Master Dongpo once wrote the famous lines, “Beyond the bamboo, a few peach branches bloom, / The spring river warms, and the ducks know it first.”
With a light touch, the poet delicately sketched this early spring scene: beyond the bamboo grove, a few peach branches have blossomed, while ducks frolic in the water, being the first to sense the river warming with the coming of spring. All things in the world serve as objects for people of sentiment to express their thoughts and feelings.
The duck is not only the “first to know” the arrival of spring in the poet’s eyes, but the components of the Chinese character for duck also carry auspicious blessings. The character contains the radical for “first place,” symbolizing success in the imperial examinations—a good omen for career advancement, representing becoming the top scholar, placing first in the higher examinations, or enjoying a smooth path in public service.
Ancient people also spoke of a “precious duck holding a lotus,” a theme that often inspires artistic creation.
In jade carving culture, a precious duck holding a lotus has been a particularly common motif since the Ming and Qing dynasties. It is both endearing and imbued with beautiful meanings.
The duck, symbolizing success in the imperial examinations, combines with the lotus’s connotations of integrity, continuous advancement, and many children to create a wonderful image of good fortune, prosperity, and a family full of offspring.
The jadeite is warm, lustrous, and richly colored. Featuring the “precious duck holding a lotus,” the designs follow the colors and shapes with charming variations. Whether as jewelry accessories or exquisite ornaments, these auspicious symbols are beautifully enhanced. The precious duck combined with lotus flowers and pods, Ruyi scepters, or ancient coins brings together auspiciousness and literary elegance in vivid, lifelike detail.
