THE STORY
Laying beneath the silvered peach tree, the velvet fur of the fawn blends with the downy fallen fruits.
From the silence of the forest, a white tiger softly paces, glassy eyes shining.
Its gaze rests far into the distance toward the river crossing as it takes a bite of the succulent fruit, savouring the immortal nectar.
A ritual jade tiger faces west; a paradise flycatcher looks on. Could this be the mystical, herbivorous zouyu, licking its lips?
The deer’s melodious cry is clear and sweet in the morning mist.
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Artist's Notes
This page showcases a personal summary of Sabina's research, her detailed texts reflecting on the specific themes and ideas which influenced the final artworks and help to bring each story to life. Sabina's accompanying notes are an integral part of her creative process, summarising the multitude of influences, discoveries, and inspiration behind every design.
Zouyu, Cry The Deer was inspired by the legend of the zouyu, a mythical, white tiger-like beast with a gentle, herbivorous nature. The benevolent, vegetarian, and virtuous zouyu only appears when a sagacious ruler reigns and a sighting is an auspicious omen. The design title was inspired by the ancient poem, Yu, Yu, Cry The Deer.
The design is featured in the collection Softest Song, a gentle, poetic take on the peaceful culture and stories of Song Dynasty China. From mythical creatures to symbolic animals, the collection focuses on the simplicity, refinement and tenderness of the era.
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THE ILLUSTRATION
Within this design, the protagonist absentmindedly feasts on the rare and precious Peaches of Immortality, while the soft, quiet fawn blends unnoticed into the fallen fruit. The nature of the beast and the fate of the fawn are open to the viewers discretion; herbivorous zouyu, or ferocious white tiger?
An empty porcelain vase represents peace, while, like the main subject, a tiny jade tiger ornament faces west. Strategically placed cinnabar seals identify the artist and the provenance of the work while balancing the composition. Knots and bows represent a rebus; tying each symbolism and metaphor together as one. Sabina Savage is noted in a traditional, calligraphy-style brush script.
Research
One of the most revered animals in Chinese culture, the tiger is a magnificent creature in both folklore and art, representing strength, power, and prowess. It is known for its guardianship, bravery, and positive energy, a creature born to command rather than to obey. The word for tiger in Chinese is hǔ (虎), a homophone for ‘protect’ or ‘guard’, and the symbol for ‘king’ (王) is said to appear in its forehead markings, warding off evil and protecting children from deadly dangers. Associated with ‘yin’, the tiger is one of the four divine animals symbolising the cardinal directions, while a white tiger represents the seven constellations found in the west. In ancient times, there was a ritual jade tiger buried with the dead, facing west.
By the turn of the 10th century, tigers were an independent subject of Chinese animal painting, becoming well established during the Song dynasty, following two main artistic aesthetics. First came realistic portrayals which were traditional in style, while the pursuant didactic interpretations were more poetic and fluid, related with legends and imbued with symbolic associations.
The first great master of traditional Chinese tiger painting was Bao Gui, followed by his son, Bao Ding. They were succeeded in 12th century by Mr. Zhao, whose work indicated this changing aesthetic standard in Chinese painting (he was known as ‘Mr. Untidy’), and his work is demonstrated by the Xuanhe Huapu (Song Imperial Catalogue). Mr. Zhao closely focused on the tigers’ specific moods and expressions rather than set poses, which were in turn associated with certain surroundings, creating archetypes future artists would follow. For example, ‘roaring with the wind’, ‘sitting on the cliff and watching from the height’, and ‘emerging from the mountain’. Paintings of a tiger chasing a deer go back to the Han dynasty, a category known as ‘Spring Water, Autumn Mountain’.
While seen as a protective force, tigers also have a formidable reputation in Chinese culture and are to be both revered and feared. The ancient Chinese legend of ‘Tiger Crossing a River’ refers to the benevolent rule of Lui Kun, the Han dynasty governor. The tale symbolises that when acompassionate ruler presides, all causes of harm (even tigers) will leave. By contrast, however, the zouyu, a mythical white beast, is a creature with a tiger’s ferocity but a gentle, herbivorous nature. First appearing in The Book of Odes (Ming dynasty), the benevolent, vegetarian, and virtuous zouyu only appears when a sagacious ruler reigns, and sighting a zouyu in the wild is an auspicious omen.
The Daoist Peaches of Immortality appear frequently in Chinese mythology, and are imbued with the mystic virtue of conferring longevity on all who eat them. The peach tree will put forth leaves once every thousand years and it requires another three thousand years for the fruit to ripen and bloom. They are a symbol appearing in a number of fables and paintings, often in association with thematically similar iconography of longevity, such as deer, who according to Chinese mythology, can live for up to five thousand years.
The oldest existing collection of Chinese poetry, The Book of Odes, contains a poem titled, ‘YuYu, CryTheDeer’, a peaceful account of a fawn laying in the forest beside the quiet mountain, birdsong and the deer’s beautiful cry punctuating the silence. Linked with agility, speed, and longevity, deer (鹿, lù) is also a homonym for prosperity and success (祿, lù).
Knots and bows are ubiquitous in Chinese life; presence of a knot always represents a rebus; a symbolism in conjunction with the other details in the design, tying the metaphors together as one, while the presence of an empty vase symbolises peace.
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