While many treat January 1st as a great day of possibility and transition- the inauguration of the New Year- for other cultures the New Year comes a little bit later. In many Asian countries and other nations with either a heavy Buddhist or Islamic influence on their cultures, the Lunar New Year is a day that’s freighted with a heavy degree of significance. The Lunar New Year marks the beginning of a new year oriented around a lunar calendar, and is often celebrated with family gatherings and the eating of sweet cakes like mochi or tang yuan rice balls. The Lunar New Year is also known as the Spring Festival in China, which celebrates the holiday over the course of fifteen days. According to the Chinese zodiac, 2025 is the Year of the Snake: a time of change, renewal, and resilience.
On Monday, January 27, Rio Salado College celebrated the Lunar New Year by participating in a virtual tour of the National Museum of Asian Art. The tour was led by docent Richard Lum, who spoke with enthusiasm and insight about the items from the collection featured on the tour. Lum shared about the origins of the National Museum of Asian Art in Washington, D. C., and the unique challenges it faces as an institution. Many of the pieces in the collection came from one donor, Charges Lang Freer, who also was known for owning the largest collections of paintings by James McNeil Whistler. Freer stipulated that all of the pieces he donated to the museum must remain at all times in the museum and could not be loaned out or moved to other museums. As Lum explained, that rule also means that any restoration work must be done in-house, which means that rather than sending art to experts to repair, the experts must come to them to work on these fine pieces.
One of the early highlights of the tour a display of poetry scrolls of plum blossoms. These red blossoms painted on paper were made with ink fashioned out of soot binded with gelatin from bones and hooves. Lum explained that the scrolls were light sensitive and could only be displayed to museum lighting every five years for six months at a time.
Plum blossoms were also featured on a stunning Qing dynasty porcelain plate Lum showed the tour. Made with cobalt pigment, the plate depicted the "three friends of winter": evergreen pine, bamboo, and plum blossoms (which represent virtue in Confucianism). According to Lum, the three friends are a recurring motif in Chinese art. He discussed the symbolism of spring and fans in the art, and how spring often symbolizes youth while fans act as a representation of luck.
Lum showed the tour a red lacquer tray that depicted phoenixes wheeling in flight in front of chrysanthemums, then showed a gorgeous red lacquer box called the "Treasure Box of Eternal Spring and Longevity" from the 17th century.
The tour included works by the legendary Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai. Lum revealed that the museum (which holds the world’s largest collection of pieces by Hokusai) is working on a big Hokusai show to be unveiled in 2027.
Lum showed the tour Hokusai’s ornate hanging silk scroll panels called “New Year Custom: Wish for a New Year’s Auspicious Dream” and “New Year Custom: Makeup on the New Year Morning.”
The tour was only an hour but revealed a wealth of information about Asian art, introducing participants to a rich lineage of symbolism and beauty.
Article by Austin Brietta