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1. 1 2020-09-04T20:41:36-07:00 Gabrielle Bonilla d55329ba7914a9c2cefe7904c6b64ca11312db2a This element of the painting is depicted as a tree, standing in for the two strokes of the modified character for “people” (亻). Gabrielle Bonilla 6 plain 2020-09-04T20:45:42-07:00 Gabrielle Bonilla d55329ba7914a9c2cefe7904c6b64ca11312db2a
2. 1 2020-09-04T20:55:22-07:00 Gabrielle Bonilla d55329ba7914a9c2cefe7904c6b64ca11312db2a This blue bird with the face of a human is, in fact, a symbol for trust as a messenger of Seowangmo (서왕모, 西王母), Queen Mother of the West, drawn from a story derived from Taoism. Gabrielle Bonilla 1 plain 2020-09-04T20:55:22-07:00 Gabrielle Bonilla d55329ba7914a9c2cefe7904c6b64ca11312db2a
3. 1 2020-09-04T20:56:00-07:00 Gabrielle Bonilla d55329ba7914a9c2cefe7904c6b64ca11312db2a The serpentine stroke of the letter is topped by a wild goose holding a message, standing in for the short dash on top of the character for “word” (言). Gabrielle Bonilla 1 plain 2020-09-04T20:56:00-07:00 Gabrielle Bonilla d55329ba7914a9c2cefe7904c6b64ca11312db2a
4. 1 2020-09-04T20:58:02-07:00 Gabrielle Bonilla d55329ba7914a9c2cefe7904c6b64ca11312db2a The goose is the deliverer of this message (서신, 書信, which literally means “writing of trust”), in reference to the classical literature of China during the Han dynasty (206 BCE - 220 CE). Gabrielle Bonilla 1 plain 2020-09-04T20:58:02-07:00 Gabrielle Bonilla d55329ba7914a9c2cefe7904c6b64ca11312db2a

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• 1 media/2019.3.2(1).jpg 2020-01-13T13:17:26-08:00 Pictorial Ideograph with Birds 20 plain 2020-02-29T05:57:06-08:00 Korea’s alphabet, hangul (한글), was introduced in 1443, in the early Joseon era. Yet, even today scholars use Chinese ideographs for art and literature. This painting pictorializes the Chinese character “trust” (信), a key component of the eight principles of Confucian morality. This character for trust (信) is composed of two parts, one which refers to “people” (人) and the other to “word” (言), placed directly side by side and fused into a single character. This combination indicated that a person’s word needs to be trustworthy. In the painting, these two elements are connected, yet visually differentiated by two distinct images. Hover over the highlighted sections for more information about this pictograph and its parts.
  
  For another example of this type of painting, see this painting at the Brooklyn Museum of Art.