The breasts are referred to various times in the book and so the artist may have felt that it was important to display the breasts as a part of the beauty of the woman. Solomon wants the woman to come with him to be his bride because of her beauty and his love for her. This is represented also in their embrace. In chapter 5 verse 10- 16 it describes the man a little. It says that he has wavy black locks which are pictured here but it is not easy to see if the locks are wavy. He is distinguished which may have to do with how his chin is prominently illustrated. In the description of the man it goes on to compare the man to strong things such as alabaster columns and the choice cedar of Lebanon. I believe it may not go into much description of Solomon because of the fact that Solomon wants to emphasize the beauty of and his love for this woman. In chapter 7 it continues talking about the body of the woman. It talks about the beauty of the thighs which seem to be pictured in the artwork.
Then it describes the belly being like a heap of wheat and the belly in the photo is rather large. In this narrative though, the belly being large does emphasize the beauty of fertility. It once again speaks about the breasts and the size of the neck. The eyes are compared to pools in Heshbon which is comparison to beautiful water. In the art it is easy to see the blue color in both of their eyes and water appears in the painting which may be due to this comparison. The flowing locks are mentioned again comparing their beauty to royalty. In chapter 8 imagery stated before is repeated. He Qi seems to have pictured things within Song of Solomon that either were repeated or were very descriptive. The images seem to be placed near whom they apply to whether man or woman and the man is behind the woman possibly to represent that the woman is at the forefront of this book. He Qi does a wonderful job of representing this book and this is possibly a more literal interpretation than the Christian American may take.
Christianity in China and in the U.S.
If this piece of art was to be taken as a literal interpretation of a belief that the Chinese have within the Christian community what could be said? Do Chinese Christians take the literal word of the bible and view things such as the Song of Solomon as a way to behave when you are in love? Do Christian Americans view this as a way to behave when they are in love? I believe that He Qi only wants to make literal paintings in order to show what is in the bible rather than what he sees in the bible. This photograph is altered in the same way Americans and every other culture alters biblical art, it is altered in the interpretation of things that remain common to the person who produces it. This artwork is abstract but probably only abstract to us as Americans. I don't believe that this artwork could be taken as a representation of Christianity in China it can only be a representation of one mans experience and view of Christianity in China. The context of most Christian art is going to be affected by American Christianity because American Christianity is such a widely spread ideal through missionaries. He Qi even expresses that the western idea of Christianity has affected his art. This art is one good interpretation of the colorful folk art of Chinese culture affected by modern Christianity in China and America.
