Images of blessing 吉祥图案

Being a vast and diverse country with over fifty minorities groups,China is a homeland to a myriad different types of images which are meant to give good blessing. In the festivals or celebrations, people like decorating their houses and devices, for the blessing of a happy life and to celebrate the festivals.

The images of blessing in China started in the Zhou Dynasty (zhōu 周) (1122 BC—256 BC) around 3000 years ago. Until today, the images of blessing are still an important content of the Chinese life. The content of the images of blessing are quite broad, but here we introduce several kinds that are more popular:
shuangxiShuangxi (shuāng xǐ 双喜)—doubled happiness. It means happiness and luck. It is normally used in weddings.
Long (simplified Chinese: 龙; traditional Chinese: 龍; pinyin: lóng)—dragon. The dragon is the totem of the Chinese nation. Chinese around the world proudly proclaim themselves "Descendents of the Dragon (lóng dè chuán rén 龙的传人)." Dragons are referred to as the divine mythical creature that brings with it ultimate abundance, prosperity and good fortune.
Yu (yú 鱼)—fish.Carps are known for their legendary valour in swimming against the current and make a good marital fortune symbol.
Qilin (qí lín 麒麟)—This dragon horse is also known as the Chinese unicorn. A great omen for prosperity, success, longevity, illustrious offspring and enhancement, the qi lin should always be displayed as a pair.
shouShou (simplified Chinese: 寿; traditional Chinese: 壽; pinyin: shòu)—longevity. It has been designed and prettified to be symmetrical, which means health and long life.
Fushou shuangquan (fú shòu shuāng quán 福寿双全)—luck and health. It has the images of a bat and the word shou (shòu 寿). In Chinese, the pronunciation of the bat is similar to that of luck, therefore it has the meaning of luck and long life.
 A symmetrical image with two you (yǒu 有). The you means having and wealthy in Chinese. In the counties of China, people post the image on the utensils for storing food, meaning a good and fruitful harvest.Sihe ruyi (sìhé rúyì 四合如意)—Four s-shape wands are enclosed and connected with each other on four sides, symbolizing everything goes as one wishes.
baijiBaiji (bǎijí 百吉) is also called panchang (páncháng 盘长). It can be imagined as the endless ties, which have the similar pronunciation as jie (jié 结) in Chinese. The meaning of baiji is endless luck in life.
Wufu pengshou (wǔfú pěngshòu 五福捧寿)—Five bats bring long life. There are five bats surrounding the word shou. Taking the pronunciation of the word bat, it means five different kinds of good aspects: long life, wealth, health, virtue, and happy end.

 
吉祥图案
      作为一个有着广袤土地、多元文化以及五十六个民族的国家，中国同样也是许多含有迹象意义的图案的故乡。每到年节或喜庆的日子，人们都会喜欢用这些吉祥图案装饰自己的房间和物品，以表示对幸福生活的向往，对良辰佳节的庆贺。
      fushou中国的吉祥图案始于距今3000多年前的周代，后来在民间流传开来。今天，吉祥图案仍然是中国人生活中不可缺少的内容。
      中国的吉祥图案内容极其广泛，这里介绍最常见的几种：
      “双喜”字，是双喜临门，大吉大利的意思，民间常在办喜事时采用。
      “龙”是属于中华民族特有的图腾。全世界的中国人都非常自豪地把自己成为“龙的传人”。龙在中国古代被认为是带来富足、繁荣和财富的神话形象。
      “鱼”以其激流勇进，飞跃龙门的英勇传奇而为世人所知，它还可以用来表示对婚姻的美好祝愿。
      “麒麟”这种类似于龙的马被当做是中国式的独角兽。它被认为是繁荣、成功、长寿以及子孙飞黄腾达的前兆。在中国传统的装饰中，麒麟总是会成对地出现。
      “寿”字，字头经过加工美化，变成对称的图案，是长寿的意思。
      “福寿双全”，是由蝙蝠和寿字组成的图案。“蝠”与“福”同音，表示幸福长寿。
      两个“有”字组成的对称图案，意思是顺也有，倒也有。在中国农村常用来贴在收藏谷物的器具上，表示丰收富裕。
      “四合如意”，4个如意从四面围拢勾连起来，象征诸事如意。
      “百吉”，也叫“盘长”。它无头无尾，无始无终，可以想象为多个“结”，谐“百吉”之音，作为百事吉祥如意的象征，也有福寿延绵、永无休止的意思。
       “五福捧寿”，图案中5个蝙蝠环绕成一个寿字。五福是长寿、富贵、康宁、道德、善终。