Page 58 - A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols BIG Book

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spirits. It was also the custom every night to scare away nocturnal birds of ill omen by
means of the ‘sun-rescuing bow with the moon-rescuing arrows’; and until quite recently,
during solar and lunar eclipses, arrows were shot upwards in an attempt to scare away the
supposed monster.
The Homeric motif of Odysseus’ bow which no one else can draw, can be found in a
Chinese text dating from the 3rd century BC, according to which none of the courtiers
could draw a certain king’s bow: a story which the text rather spoils by suggesting that
this was only because they were too polite to offend him! A later text has it that the
youthful Buddha alone could draw the bow of his ancestors. As a reward, he is
supposed to have been given a wife. In the medieval play ‘The Story of the Iron Bow’, it
is the successful suitor of the heroine alone who can draw the bow.
Closely connected with the longbow is the crossbow whose use was widespread
among the inhabitants of the southern provinces at a very early date. It was often used to
launch ball-shaped missiles instead of arrows.
A picture of a man surrounded by children shooting an arrow into the air represents
the West Chinese god Zhang-xian, and expresses a wish to have many sons.
Archery is an ancient art in China. To win a contest, one had to be in possession of
‘perfect virtue’ (de): that is, one had to have achieved a harmonious balance of all inner
and outer forces.

Bowl

pen

The bowl is one of the eight Buddhist precious things: it represents the stomach of
the Buddha. It may also represent the urn into which the bones of the dead are put.
A ‘speaking bowl’ plays a decisive role in helping Bao-gong, judge turned detective, to

solve a murder mystery. The play in which this occurs is still frequently staged, and
provided the plot for the first film made in China.

Box

he

The Chinese for ‘box’ – he – is phonetically identical with the word for ‘concord,
harmony’. A box with lotus-leaves (he) hanging out of it, and a sceptre near-by,
means ‘May everything turn out as (you) wish, in concord and harmony.’