Page 216 - Oriental Series Japan and China, Brinkly

CHINA

founder of the Taoist sect, is said to have been born

under a plum tree.
The peach (fao) is a symbol of marriage but

also of longevity. Great virtues were attributed
to the peach, especially that which grew near

the palace of Si Wang Mu, Queen of the Genii,

where the fruit ripened only once in three thousand

years.

The gourd (hu-lu} is also an emblem of longevity,

and being largely used as a wine-bottle, it possesses
another significance in decorative designs. It does
not, however, occur frequently.

" Of all plants the most common emblem of

longevity is the fungus (chi or ling-chi}." Its dura-

bility when dried is doubtless the origin of the sig-
nificance attached to it. The particular fungus

depicted in decorations is believed to be the Poly-

porus luciduSy which grows at the roots of trees.
Large specimens of it, or imitations carved in wood
and gilt, are preserved in temples, and it frequently
occurs in pictures of Lao Tzse and the other Im-
mortals, or in the mouth of deer. Sometimes it is

accompanied by grass-like leaves representing the

actual grass among which it grows, and which occa-
sionally forces its way through the fungus while the
latter is soft. The fungus is used not infrequently

as a mark.

The Buddhist sceptre (jo-i) which is presented at
marriages and to friends as an emblem of good luck,

often enters into decorative designs, and is always

shown in the hands of the God of Longevity. It is
made of a great variety of materials, such as jade,

enamelled metal, carved lacquer, porcelain, and so

forth.

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