Page 57 - A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols BIG Book
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A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols 50
expresses the wish for ‘Ten thousand generations of sons and grandsons’. A bottle-
gourd decorated with arabesques and roses signifies the wish that ‘Spring may last for ten
thousand generations’ – i.e. that the recipient family may last for ever.
Left: Three pumpkins and hedge-roses in a bottle-gourd. Right:
orchids in a bottlegourd, signifying friendly relations
On the feast of the summer solstice (the 5th day of the 5th month) a bottle-gourd made
of paper is hung up at the gateway into the house. This is a symbol of Li Tie-guai,
one of the eight Immortals.
Bow
gong
As early as in the 2nd millennium BC, the typical Chinese war bow was compound, a
refinement which did not appear in Europe till the 2nd century AD. The South Chinese
minorities, on the other hand, were still using the simple bow at a much later date.
Bow and arrow together symbolise the arrival of a male baby. In ancient China it was the
custom on the third day after the birth to shoot arrows made from Artemisia
( yarrow) into the air from a bow of mulberry wood, in order to drive away evil
