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Japan: 'Peonies and a Red-billed Blue Magpie'. Hanging scroll painting by Kakutei (1722-1786), 1769.<br/><br/> Kakutei (1722 - 23 January 1786) was a Japainese painter from Nagasaki, who was part of the Nanpin school of painting, which was influenced by Chinese art and culture. He became an ordained Obaku monk, and moved to Kyoto and Osaka, where he thrived artistically.
From a collection of beautifully painted Chinese ornothological studies, mid-19th century, by an anonymous painter.<br/><br/> The Formosan Blue Magpie (Urocissa caerulea), also called the Taiwan Magpie or the 'long-tailed mountain lady' is a member of the Crow family. In 2007 it was chosen as Taiwan's national bird.
In this traditional depiction, the Korean magpie or Minhwa sits in a pine tree and calls to a tiger below. In Korean folklore, both magpie and tiger are bearers of good tidings. The gods send messages to the magpie, who passes them along to the tiger. The tiger is a messenger from the mountain spirits and a friend to mankind.