The Crane in Korean Art: Long Life, Scholar-Officials and the Ten Symbols
In Korean art, a crane is rarely just a bird. It stands for a long life, a clean mind and a message from somewhere higher. You find it on palace screens, on the chests of court officials and, every winter, in the rice fields near the border, where real cranes still arrive by the hundreds. One of the ten symbols of long life Korea has a set of images called sipjangsaeng (십장생), the ten symbols of longevity. The most common list is the sun, clouds, mountains, water, rocks, pine trees, deer, cranes, turtles and the mushroom of immortality, called bulrocho or yeongji . Lists vary a little; some swap in bamboo or peaches. Painted together on large folding screens, these ten things made a whole landscape of wishes for health and long years. Within that set, the crane has a special place. It was thought to live for a very long time, and it was often described as a messenger between heaven and earth, which is why it is usually shown flying through clouds or standing near pine trees an...