L80xW30mm, China
It is hard to have your pet with you all the time, how about having a cute little fish that can hang out by your side?
Archives for posts with tag: fish
W60xD40xH90mm, China
A little clay figurine dressed in red and holding a fish.
This toy embedded many of the wishes that the parents would want for their child.
On his vest is the word “shou” 壽 – longevity,
while the fish 魚 “yu” shares the same sound as 余 “yu” – plentiful.
In the old days, when life is harsh, staying alive and having enough to survive on is a hope for the future. These words of blessing are often found in wood block prints, pottery, embroidery, wood carvings and even the name for dishes.
DIA150mm, Hong Kong
May we wish you a merry x’mas and a happy holiday!
Something Old Something New
Collectible Jewellery Collection
W15xD24xH42mm, Hong Kong
A paper sculpture of a three dimension impression of a fish swimming downward.
W820xL130mm, China
This is a section of a patchwork from the Miao tribe. I find the creatures on the patchwork processing a lot charm, as this is handmade even if they are the same kind, are different. This simple beauty is already hard to find in the digital age.
On this patchwork there are flowers, butterfly, fish, birds and dragons. The Miao believes that creatures are interchangeable; a man can become a dragon and vice versa, fish butterfly, flowers and bird can also turn into dragon. Recorded in one of the ancient songs, the butterfly has 12 sons, they had a fight and the water dragon was chased away. He escaped through the waterways and into the ocean, then he realised he has forgotten to bring his money! The fish surrounded his and offered him the money and he was able to become the king of the ocean. There used to be a lot of these ancient songs which get passed down by mouth through generations, sadly only 12 songs were left.
DIA130mm, China
For the Something Old Something New Collectible Jewellery is the necklace of the three fish, the dushan jade fish are hang on a hand woven Chinese knots necklace.
Three fish are seen as a sign of blessing, in the East Han dyansty, when bribery was a common affair, there was a just officer named Yang Zhen. Yang was in charged of the appointment of government official, unlike the others before him, he would only appoint those who has the ability and reject those who tried to bribe him. One day, when Yang was at a low point in his life, he saw three fish jumping out of pond. He feels that the gods has understood him and blessed him with the three fish and soon after he was promoted to be one of the three top officials. The three fish became a symbol for the three top officials under only the emperor himself, in today’s terms they are the prime minister, the secretary of home affairs and the secretary of defense.
Something Old Something New
Collectible Jewellery Collection
DIA165mm, China
Something Old Something New
Collectible Jewellery Collection
Fish jade pendants have been popular since the Neolithic period, Zhou, Sung, Ming, Qing dynasty and it continue till today. Fish was the probably the first stable food source before the invention of primitive farming and was chosen as an early subject matter. As linguist developed, it also attended as a symbol of “surplus“. In the Tang dynasty, it had even been prescribed to Concubine Yung Gui Fei for cooling the dry summer heat – by sucking on one jade fish a day.
The fish on this necklace are attached to the beautifully pleated collar.
W200xL150mm, China
Wishing you a happy Chinese New Year this coming Sunday with this paper cutout.
This paper cutout is full of blessing symbolism,
Lotus Plant; 蓮 (Lian) is has a similar pronunciation as 年(Nian) which means yearly and as its fruit has many seeds it is a symbol of frequent fertility.
The Fish, 魚 (Yu), has the same pronunciation as the word “surplus” 餘.
The pattern is symmetrical, portraying 2 of each item, the Chinese believes the bad luck comes in singularity (odd) and good in double (even).
Lastly, the words in the middle is of course the famous Kung Kee Fat Choy!
The paper cutout are normally displayed on the windows of every household with different idea of blessing.
So here wishing you a year of surplus, fertility and many Fat Choy!
W130xH70xD30, China
The carp fish is a blessing symbol for the Chinese, there are many legends regarding the carp fish and here is one of them:
Once upon a time there is an orphan named Ji Qing, without a family he made his living as a boat tracker on the Chuan Jiang River. Life was hard but he lived his days joyfully, being a good swimmer he is able to retrieve any objects his passenger accidentally dropped into the ocean. Diving deep into the water he had a special bond with the carp fish, even if he is hungry he will not harm them, his friend made fun of him and called him silly Qing. One day when he was tidying up the tow string, he saw a beautiful golden carp but at the same time a water snake was about to make it his dinner. Ji Qing threw the string on the water snake and saved the golden carp, he took the injured carp to his hut and nursed it for days. One evening exhausted from a day’s water he rushed home to see the carp but it was no where to be found. Oddly on the table was 4 gold bars and there carved the words, “I have jumped to the sky and swam to the reef but failed to be a dragon (it is believe that if a carp can jump over the mountain it will turn into a dragon), here I am to give wealth to Ji Qing.
Would this be the golden carp?
W70xL160xH60mm, China
For something much lighter today is a tin toy of a carp swallowing a smaller fish. Wind it up and you will see the carp chasing the other fish which finally disappear altogether inside the bigger fish.
Something of a similar theme, see out post fish bag.
Mountain Folkcraft 