Chinese Auspicious Symbols: A Guide to Luck, Blessing and Wordplay

Quick answer: Chinese auspicious symbols are signs that express good wishes: for blessing, joy, long life, prosperity or peace. Many of them work through language. Because Chinese has many words that sound alike, an image can stand for a wish simply because its name sounds like that wish. Understanding that wordplay is the key to reading most of them.

Symbols built on sound

A bat is auspicious because fú, "bat", sounds like fú, "blessing". A fish stands for abundance because yú, "fish", sounds like yú, "surplus". The same logic explains why the character 福 is often hung upside down at the Spring Festival. Once you know the principle, many Chinese designs become readable.

Characters of good fortune

• Fú 福: blessing and good fortune, the character pasted on doors at New Year.
• Xǐ 喜: joy and happy occasions.
• Double Happiness 囍: the doubled character of joy, the emblem of weddings.

Objects and ornaments

• Chinese coins: the round coin with a square hole, an emblem of wealth and a long tradition of charm coins.
• Ping An Kou: the "peace buckle", a pierced disc descended from the ancient jade bi.
• The endless knot: a Buddhist auspicious emblem that became a favourite of Chinese decorative knotting.

Creatures and figures

• Pixiu: the winged guardian beast of Han-dynasty tombs, now a symbol of wealth in feng shui.
• The three-legged toad: the golden toad of the immortal Liu Hai, with its string of coins.
• The Year of the Pig: the twelfth animal of the Chinese zodiac.

Buildings

• The pagoda: a Buddhist tower that, in late imperial China, was also built to raise a town's fortunes in the civil-service examinations.

A Japanese neighbour

The beckoning lucky cat is often sold alongside Chinese auspicious objects, but it is Japanese: see Is the Lucky Cat Chinese or Japanese?.

AURYN's Chinese designs can be found in the charms collection.

Frequently asked questions

Why do so many Chinese auspicious symbols rely on wordplay?

Chinese has many words with similar or identical pronunciations, so an image can represent a wish because the name of the depicted object sounds like a favourable word. Bats, fish and many other motifs work through this kind of rebus.

What does Fú 福 mean?

Fú expresses blessing and good fortune. It is especially prominent at the Spring Festival and is often displayed on red paper as a wish for good fortune in the coming year.

Is the beckoning Lucky Cat a Chinese symbol?

No. The maneki-neko is Japanese, although it is often sold alongside Chinese auspicious objects. Similar modern retail contexts should not be treated as evidence that the traditions share the same origin.