Page 24 - A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols BIG Book

A-Z 17
Arrow Arrow

shi

From the very earliest times arrows have been in use in China in various forms – e.g. as a
kind of harpoon, and, fitted with a pipe-like gadget at the point, as a ‘singing arrow’
which was used in signalling.
Breaking an arrow in half signalled confirmation of a deal. Very well known in China
– and elsewhere – is the story of the old father who summons his sons and gives each of
them an arrow which he asks them to break. This they do without difficulty. Then he
gives each of them a bundle of arrows with the same command. But none of them is able
to break the bundle. Thus are the sons taught that only in unity can they be strong.
In a modern Chinese film, a girl who is looking for a man shoots an arrow,
saying, ‘No arrow comes by itself: if it comes, it comes from the bowstring’, by
which she means that she will marry the man who finds the arrow: a profoundly
erotic metaphor.

Ashesshes

hui

Since ashes are a darkish grey, like the so-called ‘raven’s gold’ (a mixture of gold and
copper), they symbolise riches. They are also used to keep spirits and ghosts away,

especially spirits of dead people. The expression ‘to scrape ashes’ refers to incest
between father-in-law and daughter-in-law.

Astrology Astrology

zhan xing xue

Chinese astrology is very closely bound up with Chinese natural science and philosophy.
‘ Heaven, earth and man are the three forces in nature, and it is man whose
task it is to bring the other two – heaven, the creative power of the historical process, and