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Patricia Bjaaland Welch
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Chinese Art: A Guide to Motifs and Visual Imagery Paperback – Illustrated, September 10, 2012

4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 85 ratings
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With over 630 striking color photos and illustrations, this Chinese art guide focuses on the rich tapestry of symbolism which makes up the basis of traditional Chinese art.

Chinese Art: A Guide to Motifs and Visual Imagery includes detailed commentary and historical background information for the images that continuously reappear in the arts of China, including specific plants and animals, divine beings, mortals and inanimate objects. The book thoroughly illuminates the origins, common usages and diverse applications of popular Chinese symbols in a tone that is both engaging and authoritative.

Chinese Art: A Guide to Motifs and Visual Imagery is an essential reference for collectors, museum-goers, guides, students and anyone else with a serious interest in the culture and history of China.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    288 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Tuttle Publishing
  4. Publication date
    September 10, 2012
  5. Dimensions
    8.5 x 0.7 x 11 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0804843163
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0804843164
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"This splendid, descriptive guide to the motifs and imagery of Chinese art will be valuable to scholars and students of all things visually Chinese." --Choice

"An intelligent yet friendly text by an extremely well-informed and generous author and the result is a book which will be a valued addition to the libraries of all who are interested in Chinese art." --Arts of Asia

"An ideal keepsake for collectors and art lovers, Chinese Art explores the meanings behind the plethora of common motifs and symbols found in all sorts of Chinese art." --The Nation

About the Author

Patricia Bjaaland Welch, MA, is a former lecturer in Chinese philosophy and art at Boston University and has been a docent for over two decades in prominent museums in Boston, Bangkok, and Singapore. She has written several in-house training manuals for docents and is passionate about bringing people into museums and helping them to appreciate what they are seeing. She is a frequent lecturer on subjects relating to Chinese art and history. An avid collector and researcher, she is also the author of five published works, including Chinese New Year. She currently lives in Singapore.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Tuttle Publishing; Illustrated edition (September 10, 2012)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0804843163
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0804843164
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 3.06 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.5 x 0.7 x 11 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 85 ratings

About the author

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Patricia Bjaaland Welch

Patricia Bjaaland Welch

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Patricia Bjaaland Welch (M.A.) is a former University lecturer in Chinese religion, philosophy and art, College of Liberal Arts, Boston University. From the U.S. she moved to Norway, where she established an international training center for Scandinavian diplomats and industry within the University of Oslo with government funding. She relocated to Hong Kong in 1988 where she worked in the private marketing and communications sectors, but has recently returned full-time to Asian studies as an independent scholar. The author of five published books and dozens of articles, including a book on Chinese New Year traditions for Oxford University Press, and Chinese Art: A Guide to Motifs and Visual Imagery (Tuttle Publishing), she is also a popular speaker and tour leader. She has homes in Bangkok and Singapore and has been a Singapore permanent resident since 1995.

She is a regular author of articles on Chinese and Asian art symbols and motifs and many of her articles can be found at www.academia.edu.

Ms. Welch is also a popular regional speaker at conferences and symposia, leads specialist art and history tours into China and other Asian destinations, and is a specialist speaker on a number of leading international cruise lines, including Princess, Celebrity, Arcadia, P&O, Belmonde and Road Scholar specialty cruises. She is currently President of the Southeast Asian Ceramic Society based in Singapore and Overall Co-head of Training for Singapore's National Heritage Board museums training programmes for docents. As the current president of the Southeast Asian Ceramic Society, she is currently writing a history of the society and its members, many of whom have gifted their collections to museums throughout the world.

Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
85 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars excellent reference book
Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2023
Verified Purchase
love this book. I purchased a Chinese cabinet full of decoration and recognized some of the symbols but needed more reference. Found this book and purchased right away. It's an excellent reference resource for Asian design whether vintage, antique or new. Explains all the symbolic designs throughout history, lots of photos and text. Highly recommended
2 people found this helpful
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Andy
5.0 out of 5 stars Superb, Beautiful and Fascinating Encyclopedia - I Love It!
Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2023
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This absolutely superb encyclopedia is a must for fans of Chinese culture. The perfect reference book for pointing out the meaning of the plethora of symbolism, patterns and motifs in Chinese art. Excellently organized, categorized by colors, mythical figures, animals, plants and flowers, fruits and vegetables, etc. -even with the Chinese and Pinyin names -presented with full color examples and in depth entries, full of fascinating information and historical significance. This is also perfect for museum trips, and even highly recommended for fans of cinema that may not understand many visual aspects in films like "Crouching Tiger,Hidden Dragon" or "The Last Emperor" for example. This book became an instant favourite of mine and is among Tuttle Publishing's best.
2 people found this helpful
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krislynn
5.0 out of 5 stars A Necessity for Understanding Chinese Art
Reviewed in the United States on June 30, 2013
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I have been researching Korean Art symbolism for many years and have acquired many books that interpret symbolism in paintings. I thought I had found the best sources of motif interpretation that a researcher could find...UNTIL:

I found this book on Amazon while looking for something else. But, when I read the summary of the book I decided to buy it an add it to my collection.

But, when I got it and read it I was absolutely amazed as to the depth and detail about Chinese symbolism that was contained in this book. For certain I can discard all my other books and use this single book to do any research on symbolism that I might want to indulge. C.A.S. Williams' book is good, but this book is GREAT!!!

The photos and illustrations are great and very informative. The manner in which the motifs and symbolism are explained is more detailed that I have found anywhere else.

This is the complete book and is now my main reference book for understanding motifs and symbolism in Oriental Art!

This is a MUST HAVE for students and researchers of Asian Art!!!!!!!!!

I would recommend it be available, maybe even required, for every class of Asian Art, and especially Chinese Art. Every school and library should have this book so that amateurs and professional alike will obtain the ultimate understanding of what is represented in the Art Works they might be viewing/studying. I have found Chinese art to be very difficult to understand without a basic knowledge about the symbolism/motifs represented in the art.

Chinese Art is never what it appears at first glance, and this book will allow every connoisseur to better understand Asian Art!!

Kudos to the Author!!!
8 people found this helpful
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Tanya vincent
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book to have
Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2023
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Excellent for any level to gain knowledge and facts on Asian pieces. Use it a lot for research.
2 people found this helpful
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francesco
4.0 out of 5 stars Chinese decorative art
Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2012
Verified Purchase
The book represents an effective and important effort to reveal the rebuses of the chinese decorative art and helps to understand their significance, otherwise incomprehensible to western people. In this sense it is an important tool to analyse the chinese culture throughout the centuries
3 people found this helpful
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Fung-Ing Lee
5.0 out of 5 stars The first package was never delivered, but
Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2023
Verified Purchase
The second package has arrived in time for Chinese Book Award. The book is beautiful and well written. Thank you.
3 people found this helpful
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Sophie
5.0 out of 5 stars Lavishly illustrated, economically written.
Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2009
Verified Purchase
I first encountered this book while visiting my mother-in-law (a voracious reader and traveler); she had just brought it home from the public library. Her passion is art; mine is China. Leafing through the book's pages, casually at first, the "wow!" in me grew as I saw images, both ancient and contemporary, classical and Maoist, natural and conceptual -- with a paragraph, or a little more, pointing out each image's key features. (Pineapples, being yellow, are associated with gold and rich abundance; while the many-seeded pomegranate hints at fecundity.) What's more, language lovers will find that this volume might just as accurately have been titled: "Chinese Language: A Guide to its Motifs and Verbal Imagery." The text is peppered with accompanying Chinese vocabulary (using both Pinyin and the "Simplified" characters), amply fortified with discussions of word play, and an image's reflections across dialects. Click a random page in Amazon's "Look Inside" feature for this book--you'll see what I mean.

After leaving my in-laws', I came home straightaway, powered up my computer, and ordered this book online! What a gem!
15 people found this helpful
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howardq9
5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding!
Reviewed in the United States on October 18, 2008
Verified Purchase
This is an excellent book. For anyone who has admired a painting on a Chinese vase, the carving on a Coromandel screen or even the costumes in a Chinese New Year's Day parade - and wondered about the significance or meaning of the flowers, animals, colours, symbols and everything else - you will find the answers in this beautifully organized, lavishly illustrated, comprehensive volume.

The book can be read cover-to-cover as specialized art and cultural history or opened anywhere for a fascinating glimpse into a fascinating civilization. The author brings an immense academic understanding to her subject and writes clearly, concisely, eloquently; although the book can be read by any enthusiast for things Chinese it will undoubtedly find a place on the scholar's reference bookshelf as well.

CHINESE ART tackles a complicated philosophical theme - the perception of a civilization through its imagery and designs - and succeeds wonderfully. A pleasure to read and to own, a remarkable achievement, and probably definitive. Five stars.
11 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Pallasmonde
5.0 out of 5 stars Sooo interesting!
Reviewed in Canada on January 20, 2023
Verified Purchase
Great quality, texts and photos.
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BW
5.0 out of 5 stars A learned, beautiful. Useful and superb purchase.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 30, 2020
Verified Purchase
Beautifully laid out and very easy to use. A wonderful guide to understanding the imagery and symbols used in Chinese paintings. A superb buy.
One person found this helpful
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YAKA
4.0 out of 5 stars un bon ouvrage
Reviewed in France on June 13, 2016
Verified Purchase
Ouvrage de 2008 toujours valable car le sujet traité ne fait pas florès semble-t-il (j'en connais un en langue française et sans illustrations) ;documentation iconographique très agréable et bien choisie a priori. Tuttle est un bon éditeur,cher en relié mais ici la version brochée paraît suffisante car solide et pour un livre peu épais (288 pages) Personnellement j'aurais aimé connaître plus précisément les sources mais ce n'est pas le but du travail. Le côté fastidieux n'apparaît pas si on ne lit pas en continuité:un dictionnaire ne se lit pas ainsi...Pour moi un bon achat.
One person found this helpful
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Philipp
5.0 out of 5 stars Wunderbare Übersicht über chinesische Kunstgegenstände
Reviewed in Germany on January 27, 2013
Verified Purchase
Dieses englischsprachige Buch besteht ca. 50% aus Bildern von Kunstgegenständen, welche dann gleich auf der Seite ausführlich beschrieben werden. Mir gefällt es sehr gut, da die Bilder hervorragend sind was die Auswahl und Qualität betrifft und die Beschreibungen interessant sind.

Kapitel:

Flowers and Plants
Fruits, Vegetables, Kernels and Seeds
Minerals
Real and Imaginary Birds
Insects, Reptiles, Fish and Amphibians
Real and Imaginary Animals
Children
Single Male Figures
Groups of Figures
Buddhist Deities and Figures
Female Figures
Boarders and Other Repeated Patterns
Chinese Characters
Colors
Numbers
Religious Images and Symbols
Inanimate Objects

Ich war z.B. sehr erstaunt über die verschiedenen Arten von chinesischen Drachen, die hier genau beschrieben werden.

Fazit: Klare Kaufempfehlung für Freunde der chinesischen Kunst
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Thomas
5.0 out of 5 stars A life time treasure
Reviewed in Germany on January 19, 2020
Verified Purchase
This book is a treasure of information about Chinese art and the spirit of the Chinese people that is hard to find elsewhere. It would take a life time to research by oneself. An eye opener highly recommended for anyone who wants (or needs) to understand the secret meaning of Chinese artefacts.
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