Page 94 - Chinese pottery and porcelain : an account of the potter's art in China from primitive times to the present day

42 Chinese Pottery and Porcelain

representing South-West, West, North-West, North-East, East, and
South-East.

The pa pao AW, or Eight Precious Symbols, supported by

fungus sprays.

These are usually represented by (1) a sphere or jewel, which

seems to have originally been the sun disc (2) a circle enclosing a
;

square, which suggests the copper coin called a " cash " (3) an
;

open lozenge, symbol of victory or success (4) a musical stone
;

{ch'ing) (5) a pair of books (6) a pair of rhinoceros horns (cups)
; ;

(7) a lozenge-shaped picture (hua) (8) a leaf of the artemisia, a
;

plant of good omen, which dispels sickness. (See p. 299.)

The pa chi hsiang AS#» or Eight Buddhist Symbols, sup-

ported on lotus scrolls.

These symbols, which appeared among the auspicious signs on

the foot of Buddha, comprise (1) the wheel (chakra), which is some-

times replaced by the hanging bell (2) the shell trumpet of Victory ;
;

(3) the umbrella of state (4) the canopy (5) the lotus flower ; (6)
; ;

the vase (7) the pair of fish, emblems of fertility (8) the angular
; ;

knot (representing the entrails), symbol of longevity. (See p. 298.)

The hundred forms of the character shou (longevity) pai shou

tz'u.

Ju-i sceptres and phoenix medallions.
The ju-i inM ("as you wish ") sceptre brings fulfilment of wishes,
and is a symbol of longevity (see vol. i., p. 227). The head of the ju-i,
which has a strong resemblance to the conventional form of the ling
chih fungus, is often used in borders and formal patterns variously
described as " ju-i head patterns," " cloud-scroll patterns," or

''^ ju-i cloud patterns."
Close ground patterns of propitious clouds {yung hsiang yiin ii).
Cloud designs are propitious because they symbolise the fer-

tilising rain, and they are commonly represented by conventional
scrolls as well as by the more obvious cloud patterns.

Crested sea waves {chiang ya hai shut).

yaM^Chiang (lit. ginger shoots) is rendered by Bushell " crested

waves," the metaphor being apparently suggested by the curling

tops of the young plant.