Page 131 - Chinese Porcelain Vol I, Galland

FABULOUS AND OTHER ANIMALS. 99

there is a that a merchant was on the point of
legend pearl
mined the of his faithless wife when the
being by intrigues
state of affairs was made known to him by a speaking parrot.
In that province, therefore, this bird is looked upon as a
warning to women to be faithful to their husbands.
—
Pigeons, or Dove (km). Mayers, p. 86: "Kiu-ehang, a
symbol of protracted longevity, from the custom which
under the Han of
prevailed dynasty bestowing upon persons
above the age of eighty a jades tone staff, upon which the
of a was the believed
figure pigeon engraved, pigeon being
to have peculiar powers of digesting its food, and a wish for
similar strength on the recipient's part being thus symbolized."
Insects.
—
Butterfly. Davis, vol. ii. p. 334: "At a mountain lying-
eastward of Canton, called Lo-fow-shan, there are butterflies of
a size and brilliant colours, so celebrated as to
gigantic very
be alluded to in poetry, and a selection of the most splendid
specimens sent annually to Pekin."
The is a of in it
butterfly sign conjugal felicity ; fact,
might almost be called the Chinese cupid. The origin of this
is to be found in the story told by the Taoist philosopher,
Chuang-tzu, of a young student who, running after a beautiful
butterfly, unknowingly intruded into the private garden of a
retired magistrate, whose daughter he thus saw, and was so
struck with her charms, that he determined to work hard and
try to obtain her for his wife. In this he was successful, and
rose to high rank (see No. 309). .
Locust. — " Middle Kingdom," vol. i. p. 272 : " Locusts
sometimes commit extensive and no of the
ravages, part country
is free from their presence, though their depredations do not
reach over a extent of or often for two
usually great country,
years successively. They are, however, sufficiently trouble-
some to attract the notice of the Government." P. 273 :
"
The cicada, or broad locust, is abundant about Canton in
summer, and its stridulous sound is heard from the trees and
groves with deafening loudness. Boys often capture the male,
and tie a straw around the abdomen, so as to irritate the sound-
and the streets in this
ing apparatus, carry it through pre-
dicament, to the great annoyance of every one."