Xiangyun (Auspicious clouds)

Xiangyun, are traditional Chinese stylized clouds decorative patterns. They are also known as yunwen, auspicious clouds, lucky clouds, and sometimes abbreviated as clouds in English. A type of xiangyun which was perceived as being especially auspicious is the five-coloured clouds, called qingyun, which is more commonly known as wuse yun or wucai xiangyun , which was perceived as an indicator of a kingdom at peace.

Xiangyun are one of the most auspicious patterns used in China and have a very long history. Clouds motifs have appeared in China as early as the Shang dynasty and Eastern Zhou dynasty. They are one of the oldest decorations and ornaments used in Chinese art, Chinese architecture, furniture, and Chinese textile and Chinese clothing. When used on Chinese textile, xiangyun can take many various forms, including having the appearance of Chinese character wan or the appearance of the lingzhi. Xiangyun motif has been transmitted from generation to generation in China and is still valued in present days China for its aesthetic and cultural value. Xiangyun was also introduced in Japan, where it became known as zuiun.

Auspicious significance
Clouds motifs is rooted in agrarian society culture of the Chinese people. Clouds are associated with good luck as the cloud makes rain which moisten all things, and therefore, it brings good fortune to people.

In Chinese language, clouds are called yun which is a homonym for the Chinese character yun "good fortune".

In Chinese culture, clouds (especially the five-coloured clouds) are perceived as an auspicious sign (e.g. an omen of peace ), a symbol of Heaven, and the expression of the Will of Heaven. They also symbolize happiness and good luck.

Association with Taoism and Chinese cosmology
The clouds physical characteristics (being wispy and vaporous in nature) were associated with the Taoist concept of qi, especially yuanqi, and the cosmological forces at work;  i.e. the yuanqi was the origins of the Heavens and Earth, and all things were created from the interaction between the yin and yang. As the ancient pictograph of qi looked like rising steam, ancient Chinese believed that the Qi was the clouds and the clouds was the qi.

Association with deities, Chinese Immortals, and the Will of Heaven
Early in its history, clouds were often perceived under a ritual or liturgical lens where xiangyun were oftentimes associated with the presence of deities and were considered a good omen indicating the arrival of good fortune.

In Chinese mythologies, mythological creatures and deities use clouds as their mount. Clouds were also closely associated with the Chinese immortals (called xian) and their residence on Mount Penglai.

Xiangyun were also symbolic motifs which implied immortality.

In the Han dynasty, auspicious signs were popular; the Han dynasty Emperors would interpret xiangrui as an indicator of the Mandate of Heaven. In that period, the sighting of xiangyun in the sky and its association its auspicious characteristics was recorded in the Chapter Fengshanshu 《封禪書》of the Shiji by Sima Qian, where it was described as "an unusual cloud formation [...] in the sky northeast of Chang'an a supernatural emanation had appeared, made of five colours [五彩] and shaped like a man’s hat"; the record continues with the following suggestion: "since Heaven has sent down this auspicious sign [referring to xiangyun], it is right that places of worship should be set up to offer sacrifices to the Lord on High in an answer to his omen". In this period, the people of the Han dynasty therefore interpreted the apparitions of the five-coloured clouds in the sky as an expression of the Will of Heaven.

Ancient
Earliest yunleiwen pattern appeared in the Sanxingdui archaeological site, dated from 1131 BC to 1012 BC, on the jade zhang blade and on a bronze altar.

Cloud motifs in China appeared as early as the Eastern Zhou dynasty and earlier. They can be traced back to the vortex pattern used to decorate prehistoric painted pottery, to the yunleiwen,  which somewhat resemble the meander patterns, and to the cloud scroll patterns which were used in the Warring States period. All these early depictions of cloud motifs however eventually evolved with time changing in shape and colours and further matured in the Han dynasty.

Han dynasty
In the Han dynasty, stories on Chinese immortals became popular and the popular of the cloud motif grew. The cloud patterns gained more artistic beauty which were associated with the concept of immortality and were formalized. These cloud motifs were then used in various ways, such as in architecture, clothing, utensils, and coffins. They were also combined with other animals (e.g. birds) and mythological creatures (e.g. Chinese dragons).

Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern dynasties
During the Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern dynasties, the cloud motifs looked like streamers.

Sui and Tang dynasty
In the Sui and Tang dynasties, the cloud motifs looked like flowers; it looked realistic, plump, and very decorative. They became an established theme on ceramic ware since the Tang dynasty and would symbolize happiness or good luck. Their shapes became more and more diverse in the Tang dynasty and cloud motifs were coupled with the images of other creatures.

Song and Yuan dynasties
In the Song and Yuan dynasties, the cloud motifs were ruyi-like.

Ming dynasty
In the Ming dynasty, there was a unique form of cloud motifs which looked like a gourd.

Modern
The yunleiwen patterns remained popular in modern times and continue to be used on contemporary tableware.

Yunleiwen/ Yunwen/ Leiwen
The yunleiwen was also known as cloud-and-thunder motif, meander border, or meander order in English. It was sometimes also referred as yunwen (cloud pattern) or leiwen (thunder pattern) in Chinese. It was a form of repetitive pattern similar to a meander. It came in various shapes; some looked like juxtaposed squared-off spirals;  others looked like stylized angular "S" repeated designs which could be sometimes sometimes connected or disconnected.

The yunleiwen pattern was a symbol of the life-giving and the abundance in harvest that the rain would bring to the people in an agrarian society. The pattern may have been derived from the symbols and ancient characters for clouds and thunder which had been used by the ancient Chinese when performing the worship of rain rituals. The yunleiwen can be found in the textiles dating to the Shang and Zhou dynasties and in sacred bronze vessels of the Zhou dynasty.

The yunleiwen motif continues to be used in 21st century as border decoration on contemporary tableware.

Central Asia and Islamic art
Chinese arts have increasingly impacted arts of Central Asia and Iran, such as painting and pottery, during the Tang dynasty. Under the Liao dynasty, the Chinese cloud motifs coupled with animal motifs were gradually introduced to Central Asia.

Following the Mongol invasion, Chinese influences on the arts of Central Asia and Iran reached its peak during the Islamic period; it was a period when Chinese models and motifs influenced Persian designs and thus, the Chinese ways of depicting clouds, mountains, trees and facial features were imitated and adopted. In the late 13th century, the Iranians especially favoured cloud motifs (often coupled with animals) in their arts, including textiles, and paintings as landscape elements.

Japan
Xiangyun was introduced from China to Japan where it became known as zuiun or Reishi mushroom cloud;  under the influence of China, Japan started to use various forms of clouds designs in the Asuka period. They gained different names based on their shapes; e.g. kumodori (soft and drifting clouds). Zuiun is characterized by a swirly shape which looks like a reishi mushroom and also express an auspicious omen. Some clouds patterns in Japan were localized and developed from the shape of the Chinese clouds; such as the clouds developed by Ninsei. which were simpler in shape and were presented as mass of clouds instead of a group of clouds. Ninsei's cloud-style was then adapted and later evolved into cloud outline which were then applied on all types of Japanese ceramics.