Calligraphy

Item number Edz979 from the MOA: University of British Columbia.

Public

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Description

Rectangular paper, orange on right side except for strip 3 cm. wide left white at top, orange area covered in gold foil flecks. Paper has three vertical lines of calligraphy in black ink, the centre line has six large Chinese characters, and the two side lines have five smaller characters each. Reverse has writing in pencil, "tablet of the ? god who establishes fortune. True (?) is virtue which can leat to greater (?) selflessness leads to heaven".

History Of Use

This paper represents the stove god within the home and is pasted over the stove with an incense pot placed before it. He watches the family during the year and reports on them in heaven when the paper is burned at the end of the year. He symbolizes the unity of the family; when a family divides, separate stoves and stove gods are set up.

Cultural Context

worship; family

Iconographic Meaning

Characters state 'tablet of the stove god who establishes fortune', 'there is virtue which can lead to greatness', and 'selflessness leads to heaven'.