Students previewed the art they were going to see at the DIA with a slide presentation and discussed auspicious symbols for longevity and immortality.

Field Trip to Detroit Institute of Arts, East Asian Galleries
Students viewed traditional Chinese, Japanese, and Korean art in the DIA's East Asian collection. Students took notes and sketched personally selected objects using the Yin and Yang Symbols Worksheet.

Resources

Books

Appelbaum, Stanley, ed. Traditional Chinese Designs. New York, 1987.

D'Addetta, Joseph. Treasury of Chinese Design Motifs. New York, 1981.

Hawley, W. M. Chinese Folk Designs. New York, 1971.
The above three books belong to the Dover Press Archival Series. They contain traditional Chinese designs that may be reproduced without permission. Selected graphics from these three books were reproduced to create a handout to inspire students' designs for yin and yang symbols.

Eberhard, Wolfram. A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols: Hidden Symbols in Chinese Life and Thought. New York, 1986.
This is a dictionary of Chinese symbols.

Shepherd, Rowena, and Rupert Shepherd. 1000 Symbols. New York, 2002.
This book interprets historical and cross-cultural definitions of common symbols. This information helped students to compare and contrast the meaning of symbols for various cultures.

Sung, Vivien. Five Fold Happiness: Chinese concepts of Luck, Prosperity, Longevity, Happiness, and Wealth. San Francisco, 2002.
This book is an excellent source of Chinese symbol images with short, precise definitions. It gives an easy to comprehend explanation of the value and place of symbols in everyday Chinese living.

Williams, C. A. S. Chinese Symbolism & Art Motifs. Rutland, 1988.
The above two books contain a multitude of information with illustrations about Chinese symbols. The symbols are presented alphabetically in both books. This information was helpful to students researching a specific symbol.

Web sites

China
http://www.chinapage.com
This site includes dragon images from traditional Chinese art from museums around the world, including an online gallery of classic Chinese paintings.

http://www.pem.org/yinyutang/
This site features the Yin Yu Tang house from the Qing dynasty, rebuilt at the Peabody Essex Museum. Using a simple interactive program, students may explore diagrams of the house with photos of traditional Chinese goodwill symbols that are included in the ornamentation of house.

http://mrkellysclass.net/asian_studies_6th_grade
%20folder/art.html
This site includes images of symbols embroidered on Chinese robes in the Kent State University Museum's collection, including dragon images.

http://www.china.org.cn/english/2001/Jun/14910.htm
Contains a brief history of Chinese fans.

Korea
http://www.koreana.or.kr/
Koreana, a quarterly published by the Korea Foundation since 1987, is dedicated to increasing awareness about Korea's cultural heritage overseas as well as providing information about current artistic and cultural activities.

http://www.asianinfo.org/asianinfo/korea/painting.htm
Includes descriptions of traditional symbols in Korean painting.

Japan
Fans
http://www.fancircleinternational.org/
This site contains information on the history and usage of fans in many cultures, including the Chinese and the Japanese.

http://www.temarikai.com/
japanesetraditionalmotifsmeanings.htm
This site includes good descriptions of different symbols in Japanese culture.

Taoism
http://www.artic.edu/taoism/introduction.php
This site from the Art Institute of Chicago provides a history of Taoism as a philosophy and religion and Taoist art images.

http://www.taoistsanctuary.org/pages/Traditional
%20Chinese%20Medicine/taoism.htm
Contains an explanation of traditional Chinese medicine and how some practices are linked to Taoism.

http://www.crystalinks.com/taoism.html
This site has a descriptive explanation of Taoism and the yin and yang symbol.

http://www.religion.sbc.edu/index-frames.html
This university site has a description of Taoism and lists other resources that can be used.