The Chinese Bottle Gourd has been a favorite of Chinese painters for 8,000 years. Let’s look at a master and a special painting technique called Gogbi.
Master Gourd Artist: Gong Qiugi and Gogbi painting
The Chinese Bottle Gourd
Sometimes as we choose our gourd and imagine what we will put on it, we focus on images we like, or images we think others will like and buy. The images we choose often come from a cultural source of the area as I do here in the desert with the Native American culture around me or we think of community themes or patriotic themes. . That same approach is taken by gourd artists from other cultures. They look at a gourd and see other images and stories. This process has existed for years.
As we look at the bottle gourd on our shelf we are unaware that this gourd form has been here for over 8000 years. The bottle gourd has been recovered from archaeological contexts in China and Japan dating to ca. 8,000–9,000 B.P
Dried calabash was used as containers for liquids, often liquors or medicines. The samurai of the Edo Period in Japan used them for water jugs.
This samurai wine gourd has an attached cup with lacquer work. A museum recently sold it for $ 18,000. Maybe there is hope some of our gourd art will last that long!
Calabash gourds were also grown in earthen molds to form different shapes with imprinted floral or arabesque designs.
The ancient Chinese cultures also manipulated gourds in molds often as Buda shapes. Molded gourds were also dried to house pet crickets. The texture of the gourd lends itself nicely to the sound of the insect, much like a musical instrument. This one is from the Qing dynasty.
The Chinese Bottle Gourd
The Chinese with its long history have attached much meaning to the bottle gourd.
The húlu as the calabash is called in Mandarin Chinese, is an ancient symbol for health. Hulu had fabled healing properties due to doctors in former timers carrying medicine inside it.
The Hulu was believed to absorb negative, earth-based qi (energy) that would otherwise affect health, and is a traditional Chinese medicine cure. The bottle gourd is a symbol of the Eight Immortals, and particularly Li Tieguai, who is associated with medicine.
Li Tieguai’s gourd was said to carry medicine that could cure any illness and never emptied, which he dispensed to the poor and needy. Some folk myths say the “gourd had spirals of smoke ascend from it, denoting his power of setting his spirit free from his body,” and that it “served as a bedroom for the night. A vapor cloud emanates from the gourd, and within it is the sage’s hun (soul);
The Chinese Bottle Gourd as a talisman
Because the gourd contains many seeds, the Chinese associate the gourd with “10,000 children”. In ancient China, parents hoped for many sons and grandsons so the gourd became an important charm symbol for a large family with many children. Today they are still popular among young families and are easily found in local shops.
The gourd is also a popular charm to ward off evil spirits and disease because its first character (Hulu 葫芦) has the same pronunciation as the word to “protect” or “guard” (hu 护) and also the word for “blessing” (hu 祜).
This gourd charm has the Chinese characters fu (福) and shou (寿) on its reverse side.
Fu means “happiness” and shou means “longevity”.
The Chinese Bottle Gourd for painting
Gong Qiuqi is a master gourd artist who uses the traditional Chinese art techniques of Gogbi painting to add images to his gourds. Like you and I, he is very particular with his choice of gourd, looking for the perfect skin surface for paint. He collects images of favorite mythological stores and shares those stories through his painting.
Watch as he chooses a gourd hanging from the top of a windowsill and then sits with just a pencil and draws and then paints with few tools.
The Chinese Bottle Gourd becomes a “story gourd”.
What caught my attention was his choice of a gourd for a “story gourd”. Our patched tried these once as a challenge and we all struggled with how to move from scene to scene on the gourd. He found the perfect gourd for that challenge idea.
The four well-known characters of the Chinese literary classic Journey to the West were sculpted on the four prominent sections one by one, against the backdrop of mountains and clouds in the distance and the rocks and pine trees nearby. A flowing creek was also added to the dented area. The bulges and dents on the surface of the gourd coincide with the rugged road to the west, serving as an apposite symbol of the hardships the four will encounter.
Thanks to the superb skills of the artisan, this artwork looks natural, elegant, and harmonious although the main characters are in separate sections.
His painting skills are amazing along with his precision and management of space. It is sub-titled, so you may need to watch it more than once to see everything.
Want to learn more about the traditional Chinese art techniques of Gogbi painting? This video in English will show you how.
What did you find most interesting about this artist. Have you tried a story gourd?
Share your thoughts here in the comment box or share them with all the gourd artists on our Facebook Group Page.
Return to the Blog page for other articles.
Pinterest users can help me spread the word about my posts and jewelry by re-pinning your favorites from my Pinterest page.
Appreciate this post. Will try it out.
I don’t even know how I ended up here, but I thought this post was great.
I do not know who you are but certainly you are going to
a famous blogger if you are not already 😉 Cheers!
Appreciating the persistence you put into your website and
in depth information you provide. It’s good to come across a blog
every once in a while that isn’t the same out of date rehashed information. Wonderful read!
I’ve bookmarked your site and I’m including your RSS feeds to my Google account.
I have been checking out many of your posts and i
can claim pretty clever stuff. I will surely bookmark your blog.
Some genuinely tremendous work on behalf of the owner of this internet site, utterly great content material.
Good blog you have got here.. It?s hard to find high-quality writing like
yours these days. I seriously appreciate individuals like you!
Take care!!
Here is my blog … Neal
My pаrtner and I stumbled ofer hre from a different web address and thought I should check things out.
I liке what I see so now i’m fⲟllowing you.
Look forward to exploring your web page repeatedly.
Hi there, You’ve performed a fantastic job. I will definitely digg it and for my part recommend to
my friends. I’m confident they’ll be benefited
from this website.
Prｅtty! This has Ьeen a really wondеrful article.
Ƭhank ffor supplying these details.
Hi to аll, how is everything, I think every one is getting
more from this site, and youг views are nice in supⲣort of
new viewers.
I think this is among the most vital information for
me. And i am glad reading your article. But should
remark on few general things, The web site style
is ideal, the articles is really excellent : D. Good job,
cheers
As the admin of this site is working, no hesitation vｅry quickly
it wijll be renowned, due to its quality contents.
I like the valuable information you provide in your articles.
I’ll bookmark your blog and check again here frequently.
I am quite certain I will learn many new stuff right here!
Best of luck for the next!
I do not even know the way I stopped up right here, but I assumed this put up was great.
I don’t recognise who you’re but definitely
you’re going to a well-known blogger should you are not already 😉
Cheers!
I got what you mean, appreciate it for putting up. Woh I am glad to find this website through google.
Also visit my blog post – Leaf Boss CBD Reviews
I really like it when people get together and share ideas.
Great blog, continue the good work!
I wanted to follow up and let you know how really I treasured discovering your web site today.
I would consider it a honor to operate at my office and be able
to operate on the tips discussed on your web page and also be a part of visitors’ remarks like
this. Should a position of guest author become available at your end, you
should let me know.
Feel free to surf to my web blog … Allura Fresh Reviews
This blog was… how do you say it? Relevant!! Finally I
have found something that helped me. Appreciate it!
Feel free to surf to my web page Maricruz
Generally I do not learn post on blogs, but I
would like to say that this write-up very pressured me to take a look at
and do so! Your writing style has been surprised me.
Thank you, very nice post.
Appreciate the recommendation. Let me try it out.
Your way of telling the whole thing in this post is genuinely
good, every one be capable of easily understand it, Thanks a lot.
This is my first time go to see at here and i am genuinely happy to read everthing at one place.
Hi there, You’ve done a great job. I’ll definitely digg it and
personally recommend to my friends. I am confident they will be benefited from this website.
Thanks for sharing excellent informations. Your web site is so cool.
I’m impressed by the details that you’ve on this website. It reveals how nicely you understand this subject.
Bookmarked this website page, will come back for more articles.
You, my friend, ROCK!
Great post. I was checking constantly this blog and I
am impressed! Very helpful info specially the last
part 🙂 I care for such info a lot. I was seeking
this particular info for a long time. Thank you and best of luck.
Some truly howling work on behalf of the owner of this website, dead great written content.
Take a look at my homepage :: Spark Aura Review
Hi! I could have sworn I’ve visited your blog before but after looking at some of the posts I realized it’s new to me.
Nonetheless, I’m definitely happy I discovered it and I’ll
be book-marking it and checking back frequently!
Review my blog: walnut.ut.ac.ir
I am glad you like the blog. Hopefully, my experience can make your gourd journey more creative and joyful.
New members are always welcome.
Please come back and indulge in other posts.
Hi there I am so happy I found your webpage, I really found you by mistake, while I was searching on Bing for something else,
Anyhow I am here now and would just like to say thanks for a remarkable post and a all round interesting blog (I also love
the theme/design), I don?t have time to go through it all
at the minute but I have book-marked it and also added your RSS feeds,
so when I have time I will be back to read much more, Please do keep up the awesome jo.
Aw, this was an incredibly nice post. Taking the time and actual effort to generate a good article… but what can I
say… I hesitate a whole lot and never seem
to get anything done.
I simply could not go away your site before suggesting that I actually enjoyed the standard info a person supply on your guests? Is gonna be again ceaselessly in order to inspect new posts.
I like the valuable info you provide to your
articles. I’ll bookmark your blog and check again right here frequently.
I’m fairly certain I’ll learn many new stuff proper right here!
Best of luck for the next!
Loving the information on this web site, you have done outstanding
job on the articles.
Good way of explaining, and pleasant post to obtain facts about my presentation subject, which i am going to
convey in college.
Thanks a lot for sharing this with all people you actually understand what you are talking about!
Bookmarked.
Looking forward to reading more. Great article.Really thank you! Great.
Good way of telling, and pleasant piece of writing
to take information about my presentation subject matter, which i am going to present in institution of higher education.
Hi there it’s me, I am also visiting this web page daily, this web site is actually
pleasant and the people are genuinely sharing pleasant thoughts.
It’s truly a nice and useful piece of info. I’m happy that you just shared this helpful information with us.
Please keep us up to date like this. Thank you for sharing.
This is my first time go to see at here and i am actually impressed to read everthing
at alone place.
Pretty! This was an extremely wonderful post. Thank you
for providing this information.
It is perfect time to make some plans for the future and it is time
to be happy. I’ve read this post and if I could I wish to suggest you some
interesting things or tips. Maybe you can write next articles referring to this article.
I want to read even more things about it!
Thank you for your kind comments. You can quickly find a list of my post under the post archive button on the blog page. Join us on Facebook if you can at Gourd Art Talk.
This design is steller! You definitely know how to keep a
reader amused. Between your wit and your videos, I was almost moved to start my own blog (well, almost…HaHa!) Great job.
I really loved what you had to say, and more than that, how you presented it.
Too cool!
I think the admin of this site is genuinely working hard
for his website, because here every data is quality based stuff.
Thank you for the auspicious writeup. It if truth be told was a enjoyment account it.
Glance complex to more introduced agreeable from you!
By the way, how can we communicate?
Join my “Gourd Buddy” e-mail list by filling out the form under the free ebook picture at the bottom of the first page. I send out a monthly update of posts. Join my Facebook group page under the same name.
Hi, I do believe this is a great blog.
I have bookmarked it. Love your work!
Thanks, Be sure to check out other parts of the site and visit my store for posts you can download.
I got what you intend,saved to favorites, very decent website.
You have mentioned very interesting points! ps decent website.