Osaka Nana Turkey sumi-e painting

Happy Thanksgiving 2022

chinese culture, east asian art, watercoloryvonne.liu.wolf

Happy Thanksgiving 2022!
This has been a year of making connections. I’ve reunited with many friends and met new friends in person and via virtual means, including the artist Osaka Nana who has given me permission to share her Sumi-e watercolor works for educational purposes.

This painting was chosen for a cross cultural message.

Besides wishing you a happy Turkey Day, the red head of the turkey as seen here bears a significant cultural meaning. In Chinese cultures, when good luck arrives, it hits front and center. It’s like the expression “lucky strike” and it “strikes” you on the head. Or, when you say someone is on a lucky streak, they are “hot”. The literal translation for turkey in Chinese is a “fire fowl” for its firey hot, red head.

Hence, the turkey painting depicts the Chinese expression “red luck on the head” (紅運當頭/hóng yùn dāng tóu) and is considered a joyous symbol, a pun and a rebus puzzle.
I’m grateful for all the new friends I have met and the old friends I’ve reconnected within this year.

About Author

yvonne.liu.wolf

Yvonne Wolf was born in Taiwan and educated in the U.S. and Europe. She has extensive experience living and working internationally (Denmark and Japan). She is fluent in English, Mandarin, and Danish, and has studied Japanese, Spanish, and Greek. Between work and personal travel, she has visited more than 20 countries and well-traveled within the U.S. and Canada. She has worked with organizations and business executives focusing on communication strategies working with Chinese and East Asian partners. Among her many skills is mediating across cultural misunderstandings.