Page 72 - Chinese Porcelain Vol I, Galland

CHINESE PORCELAIN.
40
There are other Buddhist symbols : for those connected with
"
the Seven Precious Things," see Nos. 338, 339, and for the
"Five Precepts," see No. 401.

The Eight Ordinary Symbols.
No. 30. Pearl (Chin). Franks, p. 238: "An oblate
sometimes white and sometimes
spherical object, represented
with a ribbon entwined around This is
yellow, it. object
in the air with who to
frequently represented dragons, appear
be it from their mouths of efful-
emitting ; occasionally rays
"
gence issue from it (see Nos. 264, 268).
Enc. Brit., vol. xvii. p. 172, "Nanking Pagoda": "Hung
on chains, which stretched from this apex to the eaves of the
roof, were five large pearls of good augury, for the safety
of the One was to avert floods, another to
city. supposed
prevent fires, a third to keep dust-storms at a distance, a
fourth to and a fifth to the
allay tempests, guard city against
disturbances."
"
24 are related in connection
Mayers, p. : Many legends
with this gem, which from the earliest times has been prized
"
by the Chinese." P. 25 : The ancient fabulists are full of
wonder to the nature of the which
appertaining pearl, they say
is the concrete essence of the moon, distilled through the secret
workings of the secondary principle in nature within the shell
of the mussel which produces it. Hence the pearl acts as a
charm against fire, the development of the active or primary
The Taoist have ascribed wondrous
principle. mystics many
stories to the same gem, and in their writings the ' night-
'
shining pearl is first heard of."
" "
Our word pearl hardly properly represents the Chinese
ehu, which seems to be anything round and of any size. A
would be with a
dragon represented large chu, and a centipede
with a small one, but these chus are all charms ; for instance, a
fire chu the occult of fire, or of
possesses property causing
off the effect of fire so the chus as are
warding ; symbols
intended for those which have the property of warding off
evil. A serpent must possess a chu before it can become a
dragon. The ball rolled by lions is a chu, and to lose their
chu is to lose their lives. Chin is a chu is
pearl ; anything
round Nos. 267, 309).
(see