May you pass examinations all the way
一路连科
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One egret (鹭鸶, similar shape as heron), which can be referred to in Chinese as ‘一鹭 yi lu’, makes a pun (i.e. a homophone) on the phrase ‘一路 yi lu’, for ‘all the way’. The lotus pod ‘莲窠 lian ke’, is a pun on ‘连科 lian ke’, which means ‘to pass examinations successively’. Thus, the combination of an egret and lotus pods can be created to represent the auspicious saying ‘May you come out first in the three-level civil-service examinations’!
The same picture may be referred to as ‘yi lu qing lian 一路清廉’.
Related Pun Picture:
Fig 1: miniature porcelain water bucket, Xuande period (1426–35), Ming dynasty, courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
Fig 2: lacquer box, early Ming dynasty (1368–1644), courtesy of the Tokyo Chuo Auction House, 2021, No.720
Fig 3: porcelain plate with underglaze blue decoration, Wanli period (1573–1620), Ming dynasty, courtesy of The Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Museum, Jiangxi, China
Fig 4: porcelain dish, Chongzhen period (1628–44), Ming dynasty, courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Fig 5: miniature porcelain water bucket, 17th century, courtesy of Tokyo National Museum
Fig 6: famille noire porcelain vase, Kangxi period (1662–1722), Qing dynasty, courtesy of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London
Fig 7: ruby-red overlay beige glass snuff bottle, c. 1740–1800, courtesy of the Christie’s Auction House, Hong Kong, 8 Oct 2020, Lot 61
Fig 8: famille rose porcelain vase, Jiaqing period (1796–1820), Qing dynasty, courtesy of The Capital Museum, Beijing, China
Fig 9: lidded porcelain container with overglaze enamelled decoration, Guangxu period (1875–1908), Qing dynasty, courtesy of the Palace Museum, Beijing
Fig 10: porcelain zhadou container with overglaze enamelled decoration, Guangxu period (1875–1908), Qing dynasty, courtesy of the Palace Museum, Beijing
Fig 11: porcelain bowl with overglaze enamelled decoration, Guangxu period (1875–1908), Qing dynasty, courtesy of the Palace Museum, Beijing
Fig 12: lidded porcelain vase with overglaze enamelled decoration, Guangxu period (1875–1908), Qing dynasty, courtesy of Shanghai Museum, China
Fig 13: table screen, stone carving, Qing dynasty (1644–1911), from Weibo ID @GiaVincent posted on Aug 6, 2020