Chinese Lotus Painting from a Multi-Dimensional Perspective: Symbolic Meanings in Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism and Folk Culture

บทคัดย่อ

This study employed semiotic analysis rooted in traditional Chinese culture, focusing on the lotus imagery as its core subject. It systematically reveals the multidimensional symbolic system and evolutionary patterns of this imagery across Confucian ethics, Buddhist symbolism, Taoist philosophy, and folk auspicious culture. The research objectives were divided into three dimensions:First, analyzing how lotus blossoms acquire differentiated symbolic meanings in diverse cultural contexts (Confucian virtue analogy, Buddhist Pure Land concepts, Taoist natural philosophy, and folk auspicious traditions); second, exploring the adaptation mechanisms between biological characteristics of natural objects (straight stems, pure blossoms, and interconnected roots) and cultural codes; third, constructing a cross-cultural "stratification-translational" theoretical model to provide methodological support for the contemporary transformation of traditional symbols.

The research employed a fourfold methodology: first, textual analysis systematically examines classical texts, including "In Praise of the Lotus" and "Lotus Sutra"; second, an iconographic approach establishes a database of over 200 lotus artworks to compare visual expressions across Gongbi (meticulous brushwork), Buddhist sculpture, and ink painting; third, field investigations collect folk art samples such as paper-cutting and New Year paintings; fourth, an innovative "biometric-cultural coding" model was introduced to quantitatively analyze symbolic translation pathways of elements like stems (representing Confucian integrity), flowers (symbolizing Buddhist purity), and lotus roots (corresponding to Taoist naturalness).

The study revealed four key findings: 1. Confucianism constructed the lotus stem's "central transparency and outward straightness" as a symbol of noble character through its "bi de" mechanism, with Southern Song artist Ma Yuan's White Lotus Painting demonstrating its visual transformation principles; 2. Buddhism encoded the "pure land" concept through geometric lotus platform patterns, as evidenced by Dunhuang murals showing their evolution from Indian prototypes to localized forms; 3. Taoism embodied the philosophy of "mutual generation between being and non-being" through ink-wash lotus painting's "flying white" technique, as seen in Bada Shanren's Flowers on the River, which illustrates the intertextuality between brushwork and conceptual ideas; 4. Folk homophonic strategies (lotus/parallel, lotus root/parity) transformed primitive fertility worship into auspicious symbols, as evidenced by Ming-Qing era "abundance year after year" motifs. The research ultimately proposed a three-stage evolutionary model for lotus as a "super-stable cultural symbol" (biological foundation-cultural encoding-meaning regeneration), offering an operational theoretical framework for intangible cultural heritage preservation, artistic creation, and cross-cultural communication.