Page 190 - A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols BIG Book

A-Z 183
Islands

dao

The Chinese ‘Islands of the Blessed’, the Chinese paradise, where the Immortals
dwell in eternal happiness, are usually portrayed as rocky islands off the South-east
Coast. Legend has it that these are three islands off the East Coast of China, named
Fang-zhang, Peng-lai and Ying-zhou. Some scholars have tried to identify these as the
Peng-hu Islands, which lie near Taiwan. There is, however, some evidence to suggest that
the islands once lay immediately off-shore between Qingdao and Shanghai, and that they
became subsequently joined to the coast as part of the province of Jiangsu.
The emblem of longevity is intensified by the addition of growing pines
and cranes in flight.
In earlier times, shrouds for the dead were often adorned with pictures of ‘the islands’,
so that the deceased might feel they were already enjoying eternal felicity.