Touched by Indigo - Royal Ontario Museum
Touched by Indigo - Royal Ontario Museum
Touched by Indigo - Royal Ontario Museum
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1<br />
cal events, religion, social customs, and geometric designs. Through<br />
association and punning, the images were used to express wishes<br />
for longevity, harmonious marriage, numerous progeny, happiness,<br />
wealth, and prosperity. To the simple folk, adorning their clothes<br />
and household furnishings with these auspicious symbols was one<br />
way of reminding them of the good things to look forward to in life.<br />
Seeing them constantly also made them feel that their aspirations<br />
would more likely come true one day. Today unfortunately, this rich<br />
symbolic tradition has become<br />
widely neglected due to changing<br />
times and cultural values.<br />
Many motifs now need to be<br />
decoded to be fully appreciated.<br />
Blue-and-whitetextilesand<br />
embroidery may look too subdued<br />
or sterile to people in the<br />
modern age. Yet, for centuries<br />
the common people in China<br />
have found them spiritually satisfying.<br />
To them, the simple<br />
colour scheme epitomized contentment,<br />
tranquillity, and harmony<br />
between human beings<br />
and nature. Notwithstanding<br />
1<br />
the wide acceptance of this<br />
simple colour scheme, it must<br />
be pointed out that ordinary<br />
Chinese did not dress themselves<br />
in just blue and white. They also dressed in other colours. The<br />
ethnic groups, in particular, who were and still are passionate about<br />
colours, would always mix and match clothes or accessories made<br />
from blue-and-white textiles and embroidery with articles adorned<br />
in more vibrant colours. In most cases, blue and white blend just as<br />
effectively with a multicolour scheme as they do when used on their<br />
own in a much simpler colour scheme.