W140xD160mm, Hong Kong

A small portfolio decorated with a piece of embroidery filled with blessing symbols.

The cow in the middle of the embroidery is known as a Spring Cow, it is part of the Chinese New Year traditional that has been passed down since 800B.C.  The figure of a cow would be made with straws and mud, a day before (Li Chun – the first day of spring in the 24 solar terms) it would be brought to front gate of the town where it would be whipped by all the notable of the town or village.  The ritual is believed to wake up the Spring Cow, the passing of the freezing winter, the start of agriculture and the gone with winter ailmnet.  With us city dwellers who are far away from the farmland and the fields, the only Spring Cow we will see is perhaps the one printed at the back of the Tung Shing which gives us prediction of the year’s weather.  Well, for this year will is suppose to be drought, we seems to be getting a lot of rain so far.

Around the Spring Cow are blessing objects;

@12 o’clock –  yellow moon, an object of worship,
@2 o’clock – the double trapezium, Fang Sheng, the hairstyle of the Queen Mother of the West, has the ability to pacify,
@5 o’clock – rhino horn, resembling victory,
@7 o’clock – scroll of  books and painting, wisdom
@10 o’clock – the 3 blessed star Fu Lu Shou,
@11 o’clock –  in form of a white cloud shape is Ru Yi, “as you wished”.