Hill temples
(Temple on a Hill in JingShan Park: Beijing, China)
One of the aspects of Chinese art that I appreciate is how stylised it is. I can remember asking my mum why the mountains in Chinese paintings looked so soft, green and round, shaped almost like fingers pointing at the sky. “That’s because the mountains in China look like that”. I didn’t believe her for a long time, but now I appreciate how true to life Chinese paintings can be. This image obviously doesn’t show such dramatic landscape, but it is an example of a small temple atop a rounded hill – not as finger like as in Guilin province, but pleasantly Chinese in aspect nonetheless. There is even something delicate about the smoggy atmosphere and the distance between the temples and us. The carved pillar also sets it off nicely. I’ll have to admit that this is another of my mother’s images. I was rifling through all the family photos from the Beijing trip as we all captured different shots, we didn’t all have carbon copies of each others photographs (thank goodness).
Another noteworthy point is that many of the little dogs in China look rather like the dogs, dragons and serpents carved and painted in Beijing and in ancient art. The breeds are traditional; short and stocky with sturdy legs and teeth filled oval faces – rather like the long bodied, whiskery bow legged dragons that complete China’s fantastical creatures repertoire.
– Today Rosie is still cleaning up her flat in Glasgow –
