Page 474 - Chinese pottery and porcelain : an account of the potter's art in China from primitive times to the present day

298 Chinese Pottery and Porcelain

The Eight Happy Omens {pa chi hsiang) were among the signs

on the sole of Buddha's foot. They are usually drawn with flowing

fillets attached (Fig. 2), and they are as follows : (1) Lun, the

wheel or chakra, sometimes replaced by the bell

(chung). (2) Lo, the shell. (3) San, the State

umbrella. (4) Kai, the canopy. (5) Hua, the

(lotus) flower. (6) P'ing, the vase. (7) Yu,

the fish ; a pair of them.^ (8) Cliang, the

angular knot representing the entrails ; an
emblem of longevity. ^

The Seven Gems {ch^i pao) are: (1) Chin

lun, the golden wheel. Yu(2) nil, the jade-

like girl. (3) Ma, the horse. (4) Hsiang, the
elephant. (5) Chu ts'ang shin, divine guardian
of the treasury. (6) Chu ping cWen, general
in command of the army. (7) Ju i chu, the

jewels which fulfil every wish ; a bundle of

jewelled wands bound round with a cord.

The Pa an hsien, Attributes of the Eight

Immortals, as detailed above (p. 287), are

(1) Shan, the fan of Chung-li Ch'iian. (2)

HuChien, the sword of Lii Tung-pin. (3) lu,

the gourd of Li T'ieh-kuai. (4) Pan, the cas-

tanets of Ts'ao Kuo-chiu. (5) Hua Ian, the
basket of flowers of Lan Ts'ai-ho. (6) Yu ku,
the bamboo tube and rods of Chang Kuo Lao.

(7) Ti, the flute of Han Hsiang Tzu. (8) Lien
hua, the lotus flower of Ho Hsien Ku.

The Po ku, or Hundred Antiques, is, as its

name implies, a comprehensive group including

all manner of symbols and symbolical orna-

ments, which were frequently grouped together

in panel decoration. Bushell ^ describes two

typical panels on specimens in the Walters

collection. One contained the apparatus of

Fig. 2.—The Pa chi the scholar and painter, viz. books on tables,
brushes in vases, water pots and scroll pictures,
hsiang

1 Also a symbol of conjugal felicity ; and a rebus for ya, fertility or abundance.
* Having the same sound as cli'ang (long).

» O. C. A., p. 119.