How animals, plants, objects and written characters form visual wishes—and where those readings come from.
15 guides
Four Gentlemen
Why Are Four Plants Called Gentlemen?
Separate subjects · late-Ming manuals · shared name
Deer
What Does a Deer Symbolize?
Official rewards · longevity · companions · context
Hundred Boys
Why Are There So Many Children?
Literal count · family continuity · adult ideals
Butterfly
What Do Butterflies Symbolize?
Longevity · love · context · natural subject
Ruyi
What Is a Ruyi Scepter?
Shape · name · court gifts · pattern
Three Abundances
What Are the Three Abundances?
Three fruits · three wishes · documented variants
Pomegranate
Why Pomegranates Mean Many Children
Split fruit · seed–son wordplay · family history
Mandarin ducks
Why Do Mandarin Ducks Symbolize Marriage?
Paired birds · poetry · wedding gifts
Shou character
Why Does the Chinese Longevity Character Have So Many Forms?
Calligraphy · object shape · Hundred Shou
Fu character
Why Is the Chinese Fu Character Sometimes Upside Down?
Mandarin wordplay · placement · local custom
Eight Treasures
Which Eight Treasures Are These?
Buddhist symbols · immortals' attributes
Three Friends
What Are the Three Friends of Winter?
Pine · bamboo · plum