Blessings and Happiness—Finding Meaning in Collecting Chinese Art

Sally Yu Leung

Sally Yu Leung's charming descriptions of Chinese folk art objects from her collection explained not only their function and the meaning behind their decoration, but also pointed out the beauty of these humble objects. These everyday articles were fashioned by artists whom Sally referred to as "unsung heroes;" their craft is scorned in China as "diao chong xiao ji," or the "trivial skills of an insect carver."

The slides she showed during the conversation were supplemented in the workshop by a number of objects that she had brought from San Francisco and others selected from the museum collection, thus representing the skills of a wide range of folk artists. The elegant lines and construction of a bamboo headrest and a wooden rice-bucket, for example, were clearly designed for more than practicality. And the New Year couplets pasted on doors would surely not survive through the year if they were not aesthetically pleasing as well as the bearers of auspicious messages.

One problem for collectors is the sheer volume of objects that can fall into the category of folk art. Sally joked that her children referred to their home as the "flea market," and told how she had to conceal newly purchased objects for a few months before revealing them to her husband, with the claim that they had been in the collection for years. How many collectors can state, as she does, that they do not know the number of objects in their collection?

Her playful asides, however, clearly mask a dedicated collector and a tireless proponent of using a collection as a teaching tool. An enthralled audience learned of many little-documented facets of Chinese culture, history, and New Year's customs, as well as such fascinating tidbits as ensuring infants do not develop sticking-out ears (or in the delightful Chinese phrase, zhaofenger or wind-catching ears) by making a hole through the center of the millet-husk stuffed pillow.

It is sad to imagine how much folk art was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution, and to consider how much has subsequently been discarded as worthless, crude, and ugly. It is surprising too that this area of Chinese art has been long overlooked by overseas collectors. If the Denver audience's reaction is any indication, though, Sally Yu Leung's passion for the subject will certainly help to change that.

Return to top