Alternatively, browse terms in alphabetical order according to their Chinese Pinyin 汉语拼音
Fish (鱼 yu) puns with the word yu 余 meaning ‘abundance’, therefore it symbolises wealth and prosperity. Lotus (莲 lian) puns with the word lian 连 meaning ‘to continue’ or ‘to connect’, and it is associated with the Chinese phrase …
A variation of 平升三级 ping sheng san ji (May you have three successive promotions unexpectedly) is 连升三级 lian sheng san ji. The design has kept the old element of three ji halberds but added a new motif, the lotus flower. …
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Yang Shen (杨慎, 1488–1559), alias Sheng’an (升庵), is a literatus and poet in the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). He recorded in Volume Ninety-Four of Sheng’an Additional Works a folklore anecdote: ‘In the northern dialect, there is no difference in sound between …
Continue reading “May the whole universe prosper in eternal spring”
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 …
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The Chinese character for ‘monkey’ is 猴 hou and it puns on the word for ‘marquis’ in Chinese 侯 hou. The expression ‘mashang 马上’ in Chinese is ambiguous in that it can mean, literally, ‘on a/the horse’, or it can …
Continue reading “May you be bestowed the title of a marquis presently”
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 …
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The main figure in the scene is a dignitary, often gripping a hu (笏) tablet in his hands, which an official uses to take notes when he has audience with the emperor in court. He is usually sheltered by page …
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A gathering of four distinctively different fishes can be read as a pun rebus design expressing an admonishing message ‘qing bai lian jie 清白廉洁’, which literally means ‘pure, unblemished, incorruptible, and clean’. The name of ‘qingyu 青鱼’, literally ‘blue fish’, …
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‘San gong 三公’ are the ‘Three Top Lords in the Imperial Court’. The ‘gong 公’ from the Chinese name ‘gong ji 公鸡’ for ‘rooster’ puns on the Chinese name for ‘lord’ and three roosters in the picture represent the three …
A large Longquan pottery rooster sculpted on a rock sends good fortune to the receiver’s or owner’s family because da ji 大 鸡 for ‘large rooster’ sounds the same as da ji 大 吉 for ‘great good fortune’ and shi …
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