All good, Emolument, and Longevity

Hwajeong Museum’s 2018 Special Exhibition All Good, Emolument, and Longevity looks into Chinese symbols of hope and desire reflected in various genres of ancient Chinese art.

Since the old days people wished for a well-settled life consisting of peace, prosperity, fame, health and longevity for their families.
In order to express those desires through art ancient Chinese likened them to fruits and plants such as peach, grape and peony; to animals such as deer, crab and bat; and through stories of myths, legends as well as through homophones with an auspicious sound. All Good, Emolument, and Longevity has classified the said auspicious symbols into three categories to take a study the manner of expressions and the significance hidden within.

For this exhibition Hwajeong Museum showcases a total of 72 artifacts focused on China’s Qing Dynasty. Let All Good, Emolument, and Longevity be an opportunity to re-encounter these masterpieces.

Since the Chinese pronunciation of the character 蝠 (Fú) that stands for ‘bat’ is quite similar to that of character 福 (Fú) meaning ‘good fortune’ bat came to stand for good luck, too.

A bat pattern that symbolizes good fortune is designed at the center of the silver-crafted fan.

The painting of Hundred of Children or Children Playing that shows lots of children makes quite clear of a desire to see many offspring in the family.

The desires to see many children and grandchildren and ensure the continuance of family line were all expressed in many colorful ways.

Grape was long used as a symbol of fertility (子孫) and continuance of family line thanks to its abundant fruits and vines that seems to continuously stretch far and wide.

Since the Chinese pronunciation of the character 鹿 (Lu) that stands for ‘Deer’ is quite similar to that of character 祿 (Lu) meaning ‘Emolument’, Deer came to stand for Emolument & getting a lift in his career too.

An inkstone made of jade and mother-of-pearl on the surface and adorned with deer.

Crab means success in the national examination, which means getting a lift in his career (立身出世) headed toward the path of fame and prestige.

Cat symbolized longevity in general. This is because Chinese character for a cat (猫) and that of ‘old’ (耄) are both pronounced ‘mao.’ Meanwhile a cat drawn with long, narrow iris would indicate that it’s noon in the picture, the brightest time of the day. Add some tall and long peonies into the scene to show flowers in full bloom and the painting would be interpreted as symbolizing wealth and prosperity in full bloom just those peonies.

Adorning the fan with various types of currencies can be interpreted as one’s wish to amass great wealth.

The role of Longevity Star God(壽星) is not only maintaining the stability of the nation and the life span of the nation’s ruler, but also evry individual's long life, at Ming & Qing Dynasty.

This painting itself contains an auspicious sign that symbolizes a desire to lead a good long life.

The Queen Mother of the West (Xiwangmu, 西王母) who resides in Mount Kunlun (崑崙山) of the west stands as the most prestigious female deity(女仙) in all Chinese mythology and Taoist legends. As the ruler of Taoist deities and the owner of the elixir of life and peaches of immortality, she is also hailed as a goddess of perpetual youth and immortality.

Peach is regarded as one of the major symbols of longevity.

Peach was expressed in various ways in paintings and crafts not only because it is beautiful both in shape and form but also include congratulation on long life.

Since the pronunciation of Chinese character for butterfly ‘die’ (蝶) is quite similar to the character ‘die’ (耋) that refers to an 80-year-olds, butterfly came to represent longevity.

A turtle is placed at the handle of incense burner while a pattern in form of Chinese character ‘壽’ (shou) adorns the center of lid. The incense burner is also decorated splendidly with pomegranates, peonies and other various branch designs associated with all kinds of auspicious meanings.

The painting features the gathering of three star gods that symbolize good fortune, emolument and longevity.