Tigers and magpies (Korea, c. 1850-1900)

The name of this website “Tigers & Magpies” is inspired by a particular type of Korean folk art painting that I fell in love with when I first saw it. Some people might not get the association at first glance so I want to give everyone the background information.

Since I am not an expert on the history or significance of Korean folk art, I’ve copied a small section from the wonderful book Tales of Korean folk paintings: Minhwa for you to read. I highly recommend the book to anyone who is the least bit interested in Korean folk art because the book covers a broad spectrum of art styles, is beautifully illustrated, and written in clear, easy to understand English.

Another fantastic book I can recommend is the Handbook of Korean Art: Folk Paintings. It’s packed full of great photos and simple explanations.

The images you see here have been borrowed from other sites on the internet. Links and credits are given.

Photo (Above): Jimmy . Lin

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From Tales of Korean folk paintings: Minhwa (p131-135)

Magpies and Tigers (까치와 호랑이)

An important subset of tiger paintings is hojak-do (호작도), the paintings of magpies and tigers. In such a painting, a smiling tiger is looking at a magpie sitting in a pine tree. A folktale provides context for this image.

Once upon a time, a tiger wandered into a big puddle in the forest. Incapable of freeing himself, he anxiously waited for someone to rescue him. He endured three days without a meal before a goodhearted woodcutter happened to pass by.

The tiger begged the man to save his life. When the woodcutter obliged, the ungrateful tiger attempted to eat him. Startled by this turn of events, the woodcutter asked an ox and a pine tree to fairly judge the case. But the pair sided with the tiger, urging him to eat the woodcutter.

In desperation, the woodcutter turned to a magpie for a final opinion. The magpie asked the woodcutter and the tiger to reenact the story so that he could make an appropriate judgment.

The foolish tiger returned to the puddle, and the woodcutter was saved. Because of this tale, a magpie has long been considered a friend to humans.

In Korea, a magpie is known as the bearer of good news. It is also an envoy of a tutelary deity who has control over people’s happiness and fortune, while a tiger is the messenger who carries out the deity’s wishes.

These beliefs very likely originate in China, where a painting of a leopard with a magpie has the meaning “to spread good news.” The word for leopard, p’yo, sounds similar to po (포), which means “to inform,” while a magpie was sometimes called huijak (희작), or “happy magpie.”

Accordingly, a painting that combined both creatures was called pohui (포희), or “happy message.” With the addition of a pine tree, representing the first month of the year, it becomes shinyon pohui (신연포희), in other words “to receive good news when greeting the New Year.”

Some observers read these paintings into a political meaning: namely, that the preening tiger can be interpreted as an incompetent or corrupt official, while a magpie in a pine tree is the symbol of the aggrieved populace. The satire elicits our laughter through the presentations of a ludicrous image of a tiger and of a twittering magpie that derides authoritative and corrupt statesmen.

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Photo (Above Left): Wikipedia
Photo (Above Right): Daily Korean Stuff