You are an honest and uncorrupted official in your entire career
一路清廉
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An egret and lotus flowers (莲花) are pictured in combination to infer ‘yi lu qing lian 一路清廉’, which means ‘You are an honest and uncorrupted official in your entire career’.
‘Yi lu 一鹭’ for ‘one egret’ puns on ‘yi lu 一路’ for ‘all the way’; ‘qing lian 青莲’ for ‘green lotus’ makes pun on ‘qing lian 清廉’ for ‘honest and fair in government matters’. Hence the whole image is intended to describe somebody who has the integrity and has never been corrupted during the official career.
The same picture may be referred to as ‘yi lu lian ke 一路连科’.
Related Pun Picture:
May you couple live a harmonious life and enjoy prestige 并蒂双贵
Recommended reading:
More than a naturalistic motif of fish pond: recognition of Chinese pun rebus pictures
Fig 1: underglaze-red pouring bowl yi, Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), courtesy of Sotheby’s Auction House, Hong Kong, 07 April 2013, Lot 34
Fig 2: jade carving ornament, Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), courtesy of Shanghai Museum, China. Photograph by Mr Ales Yeo, 2023
Fig 3: garden seat, Ming dynasty (1368–1644), courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Fig 4: gold hairpin head inlayed with precious stones, Ming dynasty (1368–1644), courtesy of Qichun County Museum, Hubei Province, China
Fig 5: blue-and-white ovoid jar and cover, Shunzhi period (1644–1661), Qing dynasty, courtesy of Christie’s Auction House, New York, 16 Mar 2015, Lot 3513
Fig 6:Yen-yen vase with underglaze blue and overglaze enamelled decoration, Kangxi period (1662–1722), Qing dynasty, courtesy of the Palace Museum, Beijing
Fig 7: gu-shaped porcelain vase with underglaze blue decoration, Kangxi period (1662–1722), Qing dynasty, courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Fig 8: famille verte saucer, late Kangxi-Yongzheng period (c.1720), courtesy of the Museum of East Asian Art, Bath, UK
Fig 9: 荷鹭图, hanging scroll, ink and colour on paper, Xin Luo Shan Ren 新罗山人 (1682–1756), Qing dynasty, courtesy of Yangzhou Museum, China
Fig 10: celadon jade reticulated plaque, 18th century, Qing dynasty, courtesy of the Sotheby’s Auction House, London, 17 May 2019, Lot 258
Fig 11: lidded famille rose porcelain jar, Jiaqing period (1796–1820), Qing dynasty, courtesy of the Palace Museum, Beijing
Fig 12: famille rose porcelain basin, Tongzhi period (1861–1875), Qing dynasty, courtesy of the Palace Museum, Beijing