The Tiger and the Magpie: What Korea's Folk-Art Tiger Really Means
If you have ever seen a Korean painting of a tiger, there is a good chance it looked a little ridiculous. Wide eyes, a goofy grin, stripes that wander off in their own direction, and a small black-and-white bird sitting in a pine tree above it, apparently unafraid. That pairing has a name, and a long story behind it. Minhwa: paintings for ordinary homes The tiger-and-magpie picture belongs to minhwa , often translated as Korean folk painting. During the Joseon dynasty (1392–1897), minhwa were made for everyday households rather than palaces or scholars' studios. Most of the painters are anonymous. The pictures were meant to be used: hung for a holiday, pasted near a door, folded into a screen for a wedding. Their subjects were wishes people could name out loud: a long life, a good harvest, children, protection, good news. Kkachi horangi: the tiger, the magpie and the pine The genre is called kkachi horangi ("magpie and tiger") or jakhodo (νΈμλ, "magpie and...