Auspicious Cloud

The origins of auspicious cloud patterns can be traced back to the Neolithic period, when swirling patterns resembling clouds already appeared on painted pottery. During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, the "cloud and thunder pattern" on bronze artifacts was one of the prototypes of auspicious cloud patterns. From the Warring States period to the Han dynasty, influenced by the Taoist concept of "ascending to immortality," "cloud patterns" became prevalent, establishing the basic aesthetic characteristics of later auspicious cloud patterns. From the Wei-Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties to the Tang and Song dynasties, cloud patterns became more diverse. In the Tang dynasty, they were often combined with scrolling grass patterns, while in the Song dynasty, they tended towards elegance and realism, and the ruyi cloud pattern began to become popular. During the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, the ruyi cloud pattern became mainstream, widely applied to various objects, and its symbolic meaning of "good fortune and auspiciousness" became more explicit and widespread.