Fri - December 30, 2005 | Blue Willow China
For this lesson, fourth graders learned the legend of the Blue Willow
China Plate design. Many have seen these plates but do not know the story they
depict. This story was first told in poems of traveling story tellers thousands
of years ago. It is an old chinese legend that became popular throughout the
world and inspired this plate design in the 1800's.
"The Willow Legend"
Long ago in China, in a magnificent palace surrounded by trees, lived a Mandarin, his daughter, Koong-shee, and his secretary, Chang. Chang and Koong-shee fell in love, but Chang was a commoner and she the daughter of a noble. Still their love grew as they met beneath a willow tree in the garden. When the Mandarin discovered their secret, he banished Chang & imprisoned Koong-shee by encircling the palace with a zig-zag fence.
Then he promised her hand to another. He had a feast to celebrate and after, when all fell asleep, Chang crept into the palace and fled with Koong-shee, The Mandarin awoke and pursued them across the little bridge that spans the river.
The lovers escaped, but soon the Mandarin discovered where they were hiding and sent his men to kill the couple. They came upon Chang as he was working his fields and killed him. Koong-shee, who had seen the entire scene from afar, rushed into the pavilion and set it afire. She was determined to be with Chang in death as she had been in life.
The gods, looking down on the tragedy, took pity on the lovers and transformed their souls into a pair of immortal lovebirds to forever live in the pagoda.
We can still see Chang & Koong-shee, flying over the willow tree where they first pledged their love. Their story lives forever on the Willow pattern.
We took a good look at a blue willow plate an identified all the parts of the story in the design. The design, we learned, is MONOCHROMATIC, that means it is made up of only one color and tints and shades of that color.
Students chose their favorite part of the story and designed an illustration of it for a plate. They included a decorative border around the rim. Then, they drew their design onto a paper plate in pencil. Next they mixed their tint, by mixing blue with white, and their shade, by mixing black with blue, in preparation for their painting. Then, they painted their illustration onto the plate using a monochromatic blue color scheme.
"The Willow Legend"
Long ago in China, in a magnificent palace surrounded by trees, lived a Mandarin, his daughter, Koong-shee, and his secretary, Chang. Chang and Koong-shee fell in love, but Chang was a commoner and she the daughter of a noble. Still their love grew as they met beneath a willow tree in the garden. When the Mandarin discovered their secret, he banished Chang & imprisoned Koong-shee by encircling the palace with a zig-zag fence.
Then he promised her hand to another. He had a feast to celebrate and after, when all fell asleep, Chang crept into the palace and fled with Koong-shee, The Mandarin awoke and pursued them across the little bridge that spans the river.
The lovers escaped, but soon the Mandarin discovered where they were hiding and sent his men to kill the couple. They came upon Chang as he was working his fields and killed him. Koong-shee, who had seen the entire scene from afar, rushed into the pavilion and set it afire. She was determined to be with Chang in death as she had been in life.
The gods, looking down on the tragedy, took pity on the lovers and transformed their souls into a pair of immortal lovebirds to forever live in the pagoda.
We can still see Chang & Koong-shee, flying over the willow tree where they first pledged their love. Their story lives forever on the Willow pattern.
We took a good look at a blue willow plate an identified all the parts of the story in the design. The design, we learned, is MONOCHROMATIC, that means it is made up of only one color and tints and shades of that color.
Students chose their favorite part of the story and designed an illustration of it for a plate. They included a decorative border around the rim. Then, they drew their design onto a paper plate in pencil. Next they mixed their tint, by mixing blue with white, and their shade, by mixing black with blue, in preparation for their painting. Then, they painted their illustration onto the plate using a monochromatic blue color scheme.