Chinese Silk Sheet
This Chinese silk sheet from the late 19th or early 20th century was likely given as a wedding gift. Since the Han Dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE), red has been considered an auspicious and important color associated with ceremony and status in China. As such, red is the principal color associated with important life events such as marriage and the birth of a child.
Red is traditionally featured in Chinese weddings with the bride wearing red, red candles, envelopes, lanterns, and other decorations. While red is a symbol of happy events, wealth, and auspiciousness, it is also the symbol of fire. The physical warmth of fire is a metaphor for the intensity of emotion felt wherever red is used.
This sheet is embroidered with a dragon and phoenix, symbolizing the groom and bride, and a perfect balance of yin and yang. The dragon represents the groom showing power and strength, while the grace and beauty of the phoenix represents the bride. Together, they symbolize love, happiness, and a harmonious union. In Chinese mythology, the dragon and phoenix are celestial beings who fall in love creating good fortune, prosperity, and a harmonious world. This symbolism is often featured during weddings through embroidered designs on the couples’ clothing and in decorations or gifts.
The dragon and phoenix are not the only symbolic animals on this silk sheet. They are surrounded by bats, a visual pun meaning good luck, as the Chinese word for bat, fu, is a homophone with the word for fortune.
This sheet is on display in the exhibit Poems Made to Wear: Traditional Colors in East Asia through August 16, 2025.