Page 65 - A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols BIG Book

A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols 58
Butterflyf

hu-die

For no better reason than phonetic similarity, the butterfly may symbolise a man in his
seventies (die); more frequently and more reasonably, however, it is also the emblem of a
lover sipping nectar from the calyx of a flower (a female symbol). In one of the oracle
texts we read: ‘The colourful butterfly dances among the flowers, the yellow oriole
sings on the willow tree’: here, oriole and willow are female symbols. A deceased wife
may appear to her husband as a butterfly, and there is a very well-known love story in
which the soul of the dead girl comes from the grave in the guise of a butterfly. Sexual
intercourse is described as ‘love-crazed butterfly and wild bee’. One also speaks of
‘letting free a butterfly that seeks the fragrance (i.e. the woman)’.
Butterflies and plum-blossom together in a picture symbolise long life and
immaculate beauty. The butterfly and the cat (mao) together express a
reduplicated wish that the recipient of the picture may reach the age of 70 or even 80.

Butterflies on an embroidered handbag