Pun Design ： Pomegranate Punning Details： – Artist may repeat one particular visual element many times for conveying the numeral ‘bai 百 hundred’. – A cracked pomegranate showing numerous seeds (bai zi 百籽), in which ‘zi 籽 seed’ is a …
Continue reading “May you have as many male offspring as a pomegranate has seeds”
Pun Design: Five + Bat + auspicious character of ‘Longevity 寿 or 壽’ Punning Details： – ‘蝠 fu’, the Chinese name for bats, puns on ‘福 fu’, meaning ‘good fortune’. – ‘wu fu 五蝠 five bats’, is homophonous with ‘wu …
Continue reading “May five blessings come your way on your birthday”
Pun Design ： Gourd + Bat Punning Details： – hu lu (葫芦 gourd) in Chinese is pronounced similar to ‘fu (福 good fortune)’ and ‘lu (禄 official emolument) – ‘fu 蝠’ in ‘bian fu 蝙蝠’ (meaning ‘bat’) is a pun on …
Continue reading “May good fortune and ample official income come to your doorstep”
Pun Design ： Bat + Peach Punning Details： – ‘fu 蝠’ in ‘bian fu 蝙蝠’ is a pun on ‘fu 福’ which means ‘good fortune’, ‘luck’, or ‘happiness’; – Peach has a nickname ‘shou tao 寿桃’ meaning ‘longevity peaches’, is …
Continue reading “May you enjoy great happiness and longevity”
Pun Design: Lychee or Chestnut Punning Details： – ‘Li 荔’ for ‘lychee’ and ‘li 栗’ for ‘chestnut’ have the same pronunciation in Chinese as ‘li 利’ for ‘profit’. – Many lychees or chestnuts seen in the picture convey ‘duo 多’ …
Continue reading “May you have plenty of profit”
The Chinese character ‘橘 ju’ for ‘tangerine’ puns on the Chinese word ‘吉 ji’ for ‘good luck’. A green tangerine can be described in Chinese as ‘青橘 qing ju’, which makes a pun on the phrase ‘青吉 qing ji’, meaning …
Continue reading “May we enjoy universal peace and good fortune”
The image of apples, in addition to cue a pun on the ideal of ‘universal peace’, may be combined with lychee or tangerine to form pictorial puns with added meaning. The Chinese characters ‘荔 li’ in ‘荔枝 li zhi’ for …
Continue reading “May we enjoy peace, good fortune, and prosperity”
In Chinese pictorial art, the image of the fruit ‘apple’ can be used to denote the pun on ‘peace and order’. The Chinese word ‘ping 苹’ in ‘ping guo 苹果 for ‘apple’ is a pun on ‘ping 平’ for ‘peace’. …
Continue reading “Let’s celebrate universal peace and prosperity!”
Pictorial artworks with figural scenes in traditional China often have historical and cultural significance and are not to be mistaken for daily life genre painting. Here is an example and Dr Yibin Ni will explain to you the hidden meaning in the scene of Seasoning the Stew with Sour Prunes.
‘Tiao Mei He Geng 调梅和羹’ is a metaphor that likens the art of governing a country to the adequate seasoning of a stew with salt and sour prunes. The scene is often made up of a group of women or …
Continue reading “Seasoning a Stew with Sour Prunes”
The phrase ‘gua die mian mian 瓜瓞绵绵’ is a variation of a line from the poem Mian 绵 collected in the section of the Greater Odes of the Kingdom (Daya 大雅) in the Classic of Poetry (Shijing 诗经). It is …
Continue reading “May the male line in your family clan continue and flourish (pictorial allusion)”
The phrase ‘gua die mian mian 瓜瓞绵绵’ is a variation of a line from a poem in the Classic of Poetry, Shijing 诗经, compiled in China during the period between the 11th to 7th centuries BCE, used as a metaphor …
Continue reading “May the male line in your family clan continue and flourish (pun picture)”
According to the Account of Wu (吴志) in The Records of the Three Kingdoms (三国志), Lu Ji (陆绩), was a native of Wu. At the age of six, he had an opportunity to meet Yuan Shu (袁术), who at the …
Continue reading “Lu Ji Hiding Tangerines for His Mother”
In Chinese culture and pictorial art, the peach fruit is often used to wish for long life on birthday parties. How does this fruit become associated with the idea of longevity? Here is Dr Yibin Ni explaining to us the origin of legendary stories related to the peach through his research work over literatures and treasurable artworks.
The peach fruit usually symbolises longevity or immortality in Chinese pictorial art. The origin of this idea started from legends dating back to the third century. Read Dr Yibin Ni‘s research article for related literatures and legendary stories from ancient …
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Pun Design: Persimmons + Apples + Quails Punning Details： The Chinese character ‘shi 柿’ in ‘shi zi 柿子’ for ‘persimmon’ can pun on ‘shi 事’ for ‘things’. The repetition of ‘shi’ as ‘shi shi 事事’ means ‘everything’. The word ‘ping …
Continue reading “May you live in harmony”
Pun Design: Persimmons + Quails Punning Details: The word ‘shi 柿’ in ‘shi zi 柿子’ for ‘persimmon’ can pun on ‘shi 事’ for ‘things’. The repetition of ‘shi’ as ‘shi shi 事事’ means ‘everything’. The word ‘an 鹌’ in ‘an …
Continue reading “May everything go smoothly with you”
Pun Design: Apples + Quails + Lychee Punning Details： The Chinese character ‘ping 苹’ in ‘ping guo 苹果’ for ‘apple’ can make a pun on ‘ping 平’ for ‘peace’. The word ‘an 鹌’ in ‘an chun 鹌鹑’ for ‘quail’ puns …
Continue reading “May you be trouble-free and roll in wealth”
Grapes grow in clusters of up to 300 berries each and thus produce an enormous number of seeds. This property was regarded by the ancient Chinese as an apt allusion to their wish for a large number of offspring. That …
Also named leechee, lichee, lichi, or litchi (nut). Lychee is a tall tropical evergreen tree of the soapberry family (Sapindaceae) native to southeastern China. It was recorded in the Xijing zaji (西京杂记, Miscellaneous Records of the Western Capital), a collection …
Gourd (葫芦 hu lu) in Chinese is pronounced similar to ‘fu (福, fortune)’ and ‘lu (禄, wealth)’, therefore its image is often used as a pun picture referring fortune and wealth. Related Pun Picture: May good fortune and ample official income …
Wei Jie (卫玠, 286-312) was admired as a handsome “jade man’ when he appeared in his signature goat-drawn carriage in town. Wei Jie shone like a piece of gleaming diamond whichever company he was in. On 17th century porcelain, the …
The second half of the third century and the beginning of the fourth century saw a couple of most handsome men in the history of China. For example, Pan An 潘安 (247–300) was exceptionally cute and adorable when he was …
Continue reading “Fruit-throwing antics”
Do you wonder why there is a goat drawing a carriage, rather than a horse, on traditional Chinese art pictures? Why are there so many people watching someone in a chariot? What is the story behind it? Here is what Dr Yibin Ni has to tell you.
Pun Design: Persimmon + Chicken/ rooster/ cockerel Punning Details: – ‘shi 柿’ in ‘shi zi 柿子 persimmon’ is a pun on ‘shi 市 business’ – ‘大鸡 da ji’ for ‘large cockerel’ makes a pun on ‘大吉 da ji’ for ‘tremendous …
Continue reading “May you have tremendous luck in your new venture”