Page 93 - A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols BIG Book

A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols 86
Crane

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The crane is one of the many symbols of longevity; and as such, it is often shown
together with a pine-tree and a stone, two similar symbols. Variations on this
theme couple a crane with a tortoise or with a deer. A picture showing a crane,
a phoenix, a mandarin duck, a heron and a wagtail is a representation of
the five relationships between people. In this setting, the crane symbolises the
father–son relationship: when it sings, its young answer it.
Two cranes flying up towards the sun express the wish that the recipient of the picture
may ‘rise high’. Expressions like ‘heavenly crane’ (tian-he) or ‘blessed crane’ (xian-he)
point to the wonderful qualities attributed to the crane in its second role – that of a
symbol of wisdom. The death of a Taoist priest is said to be yu-hua = ‘turning into a
feathered (crane)’. Cranes, each with a wooden rod in its beak, flying towards a
pavilion by the sea reflect the saying ‘One more counter for the pavilion by the sea.’ This
is a reference to the legend of the three Taoists who counted their age not in years but in
geological periods: every time the ocean turned into a mulberry plantation they laid down
a counter, and they did so again when once again the land was flooded. In this legend
there is a three-fold intensification of the longevity motif – the crane, the counter and the
pavilion (the Taoist paradise).

Crane and peach – two symbols of longevity