Quick Answer: What Does a Pig Mean in Chinese Art?
A pig in Chinese art can evoke wealth and provision, especially in Han burial objects. It can also represent the twelfth animal of the zodiac. Shape, material and neighboring figures help distinguish those meanings.[1][2][3]
- Small reclining pig. A hand-sized carving may have been made for burial.[1]
- Pigsty model. A miniature enclosure represents part of the household economy.[2][4]
- Animal-headed figure. A pig with a robed human body may belong to a zodiac set.[3]
The pig-headed character from Journey to the West has additional narrative clues.[5]
A carved pig small enough to rest in a hand and a pottery enclosure with pigs inside it bring different aspects of a household into a tomb. One reduces the animal to a compact shape. The other shows its place among buildings and the routines of a farm.[1][2][4]
Jade Pigs for the Hand
An Eastern Han jade hand-pig (玉握豬, yùwòzhū) in the Met is 11.4 centimeters long. The compact reclining pose draws the legs into the body, and a few cuts identify the snout and limbs. Objects of this kind could be placed in the hands of the deceased and expressed a wish for wealth in the afterlife.[1][4]
A similar shape also survives in dolomite. The designation “hand-pig” describes the kind of object, while the catalogue tells you whether a particular example is jade or another stone.[1][6]
The Pigsty as a Model of a Household
Eastern Han burials could include pottery models of houses and farm structures intended to provide for the afterlife. A green-glazed pigsty is one example. A different model in Beijing has a small latrine attached to the enclosure. That feature preserves a detail of how pigs and the collection of fertilizer could be linked on a farm.[2][4]
Details such as the wall and the small building make the pig part of a working place.[2][4]
The Pig at the End of the Zodiac
The Pig follows the Dog and closes the twelve-animal cycle, which opens with the Rat. In an eighth-century earthenware set, the animals are given human bodies in official robes. The shared shape and costume distinguish the pig-headed figure from an isolated model of livestock. See the Ox in Chinese art for another animal in this sculptural format.[3]
An eleventh-century porcelain example shows that the Pig also appears in later zodiac tomb pottery. Its pale ceramic body and brown iron accents differ from the finish of the Tang earthenware set.[3][7]
When the Pig Figure Is Zhu Bajie
Zhu Bajie (豬八戒, Zhū Bājiè) is a pig-like companion of the pilgrim monk in Journey to the West. In a 1994 sculpture of the pilgrims, the figure has a pig’s face and carries a rake. The implement and the presence of other characters give a viewer clues to the story.[5][8]
FAQs About Pig Symbolism in Chinese Art
Was every Han pig carving a jade hand object?
No. A material record can distinguish jade from other stones, and a burial or collection record can help establish the object’s function.[1][4][6]
How can I recognize a zodiac Pig in a group?
Look for the other calendrical animals and any repeated costume or pose. An animal head on a human body can be a useful clue in historical sets.[3]
Sources
[1] The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Pig in Recumbent Position, nephrite
[2] The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Pigsty
[3] The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Set of Twelve Zodiac Animals
[4] Palace Museum. Year of the Pig exhibition
[5] Smithsonian Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. Zodiac Heads: Boar
[6] The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Pig in Recumbent Position, dolomite
[7] The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Chinese Zodiac Figure of a Pig
[8] Smithsonian American Art Museum. Journey to the West sculpture record