| | | | Materials and Methods Spectacles in China were considered status symbols indicating intelligence and affluence. Often spectacles and their cases were decorated to reflect these values, using references from Chinese folklore, ancient legends and religious symbolism. |  Chinese folklore maintained that money and coins could be used as amulets or protective devices against disease-bearing demons. Symbols representing money were often represented on the bridges and temples of early Chinese spectacles to provide the wearers with similar protections. Folklore was also the source of mythical creatures found on spectacles and their cases. One such creature was the Chinese phoenix, feng-huang. Its body symbolized the five human qualities: its head, virtue; the wings, duty; the back, ritually correct behavior; the breast, humanity; the stomach, reliability. Another mythical creature was the dragon. The dragon represented a good-natured, benign creature and was a symbol of male vigor and fertility. | Chinese legends were another source of decorative motifs. Scenes illustrating the famous Chinese epic novel entitled Three Kingdoms can be found on decorative objects including spectacle cases. Three Kingdoms was written by Luo Guanzhong in the 15th century and depicted the fictionalized events of the last reign of the Han Dynasty (206 B.C. – 220 A.D.). A common scene from the book is that of “treading through the snow in pursuit of the plum flower”. In this scene General Liu-bei seeks a hermit named Ju-Gur liang to help him strategize the restoration of the Han Dynasty. |  |  Religious symbolism yielded many images for Chinese spectacles. Buddhist symbols included the Chinese Swastika, which represented the seal of the heart of Buddha. This image was often used on the breast of a Buddha statue. It also denoted infinity, immortality, resignation of spirit and all happiness that humanity desires. Tassels woven into an endless knot were often attached to spectacle cases. The endless knot was said to swallow its own tail and was one of the eight Buddhist symbols, representing long life uninterrupted by setbacks. Other sacred symbols were taken from different religions. Bamboo leaves and branches were often used on spectacles. Bamboo is an evergreen and therefore a symbol of longevity as well as the symbol for the Goddess of Mercy, Kuan-yin. | | |
| |
