Vadas József (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 11. (Budapest, 1991)

FERENCZY Mária: A modernizáció megjelenése a századeleji kínai ábrázolásokon

uncommon. Among the latter ones, fish are the most important (not on account of their fertility: the word for fish (yii) is homonymous with the word yii meaning 'surplus', 'abundance' cf. EBERHARD: pp. 84-86.; WILLIAMS: pp.185-186.). The message of the picture consequently reads: riches and many offspring! The phoenix in the cloud is a symbol of the female principle (yin); here, the male principle (yang) is represented by the fish instead of the usual dragon. These two together symbolize the balanced state of the universe, i.e. the best conditions are promised for the survival of the family. This is the meaning of the title given, this is the way that the dragon and the phoenix bring good luck (cf. CHAVANNES: pp.21., 24.). The tufts on the head of the child with their red strings constitute reinforced protective magic: the red string symbolizes life, the tufts are left for the demons to mistake the boy for a girl and therefore to leave him alone. The peony inserted into a tuft is also an amulet in itself. Parallel cases: CHPP 1988: no.56.; KNK 1987: no.12.; A YING: p. 6.; POMMERANTZ-LIEDTKE: no.35.

32 7. MAGIC PICTURE PROMISING MALE OFFSPRING OF HIGH RANK Inventory no.: 89.93.1 Size: 43,5 x 30 cm Title (on the flag): Win the Highest Grade in the Imperial Examination! (Chuan

g yuan ti chif

3 Signature: none. Technique: block-printed with black, green, yellow, red and brown colours; handcolured with pink, red, light blue, deep blue, white colours and Chinese ink. The faces are finely executed, some areas, e.g. the footwear, are a little crude; the child's cloth in the lower right comer has been left unfinished. Condition: paper yellowish, a little stained. Mounting non-professsionally done in Hungary. Subject: Six boys (an older boy and five younger ones) together with a number of magic symbols. The older boy in the middle steps to the right with a stagelike act. He is clothed in a pied robe, with a sash bound into a rosette; his hair is fastened up into a topknot with a red pompon. In his left hand is a bended bow. Behind him is a serrated oblong yellow flag with four characters written on red circles on a bcribboned pole. Of the five boys with tufted hair and pied robes, the first from the left carries in his right hand a vase inscribed with the character hsiang ('good luck') and containing three halberds stuck in it. From the vase a cloud emerges with five red bats. Another boy standing before him holds a quiver with seven arrows. In the middle, in the foreground a third boy lifts a coin with his left hand, and with his right hand resting on a three-legged toad on the back of which he sits. The nose of the toad is ringed; a cloud emerges from its mouth containing (in the upper right part of the picture) three holed coins decorated with coloured tassels and transfixed by arrows. A fourth boy at the right side of the picture raises his right knee in a dancing posture, with the left hand a golden auspicious sceptre (ju yi) is raised high. A fifth boy, the flag-bearer stands behind the main figure partly covered by him. Explanation: The chuang yuan, i.e. the candidate emerging first in the imperial examination acquired honour and high standing for his whole family. This wish is expressed by the inscription and is stressed by the symbols in the boys' hands. The word for 'halberd' (chi) stuck into the vase