In the final installment of a 12-year project to create a print of each animal of the Chinese zodiac, artist Cheng Shan-hsi (鄭善禧) found himself confronted with his sternest challenge yet. The problem was that this year is the Year of the Snake according to the zodiac, and Cheng was finding it difficult to come up with an attractive image of the creature.
Each year in the zodiac’s 12-year cycle is named after a different animal, and Chinese tradition holds that an individual’s personality and path in life are influenced by the distinctive characteristics of his or her animal sign. In fact, the Mandarin term for the Chinese zodiac is sheng xiao, which literally translates as “born resembling.” In order, the 12 animals are the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep (or goat), monkey, rooster, dog and pig.
The Taipei Fine Arts Museum (TFAM) asked Cheng to create a print portraying a horse as part of the museum’s Lunar New Year celebrations for the Year of the Horse in 2002. The request was repeated and in each subsequent year, he endeavored to give the designated animal a pleasant image, even for savage beasts like the tiger. This year’s snake was the most difficult print in the series for him to create, he says, as snakes are widely feared and carry cultural connotations of deceit and insidiousness.
“To reverse the negative association with snakes, I attempted to draw a white snake that appeared genial and graceful,” Cheng says. “I also drew its body winding around in a shape resembling a musical note.” As this year’s print marked the completion of the 12-year cycle, TFAM exhibited the entire series in February, when the new lunar year began, and posters of this year’s print were given away to museum visitors.
Cheng was born in 1932 in Fujian province, mainland China and immigrated to Taiwan in 1950. As a boy, he enjoyed observing temple craftsmen as they worked with stone and wood. He was sufficiently impressed with their sophisticated workmanship and attention to detail to incorporate those traits into his art. “A painter needs to think with a literary mind, but work as a craftsman,” he says.
After Cheng graduated from the Department of Fine Arts at National Taiwan Normal University in Taipei in 1960, he began teaching art and became known for his calligraphy and traditional Chinese ink painting. In the 1970s, he emerged as one of the leading figures in the nativist art movement, as his works were characterized by an exploration of subject matter drawn from folk traditions, everyday life and local landscapes. He took top prize in several national painting competitions and in 1997 received the first National Award for Arts—the highest such honor in Taiwan—ever conferred in the category of visual arts.
As his career went on, Cheng developed a great admiration for literati painting, a term coined around the 16th century for artworks characterized by expressive, casual brushwork; experimental styles and subjects; and calligraphic inscriptions, typically in the form of either classical poems or phrases composed by the painter or a literati friend. It is not surprising, therefore, that literati influences can be seen in the dynamic brushstrokes and calligraphy of Cheng’s ink paintings and prints, including his Chinese zodiac series.
The tradition of making Lunar New Year prints can be traced back to the Tang dynasty (618–907), when people began marking the holiday by pasting images of gods on the doors of households and temples. The images were believed to ward off evil spirits while inviting the presence of good ones. Over the centuries, subject matter drawn from actual events, Buddhism, folk customs, landscapes, traditional Chinese opera and stories was incorporated into the prints. As such, they have become a distinctive art form that reflects the aesthetics, beliefs and history of local Chinese culture, particularly in rural areas. “Art can evoke a strong emotional response from viewers by relating to life, folk traditions and religion,” Cheng says.
Tradition holds that speaking negatively during the Lunar New Year holiday is likely to bring misfortune for the rest of the year, while speaking positively will bring good luck. As such, Cheng says an important part of creating the zodiac prints was coming up with auspicious, rhyming phrases that reflected the positive characteristics of the animal while also conveying wishes of happiness, longevity and prosperity.
Another Lunar New Year tradition involves pasting colored prints, paper cuttings and spring couplets—brief lines of calligraphy written on red paper that express hopeful thoughts for the coming year—on doors, walls and windows to usher in good fortune and happiness. Cheng mirrored that eclectic approach in his zodiac prints. “Basically, apart from the main [animal] figure, I liked to add Chinese characters and decorative images of flowers, fruit and Chinese knots, among other elements, to create pieces with variations in composition and deeper levels of meaning,” he says.
Cheng’s creations are also notable for their bold use of color. “Color is a potent element of visual communication,” he says. “The use of bright and high-contrast colors, in particular, enhances visual effects that attract the eye of the viewer. That should be a major feature of Lunar New Year prints, as they are designed to appeal to the masses.” The prints, the veteran artist maintains, are a form of folk art and should have fun designs that cater to all tastes, regardless of whether the viewer is rich or poor, educated or illiterate.
Similarly, Cheng uses realism instead of abstraction or transformative styles in his zodiac prints to ensure that anyone can understand the subject matter and the meaning it represents. “I don’t mind if people say that I stick to old traditions and am behind the times,” he says. “In my opinion, good art should be understandable to everybody.”
The 81-year-old artist says he is grateful to TFAM for giving him the opportunity to create the prints for 12 consecutive years. He has also been gratified to see that instead of pasting Lunar New Year prints on their doors for a few weeks, more families are now framing and hanging them in their living rooms.
After completing a full 12-year cycle, however, Cheng cannot be persuaded to continue creating the prints. “I’ve accomplished my mission and would like to pass the torch along to a younger artist,” he says. “Hopefully, my successor can produce another set of interesting New Year prints that reflect his own creativity, imagination and innovation.”
2013 Year of the Snake
May the New Year Bring Harmony, Happiness, Bounty and Longevity. (Photo Courtesy of Taipei Fine Arts Museum)
2012 Year of the Dragon
The Flying Dragon Brings Prosperity to the Nation. (Photo Courtesy of Taipei Fine Arts Museum)
2011 Year of the Rabbit
With the Leaping Hare Comes Great Fortune. (Photo Courtesy of Taipei Fine Arts Museum)
2010 Year of the Tiger
Winds of Change: The Ferocious Tiger Sparks Ambition and Promotes Prosperity. (Photo Courtesy of Taipei Fine Arts Museum)
2009 Year of the Ox
Hard Work Yields a Big Harvest. (Photo Courtesy of Taipei Fine Arts Museum)
2008 Year of the Rat
Happily Greeting the New Year (Photo Courtesy of Taipei Fine Arts Museum)
2007 Year of the Pig
All as You Wish (Photo Courtesy of Taipei Fine Arts Museum)
2006 Year of the Dog
Everything Goes Well. (Photo Courtesy of Taipei Fine Arts Museum)
2005 Year of the Rooster
The Golden Rooster’s Crow Announces the Coming Dawn. (Photo Courtesy of Taipei Fine Arts Museum)
2004 Year of the Monkey
Happiness All Around the World; Long Life to the Nation and Its People (Photo Courtesy of Taipei Fine Arts Museum)
2003 Year of the Sheep
The Auspicious Sheep Promises Happiness and Prosperity for Years to Come. (Photo Courtesy of Taipei Fine Arts Museum)
2002 Year of the Horse
The Horse Races to Success; Long Life and a Bountiful Harvest. (Photo Courtesy of Taipei Fine Arts Museum)
Write to Kelly Her at kher@mofa.gov.tw