Page 210 - A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols BIG Book

A-Z 203
Another symbol of longevity is Peng-zu, the Chinese Methuselah.
In Taiwan, they call spinach the ‘vegetable of long life’, and eat it at New Year
festivities. The leaves are eaten before the stem. (See also Noodles.)

Loquat

pi-pa

The loquat is the small yellow fruit of a tree which is also much used as a decorative
shrub in America, though the fruit is rarely eaten. The fruit is called pi-pa as its shape
resembles that of a Chinese musical instrument of the mandoline family, which is
also called pi-pa. It ripens early in spring, so counts as a lucky symbol.
‘Loquat gateways and alleys’ are brothels. Young scholars were said to be
‘running under the loquat blossom’ when they visited celebrated prostitutes.

Lotus

lian-hua; he

The lotus or sea-rose is of almost unique importance in Chinese folklore and symbolism,
thanks largely, it would seem, to Buddhist influence: the lotus comes out of the mire
but is not itself sullied; it is inwardly empty, outwardly upright; it has no branches but

it smells sweet; it is the symbol of purity, and one of the eight Buddhist
precious things.
There are two Chinese words meaning ‘lotus’: lian and he. The former is phonetically
identical with lian = to bind, connect (i.e. in marriage) and also = one after the other,
uninterrupted; with lian = to love; and with lian = modesty. So the symbolic field covered
by the lotus is limitless. For example: a boy holding a lotus in one hand and a mouth
organ (sheng) in the other: this means ‘uninterrupted social advancement (sheng)’.
A lotus bloom with a leaf and a bud indicates ‘complete union’. A magpie (xi) sitting
on the stamens of a blown lotus, and picking seeds (guo) means ‘May you have the joy
(xi) of passing one exam (guo) after another (lian).’ A boy with a carp (yu) beside a lotus
(lian) means ‘May you have abundance (yu) year in and year out (lian).’ And so on and
so forth. In Buddhism, the fruit, the flower and the stalk of the lotus symbolise past,
present and future. The Buddha’s foreskin (bao pi) is supposed to have been like a lotus
flower. In one Chinese Buddhist text, it is said of the daughter of a holy man: ‘Wherever
she stepped, lotus flowers sprang up’; and about AD 500 a South Chinese Emperor