Page:Brinkley - China - Volume 1.djvu/193

The tortoise with a hairy tail appears as an attendant on the God of Old Age, and is used as an emblem of longevity. A Chinese phrase kwei ho tung chun signifies, "May your days be as long as those of the tortoise and the crane."

The crane (ho) is among the commonest emblems of longevity. Tradition assigns to it a fabulous age, and says that for six hundred years it requires no sustenance but water, and that after two thousand years it turns black. The Chinese keramic artist has never been as happy as the Japanese in his use of the crane for decorative purposes, but it nevertheless appears sometimes on his wares in a sufficiently pleasing form. According to some expounders of Chinese mythical zoölogy the black crane is a special species, there being in all four varieties—the black, the yellow, the white, and the blue. Its association with the God of Longevity has already been mentioned. It also appears as the aërial steed of Wang Tsz'kiao, and as the companion of the poet Lin Hwa-ching.

"Among plants there are three, which, though not all strictly speaking emblems of longevity, are closely connected with it; these are the pine, bamboo and plum. The Chinese say 'the Pine, Bamboo and Plum are like three friends, because they keep green in cold weather.' The pine (sung) is a very common emblem," and is constantly found in keramic decoration. "Its sap was said to turn into amber when the tree was a thousand years old. The bamboo (chuh) is another emblem, owing probably to its durability. Its elegant form causes it to be frequently traced on works of art. The plum tree (mei), though not properly an emblem of longevity, is indirectly connected with it, as the philosopher Lao Tsze, the