Page 394 - A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols BIG Book

A-Z 387

The sun arising from the sea

getting off his horse, Zhu poured a jug of water on the ground and said: ‘Water poured
out can’t be put back in the jug.’ The wife is supposed to have committed suicide.
The unusual expression ‘water and fire’ is a scatological expression meaning ‘pissing
and shitting’.
In Chinese woodcuts and ink drawings water is characteristically shown as waves or
as series of quarter, half or three-quarter curves. These can symbolise the sea, a lake or a
pond.
Water Buffalo Water Buffalo

shui niu

The water buffalo is found all over China, but it is most typical of South China, where it
is extensively used for ploughing the wet rice-fields.