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May mother live up to a ripe old age
萱耋
Lily flowers and butterflies form a pun rebus picture known as ‘Xuān Dié Tú 萱耋图’, meaning ‘May mother live up to a ripe old age’. ‘Xuan 萱’ in the picture title comes from ‘xuan cao 萱草’, the Chinese name for ‘lily’, and ‘dié 耋’, the Chinese character for ‘octogenarian’, is a pun on ‘dié 蝶’ for ‘butterfly’, the image rendered together with lily flowers in the picture. It is obviously an apt theme for birthday present to mothers with a heartfelt wish.
Related blogs written by Dr Yibin Ni:
Cultural Differences in the Symbolic Meaning of Lily 萱草百合中西辨
The Birthday Party of the Queen Mother of the West 西王母祝寿
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Fig 1-2: blue-and-white porcelain bottle vase, Yongle period (1403–25), Ming dynasty, courtesy of the National Palace Museum, Taipei
Fig 3: copper snuff-bottle decorated with polychrome enamels, Yongzheng period (1723–35), Qing dynasty, courtesy of the National Palace Museum, Taipei
Fig 4-5: famille verte vase, Kangxi period (1662–1722), Qing dynasty, courtesy of the National Palace Museum, Taipei
Fig 6: famille verte porcelain brush pot, Kangxi period (1662–1722), Qing dynasty, courtesy of the Jie Rui Tang Collection
Fig 7: handscroll, ink and colour on paper, Wen Chu 文俶 (1595–1634), 1627, courtesy of Shanghai Museum
Fig 8-9: blue-and-white porcelain bottle vase, Yongle period (1403–25), Ming dynasty, courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum
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