Page 62 - A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols BIG Book
P. 62
A-Z 55
Shi-de with his broom
Brush/Writing Brush
bi
Traditionally, Chinese is written with a brush: and the brush is therefore seen as the tool
of the scholar. The Chinese word for ‘certain(ly)’ is pronounced bi, so inclusion of a
brush in a painting may suggest certainty, particularly when the brush is shown
transfixing a wheel: this can then be interpreted as ‘he will strike the centre’, i.e. he will
certainly pass the state examination. The wheel may also refer to the Buddhist ‘Wheel of
the Law’. Together with a money-bar (ding) and a sceptre (ru-yi) the writing
brush forms a rebus whose meaning is: ‘May (you) certainly (bi ding) get all you want
(tu-yi).’ The brush may also symbolise the penis.
