Chinese Art Symbols

Although many diverse cultures have carved jade, it is really the Chinese who have raised it to the level of an art. Most pieces follow classical patterns and motifs; we list some of the more common symbols and a brief summary of meaning.

• Apple (apple blossom): feminine beauty. A basket of apples symbolizes peace.
• Apricot: emblem of the 'fair sex'
• Almond: see apricot
• Archer's ring: scholarship and prestige
• Axe: symbolic of the marriage go-between
• Bamboo: longevity, hardiness, durability
• Bat: good fortune
• Bear: bravery and strength; a potent charm against robbers
• Bee: industry and thrift
• Bell: respect, veneration and obedience to one's superiors
• Broom: insight, wisdom; the 'sweeping away' of worries
• Buddha Hand (citron plant): wealth, or its acquisition
• Butterfly: immortality
• Carp: perseverance; also, as "dragon of the sea", watchfulness
• Cat: protector against evil spirits of the night. (Double cats are symbolic of conjugal bliss.)
• Chrysanthemum: joviality; a life of ease after retirement
• Cicada: immortality and resurrection; conductor to the next life
• Coin: prosperity, wealth
• Conch shell: a prosperous voyage; a symbol of royalty
• Crane: longevity and old age; conveyor of souls to the heavens
• Cricket: emblematic of courage; a symbol of summer
• Crow: red or golden: filial piety; black (raven) is an omen of evil
• Cherry: as a tree: hardiness; as a fruit: feminine beauty
• Deer: long life (and a homonym for "payment")
• Dog: fidelity
• Dog of "Fo" (actually a form of lion): energy and valor; protector
• Dove (or pigeon): faithfulness, filial duty; impartiality
• Dragon: emperor; strength; yang principal; lord of aquatic creatures
• Duck: felicity; conjugal fidelity (also double duck: connubial bliss)
• Eagle, Falcon: boldness, keen vision; authority
• Eight trigrams: forces of nature (I Ching)
• Elephant: strength, sagacity and wisdom
• Fire: danger, speed, anger and ferocity
• Fish: abundance, fertility; (Double fish: connubial bliss, harmony)
• Flywhisk: leadership, mercy
• Fox: craftiness, cunning, "mischief" in love affairs
• Frog: good fortune in gambling or money-making. The Three-Legged Frog symbolizes 'magic' or the 'unattainable'.
• Fungus (or mushroom): longevity or immortality
• Goat (also sheep): emblem of a retired life
• Gourd: magic
• Heart: one of the five centers of emotional feelings; cycle of love
• Horse: speed and perseverance
• Hydra (or split-tailed dragons): young dragons; playfulness
• Ju-I: a "scepter" symbolic of Buddhist principals; a guide
• Key pattern (meander): thunder and clouds
• Kwan Yin (Lady of Mercy): mercy, compassion
• Knot: longevity, true love, "wheel" of life
• Leaf: emblem of felicity
• Lion: valor and energy (see "Dog of Fo")
• Lotus: purity, enlightenment
• Lohan: Buddhist ascetic
• Lute: one of the four signs of a scholar; a symbol of marital happiness
• Monkey: trickery; warder off of evil spirits
• Moon: darkness, yin principal
• Ox (cow): spring; agriculture
• Palm: retired life
• Peach: longevity
• Pear: wise and benevolent government
• Pearl: purity, feminine beauty
• Pi (perforated disc): power and authority; early pagan symbol of sun
• Pig: protector of wealth
• Pine: longevity, hardiness
• Phoenix empress: the yang principle
• Plum (prunus): longevity, hardiness. Pine, prunus and bamboo are known as the "three friends" because they stay green in the winter. Often shown together, all three symbolize longevity and vitality.
• Pomegranate: fertility
• Quail: courage, pugnacity
• Rat: industry and prosperity
• Rice grains: fecundity; good harvest
• Sheep: emblem of a retired life
• Stork (usually depicted with pine): longevity
• Spider: protector against evil spirits
• Sun: essence of the male principal in nature
• Tael: Chinese unit of gold weight; symbolic of wealth or its aquisition
• Tiger: courage, dignity, military power (lord of all land creatures)
• Tortoise: longevity, strength, endurance
• Umbrella: dignity, high rank
• Unicorn: grandeur, illustrious offspring, wise government, longevity
• Willow: meekness, spring; maidenhood
• Yin-yang: the Chinese principal of cosmic duality