The Peranakan Chinese Home

last half of the nineteenth century, there is insufficient evidence to determine whether Peranakan Chinese built many of them. This is because records that discuss descent focus on Chinese fathers to the exclusion of local mothers and rarely reveal the multiethnic character of marriages. Four mansions or Si da cuo were built by entrepreneurial immigrants with roots in the Chaozhou region of China: Tan Seng Poh, Seah Cheo Seah, Wee Ah Hood, and Tan Yeok Nee. Of these four, only Tan Seng Poh is heralded today as a Peranakan personality, but only the stately mansion of Tan Yeok Nee survives. The shipping magnate Goh Sin Koh, an immigrant from Fujian, built a fifth mansion. With its swallowtail ridgelines and red brick structure, Goh’s Fujian-style residence was probably designed and built by Chinese craftsmen, even though professional architects and draftsmen prepared drawings that had to be submitted for municipal approval. Tan Yeok Nee returned to China to live out his days in a mansion he also built there. When he died in 1902 at the age of 75 in China, his sons had all predeceased him, leaving eight grandsons to inherit his estate. It is unfortunate that we have neither photographs nor a surviving structure that would help us understand what Peranakan Tan Seng Poh’s da cuo or “mansion” looked like. BUNGALOWS AND VILLAS Bungalows and villas describe dwelling types introduced first to meet the needs of European colonialists in Asia, but in time were also adopted by non- Europeans. Over time, wealthy Peranakan Chinese and others adopted the bungalow form, especially as seaside residences, with a detached kitchen, nearby servants’ quarters, and a separate garage. Isabella Bird, the noted Victorian globe-trotter who visited Malacca in the late 1870s, caught glimpses of the rising prominence of Peranakan Chinese families and reflected on their lives shuttling between in-town terrace houses and their country bungalows, a lifestyle mirrored elsewhere in the Straits Settlements: “And it is not, as elsewhere, that they come, make money, and then return to settle in China, but they come here with their wives and families, buy or build these handsome houses, as well as large bungalows in the neighboring coco-groves, own most of the plantations up the country, and have obtained the finest site on the hill behind the town for their stately tombs. Every afternoon their carriages roll out into the country, conveying them to their substantial bungalows to smoke and gamble. They have fabulous riches in diamonds, pearls, sapphires, rubies, and emeralds. They love Malacca, and take a pride in beautifying it. They have fashioned their dwellings upon the model of those in Canton, but whereas cogent reasons compel the rich

Chinaman at home to conceal the evidences of his wealth, he glories in displaying it under the security of British rule. The upper class of the Chinese merchants live in immense houses within walled gardens. The wives of all are secluded, and inhabit the back regions and have no share in the remarkably ‘good time’ which the men seem to have” (1883: 133). Although the name “bungalow” is used today in Southeast Asia to describe quite elaborate suburban homes, even villas, those constructed in the later nineteenth century and early twentieth century were comparatively unpretentious. Early single-storey bungalows were constructed of brick and wood and are noteworthy because of adaptations to the tropical climate, especially to increase ventilation: raising the structure above the ground on substantial piers, adding a projecting veranda, broad eaves overhangs, ventilation grilles in the walls, roller blinds made of reeds for shading, large windows and doors, as well as constructing rooms with lofty ceilings. These features mimic to some degree indigenous Malay building traditions, however with materials that are more substantial. Floor plans were usually symmetrical. Over time, less wood was used in the construction of bungalows as reinforced concrete gained dominance because of lesser costs. Examples of both Peranakan Chinese bungalows and villas still stand in Malacca, Penang, and Singapore, as well as in Phuket in Thailand and Yangon in Myanmar, although most are gone. These five port towns were linked not only by business interests but also via bonds between temples and personal alliances that facilitated intermarriage between and among Peranakan families. The fact that Chinese carpenters and masons shuttled from port to port also ensured that fashions diffused widely. With their greater populations, larger ports like Singapore and Penang also provided shops that sourced high-quality furniture and porcelains from China, molded iron columns and fences from Scotland, encaustic floor tiles from England and Italy, as well as furniture and decorative objects from sources all around the world. Lee Kip Lin includes a comprehensive gallery of bungalows and villas in Singapore built over a century ago, which were lived in by both Peranakan Chinese and Westerners, that reveal the range of their eclecticism (1988: 143–225). In some cases in Singapore, Peranakan Chinese merchants such as Seah Song Seah also maintained two residences, a terrace house in the city and a villa in the country, that expressed their multicultural lives. Whether lived in by Westerners or Asians, the floor plan and overall form of bungalows and villas were essentially the same. Peranakan Chinese and wealthy Chinese immigrants, however, marked their homes with distinctive Chinese elements similar to those

found on shophouses and terrace houses. On the exterior, they often placed a jiho board with Chinese characters above the front door, hung couplets alongside the door, installed a carved and gilded pair of pintu pagar half-door panels, and sometimes even decorative moldings that evoked Chinese themes. Inside, a prominent space was also found for two altars, one for deities and one for ancestors, and Chinese-style furnishings. Not all Peranakan Chinese residences though had the full range of these Chinese elements. In addition, because many Peranakan Chinese businessmen also interacted with non-Chinese, they also furnished some rooms in a Western, generally Victorian or Edwardian, style that they also came to enjoy. Displaying books in foreign languages and hanging pictures of European scenes expressed their cosmopolitan tastes. Peranakan Chinese Seah Song Seah, a gambier and pepper merchant, as with other successful businessmen, maintained two homes. On the left is the home he had built in town on River Valley Road, which has housed the Nanyang Sacred Union Temple since the 1930s, and on the right is his country bungalow on Thomson Road, which has been demolished. (Wright and Cartwright, 1908: 636.)

Chinese-style courtyard houses with a single-storey front hall and a parallel two-storey rear hall, which were linked to a pair of perpendicular wing buildings, were built by Chinese immigrants and Peranakan Chinese throughout Southeast Asia. Only rare photographs hint at their scale. Molenvliet Street, Batavia, today’s Jakarta, Indonesia. Photograph courtesy of KITLV/Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies. Fine examples of early twentieth-century bungalows constructed in the East Coast area of Singapore can still be seen. Some of the finer bungalows that were along the shoreline had an enclosed area for swimming built into the sea as protection against shark attacks (Lee Kip Lee, 1995: 42). In addition, both Europeans and Peranakan Chinese built large detached villas—some veritable mansions based on modest bungalows—but others adapted the styles of villas that were then in vogue in England and on the continent. In Baba Malay and Hokkien, these were collectively called ang moh lau “red-hair (European/foreign) buildings.”

Taken a century apart, these photographs reveal the eclectic nature of the Tjong A Fie Mansion, which was completed in 1900. A successful immigrant from Meixian in Guangdong province, Tjong began a Peranakan Chinese family whose members still occupy the home. Jalan Kesawan Square, Medan, Indonesia.

Just as there were stylistic differences as shophouses and terrace houses evolved, this was true as well with bungalows and villas. While European classical features dominate on the façades, Peranakan Chinese added decorative stucco elements that recall themes then current with new generations of shophouses and terrace houses, “a hotch-potch of elements [that] do not seem to have been applied according to any architectural theory or principle,” in the words of Lee Kip Lin (1988: 128). Mandalay Villa, which was constructed in 1902 and demolished in 1983, was a grand two-storey eclectic residence built by Lee Cheng Yan, a prominent Peranakan Chinese merchant family, in the Katong seaside area of Singapore (see page 17). Set within an expansive garden that was approached by a long driveway, the residence had six bedrooms with a nearby sea-pavilion having an additional two bedrooms to accommodate an extended family that varied in size over the years. With verandas on the front and rear and spacious halls for dining and socializing, the home was often the site of celebratory events. Although no longer standing, Mandalay Villa is well documented with exterior and interior photographs that show not only its classical European features and furnishings but also its functioning as the site for a Peranakan Chinese wedding and a funeral (Lee Kip Lin, 1988: 192–3; Liu, 1999: 224–5; Lee and Chen, 2006: 24–31). Phuket, which is located along the shores of the Andaman Sea some 650 kilometers from Penang, is known for what locals call Sino-Portuguese architecture, which is a misnomer since the form does not evoke specific Portuguese characteristics. Sino-Western or Sino-Colonial are perhaps better terms for the grand villa-type residences that blend both generic Western architectural forms and Chinese elements. These old homes generally include a prominent façade, portico, second-floor terrace, interior courtyards, an inside water well, as well as a disposition of rooms that pays homage to ancestors, with furnishings and ornamentation that mix Chinese and Western motifs. Examples are found along the roads that radiate out from the core of Phuket town into areas that a century ago provided expansive open spaces for extensive gardens and imposing homes. Tan Ma Siang (Prapitak Chyn Pracha) built a fine example along Krabi Road. Tan, a Peranakan who was born in Phuket in 1883 and died in 1949, thus straddled the generations between his China-born father and his descendants who came to see themselves as Thai, but of Chinese heritage. Begun in 1904 and completed in 1907, the residence was a gift to Tan Ma Siang’s new bride when he married at the age of 20 soon after he returned from studying in Penang. Known today as the Chyn Pracha residence, after his Thai name, it is a fine example of a Sino-European villa. There are no detailed records of local

women who married into the family, but there is no doubt that the Pracha family is Peranakan and that strategic marriages bolstered mercantile relationships among the élite of Penang and Phuket. Truly eclectic architecture with many variations, the region’s bungalows and villas represent both the co-mingling of cultures as well as the globalization of material culture. Many fine examples were razed over the decades and many others still stand derelict and forlorn along what were once quiet country roads but are now highways throughout the region. Unlike Westerners, Chinese and Peranakan Chinese owners tended not to build walls or fences around their property. Even today, in homage to their forbears, some descendants maintain their nearly hundred-year-old bungalows and mansions sitting amidst extensive and well-groomed grounds that include formal gardens, mature trees, arbors, potted plants, and statues. With its projecting front veranda, wooden structure, and elevation atop short masonry piers, this Peranakan single-storey bungalow, the ancestral home of the Lee family, won an Architectural Heritage award in 2010. It is reminiscent of seaside Malay houses, which were raised to protect the residence from rising tides. The eclectic furnishings reveal its multicultural character. Chapel Road, Katong, Singapore.

The Oey Djie San riverside plantation home has two faces: a hybrid dwelling with a Chinese residence facing the water and an Indische-style residence facing the road, both joined in the middle. Here is the entry to the inverted U-shaped Chinese dwelling with its traditional three-bay structure and multiple courtyards. The sprawling complex was demolished in 2008–9. Tangerang, Java, Indonesia.

The central panel of the apron of this console table includes representations of the stellar triad Fu, Lu, and Shou (Good Fortune, Emolument, and Longevity). Chee Jin Siew residence, Jonker Street, Malacca, Malaysia.

Even a cursory glance at the exterior of old Peranakan Chinese residences reveals an abundance of apparent ornamentation. Whether words—Chinese characters—or images, these generally are more than mere adornment and need to be appreciated beyond the aesthetics of their form, line, and color, just as is the case with dwellings in China. Moreover, those who enter Peranakan Chinese homes usually find an even broader assemblage of complementary images and words, not only as carvings and as paintings that are attached to walls and doorways but also as utilitarian and ornamental objects throughout the home: furniture, porcelain ware, clothing, purses, slippers, and jewelry. Taken collectively, these are part of a rich symbolic vocabulary that is dense with meanings as they communicate both broadly accepted Chinese cultural values and the hopeful aspirations of individual families. Auspicious imagery constitutes one of the deepest and most enduring traditions of Chinese visual culture in that it traverses class, wealth, education, and place. The symbolic system found within Peranakan Chinese and Chinese homes is found also within and about their temples, ancestral halls, and gravesites. As this book reveals, there is a remarkable consistency in the range of pictorial and calligraphic symbolic vocabulary with both Peranakan Chinese and non- Peranakan residences of more recent Chinese immigrants, whether in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, or Thailand. Yet, as Patricia Bjaaland Welch reminds us, “the array of motifs and designs employed by the Peranakan Babas and Nyonyas is so broad in scope and rich in color and flavor that few will miss those classical Chinese motifs that didn’t survive the cultural journey” from their continental homeland (2011: 7). Moreover, beyond the symbolic attributes and associations of “the Peranakan palate of decorative motifs,” as Welch terms them, which is the subject of this chapter, some subjects found patterned on surfaces and objects are nonetheless only ornamental, noteworthy essentially for their vibrant colors and idiosyncratic themes borrowed from beyond Asia. An example is an extraordinary early twentieth century tablecloth that has pride of place in the collection of Singapore’s Peranakan Museum. Square in shape with a pattern that allowed it to drape well over a round table in a bridal chamber, examples of which are seen in Chapter 8, the beaded cotton cloth provided the focal covering for the “spring table” during a Peranakan wedding. On it was placed the family’s fine silver and porcelain as well as a service of light snacks for the bridegroom

and bride. With a turquoise background and a repeating border, more than a million glass beads in shades of pink, yellow, and green were used to give shape to birds, insects, and flowers, some of which are native to South America and Europe, thus with little Asian connection. The piece is truly eclectic in its panoply of motifs favored by wealthy families. Others will be seen in later chapters. Over the last century, even as the multitude of cultural symbols derived from China came to flourish in the adopted Nanyang homelands of Chinese immigrants and Peranakan Chinese families, they diminished for a variety of reasons in the home villages of Chinese immigrants who left Fujian and Guangdong provinces. During China’s Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1976, when campaigns against the “Four Olds” (Old Customs, Old Culture, Old Habits, and Old Ideas) were most virulent, the exteriors and interiors of most Chinese homes were stripped of traditional symbols, becoming uncharacteristically barren and colorless. Over the past twenty years, on the other hand, as several of my other books illustrate, traditional iconography has slowly begun to return to homes throughout China (Knapp, 1999; 2005a: 54–97; 2005b: 99–137). It is ironic that it is often easier today to see authentic traditional symbolic ornamentation in old Peranakan Chinese homes in Southeast Asia than in old homes in China itself. This chapter is organized around two broad themes that express the nature of this symbolic vocabulary—the Quest for Harmony and the Pursuit of Good Fortune—and will look at the walls, floors, ceilings, doors, and screens, as well as many types of furnishings and objects, including those that are decorative or utilitarian, found in Peranakan Chinese homes throughout Southeast Asia. THE QUEST FOR HARMONY In most areas of China in the past, no action was more important when planning to build a residence than appraising its fengshui. Fengshui, which literally means “wind and water,” is rooted in the conscious action of choosing an auspicious location, a spatial setting, involving two fundamental geographic attributes: a “site” and its “situation.” The site is the actual space occupied by the structure, while the situation is its location in relation to its broader surroundings. Although little is known about how fengshui was practiced in immigrant Chinese communities in the Nanyang region, where those from Fujian called it hongswee, surviving residences and temples provide evidence that fengshui principles indeed were applied as they were built. It would have been a rare

immigrant Chinese or even Peranakan Chinese who would have been willing to risk not only their current fortune but also that yet to be made by ignoring the prognostications of a fengshui master. Continuing these traditions, fengshui consultation services, in fact, are readily available today in Southeast Asia’s towns and cities, where they are applied more to apartments and business establishments than to freestanding residences. Sewn early in the twentieth century in Penang and some 126 x 118 cm in dimension, this is one of the largest examples of Peranakan beadwork in existence, much larger than common slippers and purses. Curators at the Peranakan Museum in Singapore speculate that the cloth was intended to drape a circular table in the bridal chamber because of the circular shape of the middle portion and the exquisite detail of the beading. The flamboyantly colorful motifs include a non-repeating variety of birds, flowers, and insects. © Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore. Restoration sponsored by BNP Paribas Foundation and BNP Paribas Singapore Branch.

Although the high ridgebeams in most Peranakan homes are hidden, others seen in Chinese homes in Southeast Asia reveal attention to protective and auspicious adornment and positioning. From left: Poshayonanda ancestral home, Bangkok, Thailand; Tan Yeok Nee residence, Clemenceau Avenue, Singapore; Na Songkhla ancestral home, Vichianchom Road, Songkhla, Thailand. Some indications that fengshui was employed can be glimpsed by observing the manner in which a residence fits on its building site and by observing the structure within the context of nearby or distant mountains and water bodies. Symbols and writing on ridgebeams, such as can be seen in the main hall of the Poshayonanda home and Songkhla homes in Thailand and the Tan Yeok Nee home in Singapore, are a clear indication of deliberate placement. Clues to fengshui decision-making include doors and gates that are askew or at odd locations. In Indonesia, where it is possible to visit unrestored old Peranakan dwellings, such as the Oey Djie San rural manor in Tangerang (now disassembled), smaller country homes in Padang and Rembang, and the Khouw manor in Jakarta, one can tease out site characteristics and structural elements that resulted from the application of fengshui. In Indonesia, in particular, the placement of a two-storey structure to the rear of lower buildings in front is said to mimic the kind of mountain configuration seen as necessary according to fengshui.

The mansions of Tjong A Fie in Medan, Indonesia, and Cheong Fatt Tze in Penang, Malaysia, which closely resemble each other, offer tantalizing insights into the mentality of those setting out to ensure that harmony and good fortune would follow the completion of their house. While Tjong A Fie and Cheong Fatt Tze were immigrant Hakka Chinese born in neighboring counties of eastern Guangdong province and were not themselves Peranakan Chinese, both took a local woman as one of their many wives and thus some of their descendants identify as Peranakan Chinese. Both the Tjong and Cheong mansions are essentially symmetrical, with a centrally positioned large skywell or tianjing between the front and back halls. Here, at the base of the skywell, as residents of Peranakan and non-Peranakan Chinese homes often claim, ethereal qi is said to accumulate just as life-enriching sunlight and water easily fall into the opening. Equally important, according to Chinese beliefs, is the fact that rainwater that flows into the homes through the tianjing creates an especially auspicious condition. Indeed, this belief is expressed in the propitious maxim si shui gui tang 四水归堂 or si shui dao tang 四水倒堂 (“the four waters return to the hall”), in which water metaphorically represents the accumulation of wealth and prosperity within the domicile. The gutters and downspouts that lead rainwater in circuitous routes to the various tianjing, which have slow drains for channeling the water outside, moreover, together are said to hamper wealth from dissipating.

Each of the pair of beautiful staircases alongside the nearby central courtyard, which is shown on page 4, rests on three carved granite steps at its base. According to lore, these initial granite steps are said to symbolize the strength and surefootedness necessary at the start of a venture. With their beautifully turned balusters and other carvings, the stairways are distinctive focal points that draw the eye upwards. The solid wooden settee has shallow relief carvings of floral patterns (Loh-Lim, 2012: 58). Amulets are sometimes discovered when a building is demolished or undergoes restoration. According to fengshui beliefs, gold or gold coins may have been buried beneath the four sets of paired columns at the corners of the courtyard, which are illustrated on page 4. These corners represent the auspicious “four points of gold” (四点金) said to assure the Cheong family’s good fortune. During restoration, however, it was decided not to excavate beneath the columns in a search for evidence of gold since this would have disturbed the integrity of the structure. The Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, which was constructed between 1896 and 1904, also has other propitious elements. It has an orientation that was clearly selected in that it not only faces southeast and thus is not parallel to Leith Street but instead is askew on its trapezoidal-shaped building lot. Moreover, the southeast direction, which is correlated with money and abundance according to

a Bagua or Eight Trigrams reading, is related to 1840, which is the year of Cheong Fatt Tze’s birth. The four Chinese characters on the front door panels long fei feng wu 龙飞凤舞 (“the dragon flies, the red bird [phoenix] dances”) admittedly can be interpreted several ways. One reasonable reading is that it affirms the auspicious “southeast” direction that the residence faces in that the dragon’s direction is “east” and the red bird’s is “south” (Skinner, 2003: 19). With a hill behind it and facing the harbor in the distance, the building site follows the maxim fu yin bao yang, bei shan mian shui 负阴抱阳,背山面水 (“yin at one’s back and embraced by yang, with ridges to the back and facing water”). In addition, the back hall of the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion was built higher than the front hall and the entry gate was placed in the southeast corner of the lot, both conditions that follow conventional auspicious fengshui elements. The flanking pair of side halls have six rooms on each floor, which is said to be related to the phrase liu liu da shun 六六大顺, a phrase related to the six-stacked hexagrams of the Yijing that can be loosely translated as “smoothness with every effort.” The five skywells are said to symbolize wuxing or Five Phases cosmology. In the sections below, some of the other auspicious ornamentation found in the dwelling will be presented. Over the past decade, several contemporary fengshui masters in Penang have carried out retrospective “audits” of Cheong Fatt Tze’s home, declaring on the web and in print that the residence indeed has many fine fengshui attributes. There is no way to know for certain whether carpenters and masons carried out their work according to the optimal dates determined by the fengshui practitioner, whether important house building rituals were performed, or whether workers secreted charms and spells into the structure. Yet, it is likely that most did follow at least some of the critical fengshui prescriptions, since to ignore them would have been deemed potentially harmful by the owners, as has been well documented in southeast China (Knapp, 2005b: 99–137).

Together with a Bagua-shaped door pull, the four characters long fei feng wu (“the dragon flies, the red bird [phoenix] dances”) on the front door panels can be interpreted several ways, but one reading is that it affirms the auspicious “southeast” direction that the residence faces in that the dragon’s direction is “east” and the red bird’s is “south.” Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, Leith Street, Penang, Malaysia. Calligraphic and non-calligraphic charms whose purpose is to reduce misfortune and forestall intrusions are commonly affixed above the lintel of the front door in many homes throughout China and Southeast Asia as well as in Peranakan Chinese enclaves. From left: Padang, Indonesia; Tangerang, Indonesia; Emerald Hill, Singapore; Tangerang, Indonesia. Along the lanes anywhere in Southeast Asia where descendants of Chinese immigrants live, it is easy to spot objects hung above the main door. In Peranakan Chinese neighborhoods in Tanjung Pura and Padang in Indonesia, they are especially common. Called yasheng 压胜 (“dominating”), yaxie 压邪 (“suppressing”), and bixie 辟邪 (“exorcising”) objects, they are deployed as calligraphic or non-calligraphic charms to forestall intrusions and to reduce misfortune. Written on paper, carved on tablets, or represented by actual objects, they include a broad range of cosmic symbols, weapons such as arrows, swords,

and axes, and mirrors, in addition to images of ferocious animals and powerful people. Protective screens called yingbi 影壁 or zhaobi 照壁 are used not only to mask the view into a courtyard but also to block human as well as spectral intrusion. Ordinary mirrors, which are said to radiate yang 阳, are commonly seen above doorways since they are regarded as potent deflectors of malevolent influences, as are charms such as the Bagua 八卦 (Eight Trigrams), Taiji 太极 (Supreme Ultimate), and Yinyang 阴阳 (Complementary Opposites) as well as the Luoshu 洛书 (Luo Diagram) and Hetu 河圖 (Yellow River Diagram). The head of a wild animal, such as a tiger, growling viciously while baring its teeth, is also a common protective amulet. “Resisting stones” or shigandang 石敢當 are placed at strategic locations in villages and towns throughout China, but we did not observe any of these in Southeast Asia. Door Gods or Guardians of the Gate, known as Menshen 门神, are sometimes affixed to double-leaf gates at the New Year to safeguard the family for the coming year. Most of the charms depicted here cannot be attributed to specific Peranakan homes. THE PURSUIT OF GOOD FORTUNE While the quest for harmony, as described above, centers on preventative actions necessary to avoid adversity and repel malevolent forces, Chinese have also found it necessary to pursue good fortune in order to assure happiness and well- being. Edouard Chavannes, the French sinologist, was not exaggerating when he observed at the beginning of the twentieth century, “If the Chinese write their good wishes everywhere, it is because they believe in their efficacy. They think that the formula of benediction, like that of malediction, can be followed by effect, and that in repeating these desires for happiness... one will multiply around oneself the chances for happiness.... It seems to me that no other people in the world has so intense a feeling regarding the intrinsic value of life” (1973, 34–5). The tenacity and resilience of this longing for happiness, especially wealth, longevity, and progeny, was as true in diasporic communities, including Peranakan Chinese, as in China itself. Most efforts to summon good fortune include the color red. The paper on which the emblem is printed is red, the background color is red, the main images are red, or, if there is calligraphy, the characters may even be written with red ink. Peonies and hibiscus, while they are recognizable by their shape, may not, in fact, be red in color when included within pictures but are nonetheless seen as red, thus symbolizing good fortune, fame, and riches. Indeed, to Chinese, red is a life-giving color, correlated with summer, south, and the vermilion bird that

represents the element fire and the period of maximum yang. While red is the color most prevalent during the Lunar New Year, it appears throughout the year. The Lunar New Year Customs associated with the most important and longest of China’s traditional festivals—the Lunar New Year, which falls in January/February each year and is a time of renewal for each household—are well orchestrated. Although there are some regional differences, the auspicious emblems and activities associated with the New Year are rather universal among the Chinese. Some of those seen and observed in Peranakan Chinese homes are discussed below. Most auspicious emblems do not stand alone, but instead are incorporated in ornamented patterns that are dense with symbolic meaning which include pictorial vocabulary utilizing punning language, wordplay, and visual metaphors. Rebuses—pictorial puns—are quite common, as will be shown below, in which seemingly unrelated objects are associated with a meaningful phrase. Taken collectively, especially since they are reinforced via ritual, ceremony, and popular entertainment, these auspicious forms embody “the iconography of everyday life,” to use the apt phrase of Po Sung-nien and David G. Johnson (1992).

Said to be among the most potent deflectors of malevolent influences is the Bagua or Eight Trigrams totem, which sometimes includes the Taiji or Supreme Ultimate characters. These can be carved in wood, molded in clay, hammered into metal, or crafted out of silver, among other forms. Clockwise from top left: Sungai Bakap, Malaysia; Penang, Malaysia; Jakarta, Indonesia; Malacca, Malaysia; Singapore.

Here the Bagua forms the base of a Ting Kong lantern hung in front of the entryway of some Peranakan Chinese homes. Ting Kong, called the Jade Emperor, is worshipped by immigrants and Peranakan Chinese on the seventh day of the New Year. Emerald Hill, Singapore. Offerings to Zao Jun, the Kitchen or Stove God, the tutelary deity in charge of a household and the Earthly representative of the Jade Emperor. He is generally worshipped at a shrine hung on the wall, as shown here, or in a niche. Chee Jin Siew residence, Jonker Street, Malacca, Malaysia.

In preparation for the arriving New Year, Chinese families typically sweep their home clean, metaphorically brushing away bad luck from the previous year, all in preparation for receiving good fortune in the New Year. Since it is considered unlucky to do cleaning on New Year’s Day, brooms are then stored away for the duration. On the eve of the New Year, a special ceremony focuses on Zao Jun 灶君 (also called Zao Shen 灶神 and Zao Wang 灶王), literally the Stove God or the Kitchen God. Among Malay-speaking Peranakan Chinese, he is called Datok Dapoh, the Kitchen God. As the tutelary deity in charge of the household and earthly representative of the Jade Emperor, he is said to take note of both the good behavior and misdeeds of the family over the preceding year. In village homes throughout China, Zao Jun is usually represented by a woodblock print showing his image on a sheet of red or gray paper. This print is “housed” in a “palace,” which sometimes is elaborate but more often rather crude, a sanctuary made of masonry, wood, or bamboo with enough room for a candle or two and a wine cup in front. Rarely is Zao Jun represented by a small wooden or clay statue. In some cases, he is accompanied by a figure of his wife. Sometimes he is identified simply by a descriptive name written with Chinese characters on a sheet of paper using an official title or some other identifier (Knapp, 1999: 84– 91). In Peranakan Chinese and other Chinese homes in Southeast Asia today, it is rare to see Zao Jun portrayed in a rectangular multicolored paper print as is still the common practice in southeastern China. More often his “palace” in Peranakan homes is a red shelf affixed to the kitchen wall, upon which is a vertical board with one of his names carved on it. The common names include Si Ming Zao Jun 司命灶君 (“Zao Jun, Overseer of Destiny/Fate”) and Ding Fu Zao Jun 定福灶君 (“Zao Jun, Determiner of Good Fortune”). In the kitchen of the Baba Nyonya Heritage Museum in Malacca, he is represented by a sketch outlined in black on a diamond-shaped piece of red paper on the wall above a wooden plaque, but no such paper image has been seen elsewhere during field research in Peranakan Chinese homes. In preparation for the New Year, if there is a paper image of Zao Jun, which may be blackened with soot from hanging for a year in the busy kitchen, it is burned either at the doorway of the dwelling or in the middle of the courtyard. Chinese believe that the rising smoke carries him on a visit to the Jade Emperor of Heaven where he reports on the family members’ behavior since his last journey a year ago. Some believe that this annual report determines the length of one’s life in terms of whether it will be extended or shortened, and whether a family member will encounter good or bad luck, including success or misfortune

or health or infirmity in the year to come. Ritual details still vary from region to region in China but most share the common elements mentioned above. Traditionally in China, sugar paste or sweet malt taffy was spread over his lips and sometimes even strong wine offered to him in hopes that Zao Jun would tell only good tales during his journey. Instead of spreading something sweet over Zao Jun’s lips, Peranakan Chinese, on the other hand, “feed” Zao Jun by making offerings. These offerings include steamed sticky cakes such as kueh bakul, which is called niangao 粘糕 in Chinese and is made of sugar, glutinous rice, and water, and huat kueh, which is called fagao 发糕 (“prosperity cake”) in Chinese and is a colorful rice cake made of rice, rice wine, and sugar. Figuratively speaking, the purpose is also to seal his lips and sweeten his words. Sambot Taon, Welcoming the New Year (jie nian 接 年) begins with preparing offerings on the low table in front of the deity altar in the Main Hall. These include at least one carefully stacked pyramid of golden citrus, such as kumquats and mandarin oranges, fifteen sugarcane shafts that are piled also in the shape of a pyramid, and three hands of local bananas with yellow-orange flesh called pisang raja, each of which is ringed with strips of red paper. The cakes mentioned above are also offered on the low altar table. Cedric Tan, a Baba whose home is in Malacca, provides details of a Peranakan family’s preparations that go far beyond these general statements, including lighting lanterns, saying prayers, lighting candles and joss sticks, paying homage to elders, exchanging ang pau (red packets with money inside), visiting a nearby temple, delivering delicacies to neighbors, and even visiting family graves (2010: 4–7). Old photographs clearly depict the range of objects associated with the New Year that brightened the exteriors of Peranakan homes with light and color. In addition to hanging heirloom family lanterns called teng/deng outside in front of the entry, a red cotton bunting called a chaiki/caiqi with tied knots was draped above the door and suspended vertically on both sides. While less common today than in the past, these auspicious adornments are increasingly popular. Wherever Chinese or their descendants live, nothing exceeds the family reunion dinner held on New Year’s Eve. This is a meal with many of the foods being redolent with symbolic meaning that traditionally also were offered up at the ancestral altar before being consumed by the family. At this meal, one important dish consists of a whole steamed fish since the word for fish is homophonous with “abundance.” Even the words nian nian you yu 年年有鱼 (“having a fish every year”) has the same sound as 年年有余 (“having a surplus year after year”). Mee or noodles, which symbolize longevity, are usually

cooked Malay style with shrimps, eggs, and bean sprouts. Other Nyonya dishes, which do not have the historical symbolic resonance of dishes from China that vary somewhat in Malacca, Penang, Singapore, and elsewhere where there are Peranakan Chinese, also are part of the feast. A live potted “lucky tree” studded with kumquats and red envelopes with money inside is sometimes replaced by one made of cardboard. Symbolic meanings are incorporated as well in the prominent motifs on the surfaces of plates, bowls, teapots, and covered jars, among many other porcelain pieces used during the New Year’s meal. Among the most common and colorful symbols depicted on porcelain dinnerware are birds and flowers: peony representing wealth; crane and pine tree, longevity; magpies, conjugal bliss; bats, good fortune; mythical phoenix, an augur of peace; among many others (Kee, 2009: 53–73). Here, the Reception Hall, which contains the altar to the household deities, has been decorated with colorful lanterns, embroidered cloth above the doorways, and tablecloths in preparation for the visit of family and friends during the New Year. The tall altar table and lower square Baxian table are laden with offerings, which include pyramidal stacks of oranges, steamed sponge cake, sugarcane stalks, bananas, and other delicacies wrapped with red ribbon and set on plates. Cedric Tan residence, Tranquerah Road, Malacca, Malaysia. Photograph courtesy of Cedric Tan. Just before the New Year begins at midnight, some Peranakan Chinese join

others of Chinese heritage by visiting a local temple to light incense and pray for a bountiful New Year. New Year’s activities then continue for fifteen days, ending on the Lantern Festival called Yuanxiao 元宵 in Chinese, which falls on the day with the first full moon of the year. While there is general agreement on what is done day by day over the two-week period, there is much variation. Of great significance are the visits on the first day to senior members of the family, such as grandparents and great-grandparents. Red lanterns, red couplets, red candles, red hangings, and red envelopes are among the items that appear at the New Year and are enjoyed in the days that follow. The first month of the New Year is associated with the three unbroken yang lines that form the bottom of the Tai hexagram and the lengthening of the daylight period as darkness recedes. This is expressed graphically as three rams, also yang, which are said to usher in a change of fortune as the New Year begins. Wee family residence, now Baba House Museum, Neil Road, Singapore. The first month of the New Year is associated with the three yang 陽, the unbroken lines that form the bottom of the Tai 泰 hexagram, which represent the waxing of the celestial cycle and the ascension of light, warmth, and the male principle with the daylight period lengthening and darkness receding (Bickford,

2005: 356–8). Pictorially, this is expressed in the cluster of three rams, san yang 三羊, representing the phrase 三羊开泰 san yang kai tai (“the three rams ushering in a change of fortune with the coming of the New Year”). Good Fortune To Chinese, “Good Fortune,” which comes in many forms, is represented in a kaleidoscopic system of words and images that orbit around the single Chinese word fu 福. Translated often as “happiness” but better rendered as “good fortune,” “blessing,” or “luck,” fu etymologically signifies the bestowal and receipt of divine favors. Fu is represented not only by the ideograph itself but also by pictographic objects that are homonyms of fu. On panels, spirit walls, and prints at the entry of Chinese dwellings, the fu character sometimes stands alone as a decorative figure that approximates the form written with a calligrapher’s brush in black or gold ink on red paper or with red ink on white paper. The paper used is usually diamond-shaped, a configuration that itself is considered propitious. Often a fu character is deliberately hung upside down at the New Year in order to heighten its efficacy since visitors and passersby when encountering the upside-down character are expected to utter fu dao le 福倒了 (“fu is inverted”), a punning homophone for 福到了 (“fu has arrived”). Bats are among the most common representations of fu since one component of the word for bat, bianfu 蝙蝠, is a homonym for fu. Unlike in the West where bats are generally avoided and even seen as inauspicious, the Chinese view them as graceful flying animals, harbingers of good fortune. Chinese bats are frequently portrayed ornamentally hanging upside down, just as they do naturally when they roost. Thus, just like the inverted fu character itself, a roosting bat suggests the meaning “fu has arrived.” Because bats are often depicted ornately with graceful lines, they are sometimes mistaken for butterflies. Moreover, since the first syllable of the word for butterfly, hudie 蝴蝶, itself is a near homonym for fu, a fact that has encouraged the use of butterflies also as conventional imagery for “good fortune.” Recognizable bats and butterflies are found carved on bedsteads and altars, on porcelain ware and textiles, as well as carved into wood, brick, and stone panels.

The exterior of this pink and green covered container, called a kamcheng, features phoenix and peony motifs while the interior is ornamented with swimming goldfish. © Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore. Gift of Mrs Khoo Soo Beow in memory of her husband.

Potted miniature kumquat or orange trees with red packets attached serve as a symbolic wish for good fortune and riches because of homophonous associations. Malacca, Malaysia. Ornamented with an imposing phoenix, a mythical bird that is an augur for peace and a symbol of strength, among many other complex meanings. © Peranakan Museum, Singapore. Gift of Sunny Chan Hean Kee.

Both bats and butterflies are often seen in pairs or in groups of five. Indeed, five is among the most significant mythical numbers to Chinese and five fu characters, wu fu 五福, represent the five essential components of good fortune. As outlined in the Shujing 书经, also called Shangshu 尚书 (Book of History), which was reputedly edited by Confucius in the fifth century bce, these five fu are longevity, shou 寿 ; wealth, fu 富 ; health, kangning 康宁 ; love of virtue, youhaude 攸好德 ; and to die a natural death in old age, kaochongming 考终命. Of the “five good fortunes,” only longevity and wealth are depicted in common folk ornamental motifs that summon good fortune. Neither health, love of virtue, nor dying a natural death in old age finds symbolic representation, perhaps because they are relatively abstract notions not easily depicted emblematically. Furthermore, in its abbreviated form, wealth is not only material, it obviously is a homonym for composite good fortune, also fu, which includes wealth as but one of its five components. It is not surprising, then, that the realization of riches is evoked in many Chinese minds when the word fu is verbalized. Even the crude similarity of the written forms of both fu confuse those who are unlettered. The rooster, called gongji 公鸡, is not only a yang creature in that it welcomes the rising sun each morning while bidding darkness farewell, its common name, ji 鸡 (and sometimes daji 大鸡 “large chicken”), is homophonous with daji 大吉, meaning “great good fortune.” When the rooster is standing on the roof or on a rock, which are homophonous in Chinese, the meaning is shishang daji 室/石上大 吉 (“May there be good fortune within the home”). The Heavenly Official who Bestows Good Fortune/ Blessings, Tian Guan cifu 天官賜福, is one of three officials with dominion over the heavens, earth (Diguan 地官) and water (Shuiguan 水官). The Heavenly Official bestows good fortune while the other two pardon sins and alleviate hardship. Associated with the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, which culminates the New Year’s festivities with the Lantern Festival, the Heavenly Official also receives regular offerings at shrines found on the walls of Peranakan Chinese homes. Woodblock paper prints of these officials also are pasted on appropriate doorways in homes throughout China during specific dates during the year.





Molded in stucco on an exterior column, carved in wood, or painted on an interior ceiling, this depiction of a bat hanging upside down and dangling a flower basket from its mouth is both a general wish because of the homophonous association between the word for “bat” and “good fortune,” as well as a pun using the phonemes “upside down” and “to arrive” to mean “Good fortune has arrived.” Below: Neil Road, Singapore; Right: Tjong A Fie Mansion, Jalan Kesawan Square, Medan, Indonesia; Bottom right: Cedric Tan residence, Tranquerah Road, Malacca, Malaysia. On the carved apron of an altar table, this somewhat ferocious-looking face is actually that of a benign bat, a bearer of good fortune. Cedric Tan residence, Tranquerah Road, Malacca, Malaysia. Butterflies, like bats, are considered harbingers of good fortune because the first syllable of the word for butterfly, hudie, itself is a near homonym for fu in Fujian dialects. Here, a pair of embroidered, life-like butterflies are auspicious ornamental bed hangings as fertility symbols. © Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore.

This rooster with the character ji for “good fortune” emblazoned on its chest expresses the homophonous relationship between “big chicken” and “great fortune.” Khouw family residence, Jalan Gajah Mada, Jakarta, Indonesia. This altar on the outside of the dwelling receives daily offerings for Tian Guan cifu, the Heavenly Official who Bestows Good Fortune/ Blessings, who is also called the Deity of Heaven. Kee family manor, Sungai Bakap, Malaysia.

This plaster tableaux on the entry gate depicts the Heavenly Official who Bestows Good Fortune/ Blessings, minus his head. Wearing court robes and holding a scroll with the words Tian Guan cifu, he is immediately recognizable as a bearer of good fortune. Soa Hengtai/Posayachinda residence, Bangkok, Thailand. The stellar triad Fu, Lu, and Shou are represented in many media, including carved wood and embroidery, as seen earlier, as well as molded porcelain statues. Far left: Chee Ancestral Hall, Heeren Street, Malacca, Malaysia; Left: Tan Cheng Lock ancestral residence, Heeren Street, Malacca, Malaysia. Shou—Longevity After the character fu, no other character is as commonly used ornamentally as shou, meaning “longevity,” a fact that underscores the Chinese respect for age as well as the desire for a long life in order to enjoy whatever good fortune might

be bestowed. It is not surprising, then, that the standard character 壽 and its simplified form 寿 appear in at least a hundred variant calligraphic styles—some of which are so stylized and archaic that they are hardly recognizable. Other more modest, although no less complex, shou forms are used to ornament wooden lattice windows and panels, stone column bases, and brick ventilation ports in Peranakan Chinese homes. Besides the character shou and its diverse forms in representing longevity, immortality is expressed using the backwards swastika 卍, which is pronounced wan. While some Chinese scholars trace the swastika to Neolithic origins in terms of overlapping S curves, spirals that represent infinity, others connect it to a Sanskrit sign of good luck that came to China with the arrival of Buddhism. By the seventh century, the glyph was being pronounced as wan and serving as a graphic representation of the character 萬 wan, meaning “ten thousand,” which is not only a common counting denomination in China but also communicates “bounty” and “plenty.” In the case of age, wan connotes eternal or, at least, long life because of its angled shape and active appearance suggesting continuity and movement forward. As a swastika, wan figures prominently as a single visual element in ornamented patterns of domestic architecture and is often seen as repeating interconnected wan symbols in Peranakan Chinese homes, as in Chinese homes generally.

With a pair of phoenixes in the center, four bats or butterflies, which are emblems of good fortune, frame the corners of this panel. The twelve animals associated with the Chinese zodiac that collectively represent the cyclical nature of time begin with a rat on the right side and continue counterclockwise, ending with a pig. Wee family residence, now Baba House Museum, Neil Road, Singapore. Longevity, moreover, is widely represented by symbolic imagery in addition to the written word. The five bats pattern discussed above is an example. With either four or five bats surrounding a medallion indicating shou, longevity, the pattern suggests the phrase wufu pengshou 五福捧寿 (“the five good fortunes grasp longevity”). With bats adjoining a coin, which is pronounced qian 钱 and is a homonym for “before,” the meaning becomes fu zai yan qian 福在眼前 (“good fortune before your eyes”). Without longevity, the other good fortunes have little value. Common symbols of longevity include the crane, tortoise, deer, hare, and monkey, as well as the peach, chrysanthemum, pine tree, cypress, and rocks. Sometimes shown

individually, more often they are assembled in a medley with other symbols. Such composite motifs even juxtapose and interplay emblems of longevity with other auspicious representations to form visual puns. While cranes symbolize many fortuitous attributes, including wisdom and the father–son relationship, their use by Daoist Immortals to ascend to heaven layers them with imagery relating to long life. The black crane, it has been said, can reach the age of a thousand and is often seen holding in its beak the fungus of immortality or lingzhi 灵芝, an ingredient in Daoist longevity elixirs. Continuing to be evergreen even under extreme cold as well as living to a great age, the pine and cypress are conspicuous symbols of long life and persistence. This visual image, together with the imagery of an eternal spring, suggests the four-character felicitous phrase song he chang chun 松鹤长春 (“May your longevity be like that of cranes and pines”). Individual peaches, peach wood, peach branches, peach blossoms, and the peach tree itself are embedded with longevity symbolism, and have always been appropriate gifts on the birthdays of elders. The reputed longevity of the tortoise also makes it a natural symbol for long life, accentuated by the tradition that heaven itself conferred on it a lifespan of ten thousand years. According to Daoist traditions, deer, like tortoises, are capable of living a long life, and it is on the back of a stag deer that the stellar god of longevity rides. Deer, moreover, are said to be adept at finding the sacred fungus of immortality, an amorphous form often found ornamenting dwellings and temples.

The Chinese character for longevity, shou, appears in my forms, some clearly distinguishable and others stylized, including a circular medallion. Clockwise from far left: Han Ancestral Hall, Surabaya, Indonesia; Souw Tian Pie residence, Jakarta, Indonesia; Cedric Tan residence, Tranquerah Road, Malacca, Malaysia; Han Ancestral Hall, Surabaya, Indonesia; Han Ancestral Hall, Surabaya, Indonesia; Emerald Hill, Singapore; Emerald Hill, Singapore. While the pine and cypress are rather obvious symbols of longevity since they stand up well to cold, maintaining their lush color even when the weather is harsh, the relatively fragile chrysanthemum appears an unlikely sign. Although only blooming in autumn, the chrysanthemum is nonetheless a perennial plant with hardy roots. “The pine tree and the chrysanthemum outlast (all things)” (song ju you cun 松菊猶存) is an often quoted phrase written originally by the celebrated poet Tao Yuanming. Some say that the numerous thin overlapping petals of the chrysanthemum flower are reminiscent of the complex shou character itself. A common birthday sentiment is expressed shou bi Nanshan, fu ru Donghai 寿比南山,福如东海 (“May your longevity match that of the Southern Mountain and may your good fortune be as vast as the Eastern Sea”).

Shuangxi—Doubled Happiness Good fortune and longevity are complementary wishes that taken together are known as “doubled happiness” (shuang xi 双喜), a ligature given shape as a single pseudo-character 囍, which is not found in any dictionary but known by all Chinese. Shuang xi is one of the most commonly seen “words” in and about many Chinese dwellings, especially used at the time of a marriage as red shuangxi paper cutouts pasted on doors, windows, above the bed, and on other furniture, as well as on gifts presented to the bride and groom. The intricacy of strokes used to form the “double happiness” symbol has by some peculiar affinity been linked to the spider’s web—which itself bears a remarkable resemblance to the Bagua or Eight Trigrams. This oblique association makes the spider, also pronounced xi 蟢, a creature of good omen, whose appearance portends the bestowal of good things from heaven. A pair of magpies, xique 喜鹊, the legendary bringer of good luck, is a common motif associated with weddings that are often connected with other symbolic objects such as coins, lotus leafs, chrysanthemums, and the parasol tree. When two magpies are shown with a spray of plum blossoms among a stand of bamboo, the magpies represent doubled happiness, while bamboo and plum blossoms stand in for the bride and groom (Bartholomew, 2006: 52).

In addition to various forms of the character shou, immortality is expressed using the backwards swastika 卍, which is pronounced wan. From top: Souw Tian Pie residence, Jakarta, Indonesia; Tan Cheng Lock ancestral residence, Heeren Street, Malacca, Malaysia; Wee family residence, now Baba House Museum, Neil Road, Singapore. A pair of conjoined circles that represent two Chinese coins also symbolizes doubled happiness. A pair of coins is pronounced shuang qian 双钱 and is a near homonym for shuang quan 双全, meaning “both complete.” This affinity represents the uniting of fu and shou, good fortune and longevity, characters that are sometimes placed together as a pair. The bizarre-looking citrus fruit known in Chinese as “Buddha’s hand,” foshou 佛手, because of the resemblance to an old man’s gnarled fingers, serves also as a “doubled happiness” emblem linking “good fortune” and “longevity” as a result of the similarity in pronunciation. Lu—Emolument Although wealth might be acquired through commerce or ownership of land in traditional China, the socially accepted source of prosperity was the

compensation that came from official position—a status normally acquired by long years of study, the passing of exacting examinations, and the attainment of degrees that brought with it advantages and privileges. The emolument of office is termed lu 禄 and is generally represented by the character for deer because of the homophonous resemblance since deer is also pronounced lu 鹿. Deer thus do double duty as emblems of official wealth and longevity, and it is not always clear which attribute is being represented. A single duck, yiya 一鸭, suggests a wish for attaining first place in the palace examination, with all the financial and other fortune that accompanies such a position. A common four-character phrase on the door panels of Peranakan Chinese homes is jia guan jin lu 加冠晋禄, which has the meaning “May you rise in rank and gain emolument.” Since riches are obviously represented by various forms of Chinese currency, concave ingots, knives, spades, axes, cowrie shells, and coins of various shapes with a square hole in the center, it is not surprising then that the original meaning of lu, official emolument, slowly evolved over time to mean general wealth and prosperity. Although there was no chance of studying for and then passing China’s Civil Service Examinations for those living in the diasporic communities of the Nanyang, Peranakan Chinese nonetheless highly valued education and the attainment of positions in the colonial governments. While Patricia Welch rightfully tells us that “Peranakan wares have virtually no designs wishing success in imperial examinations,” the inscriptions and images on the outside of Peranakan Chinese homes, which no doubt were chosen by the man of the house, reveal that motifs relating to emolument and position were also found in Southeast Asia (2011: 7). A metaphor for a promising but struggling scholar who overcomes difficulties in order to achieve success and an emolument is emblemized also by the carp, a fish that must battle river currents in order to swim upstream to reach Longmen, the Dragon Gate. Sometimes shown pictorially or verbally by the phrase li yue Longmen 鲤躍龙门 (also li yu tiao Longmen 鲤鱼跳龙门) but can be suggested merely by two characters 魚躍, as seen on page 62 at the top. A single carp symbolizes patience and steadfastness. In addition, a punning relationship between li 鲤, the Chinese word for “carp” and “benefit” 利, also li, is accepted by many Chinese.

Four bats surrounding a shou medallion indicate the phrase wufu pengshou (“the five good fortunes grasp longevity”). This panel is part of a unique elaborate carved stone ancestral altar. Han and Thalib residence, Pasuruan, Indonesia. The depiction of any fish, indeed, is a claim to prosperity because of the homonymic association between the words for fish and abundance, as was discussed above concerning the New Year. Goldfish, especially, symbolize riches because the characters 金鱼 jinyu sound like jin yu 金余 (“gold in abundance”). Even the yu in “gold fish” can be transformed into jade, also pronounced yu 玉. The four characters 金玉满堂 jinyu mantang (“May gold and jade fill the hall”) are frequently found on altar cloths and wall panels. Fu Lu Shou—Stellar Triad Over a long period of time, the evocative triad fu, lu, and shou (“good fortune,” “emolument,” and “longevity”) was anthropomorphized into three portentous individuals whose symbolic images ornament many dwellings. Sometimes this trinity is expanded by adding xi (“joy”) as a fourth figure. Their statues and portraits once graced not only the halls of imperial palaces but also mansions and peasant homes. Their enduring popularity carried them into the diaspora where they are immediately recognizable, whether depicted in a simple paper cutout on a wall, in a colorful woodblock print, carved three-dimensionally out of wood or clay, woven into a commemorative tapestry, or standing clustered as multicolored porcelain statues. Chinese popularly refer to them as xing 星(“stellar gods”), placing their images on inner gates within dwellings rather than on the outer main gate that is guarded by Menshen and other amulets, or as figures on a table, but it is best not to think of Fu, Lu, or Shou as gods because no temples are devoted to them.



As seen in these juxtapositions, complementary meanings sometimes emerge. Longevity is represented by Shou Xing, the stellar God of Longevity, evergreen trees, a peach, a crane, and even a spotted deer, pronounced lu, which is said to attain a long life and does double duty as an emblem of emolument and rank, especially when alone. Soa Hengtai/Posayachinda residence, Bangkok, Thailand; Pinang Peranakan Mansion, Church Street, Penang, Malaysia; Oey Djie San residence, Tangerang, Indonesia.

Shou Xing 寿星, the stellar God of Longevity, has a history in Chinese iconography stretching back two thousand years, longer than that of either Fu Xing, the stellar God of Good Fortune, or Lu Xing, the stellar God of Emolument. He is depicted as a venerable sage with dramatic physical characteristics—a long white beard and mustache, drooping earlobes, a protruding forehead with three elongated wrinkles, and a receding bald cranium —and is accompanied by other symbols of longevity, such as pine trees, rocks, cranes, and the peach of immortality. His robe usually includes a stylized form of the character shou for longevity as medallions on the sleeves. It is little wonder that the custom of giving paintings of Shou Xing and associated longevity themes as birthday gifts endures even to the present. While Lu Xing 禄星, the stellar God of Emolument, and Fu Xing 福星, the stellar God of Good Fortune, complete the triad with Shou Xing, neither enjoys the kind of mythic history of Shou Xing. Lu Xing, emblematic of the route to prosperity via official position, is usually richly attired wearing a green official’s brocaded robe, the color green lu 绿 being a homonym for an official salary 禄. Often he is accompanied by a deer, also pronounced lu. His court official’s cap with winged flaps is called guan 冠, which is itself a pun for “official” 官. Some representations of Lu Xing show him with a curved scepter, while others have him carrying a hu 笏, a ceremonial tablet held by officials as they approached the emperor. Pictorial images of deer, pronounced lu and therefore emblematic of emolument, are usually also shown beside Lu Xing as well as on his robe to signify his identity in paintings or prints. The oddly shaped object often carried by Lu Xing, and sometimes Fu Xing, which is known as a ruyi 如意, a wish- granting scepter, sometimes appears like an irregular lingzhi 灵芝, the fungus of immortality. Ruyi are usually made of wood or jade and are less a symbol of authority than a magic wand capable of making wishes come true. When combined with other symbolic objects, the ruyi creates rebuses indicating the power of obtaining whatever one wants. The four characters 萬事如意 wanshi ruyi, just as with jixiang ruyi 吉祥如意, is a declaration for “whatever wishes one wants.” Fu Xing 福星, the stellar God of Good Fortune, lacks the range of symbolic attributes characteristic of his cohort perhaps because of the manifold notion of fu itself. Exemplifying that which heaven bestows, the actual source of fu, Fu Xing sometimes appears as a happily retired scholar-official holding a vessel filled with symbolic attributes indicating wealth, longevity, and progeny. His robe usually includes the character fu as well as pictorial images of a bat or

butterfly to visually verify by homonymic association who is being represented by the image. He is sometimes shown simply carrying a young baby boy. Cai Shen—The God of Wealth Cai Shen 财神, the God of Wealth, is almost as universal in diasporic trading communities as Zao Jun, the Stove or Kitchen God, yet he is a mixta persona in that he appears in multiple disguises. With many alternative names and characteristics, “the wealth gods... are many; it is not always easy to distinguish one from the other” (Day, 1940: 114). Just as Clarence Day noted when assessing the vast range of Gods of Wealth in Zhejiang province at the beginning of the twentieth century, those brought to Southeast Asia from neighboring Fujian and Guangdong provinces were similarly varied. While venerated by poor and rich households within their dwellings, Cai Shen has a prominent place also in a shrine found in the shops of merchants and craftsmen throughout southern China and in those of Peranakan and non-Peranakan Chinese in Southeast Asia where incense and candles are lit twice each day. Different from Lu Xing, the God of Wealth nonetheless often is depicted with similar symbols and sometimes is accompanied by acolytes. One attempt to differentiate the two makes Lu Xing responsible for fixed but hopefully increasing remuneration while Cai Shen “brings windfalls, cash sweeps, and gambling increment” (Burkhardt, 1953: 3). Baxian—The Eight Immortals Everlasting life, a condition that goes beyond mere longevity, is best illustrated by the fabled Baxian 八 仙, the Daoist Eight Immortals who appear sailing on clouds or clustered in friendly revelry. As an animated scene showing the full group of eight or even singly, few human figures are more common in the iconography of homes and temples within China and in the diaspora. Their images as well as personal emblems grace painted and printed hand scrolls, fans, fine porcelain, needlework, and carving in any medium, and at many scales. All eight even survive as a diverse band of transcendent performers with magical powers in operas and shadow plays. All are folk heroes—some with biographical details that indicate they were real persons, although several are certainly fictional characters, who maintain their human personalities while being blessed with supernatural powers. All achieved immortality by a different route at a distinct point in their life and thus continue to exist without getting old. Through history they have been perceived as merciful benefactors of humanity. Having the best of both worlds, they are viewed as spontaneous and fun-loving in this world without the burden of worldly concerns or mortal diseases; but they are

capable of raising the dead, curing the sick, making themselves invisible, and carrying out missions for the Jade Emperor. This medallion door pull incorporates along the rim the characters shou bi nan shan that are usually preceded by fu ru dong hai, which together express the blessing “[May you have] Good Fortune as Boundless as the Eastern Seas and Longevity as Long as the Southern Mountains.” Siek family residence, now Prasada Mandala Dharma, Parakan, Indonesia.

“Doubled happiness” or shuang xi is a common combined pseudo-character used especially around the time of a marriage to express wishes for both good fortune and longevity. Tan Ma Xiang/ Chyn Pracha residence, Krabi Road, Phuket, Thailand.

An oblique association between the character xi, meaning “happiness,” and the spider, also pronounced xi, has led to it being considered a creature of good omen, whose appearance portends the bestowal of good things from heaven. Bridal bed ornament. Wee family residence, now Baba House Museum, Neil Road, Singapore. As a band, they represent the spectrum of Chinese life—rich and poor, scholars and soldiers, the strong and the lame, masculinity and femininity, young and old, nephews and brothers-in-law—with an infinite variety of powers. Lively and fond of good food, wine, gambling, and the opposite sex, each is an easily identifiable character whose image or even emblem conjures up at least a single tale: Zhong Liquan 钟离权, also called Han Zhongli 汉钟离, who is the bare- bellied leader of the band; Li Tieguai 李铁拐, pitifully depicted as a crippled beggar with wooly hair, an untidy beard, and protruding eyes, and clutching an iron crutch; Lan Caihe 藍采和, sometimes regarded as a female but more commonly a hermaphrodite, who normally carries a basket of flowers or fruit and is said to be able to ridicule the irritations and frivolities of the world; Han Xiangzi 韓湘子, with his jade flute used to entice flowers to grow, is portrayed as a rebellious and strong-willed personage; He Xian’gu 何仙姑, the only woman of

the eight, has a reputation for filial devotion to her mother and extraordinary feats of magic, as well as her ability to resolve domestic disputes and assist in household management; Cao Guojiu 曹国舅, an aristocrat shown wearing elegant court dress and holding a fly whisk or a pair of castanets, is the patron of performers; Lu Dongbin 吕洞宾 is always seen with a double-edged sword slung from his back and a horsehair switch whisk grasped in his hand; Zhang Guolao 張果老, a celibate recluse of great age often seen riding backward on a white mule, is reputedly a consummate magician said to have once been a bat that turned into a man. (For more details concerning each of the Eight Immortals, see Knapp, 1999: 148–57.) The Eight Immortals are represented in Chinese homes by a meter-square table with four trestle benches, as can be seen in the kitchens and set before the altar table in Peranakan Chinese homes as well. Called Baxian zhuo 八仙桌, this central piece of furniture is a figurative expression of the happiness accompanying the sharing of food and conviviality with family and friends. The Baxian table, and not the hearth, is at the core of domestic harmony in the average Chinese home. At the time of an engagement, a wedding, or a celebration of the birth of a son, an ornately embroidered banner that includes the Eight Immortals is usually draped in front of the Baxian table. Harmony at Home Domestic harmony and conjugal bliss are a central focus of Chinese traditional life, and it is not surprising that invocations for household harmony are symbolically represented within dwellings in China and in the diaspora. While the bedroom and kitchen are the most popular locations for these themes, they are found throughout the home. The lotus plant and its many parts—seedpod, root, and flower—carry auspicious meanings related to marriage. The lotus root, which is a rhizome that sends out shoots from its notes, is called ou 藕 and is homophonous with 偶, the character that indicates both a married couple and a spouse. Since the seed-bearing stage comes early and produces abundant seeds, which when cooked are considered especially nutritious, the lotus seedpod lianfang 莲房 represents fertility. Marital concord and sexual union are suggested when a flowered lotus stem and lotus seedpod are portrayed together. In this case, the lotus is pronounced he 荷 rather than lian 莲, since this enables a homophonous relationship with the word meaning harmony 和. When mandarin ducks, yuanyang 鸳鸯, which are an obvious symbol for conjugal happiness and fidelity since they mate for life, are depicted beside or hold in their beaks a lotus blossom and a lotus pod, this represents a further wish for “sons one after the other.”