21st May 2023 Angela C S F and Beena
I wish to introduce a new artist to this website. Ms Angela CSF painted this traditional scene from Lingnan, Foshan, China. She painted this in acrylic on canvas and beautifully captured the nuances of a conventional ancestral temple place. I liked that shadow on the neck of the lady on the left, a subtle but important feature. I was drawn to that more than anything else😊.
She titled this piece “Double Happiness”. I suppose maybe getting married is meant to be a happy occasion😊😊. For many, marriage means getting more family members. For the groom’s side, it is like getting a daughter and for the bride’s side getting a son.
I learnt something about the Lingnan Tiandi renovation project launched in 2008. The project aimed to preserve the old with the new, and it became a huge tourist attraction for Foshan. The main target was the area of the Foshan Ancestral Temple, where Angela captured the scene in her painting. The Yang family owned the Wenhuili married house in the early Qing Dynasty. Most family houses were tiny. As weddings are big celebrations, the Yang family rented their own for such occasions so that the people of Foshan could maintain their traditional wedding practices. Now, that is what I would call “Double Happiness”😂😂😂.
I hope you have enjoyed her painting and my thoughts about it😊🙏🙏🙏. For those who have been to Foshan, please contribute your comments.
3 thoughts on “Double Happiness”
Ms Angelas painting has captured the essence of a Chinese temple
long back i had been to a temple in Hong Kong (sorry i forget the exact location)the ambiance was similar to the temple in Ms Angelas painting that temple too had the red inscription on either side of the entrance (probably meaning double happiness) what i liked was you are supposed to enter the temple maintain strict SILENCE, bow your head in reverence to the creator & after making your wish silently leave the place allowing others also to enter the premises
In sharp contrast to many temples in India where most temples have devotees praying aloud sometimes to the accompaniment of drums of different sizes,sounds/ beats ,clarinet , crackers, caparisend elephants etc giving one less time to introspect perhaps the noise all around you makes your blues vanish in the cresendo.
each has its own advantages
Welcome Angela. So very nice of you to share your wonderful painting with the group.
Allan
Thank you very much Dr.Beena for writing such a detail description about my painting. .I am learning the inside story which I neglected.My story is just based on the apparance o the characters and my skeptical views about marriage. The lady in white walked into the (door of double happiness) while the other just look hesitating. In life they are many (walked )into marriage and enjoyed happiness while other missed.