Plate with Isle of the Immortals

This multicolored dish is decorated with the sacred isle, also seen on the exterior of the blue-and-white dish nearby. A pavilion emerges amid rising and falling waves, a symbol of constant transformation and change. Above the waves are mysterious clouds, symbolizing the cosmic vital energy (<em>qi</em>) that animates all things and beings on earth in Daoism. The interior of the dish also shows cranes carrying sticks in their beaks, a motif that symbolizes longevity. Cranes carrying sticks above a pavilion in the sea express the wish “May you live to a ripe old age (<em>haiwu tianchou</em>; 海屋添籌).”