Fertility

There was a constant expectation in China newly married couples must produce sons soon after they married to uphold cultural imperatives which Bartholomew (p.58) writes to “…perpetuate the family name and to continue to worship ancestors. To have no such descendant is considered the greatest sin against filial piety. In ancient China, a man would have a good excuse to bring in a concubine if his wife was proven to be barren.” So, a woman’s marriage bed was sprinkled with nuts, seeds, and fruits all of which are fertility symbols. The pomegranate (shilui) is a symbol of fertility and fecundity due to its numerous seeds and many seeds inside it expresses the homophonic wish for 100 sons (liukai baizi). The carp and other fish is a symbol for an abundance of children because they produce many eggs while a pair symbolizes a harmonious marriage. The Chinese word for chestnut is a homophone for “establishing” “sons” or “children” and, therefore, is a good luck symbol for creating a family. Chopsticks symbolize the hope for newlyweds to have children quickly, because it is a homophone for combination “fast” and “sons.” A pair of ducks symbolize fidelity and conjugal affection. The word for dumpling is a wish for a large family because it is homophone for “having o have sexual intercourse” combined with “son” or “child” and dumplings stuffed with dates express a hope for the “early” birth of sons. A fish also represents fertility in marriage since it reproduces rapidly and a pair represent happiness in marriage for life. The frog is a symbol of fertility because it since it is a homophone for the word for baby. The peanut symbolizes the wish for many children because its second character is a homophone for giving birth. The Chinese word for pumpkin sounds like the word for “boy” and symbolizes a wish for sons. The rat symbolizes fertility, abundance and wealth because of its reproductive abilities. A reed pipe (sheng 笙) has the hidden meaning of “to give birth” because it has the same pronunciation as the Chinese word “to give birth.” The ox symbolizes springtime, harvest and fertility. Dumplings stuffed with dates express a hope for the “early” birth of sons, and there are many more.

Sources:
Terese Tse Bartholomew, Hidden Meanings in Chinese Art, San Francisco, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, 2006.

Patricia Bjaaland Welch, Chinese Art: A Guide to Motifs and Visual Imagery, Rutland, Tuttle Publishing, 2008.