The Hidden Messages in Jade

When a Chinese person buys a jade pendant, one of the most important considerations is the meaning behind the carving. Nearly every carving is associated with an idiom or symbolizes one (or more of the five traditional Chinese blessings.  This jade with a lotus flower and a fish carved into the rind of the stone is a homonym symbolizing a desire for prosperity, year after year.

Homonyms are words pronounced alike but having a different meaning. Examples in the English language include the words quail as in the bird or the verb quail as in to tremble. Or two, to and too. The Chinese language is much more limited in sound so has many more homonyms.

Chinese people who see this carving, fashioned from a flawless piece of white Siberian jade, will immediately associate it with the idiom lián nián yǒu yú which translates as abundance (or plenty) year after year. They will associate it with this idiom because the words lián and yú,  also mean lotus flower and fish. So any carving you see with a lotus flower and a fish expresses a wish for prosperity in the coming years.

Learn more at www.jadefiend.com