Chinese Decorative Elements

Symbols of happiness, wealth, and long life

Daoist symbols

• Xiwangmu--mother of the West; has magic peaches (party with 8 Immortals)

• Three Star Gods--happiness, wealth and long life• Fuxing-God of Blessings and Happiness especially wishes

regarding marriage and the birth of sons; holds a scroll; often accompanied by children

• Luxing- God of a good salary and rank; carries Jade badge of office (dresses in court official cloth)

• Shouxing-God of Longevity and immortal; carries the peach of immortality which came from Xiwangmu and a staff with scroll attached

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Celestial Worthy of Numerous Treasure

The Immortals

Daoism

• Eight Immortals (flower basket, flute of the youthful, castanets, fan, bamboo, fish drum with metal beaters, the lotus, the sword, and the fly whisk, and a double gourd with iron crutch

• One hundred boys--were the 99 natural sons and one adopted son of the wise and benevolent King Wen of Zhou (for wedding gift)

Numbers

• 5 is important; five directions, five elements, five blessings (long life, riches, health, love of virtue and a natural death

• 8 is an auspicious number; it is an even or feminie yin number, which in the balance of things rules a man’s cycles of growth and completion; many groups of 8: 8 trigrams, 8 precious things, and the 8 Buddhist symbols

Landscape painting

• Landscape paintings may not only represent particular places at particular moments but also symbolically combine mountains and water, or yang and yin, symbolized the primary forces that create the universe

• Chinese gardens are decorated carefully with rocks and water together with trees and flowers

Dragon

Dragon with five claws symbolized the Emperor; yellow is the color associates with him

Phoenix symbolized the Empress; red is the color associates with her

Qilin symbolized high ranking officials; symbol of the bringer of babies

Peonies can be used only by the royalty

Flowers

• Flowers symbolized the four seasons• Lotus symbolizes purity (growing out of mud)• Lotus and cintamani or lotus and scepter meaning

“May your wishes come true”• Peonies-wealth and rank• Magnolia (yulan) is a pun for jade (wealth and

rank)

Fruit

• Gourd-the emblem of the New Year• Three Plenties (sanduo)-peach, pomegranate and a

Buddha’s hand citron• Pomegranate--symbol of fertility (has many seeds)• Peach--symbol of longevity• Citron shaped like a Buddha’s hand with long

curving fingers, has the name foshou which makes it a rebus for blessing and longevity

Animals

• In Tang period (618-916), pairs of birds, fish, and plants used to symbolize harmony and devotion in marriage; the forms are full and rounded and the decorative element are elegant

• In Song Dynasty (960-1280), crane and deer symbolized longevity

• Ming Dynasty (1368-16440, plant and animals are popular symbols; pomegranate, tiger and Five Poisonous Animals (snake, scorpion, centipede, spider and toad); Symbolism using a play on words was first systematically employed

• Riddles are used as part of the elaboration of annual holidays

Animals

• Bats and coin--”Blessing in front of your eyes,” “Blessings right here and now”

• Bat in Chinese is fu which pronouced the same as a character for happiness or blessing; coin is qian which means “in front of you”

• Bat and deer (immortality; found immortal fungus)• Bat and peaches--symbols of long life and happiness

(commonly 8 peaches-8 immortals and 5 bats for five Happiness)

• Red bats are especially auspicious, not because the color red wards off demons but also because hong is a rebus for enormous.

Animals

• Butterfly and melon (wish for many sons)-”continuous like a vine or “everlasting”

• Toad--symbol of wealth• Cat (mao) is a rebus for 70-80 years old• Butterfly (die) means aged 80• Tiger-fights Five Poisonous animals• Horse (ma or shang) means “on top of” or up• Monkey (hou) is a word for high marquis• Horse and monkey together means “May you be elevated

to the rank of marquis immediately”

Qiao Mansion

Trees

• Evergreen symbolizes constancy and longevity

• Bamboo symbolizes gentle man because it always stands straight; it is also part of the “Three Friends of Winter,” bamboo, pine and plum

• Persimmon symbolizes fertility

Animals

• Elephant-rebus for strength and wisdom, and also associates with the Buddha; washing an elephant means happiness and good luck; riding an elephant meant good fortune and luck