Mandarin duck

Mandarin duck on the water with Reflection.... more

by Chris Smith

Title

Mandarin duck

Artist

Chris Smith

Medium

Photograph

Description

mandarin duck on the water with Reflection.
The Mandarin duck (Aix galericulata), or just Mandarin, is a perching duck species found in East Asia. It is medium-sized, at 41–49 cm long with a 65–75 cm wingspan. As the other member of the genus Aix, it is closely related to the North American wood duck.
Mandarin ducks are referred to by the Chinese as Yuan-yang.
In traditional Chinese culture, Mandarin ducks are believed to be lifelong couples, unlike other species of ducks. Hence they are regarded as a symbol of conjugal affection and fidelity, and are frequently featured in Chinese art. A Chinese proverb for loving couples uses the Mandarin duck as a metaphor: "Two mandarin ducks playing in water"
A Mandarin duck symbol is also used in Chinese weddings because in traditional Chinese lore, they symbolize wedded bliss and fidelity. Because the male and female plumages of the Mandarin duck are so unalike, yuan-yang is frequently used colloquially in Cantonese to mean an "odd couple" or "unlikely pair" – a mixture of two different types of same category. For example, the drink yuanyang and yuan-yang fried rice.

For Koreans, Mandarin ducks represent peace, fidelity, and plentiful offspring. Similar to the Chinese, they believe that these ducks mate for life. For these reasons, pairs of Mandarin ducks called wedding ducks are often given as wedding gifts and play a significant role in Korean marriage.

Uploaded

July 11th, 2014