吉庆生肖 |五行布虎——传承中华文化的创新之作

Chinese Zodiac Culture | “Five Elements” Cloth Tigers: An Innovation of Chinese Culture生肖

全球吉庆生肖设计大赛

Global Chinese Zodiac Design Competition

全球吉庆生肖设计大赛是由北京市文化和旅游局与中央美术学院共同主办，北京市海外文化交流中心等单位承办执行的品牌文化活动。大赛旨在推广我国生肖文化，延伸春节文化内涵，推进中华优秀传统文化的国际传播能力建设。大赛自2014年起，已经连续举办9年，累计收到28067件设计作品，获奖作品406件，参加作品征集的设计师来自32个省市及20余个国家。

The Global Chinese Zodiac Design Competition is a cultural event co-sponsored by Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism and the Central Academy of Fine Arts and jointly organized by Beijing Overseas Cultural Exchanges Center and other institutions. The event aims to spread Chinese zodiac culture, enrich the cultural connotations of Spring Festival, and strength traditional Chinese culture’s international communication capacity building. Since 2014, the competition has been held for nine successive years and received 28,067 design works from 32 Chinese provinces and municipalities and over 32 countries, of which 406 are prizewinners. 

吉庆年年—壬寅虎年生肖作品展

Year of Auspice – Virtual Exhibition 

for Zodiac Designs of the Year of the Tiger

全球吉庆生肖设计大赛的每一件作品背后，都凝聚着作者对中国传统文化的理解与热爱，通过艺术创作将生肖文化的内涵和美感传递给海内外的生肖文化爱好者们。大赛获奖作品中蕴含了哪些文化内涵呢？今天，就让我们一起来看看《五行布虎》作品创作背后的设计灵感和故事吧！

Each entry of the Global Chinese Zodiac Design Competition conveys its designer’s understanding and love of traditional Chinese culture. Through their artistic works, they pass on the cultural and aesthetic connotations of Chinese zodiac to zodiac culture lovers both at home and abroad. What cultural connotations do the prize winners of the competition contain? Today, let’s take a look at the inspiration behind the prizewinning work“Five Elements” Cloth Tiger and listen to its stories. 

2022全球吉庆生肖设计大赛

（壬寅虎年）

主题平面设计、多媒体及交互设计单元

三等奖

《五行布虎》

Global Chinese Zodiac Design Competition 2022

(the Year of the Tiger)

Thematic Graphic Design, Multimedia and Interactive Design 

Third Prize

“Five Elements” Cloth Tigers 

作者介绍

Designer

刘思明

Liu Siming

设计说明 

Design description

作品结合传统布老虎自身的纹样特点，加入现代的装饰元素，同时融合了中国古代传统的“金木水火土”的五行学说，重新设计了五款布老虎，给它们起名为“五行布虎”。

The design work series integrates pattern of traditional cloth tiger with modern decorative elements. Based on the traditional Chinese theory of the“Five Elements”—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, the designer created five cloth tigers, which are named“Five Elements” Cloth Tigers. 

什么是五行？

What Are the“Five Elements”

五行是中国古代哲学家用来说明世界万物的形成及其相互关系的基础方法论。

五行，即木、火、土、金、水，这五种基本元素充盈在天地之间，无所不在。因为这些元素相互作用和发展着，大自然才能保持一个平衡，万物才能持续发展。

木代表生长的物质；火代表可以发散热能的物质；水代表流动的物质；金代表坚固的物质；土代表自然本身。木和火在土的上面，所以属阳；水和金在土的下面，所以属阴；土则是中性。

The Five Elements theory is the basic methodology that ancient Chinese philosophers used to explain the formation of everything in the world and their relationships.  

The Five Elements, namely wood, fire, earth, metal and water, are ubiquitous in the universe. They interact with each other and evolve eternally, so that nature can maintain balance and everything can develop sustainably. 

Wood represents growing substances, fire represents substances producing heat, water represents flowing substances, metal represents solid substances, and earth represents nature itself. Wood and fire are above earth and belong to yang, water and metal are beneath earth and belong to yin, and earth is neutral. 

五行图

The Five Elements Diagram

五行相生相克，顺着来便是相生，如木生火，火生土、土生金，金生水，水生木；若是逆着走，便是金克木，木克土，土克水，水克火，火克金。

古人用阴五行这种相生相克的关系，来阐释一切事物之间的相互关系，即自然界阴阳互相作用，于是产生了五行，五行之间再相互作用，则产生万事万物的无穷变化。

The Five Elements reinforce and counteract each other. If viewing this diagram clockwise, they reinforce each other: wood reinforces fire, fire reinforces earth, earth reinforces metal, metal reinforces water, and water reinforces wood; But if viewing it counterclockwise, they counteract each other: metal counteracts wood, wood counteracts earth, earth counteracts water, water counteracts fire, and fire counteracts metal.

Chinese ancestors used the relationships between the Five Elements to interpret the relationships between everything in the world. The interactions between yin and yang in nature fostered the Five Elements, which then create everything through interactions. 

五行的起源

Origins of the Five Elements Theory 

五行学说肇始于夏商之际，完善于春秋战国，影响持续至当今社会。它虽隶属于中国古代自然哲学的范畴，但在其发展过程中，却广泛地渗透到中国的社会制度、思想文化、自然科学与语言文字等各个领域。

关于五行学说的产生以及五行的本质含义，历代学者一直仁智互见，认识不一。主要观点有：五种构成世界的基本物质、殷商时期的五方观念、天之五星、手指的计数、五时气候特点和物候特点的抽象。

The“Five Elements” theory originated in the Shang and Xia dynasties and matured in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Its influence has lasted to this day. Though part of ancient Chinese natural philosophy, the theory has been extensively incorporated into various fields including social systems, philosophical culture, natural sciences, and languages in the process of its development.

Scholars of various periods have held contrasting views on the origins and essential connotations of the Five Elements. The most popular views include five essential substances composing the world, the five directions of the Shang Dynasty, five stars in the sky, the number counting with five fingers, and the climatic and phenological characteristics of the five periods. 

《尚书·洪范》

“Hong Fan” in The Book of History

最早记载“五行”学说的是夏商时期的《尚书·洪范》，其上曰：“五行：一曰水，二曰火，三曰木，四曰金，五曰土。

五行概念使中国古人以“五”来规范认识自然万物以及人事制度等就变成一种模式。《尚书》所载的典章制度大多以五为律。从尧典开始就有五品、五典、五服、五礼、五刑等记载。

其他方面还有：占卜有“五行”，方位有“五方”，古有“五帝”，史有“五代”、“五霸”，天有“五星”，地有“五湖”，山有“五岳”，人伦有“五常”、“五福”，人体有“五脏”、“五官”，诗有“五言”，粮食有“五谷”，药有“五毒”，音乐有“五音”等等。在这些“一分为五”的事物中，为首的“五行”显然是纲，其他的都是比照“五行”推演而成的。

The earliest records on the Five Elements appeared in the chapter“Hong Fan” in The Book of History:“The Five Elements refer to first, water; second, fire; third, wood; fourth, metal; fifth, earth.”

The concept of“Five Elements” resulted in ancient Chinese people habitually using“five” to regulate everything and personnel systems. For instance, the rules and norms recorded in The Book of History are five-numbered. The chapter“Canon of Yao” includes the Five Ethics, Five Codes of Conduct, Five Costumes, Five Rites, Five Penalties, etc.

There are many other things containing“five”, including Five Elements in divination, Five Directions, Five Emperors, Five Dynasties, Five Hegemons, Five Stars, Five Lakes, Five Sacred Mountains, Five Constant Virtues, Five Blessings, Five Organs, Five Senses, Five-character Poetry, Five Grains, Five Poisons, and Five Sounds. All of those derived from the“Five Elements” theory. 

五行——中华文化的瑰宝

The Five Elements

A Gem of Chinese Culture 

五行学说，是中华民族传统文化中的最精彩的瑰宝之一，它闪烁着朴素的唯物主义和辩证法的哲学思想，是先人试图探究世间万事万物生成、变化、相互影响的思想结晶，也是古人认识世界的重要方法之一。

五行其实质是将宇宙间的一切事物比象取类，抽象地概括为木、火、土、金、水五种最基本物质，并认为自然界所有事物的发展、变化，都遵循一定的规律，都是这五种基本物质不断运动和相互作用的结果。

五行学对中国人的生活产生了深远的影响，至今仍然是中医、武术、气功和一些传统文化的理论基础。

The“Five Elements” theory is one of most shining gems of traditional Chinese culture. It glistens with the philosophical thoughts of primitive materialism and dialectics. It is the intellectual crystallization of Chinese ancestors in delving into the formation, changes and interactions of everything in the world, as well as an important method for them to understand the world.

The“Five Elements” theory, in nature, abstractly summarizes all kinds of substances in the universe into five categories: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water, and holds that the evolution and changes of all things in nature follow certain laws and are results of the constant movements and interactions of the five basic substances.

The“Five Elements” theory has exerted far-reaching influence on Chinese lives. It remains the fundamental theory for traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), martial arts, qigong (a system of deep breathing exercises), and some traditional cultural achievements. 

《黄帝内经》

Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor

比如，《黄帝内经》以五行理论规范自然界事物与人体生命的方方面面，按照性质、属性相近以及存在联系的法则，归纳为五大系统，这五大系统之间，又按照五行的生克法则相互联系，从而组成了人体与自然界相互贯通的整体系统。可以说，五行理论是组成中医学“天人相应”整体观的基本构架。

《黄帝内经》中说，我们饮食应该五味均衡，什么都吃一点，但是黄色、甘味的食物可以作为主食，多吃一些，所以中国人，尤其是中国文化产生的源头地域中原地区，吃的食物主体的色彩是黄色的，农作物如小麦、玉米、小米、土豆、红薯、南瓜、黄豆等；肉类如黄鸡、黄鱼等；同样，对人体有明显补益作用的药物，也多是黄色的，如人参、党参、桂圆、大枣、枸杞子、山药、蜂蜜、甘草等。

For instance, Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor used the“Five Elements” theory to regulate everything in nature and life, and summarized five major systems based on the nature, attributes and relations of the Five Elements. The five systems are interconnected according to the relationships of the Five Elements and form an overall system in which human body and nature are interconnected. It is safe to say that the“Five Elements” theory is the fundamental framework of the TCM’s“nature-human synergy”.

According to Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor, our diet should maintain a balance among five flavors, namely we should eat all kinds of food, especially yellow and sweet staple food. Therefore, in the Central Plains region where Chinese civilization originated, yellow is the main tone of staple food, including crops like wheat, corn, millet, potato, sweet potato, pumpkin, and soybean, and meat like chicken and yellow fish. Moreover, tonic medical foods such as ginseng, Codonopsis roots, longan, date, wolfberry, Chinese yam, honey, and licorice root are also yellow.

以“土”为主导的五行思想

“Five Elements” with Earth as the Mainstay 

中国是农耕国家，土地孕育生命、长养万物，是中国人安身立命之本。因此，“土”的地位在五行观念形成以后一直高于其他四行而占据主导位置。

战国时期的著作《管子·四时》说：“中央曰土，土德实辅四时入出，……春赢育，夏养长，秋聚收，冬闭藏。”认为四时生化之气生、长、收、藏皆为“土”助益的结果。

到西汉时期，董仲舒的《春秋繁露·五行对》则明言：“土者火之子也，五行莫贵于土。土之于四时，无所命者，不与火分功名。木名春，火名夏，金名秋，水名冬。忠臣之义，孝子之行，取之土。土者五行最贵者也，其义不可以加矣”。认为“土”不仅像阳热之火一样在万物的生化活动中发挥重要作用，而且“土”之品行宽缓、温和，是儒家某些核心范畴，如“忠、孝、仁、义”等的精髓所在。因此，在五行作为哲学范畴规范自然界和人类社会中方方面面的事物之后，归属于“土”行的事物便被凸现出来。

For a long time, China was an agricultural country. Earth nurtures life and is considered the foundation for making a living by Chinese people. Therefore,“earth” occupies a higher position than other four in the Five Elements.

The chapter“Four Seasons” in Guanzi, a work in the Warring States Period, said,“Earth is in the middle, which fosters the four seasons… Spring is the time to sow, summer is the time to grow, autumn is the time to harvest, and winter is the time to store.” It holds that the four seasons are a result of earth.

Dong Zhongshu, a famous Confucian master in the Western Han Dynasty, wrote in the chapter“Correspondences of the Five Elements” in his book Chun Qiu Fan Lu:“Earth is the son of fire, and none of the Five Elements is superior to earth. Earth doesn’t correspond to any of the four seasons, and never competes for merits with fire. Wood corresponds to spring, fire to summer, metal to autumn, and water to winter. However, earth stands for loyalty and filial piety. Earth is the most dignified among the Five Elements, with ultimate cultural connotations.” Dong believed that earth not only plays a crucial role in the formation of all things like fire, but also represents core Confucian virtues such as“loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, and righteousness”. Therefore, those represented by earth stand out of all things in nature and human society regulated by the philosophical concept of the Five Elements.

五行文化具有鲜明民族特色，历史悠久、博大精深，是中国古代哲学思想的重要内容之一，对中国文化的发展中发挥着重要作用。我们应关注这类优秀的传统，传承民族文化，让中国传统文化重新焕发新的活力，服务我们未来的生活。

The“Five Elements” culture boasts a distinctive Chinese flavor, a long history and profound connotations. As an integral part of ancient Chinese philosophy, it plays an important role in the development of Chinese culture. We need to pay attention to such fine traditions, inherit national culture, and make traditional Chinese culture regain life and serve our future lives. 

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带着文化自觉和文化自信，全球吉庆生肖设计大赛旨在延伸生肖文化内涵，以创新、时尚、国际化的表达方式，讲好中国故事，传播好中国声音，增进世界对中国生肖文化的理解和共鸣。之后，本栏目也将继续为您讲述全球吉庆生肖设计大赛作品背后的文化故事，敬请期待！

With cultural consciousness and confidence, the Global Chinese Zodiac Design Competition aims to enrich the connotations of Chinese zodiac culture and tell Chinese stories and spread Chinese voices in an innovative, fashionable and internationalized way, so as to deepen the global audience’s understanding and resonation of Chinese zodiac culture. In the future, this series will continue to tell cultural stories behind the Global Chinese Zodiac Design Competition. Please stay tuned.

资料来源：

《文化：五行与中国传统文化》，《光明日报》，2009年10月22日