''Shòu'' () is the Chinese word/character for "longevity".

Use

Three of the most important goals in life in Chinese traditional thought are the propitious blessings of happiness (''fú'' ), professional success or prosperity (''lù'' ), and longevity (''shòu'' ). These are visually represented by the three "star gods" of the same names ( ''Fú, Lù, Shòu''), commonly depicted as three male figurines (each wearing a distinctive garment and holding an object that enables them to be differentiated), or the Chinese ideographs/characters themselves, or various homophones or objects with relevant attributes. '' Shòu'' is instantly recognizable. "He holds in his hand a large peach, and attached to his long staff are a gourd and a scroll. The stag and the bat both indicate ''fu'' happiness. The peach, gourd, and scroll are symbols of longevity." His most striking characteristic is, however, his large and high forehead, which earned him the title "Longevity Star Old-pate". The Chinese character ''shòu'' () is usually found on textiles, furniture, ceramics and jewelry. The ideograph may appear alone or be surrounded by flowers, bats, or other good luck symbols, but will always hold a central position. Longevity is commonly recognized as one of the Five Blessings (''wǔfú'' - longevity, wealth, health, love of virtue, a peaceful death) of Chinese belief that are often depicted in the

homophonous A homophone () is a word that is pronounced the same (to varying extent) as another word but differs in meaning. A ''homophone'' may also differ in spelling. The two words may be spelled the same, for example ''rose'' (flower) and ''rose'' (p ...

rendition of five flying

bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bi ...

s because the word for "bat" in Chinese (''fú'' ) sounds like the word for "good fortune" or "happiness" (''fú'' ) or in this case, "blessings". In this arrangement, the ''shòu'' ideograph sometimes takes the dominant central position, replacing the fifth bat. Other symbols in Chinese iconography that represent longevity include

pine trees A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accepts ...

, cranes, spotted deer, special collectors' stones (''shòushí'' ),

peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-fu ...

es, and

tortoise Tortoises () are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin: ''tortoise''). Like other turtles, tortoises have a turtle shell, shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, ...

s.Duda, pp. 204-6 These are often depicted in small groupings to emphasize the central, symbolic meaning of the picture (for example, cranes standing amongst pine trees). Perhaps the most common Chinese auspicious saying concerning longevity is that found on scrolls in nearly every Chinese calligraphy shop in the world: ''shòu shān fú hǎi'' (), which can be translated as "May your life be as steadfast as the mountains and your good fortune as limitless as the seas". Since 2017, the version 10 of the

Unicode Unicode, formally The Unicode Standard,The formal version reference is is an information technology Technical standard, standard for the consistent character encoding, encoding, representation, and handling of Character (computing), text expre ...

Standard features a rounded version of the symbol (🉢) in the "

Enclosed Ideographic Supplement Enclosed Ideographic Supplement is a Unicode block containing forms of characters and words from Chinese, Japanese and Korean enclosed within or stylised as squares, brackets, or circles. It contains three such characters containing one or more ...

" block, at code point U+1F262 (ROUNDED SYMBOL FOR SHOU).

In names

As a sign for a resonant cultural concept, the character became a part of many Chinese names (e.g. Palace of Tranquil Longevity in Beijing). The Japanese equivalent is Kotobuki ; (see

Nakajima Kotobuki The Nakajima Ha1 Kotobuki (寿, "Longevity") was an aero-engine developed by Nakajima. It was a radial piston developed under licence from the Bristol Jupiter. Design and development In 1917, Chikuhei Nakajima set up the "Airplane Institute" a ...

Tsukasa Kotobuki is a Japanese character designer for various games and anime series such as '' Saber Marionette J'', '' VS Knight Ramune & 40 Fire'', ''Cyber Team in Akihabara'' and ''Battle Arena Toshinden''. He also did the art for '' Sword of the Dark Ones'' ...

). See also

Jurōjin In Japan, Jurōjin (寿老人) is one of the Seven Gods of Fortune or ''Shichifukujin'', according to Taoist beliefs. He is the god of longevity. Jurōjin originated from the Chinese Taoist god, the Old Man of the South Pole/Star of the Old Man ...

(Shou Laoren) and

Fukurokuju In Japan, Fukurokuju (; from Japanese ''fuku'', "happiness"; ''roku'', "wealth"; and ''ju'', "longevity") is one of the Seven Lucky Gods in Japanese mythology. It has been theorized that he is a Japanese assimilation of the Chinese Three Sta ...

Gallery

File:Chinese - Pilgrim Bottle with the Character "Shou" (Long Life) - Walters 491685 - Profile.jpg, Chinese pilgrim bottle of "

famille rose Famille rose (French for "pink family") is a type of Chinese porcelain introduced in the 18th century and defined by the presence of pink colour overglaze enamel. It is a Western classification for Qing dynasty porcelain known in Chinese by va ...

" porcelain with the character Shou File:Lackkunst Überseemuseum Bremen 2009 PD 20091128 0010.JPG, Song Dynasty lacquer art ''

hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...

'' with Shou and a bat on it File:Owen Jones - Examples of Chinese Ornament - 1867 - plate 035.png, Plate 35 from the book ''Examples of Chinese Ornament'' by

Owen Jones Owen Jones (born 8 August 1984) is a British newspaper columnist, political commentator, journalist, author, and left-wing activist. He writes a column for ''The Guardian'' and contributes to the ''New Statesman'' and ''Tribune.'' He has two w ...

in 1867. The Shou pattern can be seen. File:Owen Jones - Examples of Chinese Ornament - 1867 - plate 039.png, Plate 39 from the same book. The Shou pattern can be seen. File:Owen Jones - Examples of Chinese Ornament - 1867 - plate 052.png, Plate 52 from the same book. The Shou pattern can be seen. File:Owen Jones - Examples of Chinese Ornament - 1867 - plate 058.png, Plate 58 from the same book. The Shou pattern can be seen. File:Owen Jones - Examples of Chinese Ornament - 1867 - plate 073.png, Plate 73 from the same book. The Shou pattern can be seen. File:Owen Jones - Examples of Chinese Ornament - 1867 - plate 086.png, Plate 86 from the same book. The Shou pattern can be seen. File:Plat au caractère Shou Musée Guimet 2418.jpg, Porcelain dish with a peach tree in the form of Shou, from the Kangxi period in the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

File:Shou by Hai Rui.jpg, Shou character written by

Hai Rui Hai Rui (海瑞; ''Hǎi Ruì'' ; 23 January 1514 – 13 November 1587), courtesy name Ruxian (汝贤), art name Gangfeng (刚峰), was a Chinese scholar-official of the Ming dynasty, remembered as a model of honesty and integrity in office. A p ...

Qiandao Lake Qiandao Lake (), a human-made, freshwater lake located in Chun'an County, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, was formed after the completion of the Qiantang River, Xin'an River Hydroelectricity, hydroelectric station in 1959. Geography 1,078 ...

. The character can be viewed either right-side up or upside down to read "Shou".

Use

In names

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading