Plum Blossom
Resilience & new beginnings
Five petals, a handful of good wishes. A little blossom for brighter days.
Source: The Palace Museum: auspicious patterns (Chinese)
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symbols & meanings.
A symbol is a starting point, not a fixed translation. Read the motif with its companions, occasion, and local tradition.
Festival Lantern
Reunion & celebration
Lanterns are part of Chinese festival celebrations, including the Lantern Festival. This original red lantern expresses a wish for a warm, joyful gathering.
Source: The Palace Museum: a festive hanging panel (Chinese)
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Longevity Peach
A long and happy life
The peach is a familiar Chinese symbol of longevity, associated with stories of the peaches of immortality. Peach-shaped gifts often carry birthday wishes.
Source: The Palace Museum: auspicious patterns (Chinese)
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Lucky Gourd
Wellbeing & good wishes
The gourd appears in Chinese folk decoration. Its many seeds and the sound of its name, hulu, have inspired wishes for descendants, blessings, and prosperity. Our design offers a broader wish for wellbeing.
Source: The Palace Museum: gourds and auspicious wishes
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Vase of Peace
Peace in everyday life
The sound of ping, meaning vase, connects it with ping in peace, ping an. A vase can therefore carry an auspicious wish for peaceful days.
Source: The Palace Museum: a ruyi with a wish for peace (Chinese)
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Prosperity Coin
Prosperity & provision
The round coin with a square center recalls historical Chinese cash coins. In decorative art, coin imagery can carry a wish for prosperity.
Source: The Palace Museum: auspicious patterns (Chinese)
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Fu · Good Fortune
Blessings for the home
Fu is the Chinese character for blessing or good fortune. It is familiar on New Year decorations; some households display it upside down as a play on fortune arriving.
Source: The Palace Museum: auspicious patterns (Chinese)
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Double Happiness
Marriage & shared joy
Double Happiness joins two forms of xi, the character for joy. It is closely associated with Chinese weddings and wishes for a happy marriage.
Source: The Palace Museum: auspicious patterns (Chinese)
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Abundance Fish
Surplus year after year
Fish, yu, sounds like a word for surplus. A fish in New Year decoration can express the wish nian nian you yu: abundance year after year.
Source: The Palace Museum: auspicious patterns (Chinese)
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Lotus Joy
Purity & harmony
Petals meet and open, leaving a little space for light, calm, and joy.
Source: The Palace Museum: a bowl with lotus and Eight Auspicious Symbols (Chinese)
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Rabbit Wishes
Reunion & gentleness
A small rabbit, a little moonlight, and a wish to be together.
Source: The Palace Museum: jade rabbit pendant (Chinese)
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Bamboo Grove
Integrity & resilience
Bamboo is one of the Four Gentlemen. Its upright stems and hollow interior have inspired associations with integrity and an open mind.
Source: Cleveland Museum of Art: Plums, Bamboo, and Orchid
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Pomegranate Wishes
Family & abundance
The pomegranate’s many seeds traditionally suggested many descendants. Here, that historical association becomes a broader personal wish for a flourishing family.
Source: The Palace Museum: auspicious patterns (Chinese)
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Butterfly Wishes
Joy & companionship
Butterflies appear with flowers in Chinese decorative arts and can suggest joyful companionship. The meaning of a specific composition depends on its accompanying motifs; this single butterfly is offered as a personal wish for joy.
Source: The Palace Museum: auspicious patterns
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Fortune Bat
Good fortune
The Chinese word for bat, fu, echoes the word for blessing. That sound association makes bats auspicious motifs; this design features one bat, not the five-bat composition.
Source: The Palace Museum: auspicious patterns (Chinese)
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Ruyi Wish
May wishes come true
Ruyi means as you wish. The curved ceremonial scepter with a cloud-like head became an auspicious object associated with the fulfillment of good wishes.
Source: The Palace Museum: the auspicious ruyi (Chinese)
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Reunion Knot
Connection & togetherness
Chinese decorative knots turn continuous cord into interlaced forms. This paper interpretation borrows their loops to express connection and togetherness.
Source: The Palace Museum: auspicious patterns (Chinese)
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Seal Dragon
Vitality & good fortune
The Chinese dragon is an auspicious creature associated with rain, vitality, and power. This friendly interpretation carries a wish for an energetic beginning.
Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Year of the Dragon
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Floral Horse
Progress & success
The horse is a zodiac animal. The familiar expression ma dao cheng gong connects the arrival of a horse with success; our design turns that idea into encouragement.
Source: The Palace Museum: auspicious patterns (Chinese)
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Floral Pig
Contentment & abundance
The pig belongs to the Chinese zodiac and is often associated with plenty and a comfortable life. The flowers in this paper-cut design turn its familiar rounded form into a festive decoration.
Source: The Palace Museum: auspicious patterns
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Carps & Good Fortune
Abundance & blessings
Yu, the word for fish, sounds like a word for surplus. This composition combines two carp with Fu, the character for good fortune, bringing the wishes for plenty and blessings into one circular window decoration.
Source: The Palace Museum: auspicious patterns
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Phoenix Medallion
Harmony & auspicious beginnings
The fenghuang, often translated as phoenix, is an auspicious bird in Chinese art. It is associated with harmonious rule and virtue, and appears in celebratory decoration. It is distinct from the Western story of a bird reborn from fire.
Source: The Palace Museum: auspicious patterns
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Peony in Bloom
Prosperity & honor
In Chinese decorative art, the peony is associated with wealth and honor. Its abundant petals make it a natural choice for a celebratory wish.
Source: The Palace Museum: peony symbolism (Chinese)
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Proud Rooster
Good fortune & a new day
A zodiac animal and a herald of dawn, the rooster appears in auspicious decoration. Its name, ji, recalls the sound of a word for good fortune.
Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Year of the Rooster
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