Written Chinese characters have both decorative and symbolic
value. For instance, during New Year celebrations, families display the
character for “good fortune” (福Fú) written on red paper. The paper is sometimes turned upside
down to mean that “blessings have arrived” since “upside down” (倒Dào) has the
same sound as “arrived” (到Dào).
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| Upside down Fu on a door in Wuxi |
Designs featuring the characters Wan (万 = ten
thousand), Shou (寿 = life,
longevity) and double Xi (喜 = happiness)
are also very common in Chinese arts and symbolize auspiciousness, longevity
and happiness.
In the Wan Zi Wen (卍字文) design, “卍” is the
equivalent of the Chinese Wan (万). It originated from Sanskrit, and it`s common to see it
extending in four directions or in combination with several characters to form
a square pattern, which symbolizes permanence as well as numerous fortune and
longevity. In Tibet this design is widely used on clothes, usually embroidered
on the back, as a symbol of auspiciousness and happiness.
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the doors and windows of both
aristocratic families and common people were decorated with paper cuts
featuring this design.
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| Wan design on a door window in Wuxi |
Shou (寿), which
means longevity, is one of the favorite characters of the Chinese people, and it
reflects their passion for life as well their pursuit of longevity. There can
be either one character or several characters on the pattern, and they can take
different shapes.
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| Vase with Shou, Wan and Bats design, Nanjing Museum |
In the double Xi (喜) design two
connected characters are used to symbolize good luck and happiness, and it`s
widely used especially on paper cuts and New Year paintings to imply the advent
of double blessings or great happiness.
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| Waist pouch embroidered with character Xi, Qing Dynasty |
Among designs
featuring items with auspicious meaning, Chinese ancient coins, round in
external shape and with a square hole in the center, are certainly the most
known. In ancient times people believed that earth has a square shape and heaven
is round, so the round shape symbolizes heaven, and the internal square
represents earth. When used by humans, the coins represent the engagement
luck of "Heaven-Earth-Mankind."
Designs
featuring the coin pattern are considered capable of attracting wealth,
prosperity, and endless fortune, and they are especially common on doors,
porcelain, embroidery, paper cuts, etc.
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| Chinese ancient coins |
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| Paper cut with coin pattern |
If you are
familiar with Tibetan Buddhism you certainly know about Ashtamangala, or the “Eight
Auspicious Objects”, which are instruments used in Buddhist services and
include the Endless Knot, the Wheel, the Lotus, the Golden Fish, the Conch Shell, the Parasol, the Treasure Vase and the Victory Banner.
In Chinese crafts, designs featuring the Eight Auspicious Objects became very popular
during the Qing and Ming Dynasties, and on the patterns you can see these eight
objects either independently or together.
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| "Eight auspicious objects", in the same order as above |
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| Plate with the "Eight auspicious objects", Shanghai Museum |
Certain numbers are also believed to be auspicious, and even
though you won`t see them painted or embroidered somewhere, they recur in some patterns,
like for example, the five bats design.
Five (五 - Wǔ)
The number five is a very auspicious number and associated with
the Five Elements (五行wŭxíng) of water (水shuǐ), fire (火huǒ), wood (木mù), metal (金jīn) and earth (土tǔ) which are
essential for a good life. The wŭxíng
are one of the basic organizational principles in Chinese thought, which is why
the number five appears ever-present as in the Five Blessings, Five Classics or
the Five Metals.
Eight (八 - Bā)
Ba for eight is pronounced similarly to fā (发) for “to
expand”, as in “fortune” (发财fācái). Due to
this connection, people like to include the number eight in items such as
telephone numbers, street addresses and car registration plates as they believe
it will bring good fortune.
Nine (九 - Jiǔ)
The number nine is the highest single digit number and was
traditionally associated with the Emperor. In addition, it has the same
pronunciation as jiǔ (久) “long
lasting” and is often used at weddings with the wish for a long and successful
marriage.
This was the last post dedicated to auspicious symbols and designs,
due to the broadness of the topic I had to choose only a few symbols to talk about,
but I hope it brought you a little bit closer to Chinese culture!
Read the introduction about Auspicious Symbols and Designs.
Back to Part 1 - Auspicious Beasts and Birds.
Back to Part 3 - Auspicious Immortal Figures.
Back to Part 1 - Auspicious Beasts and Birds.
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