This is an old revision of this page, as edited by SpinnerLaserzthe2nd(talk | contribs) at 18:59, 19 July 2022(https://www.sgv.edu.vn/tu-quan-tu-trong-hoi-hoa-trung-quoc-post1740.html, https://www.jjan.kr/article/20200615710899 and http://museum.city.fukuoka.jp/sp/exhibition/572/). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 18:59, 19 July 2022 by SpinnerLaserzthe2nd(talk | contribs)(https://www.sgv.edu.vn/tu-quan-tu-trong-hoi-hoa-trung-quoc-post1740.html, https://www.jjan.kr/article/20200615710899 and http://museum.city.fukuoka.jp/sp/exhibition/572/)
In Chinese art, the Four Gentlemen or Four Noble Ones (Chinese: 四君子; pinyin: Sì Jūnzǐ), literally meaning "Four Junzi", is a collective term referring to four plants: the plum blossom, the orchid, the bamboo, and the chrysanthemum.[1][2] The term compares the four plants to Confucianjunzi, or "gentlemen". They are most typically depicted in traditional ink and wash painting and they belong to the category of bird-and-flower painting in Chinese art. In line with the wide use of nature as imagery in literary and artistic creation, the Four Gentlemen are a recurring theme for their symbolism of uprightness, purity, humility, perseverance against harsh conditions, among other virtues valued in the Chinese traditions.
The Four Gentlemen have been used in Chinese painting since the time of the Song dynasty (960–1279) because of their refined beauty, and were later adopted elsewhere in East Asia by artists in Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. As they represent the four seasons (the plum blossom for winter, the orchid for spring, the bamboo for summer, and the chrysanthemum for autumn), the four are used to depict the unfolding of the seasons through the year.