Chinese Culture and Education
Six mural art paintings, Kei Faat Primary School, Hong Kong, April/May 2023
Yellow Mountain Landscape
Yellow mountain is one of the top ten scenic spots in China. It is included in the World Cultural and Natural Heritage List. Strange peaks and rocks are the characteristics of Yellow mountain. Various small animals live among these strange rocks, including monkeys, squirrels, sika deer, and maybe other animals waiting for your discovery.
There are two beautiful long-tailed pheasants flying in the sea of clouds. The strange pines and cypresses on the top of the mountain or in the mountains make Huangshan more beautiful. Those ancient temples and ancient plank roads in the mountains are telling people the history of Huangshan. The moon at night gives Yellow mountain a layer of romantic color.
Chinese Opera
Chinese Opera or Beijing Opera is presented in various ways. It has a musical theater concept. There are various characters in the performance, as well as unique costumes, acting and the accompaniment of traditional musical instruments, and singing is the priority in this performance. In both corners of the artwork, we see two large faces look at us.
We hear beautiful sounds from the lute and the traditional Chinese Guzheng. Can you hear them too? The lute player looks expectantly at the big mask, who is hiding behind it? Is it the Chinese man with a brown and a blue eye, or is he part of the opera and wears colored lenses instead of a mask?
The Great Wall
The Great Wall of China is a world cultural heritage. Almost all the Great Wall is built in the mountains, it looks like two dragons flying up and down. Are they protecting the pedestrians? The Chinese call themselves the descendants of the dragon, and the Chinese began to build the Great Wall thousands of years ago. Its total length is more than 20,000 kilometers, and many people sacrificed their lives for it. It is also a spiritual symbol of the hard work and perseverance of the Chinese people.
Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival is the most important of the Chinese holidays. Chinese New Year is traditionally celebrated with dragon dances and lion dances. But what happened, we see celebrating pandas? Pandas are unique animals in China. When the Chinese New Year comes, amidst the sound of fireworks and firecrackers, these curious and playful pandas also join in the New Year’s activities. One panda participated in the lion dance, and the other curious panda rushed to watch with a lantern. . And the other panda prefers to eat. She is eating candied haws from old Beijing. The cute pandas add more festive atmosphere to the Chinese New Year
Forbidden City
In the center of the painting we see a beautiful palace, the entrance to The forbidden City, located in Beijing. Built during the reign of Emperor Ming Yongle. It was home to 24 Emperors for 491 years from 1420 until 1911, first used during the Ming Dynasty until the end of the Qing Dynasty.
On the right side of the painting we see two emperors represented differ dynasties portrayed in a large way. The people looked up to those in power. On the left side we see the Fenghuang, the Chinese phoenix, a mythical animal in which the male (feng) and the female (huang) are united as yin and yang. The animal is said to have been born of the sun, is emperor of the 360 bird classes and is considered one of the four celestial animals. The phoenix symbolizes an immortal bird whose rare appearance is said to be an omen foretelling harmony at the ascent to the throne of a new emperor.
Terracotta Warriors
The Terracotta Army is the name for the archaeological find of about 8000 terracotta figures that were given as burial gifts to the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huangdi. The “army” is located between Mount Li and modern-day Xi’an.
The terracotta army is besieged by modern clay tools. They want to copy it, distort it and add their own ideas. The army flees with Qin Shi Huang, the dragon’s son, emperor of China, is angry and besieges the clay tools along with the dragon. The terracotta warriors come back to life. But this special phenomenon is not obvious to everyone; the rider on horseback prefers to look at his phone, unaware of what is happening in front of him. History is being written here, and the selfie tourist captures his moment and makes history.