My Chinese language Head of Department (HOD) gave me a word "福"。The meaning was good fortune.
If you turn the word up side down, it become the arrival of good fortune. 福倒 or 福到。
It was a good idea to give away simple thing but with good intention. This was one of the interesting Chinese character. In fact to write the word itself was an art to learn.
2 comments:
Good fortune ('blessedness') is when a man, in the field, has God by his side.
For the chinese, the lunar new year is a celebration which originates a rural background. The farming community works hard for the whole year without having proper rest. During my school days, we have geography lessons mentioning that chinese farmers work right up to night time, assisted by lamps which provide light for planting. So the practice of CNY celebrating for 15 days is a necessity to enable the farmers to have ample rest, recreation and time to meet up with their relatives and friends. CNY is more or less a cultural event steeped in tradition with sole purpose of merry making and recreation. So greetings whether verbal or in written verses are good wishes to each other. sumptuous eating, watching opera, and singing of folk songs are all part of the celebration.
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