Page 889 - Chinese SIlver By Adrien Von Ferscht
P. 889
A circa 1890 Wu Hua writing pounce [sander] in the form of
a tortoise [below].
Tortoises were a traditional form for pounces; tortoises
were also placed at the foot of the slope in the Forbidden
City [right] where students would wait to be presented to
the Emperor before taking their civil service examinations.
Passing and touching the tortoises implied being “top of
the class”.
