At the invitation of Feng-Shui Master Yun Long Zi for the celebration of the Winter Solstice in Singapore, we had the pleasure and honor to discover one of the artist's latest creations, the Pineapple Dragon. The colorful mythical creature will be hitting Singapore's streets again for the upcoming Lunar New Year, which this year falls on January 25.
Watch the December Winter Solstice Blessing Celebration at Lotus on Water Gallery here:
What are the meaning and message behind this highly original dragon? We asked Yin Loong Kan, the manager of Lotus on Water Gallery and an erudite in Chinese literature, to share his knowledge:
"So, the Lotus Pineapple Dragon (皇梨龙)...Why not the usual Prosperity Dragon (旺梨龙)-- Prosper your dragon (旺你的龙) --, which is a combination of orange, apple or grapes and the dragon figure?
"The mascot designed by Master Yun himself is meant to represent “the best of the earth and the treasure of the heaven (地上之最，天上之宝)”, according to his own words. But the dragon is traditionally associated with the phoenix(龙凤呈祥), both bringing prosperity for the new year to come, not with the pineapple (龙－黄梨呈祥)”...Could it be that the dragon had a fancy for eating pineapples?
"In Chinese, "pineapple" can be written “黄梨” (黄 as yellow) as well as “凤梨” (凤 as phoenix). This is because the leaves of a pineapple plant look like that of a phoenix tail. And here's the revelation:
the Lotus Pineapple Dragon is actually the Lotus Pineapple Phoenix as well! Thus, this unique mascot designed by Lotus on Water actually carried the auspicious meaning of “prosperity brought by the dragon and the phoenix (龙凤呈祥)".
"Taking a closer look at the Lotus Pineapple Dragon pendant, you would notice a head of a dragon carved over an overturned pineapple that has its leaves at the bottom. The overturned pineapple has the hidden meaning of “the arrival of prosperity (旺到)”, and if you look at it from a holistic view, the pendant has both the power of the dragon’s head and a phoenix’s tail.
"In the Book of Changes (易经), 乾 (qian) represents heaven and 坤 (kun) represents earth, the fundamental combination of yin and yang. Therefore, the Lotus Jadeite Pineapple Dragon is a bearer of this yin and yang, possessing the best qi of heaven and earth, and through this dragon and phoenix, the best prosperity in the universe is channeled to you.
"What a splendid symbol for the Winter Solstice Celebration!"
And an auspicious opportunity to wish all our readers a Happy Lunar New Year!
