Five-Fold Happiness: Chinese Concepts of Luck, Prosperity, Longevity, Happiness, and Wealth

by Vivien Sung

Overview

Surround yourself with lucky objects, the Chinese believe, and good fortune will come to you. In word and image, this exquisite book explores the bounteous meanings of the five-fold symbols of happiness: luck, prosperity, longevity, happiness, and wealth. Drenched in color and lavishly illustrated from ancient and modern sources, Five-Fold Happiness interweaves both Chinese and English text. Peaches, the number eight, the imperial color of gold, a cat with one paw beckoning, or the dragon dance—here are some of the familiar images now revealed in their rich significance. Whether readers choose to embrace these symbols in their everyday lives or simply enjoy them on these glorious pages, Five-Fold Happiness is altogether auspicious.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781452139395
Publisher:	Chronicle Books LLC
Publication date:	10/07/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	47 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Vivien Sung was born in Sydney, Australia. She now lives in San Francisco, where she works as a graphic designer. She has studied in China and travels there frequently.

Table of Contents

	Preface	8
	Introduction	11
	Luck
	Luck character	22
	God of luck	28
	Bat	32
	Door gods	36
	Spring couplet	42
	New year pictures	45
	Lucky children	46
	Vase	48
	Gourd	50
	Dragon	52
	Dragon and lion dances	54
	Scepter	56
	Cloud	58
	Windmill	60
	Buddha's hand	62
	Shrimp	64
	Laughing mouth	65
	Fortune cookie	66
	Oysters	67
	Prosperity
	Deer	74
	God of prosperity	77
	Carp leaping over the dragon's gate	80
	Six	82
	Peony	84
	Monkey	86
	Three ingots	88
	Rooster	89
	Crab	90
	Sticky rice cake	91
	Longevity
	One hundred long lives	104
	God of longevity	106
	Pine tree	112
	Bamboo	116
	Plum	119
	Cypress	120
	Crane	122
	Tortoise	125
	Peach	126
	Queen mother of the west	130
	Moon goddess	132
	Goddess of longevity	134
	Eight immortals	138
	Fungus of immortality	142
	Chrysanthemum	144
	Narcissus	146
	Ginseng	147
	Longevity noodles	148
	Longevity lock	150
	Nine	152
	Double happiness
	Double happiness character	162
	God of double happiness	167
	Magpie	170
	Mandarin ducks	174
	Phoenix	178
	Qi lin	182
	Carp	184
	Spider	186
	Firecrackers	188
	Gods of unity and harmony	191
	Lotus	194
	Date	196
	Chestnut	197
	Peanut	198
	Melons and seeds	199
	Pomegranate	200
	Red eggs	201
	Four-happiness boys	204
	Wealth
	Eight	214
	God of wealth	220
	Coins	226
	Money tree	228
	Tangerine	229
	Gold and silver ingots	232
	Dumpling	233
	Red packet	234
	God liu hai	238
	Fish	242
	Goldfish	244
	Fa cai plant	246
	Lettuce	248
	Beckoning cat	249
	Index	250
	Acknowledgments	252
	Biographies	255

Editorial Reviews

Graphic designer Sung's book belongs to the relatively new class of small, sensuously crafted books meant to be pleasing to the hand and eye as well as to the mind. Her contribution to the genre takes for its subject the Chinese concepts of luck, prosperity, happiness, and wealth: she discusses each concept, as well as the varied legends that surround them, in Chinese and English; for each symbol of each concept there are pictograms, photographs, and other illustrations. Sung's distinctive way with design is evident from the delightful, brilliantly red and yellow pages. Her writing is clear and engaging; her subject is too-little understood in the West. Highly recommended for all collections. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Graphic designer Sung's book belongs to the relatively new class of small, sensuously crafted books meant to be pleasing to the hand and eye as well as to the mind. Her contribution to the genre takes for its subject the Chinese concepts of luck, prosperity, happiness, and wealth: she discusses each concept, as well as the varied legends that surround them, in Chinese and English; for each symbol of each concept there are pictograms, photographs, and other illustrations. Sung's distinctive way with design is evident from the delightful, brilliantly red and yellow pages. her writing is clear and engaging; her subject is too-little understood in the West. Highly recommended for all collections. -Library Journal

From the Publisher