Symbols And Rebuses In Shiwan Ceramic Ware

Terese Tse Bartholomew

The artistic pottery of Shiwan includes many objects produced for household use, such as vessels and wall vases of many shapes and forms, oil lamps, items for the scholar's desk, objects for household alters, and decorative pieces like the famous figurines and sculptures of Shiwan. While some of these household articles are plain and are admired for their elegant shapes and beautiful glazes, others are decorated with auspicious designs and are appreciated for their symbolic meanings. Although some designs in Chinese art are purely ornamental, the majority have some auspicious significance. The Chinese believe that by surrounding themselves with auspicious motifs, their wishes will come true. These motifs represent hidden wishes of the Chinse, the basic wishes for blessing, wealth, and longevity.

By decoding and analyzing these decorative motifs, it is possible to understand the function of a piece and the intention of the buyer or giver. Is it a wedding gift? Is it intended for a birthday? Besides the general wishes for blessings, wealth and longevity, people from different walks of life wish for different things. In the old days, the rulers of China might long for peace in the universe (tianxia taiping), a bumper harvest (wugu fendeng) and a reign without end (yitong wannian, government officials might hope for high position and wealth (yuyang fugui), that they might rise rapidly in rank (mashang fenghou), and that their ranks might pass on to their descendants (guandai chuanliu), merchants desired wealth, so their households could be filled with "gold and jade" (jinyu mantang), and scholars hoped to pass their national civil service examinations and to place first among the three final ones (lianzhong sanyuan). Some of these wishes are represented by symbols, such as a peach for longevity, a pomegranate for numerous offspring, or Liu Hai, as a youth, with his three legged toad and sting of cash, for wealth. More often than not, these desires appear as four character phrases. Sometimes they are written out in full on art objects, or household vessels, or they may appear as a rebus or pictorial pun, a grouping of seemingly unrelated objects signifying a short phrase or idea. For example, a popular motif for indicating a rapid rise in rank is a horse carrying a monkey on its back. This is a pun on the phrase mashan fenghou, which translates, "May you immediately be elevated to the rank of marquis". To make the meaning unmistakable, the bee is incised on the shoulder of the horse.

The use of rebuses is very prominent in Chinese art because many words in the Chinese language share the same pronunciation. This linguistic characteristic creates endless opportunities for punning, not only in daily speech, but in art as well. Except for a few local variations, the symbols and rebuses found on Shiwan ceramic ware are traditional ones used elsewhere in China.