Page 183 - A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols BIG Book
P. 183
A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols 176
Lu = heron is a homonym of lu = way, path. So, a picture showing a heron together with
a lotus means ‘May your path (lu) be always (lian, which is a homonym of lian = lotus)
upward.’
He Xian-gu
He Xian-gu is one of the eight Immortals, and the only woman among them. She is
symbolised by the lotus, and sometimes by the peach. She is supposed to have
been attacked by a demon and rescued by Lü Dong-bin, another of the eight Immortals,
who brought her into the group. The legend runs as follows: ‘She had sworn never to
marry, and her stepmother didn’t know what to do with her. One day when she was
cooking rice, grandfather Lü came and released her. As she rose up into the air, she was
still holding the ladle in her hand’ (Richard Wilhelm, from a verbal account).
He Xian-gu with the magic lotus flower
