Page 215 - Oriental Series Japan and China, Brinkly

PORCELAIN DECORATED

The tortoise with a hairy tail appears as an attendant

on the God of Old Age, and is used as an emblem of
Alongevity.
Chinese phrase kwei ho tung chun sig-
nifies, " May your days be as long as those of the tor-

toise and the crane."

The crane (ho] is among the commonest emblems

of longevity. Tradition assigns to it a fabulous age,
and says that for six hundred years it requires no sus-

tenance but water, and that after two thousand years

it turns black. The Chinese keramic artist has never

been as happy as the Japanese in his use of the crane
for decorative purposes, but it nevertheless appears
sometimes on his wares in a sufficiently pleasing form.
According to some expounders of Chinese mythical

zoology the black crane is a special species, there
being in all four varieties the black, the yellow, the

white, and the blue. Its association with the God of

Longevity has already been mentioned. It also ap-

pears as the aerial steed of Wang Tsz'kiao, and as the

companion of the poet Lin Hwa-ching.

" Among plants there are three, which, though not

all strictly speaking emblems of longevity, are closely

connected with it these are the pine, bamboo and
;

plum. The Chinese say * the Pine, Bamboo and

Plum are like three friends, because they keep green

in cold weather.' The pine (sung] is a very common

emblem," and is constantly found in keramic decora-

tion. " Its sap was said to turn into amber when the

tree was a thousand years old. The bamboo (chuh] is

another emblem, owing probably to its durability.

Its elegant form causes it to be frequently traced on

works of art. The plum tree (mei], though not

properly an emblem of longevity, is indirectly con-

nected with it, as the philosopher Lao Tsze, the

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