October 13, 2009 News

Under a Chinese sky

Montrealers flock to the botanical garden for oriental flavours

by Mireille Tarcha

Animals have a central place in traditional Chinese astronomy. PHOTO MIRIELLE TARCHA

“The four Chinese constellations around the celestial globe are associated with four mythological animals, representing the four seasons and cardinal points.” —Emilie Cadieux, Magic of Lanterns coordinator

Marking the 400th anniversary of the telescope, the Magic of Lanterns festival at the Montreal Botanical Garden looked to ancient Chinese astronomy for inspiration.

The result is inspiring visitors to walk by dragons, tigers and pagodas strung with lanterns in a multitude of colours. The traditional silky sounds of the plucked pipa, guzheng and yueqin also play in the background.

“The pictures are amazing but nothing compares to being here and seeing it,” said Phil Lemieux, a fascinated spectator.

“Several months are put into each theme every year with a wide range of specialists which included, for this year’s festival, many astronomers,” said Emilie Cadieux, the Magic of Lanterns coordinator.

“After a long brainstorming session, a Chinese artist created a series of drawings and sketches which were then shipped to Shanghai,” explained Cadieux. “They were authentically made and brought back to Montreal to be built by a team of painters, architects and plumbers.”

The representation of animals in this exhibit is an important part of Chinese astronomy, she continued.

Unlike western astronomy, which is based on yearly observations of the sun’s movements, Chinese astronomers base their studies on monthly observations of the moon’s movements.
As a result, the Chinese sky is separated into 283 star patterns divided into 28 bands, known as lunar mansions. The bands are based on the number of days required for the moon to make one rotation. Western astronomy only has 88 constellations.

“Every one of those 28 mansions is shown on the celestial globe in the centre of Dream Lake, the lake in the centre of the Chinese garden,” said Cadieux. “The four Chinese constellations around the celestial globe are associated with four mythological animals representing the four seasons and cardinal points.

“The Azur Dragon for the east represents spring, the Vermilion Bird for the south embodies summer [and] the White Tiger for the west and the Black Tortoise for the north symbolize autumn and winter.”

Now in its 17th year, Cadieux expects nearly 25,000 people to visit the festival during the two months it is open.

This year also marks the introduction of a new energy-efficient LED lighting system for the lanterns.

Although Cadieux wouldn’t give away next year’s theme, she said that it was already decided and work on the sketches was to begin shortly.