Posted 10 years ago
cshapiro
(177 items)
Love the crab on this bottle! There is a lot of symbolism in Chinese art and I've ordered some books to learn more about it. I know that the bat can be a visual pun for "good fortune" or happiness (fu ?) because both characters are pronounced fu.
Bran (wheat bran) is an auspicious fertility symbol at marriages because its pronunciation (fu zi ??) sounds the same as "rich son" (fu zi ??) thus representing the wish that the couple will produce children who will become wealthy.
The Chinese word for crab (?) and the Chinese word for harmony (?) are both pronounced xie. The crab is also used to symbolize success in the imperial examination system.
Chinese coins are a potent symbol of wealth and prosperity.
On the back there is some seal script, and I will also have to do a lot of research to even get a hint of what it means.
