Cultural Lesson---Chinese Fish Painting

This time in our cultural lesson we were painting FISH by using ink and brush! Ink and brush painting technique is one of China’s oldest and most prestigious forms of art.
The Chinese word for fish (鱼/yú) sounds very similar to the character (裕/ yù) in the word chōngyù (充裕) which means plentiful or abundant. Thus the fish has become a symbol for wealth in Chinese culture. Moreover it symbolizes harmony, marital happiness and reproduction because they multiply rapidly.
The mo...st popular fish motif found in Chinese art and culture is the Carp. The carp is a powerful symbol of strength and perseverance, because the scales and whiskers of the carp resemble that of a dragon, a great symbol of power in China. At the New Year Festival "lucky money" is given out in red envelopes decorated with a carp and other symbols of long life such as peach and pine trees.