Snake in East Asian Art: Happy Lunar New Year!

Snakes, Serpents, Reptiles

Snakes have been both feared and revered throughout human history. For thousands of years, motifs of the snake or serpent has appeared in art in almost every civilization and period. Here, we will concentrate on East Asia, one of the earliest cradles of civilization.

Chinese Zodiac

The snake is the sixth in the 12-year Chinese zodiac cycle. It is associated with the personal traits of wisdom, patience, and intuition. In Chinese culture, people born in a Snake year are considered planners, problem solvers, and deep thinkers. Each New Year has a zodiac animal and one of five elements (earth, wood, fire, metal, and water). This year we have the snake and the element of wood—hence the wood snake!

The Year Ahead

2025 is believed to represent a time of both creativity and introspection—something we might like to celebrate after the political, cultural, and social upheavals of recent times. Wood Snake’s characteristics include resourcefulness, adaptability, and diligence. This is your year to focus on self-development and pursue long-term goals with steadiness and patience.

Role of the Snake

Christian mythology leans towards the “evil serpent,” but across East Asia, the snake is more likely to be celebrated and protected. Communities in East Asia may practice Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Christianity, ancestor worship, or shamanism. The snake’s ability to shed its skin is seen as a symbol of life, death, and rebirth by many cultures, and it was considered to be the bridge between heaven and humans.

Mythology

In Chinese mythology, the goddess Nüwa (or Nu Gua) was lonely and made the first humans out of clay, as companions. This mother goddess is involved in so many ancient myths across China. She is shown above all with her brother Fuxi (or Fu Hsi). The siblings are usually depicted with snake-like bodies and human heads.

Other fantastical mythologies include the 1,000-year-old Bai Suzhen, also known as Madam White Snake, who romanced a man called Xu Xian. Yanwei is a snake deity who hates thunder but can grant immense power. Jiuying is a nine-headed monster, known for its baby-like cry.

A Modern Twist

Modern artist Soe Yu Nwe, a third-generation Chinese immigrant based in Myanmar, is fascinated by snakes and their mythology. A snake series she created in 2015 is titled Feminine Wound. Soe Yu Nwe has worked across Asia and in the USA, and her work explores her own experience of Buddhism (and especially its treatment of women) and how that contrasts with the romanticized Western idea of Buddhism.

When exhibiting at the British Museum in 2023, she commented that she aimed to narrate the pain that resulted from internalized feelings of sexism and otherness due to her gender and cultural identity.

Snake Goddess

Soe Yu Nwe created the Naga Maedaw serpent series during an artist’s residency in Jingdezhen in China, a city famous for ceramic production. She was inspired by the real-life story of a Buddhist woman called Mya Nan Nwe, who was believed to be the reincarnation of a dragon. The sculpture also references Nu Gua, the mythical mother Goddess of the universe and the creator of human beings. On her website, Soe Yu Nwe states that she is interested in creating mythical beings with influences from both Chinese and Southeast Asian elements.

Happy New Lunar Year!

Will you be celebrating on January 29? We will! So cook something scrumptious, and maybe hang a red lantern, or tie on a red scarf. Then raise a glass, or light a candle, to the Wood Snake. Best of luck to us all for 2025!