requires both talent and skill. Over the last two decades, Patricia Bjaaland Welch has developed a knack for deciphering puzzling symbols embedded in Chinese artefacts, from gourd vases, snuff bottles and teapots to door knockers, embroidered badges, warrior figures and emperors' clothing.

The symbolism is multi-layered and takes time to acquire, she says, but once learned, the visual vocabulary of Chinese symbols will be with you always.

Her new book, "Chinese Art: A Guide to Motifs and Visual Imagery" has taken her 20 years to compile and, she admits, remains a work in progress.

"The art is a window into the culture. It's the tip of the iceberg," she says with a grin.

A former lecturer in Chinese philosophy and art at Boston University, Welch has authored five books. She lived in Bangkok in the '90s, where she served with the National Museum Volunteers and is currently based in Singapore, where she also works as a museum volunteer guide.

She regards herself as a "keeper of meanings", and hopes her book will help to preserve the meaning of these symbols for future generations.

An ideal keepsake for collectors and art lovers, "Chinese Art" explores meanings behind the plethora of common motifs and symbols found in all sorts of Chinese art. It sheds light on their linguistics, metaphoric or historic origins, common usages and diverse applications.

"I want anyone who picks up a Chinese vase or admires a porcelain plate through museum glass to understand the traditions and beliefs that lie behind the decorations chosen to enhance the artefact," she says.

Three-quarters of the artefacts featured in 288-page coffee-table book are from Welch's private collection and mix items purchased on the streets of Beijing and in junk shops with those acquired in art auctions and antique shops.

"Chinese art symbolism is a very complex subject and it's hard to find information on it. Many titles only scratch the surface, telling you that certain things represent good luck. In fact, so many symbols have an esoteric sense, so you really have to know the language to grasp the meaning. I can read and write Chinese with the help of a dictionary," she says.

In one section, she explains: "Chinese art contains a whole code of different symbols. Some are based on the similarities of an object's attributes to another object (a metaphor), while others are a play on a word's pronunciation (pun or rebus)".

Chinese motifs require a fair degree of detective work. With an instinct for suspect meanings and a critical eye, Welch made a point of going beyond the central design or motif, looking more deeply into the background, the surroundings and the borders, discovering how the meaning of a symbol can change depending on the context in which its used.

"A design or scene in Chinese art always hides messages, much more so than Western art," she explains. "Most cultures have good luck symbols. China has more than anywhere else and they tend to be more sophisticated, frequently with literary allusions.

"This sort of [folk] art is really for the people, to give them comfort. The west has comfort food. The Chinese have comfort art, things you can look at and feel good about."

Welch speaks particularly fondly of the great Chinese artist Qi Baishi (1864-1957), describing him as a unique figure in the annals of contemporary Chinese art, who used as his subject matter the traditional motifs - shrimp, fish, squirrels with grapes, flowers and lychees - all redolent with meanings beyond their simple depictions.

With an interest in both folk and high art, Welch has discovered that the Chinese obsession with auspicious symbols has a lot to do with their history and culture. Art is a metaphor for sentiments or emotions deeply rooted in the Chinese history.

She's thoroughly enjoyed studying Chinese symbolism and discovering the secrets behind the codes.

"In high art, the symbols are meant for intelligent scholarly people. You have to be educated to get the joke."

"It's a way of saying you and I share a common background."

"Chinese Art" is published by Periplus and is available at Asia Books.