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!”
The story scene refers to an old Chinese saying: in the fight between the sandpiper and the clam, the fisherman has the best of it. This parable came from an ancient Chinese text entitled ‘Strategies of the Warring States (战国策 …
Continue reading “In the fight between the sandpiper and the clam, the fisherman has the best of it”
People who are not familiar with Chinese history and parables may have the impression that the above image is a genre painting of fisherman’s daily life. But in fact, there is more meaning to it. Dr Yibin Ni will explain the story in detail and how this story scene has been presented in various forms of artworks.
This scene is an episode from the Ming drama ‘The Story of the Girl Holding a Red Fly Whisk (红拂记 Hongfu ji)’. The story is an account of how a talented scholar Li Jing (李靖) meets Lord Yang Su 杨素’s …
Continue reading “Curly-bearded Fellow Going Overseas”
Wang Zhaojun (王昭君, c.52 – c.15 BCE) was one of the court ladies in the harem of Emperor Yuan of the Western Han dynasty (汉元帝, 206 BCE – 8 CE). It was not possible for the emperor to meet every …
Continue reading “Lady Wang Zhaojun Going out of the Frontier Pass”
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: Quails + seedheads of foxtail millet Punning Details: The word ‘sui 穗’ for ‘millet seedhead’ is a pun on ‘sui 岁’ for ‘year’; the repetition of ‘sui’ means ‘year in year out’. The word ‘an 鹌’ in ‘an …
Continue reading “May you enjoy a peaceful life year after year”
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”
According to Confucian ethics, a man’s ambition and pride need to be balanced by humility. General Lian Po (廉颇, active 298–236 BC) and Minister Lin Xiangru (蔺相如, active ca. 279 BC) were colleagues in the government of the state of …
Continue reading “General Lian Po and Minister Lin Xiangru burying the hatchet”
Pun Design: long-tailed pheasant + quail Punning Details: The combination of the first and third words in ‘chang wei zhi 长尾雉’ for ‘long-tailed pheasant’ is ‘chang zhi’ and it puns on the phrase ‘chang zhi 长治’ for ‘long-term good …
Continue reading “May the country enjoy peace and good order permanently”
Pun Design: Quail + Long-tailed Pheasant Punning Details: The word ‘an 鹌’ in ‘an chun 鹌鹑’ for ‘quail’ makes a pun on ‘an 安’ for ‘peace’. The combination of the first and third words in ‘chang wei zhi 长尾雉’ for ‘long-tailed …
Continue reading “May the country be in peace and order forever”
Pun Design: nine + quail Punning Details： The Chinese word ‘jiu 九’ for ‘nine’ puns on the word ‘jiu 久’ for ‘lasting’. The word ‘an 鹌’ in ‘an chun 鹌鹑’ for ‘quail’ makes a pun on ‘an 安’ for ‘peace’. …
Continue reading “May peace bless you forever”
Pun Design: Quails + Magpies Punning Details: The word ‘an 鹌’ in ‘an chun 鹌鹑’ for ‘quail’ puns on ‘an 安’ for ‘peace’ or ‘secure’. The word ‘‘xi 喜’ in ‘xi que 喜鹊’ for ‘magpie’ can mean ‘joy’ or ‘happiness’. …
Continue reading “May you enjoy peace and happiness”
Pun Design: Quails + Cereal Plant Punning Details： The word ‘an 鹌’ in ‘an chun 鹌鹑’ for ‘quail’ makes a pun on ‘an 安’ for ‘peace’. The word ‘he 禾’ for ‘cereal plant’ makes a pun on ‘he 和’ for …
Continue reading “May you enjoy peace and harmony”
The Chinese character ‘an 鹌’ in ‘anchun 鹌鹑’ for ‘quail’ makes a pun on ‘an 安’ for ‘peace’. The character ‘zhu 竹’ for ‘bamboo’ is a pun on ‘zhu 祝’ for the verb ‘to wish’ and thus is used here …
Continue reading “Sending you a safe-and-sound message”
Pun Design: Two + Quails Punning Details: The word ‘an 鹌’ in ‘an chun 鹌鹑’ for ‘quail’ makes a pun on ‘an 安’ for ‘peace’. The Chinese word for ‘double’ is ‘shuang 双’. When there is a gathering of two …
Continue reading “May you both live a peaceful life”
Pun Design: Quails + Chrysanthemum Punning Details: The word ‘an 鹌’ in ‘an chun 鹌鹑’ for ‘quail’ makes a pun on ‘an 安’ for ‘peace’. The word ‘ju 菊’ in ‘ju hua 菊花’ for ‘chrysanthemum’ puns on the word ‘ju …
Continue reading “May you live in peace and leisure”
Quail is a middle-sized bird, and is nowadays farm-raised for table food and their eggs. However, they play an interesting role in traditional Chinese art with an auspicious meaning. Quail’s Chinese name is ‘an chun’(鹌鹑). Its first character 鹌 (‘an’) …
Mr Henk B. Nieuwenhuys from the Netherlands is the first foreigner who has kindly donated his art collection to China. Here are short video clips from a documentary made for this special event, in which Dr Yibin Ni was invited to introduce Nieuwenhuys’ antique collection and the story depicted on the porcelain bottle.