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Thought by the Chinese to live a very long life and to be the only animal able to find the sacred fungus, the deer (lu) is a symbol of longevity. Its horns are considered to have medicinal properties. A picture of a deer often represents official payments, or good income, as the pronunciations of the two words, lu, are homonyms. This figure possibly represents the Sika deer. Also known as meihua lu (prunus blossom deer), it has white markings on its body resembling the prunus blossom. The Sika deer ranges through Japan, Vietnam, Formosa, Manchuria, Korea, and north and southeast China. Back |
Stag, late-eighteenth/early-ninteenth century, China. Porcelain. |