Asian Art Forums - Detail List

Asian Art Forums

Group: Message Board

Re: equilateral cross

Posted By: Bill H
Posted Date: Apr 16, 2009 (12:00 PM)

Message
Patrick, the proper term in this case is in fact "swastika." That word has Sanskrit roots, and China adopted the swastika from India along with Buddhism, wherein it is an icon for all good fortune and virtue.

In China and Japan, the swastika has become part of the language as "wan" in Chinese and "man" in Japanese. It is used interchangeably with their common character for "ten thousand" and consequently has come to connote "eternity," as expressed in the longevity blessings "wan sui" in China and "banzai" in Japan.

This symbol often is expressed in Chinese and Japanese graphic design as the "swastika fret," wherein the form is reduplicated nonstop. Appropriately, the Chinese call this pattern "Wan Zi Bu Dao Tou" (the endless swastika).

Nowadays many people consider the swastika to represent evil, because a backward (clockwise) form of it was adopted as a national symbol in Nazi Germany. However, in addition to historical use by Buddhists in Asia, the swastika has been found in Native American art since prehistoric times.

Regards,

Bill H.

Post a Response

Responses:

Re: Re: equilateral cross - Patrick Norton - Apr 19, 2009 (10:29 AM)