Gifts for Prosperity

Gift giving can be a tricky thing; adding cross-cultural currents to the equation makes things even murkier. What if you give a bad gift? Or one that’s considered bad luck? You’ve probably heard not to give knives at a wedding or a clock for a birthday before. There’s plenty of advice about what NOT to give. But what should you give; what is a good gift? One that won’t offend or put someone on the spot.

Symbolic gifts, ones that represent prosperity go a long way in making an impression without risking offense. The key is to select something of fine quality without getting too extravagant. Something that's too lavish can be as off-putting as a thoughtless or unwanted gift. Birthday, wedding, anniversary and business gifts can all follow the same rule. Fortunately Asian art has centuries worth of symbolism for you to sort though to find a quality gift that will inspire and minimize the chance of insult.

Even when you know a person well, it can be difficult to choose the right gift. When the recipient is just an acquaintance or a business associate the nervous factor increases exponentially. That’s way we’ve compiled a short list of Asian arts with symbolic meanings of prosperity that make great gifts for any occasion. Each is a fine work of art, yet well within budget, even for office parties or Secret Santa events. Asian art allows you to give quality without going over the top.
We should also point out that at Reorient you can have your gift sent already wrapped and with a personalized gift message. There is a small fee for gift wrap but a personalized hand written note is always free.

So here they are, in no particular order, our five auspicious Asian arts for prosperity:

1. Chinese Feng Shui Coins for Wealth and Success: Less then $10 for two sets. These authentic bronze coins are modeled after those minted during the Qing Dynasty. Three are bound together with red string for good luck, wealth and prosperity. The coins have Chinese characters for the names of emperors forged on both sides. The three coins together represent a balance of Heaven, Earth and Humanity in Taoist philosophy and are thought to help attract prosperity to your door.

2. Flowers: Bloom represents impending prosperity. The fruits of your labor, the fruits of the harvest; the path from spring buds to autumn yields is abundantly clear. Before there’s fruit, there are always flowers. Depictions of flowers and floral motifs in Asian art have a symbolic dimension, representing wealth upon the horizon. You can find flowers in watercolor paintings, flowers on porcelains or flowers carved from stone. All make for thoughtful, inexpensive gifts.


3. The Five Blessings Buddha: In China there are thought to be 5 essentials for a happy life -health, wealth, longevity, virtue, and a peaceful passing. Our hand crafted ceramic figurine represents the 5 essentials with his colony of 5 bats. Why bats? In Chinese the word for bat has a similar pronunciation to the words for “blessings” or “riches.” So bats have become a common motif in Asian arts for good fortune and prosperity. The number 5 can also be auspicious as it has association with the five elements (water, wood, fire, earth and metal).

4. The Fingered citron or “Buddha's Hand” citron: It is a tangy juiceless citrus fruit. It has long finger like sections, which resemble the fingers of Quan Yin perched for prayer. In China the fruit symbolizes prosperity and longevity. When it is given as a gift it represents a wish for good fortune upon the recipient. Reorient has a small supply of vintage hand carved jade pieces fashioned in the shape of the Buddha’s hand. Not only are these beautiful treasures to bestow upon someone but as fine jade pieces they are also sure to increase in value.

5. The Butterfly: Butterflies are among the luckiest of Chinese symbols for prosperity. Due to linguistic similarities butterflies have come to represent not just prosperity and long life but a piling up, or accumulation, of both. Butterflies are used to decorate all kinds of wonderful gift items and arts in China. Reorient has some unique and affordable selections for gift giving that will impress your friends, family or associates without impairing your budget.

Jade Carvings

Jade carvings are among the oldest known art forms in the world. Jade has been mined in China for over 8,000 years with evidence of its ceremonial value dating nearly as far back as human history itself. Many Chinese connoisseurs consider jade to be of a value higher than gold or diamond. It’s green, cool to the touch and extremely hard, but what makes jade such a uniquely Asian fascination?



The traditions and high regard of jade and jade carving is rooted in the culture of China itself. Jade’s rarity and uniqueness lends itself to ideas of symbolic perfection and even magic. All stone in China embodies the idea of hardness representing reliability and jade is an exceptionally hard stone, harder than steel. Though its appearance can be almost glass like to the modern eye it is difficult to break or scratch. Jade is non-crystalline with interlocking fibers, making it one of the strongest natural minerals in the world. Ancient peoples discovered the stone’s exceptional strength and used if for both tools and weaponry. Perhaps an early Emperor’s secret to solidifying power was the potently lethal strength of jade blades, spear tips or even an invincible jade armor.



Jade’s hardness is part of the mystery and mastery of jade carvings. There is an element of the Taoist yin and yang in the hardness of the stone and the fluidity of the carved design. Jade is rarely carved with hard edges, instead having a fine polished feel of something that looks gentle and soft. Fish in water, dragons in clouds, running horses, laughing Buddhas… these are all common jade carvings with distinctly flowing elements. It’s harder than marble or steel and yet looks like liquid. It embodies the very essence of Taoist ideals. Neither gold nor diamonds can achieve quite the same balance of elements and thus do not appeal quite as strongly to a culture steeped in Taoist traditions.



Tributes to China’s Emperors were preferred rendered in jade, which was then carved by skilled artisans into everything from elaborate statues to belt buckles. In modern China carved jade is seen as a highly respectful and gracious gift evoking imperial traditions.



China’s emperors, like many ancient rulers, were thought (or self aggrandized) to be descendants of heaven and they communicated to their mythical over lords through a jade disk. Kings were buried in jade suits that were thought to preserve them in their glorious tombs. Ancient Taoist devised secret potions of longevity and immortality from a variety of sources (some we know today to be highly toxic) and always included jade among the ingredients.



In Chinese mythology the heist deity is the Jade Emperor, ruler of heaven and every thing beneath it. Some creation myths credit the Jade Emperor with fashioning humanity out of clay. On Chinese New Year the masses clean and tidy before the New Year arrives. It’s a nice tradition that might be rooted in myths about the Jade Emperor passing judgment on humanity each year and if they don’t clean up their act he’ll pull the plug on the whole existence party.



Perhaps jade’s most potent imagery in China is its close linguistic ties to sexuality. Many colloquial terms for organs and acts incorporate the word for jade. At the same time jade is a symbol for purity and is used in metaphors for both youth and beauty.



Reorient offers a classic selection of authentic jade carvings. Each is an entirely hand worked piece of Asian art. Typically with jade carvings the shape and inconsistencies of the individual stones determine both the subject and execution of the design. Odd shapes are transformed into mythical dragons, Fu Dogs or Buddhist symbols. The natural grains and markings in the jade are incorporated into the overall carving. For example a vein or fissure may become part of a horse’s mane, adding an illusion of wind and flow.


All the carvings in our current jade collection are vintage pieces carved in China during the end of the Cultural Revolution. Most include a hand crafted wooden stand for display.



Please browse our selection and feel free to contact us with any questions on individual pieces.

Original Chinese Watercolor with Tibetan Antelope and Shepherdess

The title of this painting is “The Song of the Shepherd,” as inscribed in Chinese characters along the top of the painting. The sharp detail of the inks and sparse use of vibrant colors creates an evocative scene. The animals in the painting appear to be Tibetan antelope, a threatened species widely poached for valuable skins and wool. By pairing the shepherdess with these endangered animals, the artist makes a comment on China’s disappearing traditions. This beautifully rendered painting pays tribute to the history and folklore of China’s West.

From the northern Gobi rangelands to the southern Tibetan Plateau, the western reaches of China are home to nomadic ethnicities and cultures. Geographically the area is characterized by arid grasslands, deserts and towering mountain ranges. The summer heat can be oppressive and the winter chill is routinely sub zero. For centuries, survival in the region depended on nomadic traditions of herding livestock and journeying from established homesteads to distant pastures. To this day the area has the largest sheep and goat population in the world. Even in the dark ages, before "Walkmans" and "iPods", music and song was an important part of local cultures as they traveled with their livestock. Throat singing and tunes played on a Dombra, a traditional instrument stringed with sheep intestine, were mainstays in the ears of local populations.

The style of this painting, a one of a kind original, employs a unique combination of simple “fast brush” work with isolated areas of finer detail. The grassland and animals are almost mere blotches of color fading off into the bare white background of the rice paper. In contrast the figure is created with dark defining brush strokes and brighter colors. The result is captivating. The shepherdess stares out at you from her fading environment. She is not quite pleading or desperate, but simply observing. Both the character and viewer are paying witness to a tide of progress. The painting does not seem to stage an abject protest but only seeks to make record and prompt you to ask yourself if this is the right path for civilization to take.

You can view more vintage and contemporary watercolor paintings at reorient.biz.

Bodhidharma, Ancient Buddhist Sage and Originator of Zen

Bodhidharma, also know as Batua, Daruma or Dot Mor is credited with bringing both Kung Fu and Buddhism to China in the 5^th or 6^th century. He practiced a deep self-introspection that at the time was often called “wall gazing” but today we know it as meditation. He spoke of the Bodhisattva entering the minds of those who could recognize and accept the truth of self-realization, become masters of their minds and accept Buddha. In legend the figure is closely bound to ideas about spiritual, intellectual and physical wholeness, an indivisible singularity or enlightenment that is said to be the root of both Zen Buddhism in Japan and China’s Chan school of thought.

Bodhidharma practiced a kind of fighting exercise, said to represent the five animal forms of Dragon, Tiger, Leopard, Snake and Crane. The style was adopted by his disciples and refined over the centuries. There is some association with Bodhidharma at the Shaolin temple. Some say Emperor Xiaowen erected the temple in his honor. Other histories maintain that when Bodhidharma arrived in Shaolin, he was confronted by a wall, upon which he meditated for nine years. Upon his departure manuscripts were discovered including the basic descriptions for Qigong or Yì Jīn Jīng.

Without getting too specific, it is safe to say that Bodhidharma is an extremely important figure in the legends and culture of Asia. He is most often depicted with wide eyes and a bushy beard. He is a traveler, having spread the ideas of Buddhism and self-discovery/discipline from the Himalayas to Mt Fuji, from the Mekong Delta to the Gobi Desert. He is even credited with the advent of tea as one story says that during his nine years of meditation in Shaolin he cut off his eyelids to fend off sleep. From his discarded eyelids grew the first tea plants, which is why tea keeps you awake.

As with many aspects of Chinese culture, Bodhidharma represents a convergence of philosophies and history. Buddhist and Taoist ideals often merge, both seeking a certain wholeness of thought and being. The legends of Bodhidharma also bridge these two worlds as Taoism is largely incorporated into Kung Fu and Tai Chi, both draw on the meditation and self control that were cornerstones of Bodhidharma’s teachings.

The Elephant as Symbol in Chinese Art

The elephant in Chinese art is a symbol of strength and wisdom. It also bears some reference to Buddhism as the elephant is a sacred animal in Buddhist traditions. In China the Buddha is sometimes depicted riding an elephant, which may reference the religion’s origin as transported from India.

The word for Elephant in Chinese is pronounced and written the same as the word for “sign” or “things to come,” so pairing elephants with other symbols creates a kind of pun.

A stone elephant emphasizes the concept of strength or power while an elephant with a vase can be interpreted as a sign of peaceful times. The words for “peace” and “vase” in Chinese have close pronunciations. It is also legend that during the Qing Dynasty elephants carrying vases on their backs were featured in parades celebrating the Emperors birthday.

Our elephant candle sticks, made of hand painted blue and white porcelain, draw from this tradition. The actual candle holder is a stylized vase, perched on the elephant’s back. Putting this set on your dinning room table declares peace in the home.

Another popular motif shows a young boy riding on the back of an elephant. This pairing announces the arrival of good fortune. In Chinese the phrase “elephant rider” sounds similar to “auspicious” or “fortunate.” Our Celadon teapot is an artistic adoption of this ancient Chinese theme. The teapot itself is formed like an elephant and its removable lid is shaped like the rider.

Reorient has many elephant items, including vases and planters. All are hand made and are personally selected by us on our buying trips to China. The porcelain candle holders shown on this page are a slightly vintage find. They were produced in the late 1980s. The characteristic variance in the blue cobalt glaze is a tell tale sign of an old style coal or wood fired kilns. The heat in these kilns is not always uniform resulting in the slightly faded look of the hand painting.

How to Give Peace to Your Friends and Family

The Holidays are here and its time to wonder about what makes a good gift, particularly for those who you don’t know all that well but still need to give a gift to. Business associates are always difficult. They need something appropriate, not over the top but certainly not cheap or thoughtless either. When you know every little about a person gift giving can be challenging.

Luckily there is some Chinese culture that comes in handy here. In China one of the best gifts you can give is a vase. That’s because the words for “vase” and “peace” in Chinese are remarkably similar. So when you give a vase as a gift you are actually offering peace and friendship. Isn’t that what the holidays are all about anyway?

Now the really great thing about vases is they don’t have to be extravagant to be meaningful. This is one case where size really doesn’t matter. You can choose a vase that suits your budget, your shipping carton or a certain color scheme. No matter your choice you’re still giving peace.

The vase is also one of the 8 auspicious symbols from Buddhist and Taoist traditions. The symbols are thought to bring peace and good fortune and are often used as decorative elements in Asian arts. The vase in particular represents a container of health and wealth, from medicines to money, and is a symbol of the fulfillment of wishes.

Reorient has vases, more than we can count. Porcelain vases, cloisonné vases, ceramic vases and even stone vases, all of them symbolize peace and good wishes. Here are a few examples to consider.

A vase with a crackle finish has a stoic and stately look. When you want to add levity to a décor the crackling adds a touch of instant history. In Chinese arts however, there is another depth of meaning. The word “crackle” is a homophone, which implies “year after year.” Giving a vase with a crackle finish means you wish the recipient continuous peace and well being.

A vase with a Peony, the flower of wealth and rank in China, makes for a wish
of peace and prosperity. The example pictured is a cloisonné vase. Cloisonné is a metal ware and can extend the metaphor to mean an “unbreakable” peace and prosperity.

A vase with profuse bloom makes a play on words in Chinese and can mean "may everything be auspicious."

A vase with pomegranates adds hopes for future generations to the symbolism.

The China rose is a unique flower in that it blooms all year round so a vase with roses indicates a wish for peace throughout the four seasons.

But the most potent symbol to combine with a vase is a dragon. Dragons are among the most powerful forces for good that exist. Dragons bring wealth, stability and nobility. Reorient has some very special vases with dragons for the holiday season. Our newest addition is this cloisonné pair of vases with dragons depicted wrapping around the vase body. The workmanship is extremely fine, representing some of China’s best hand crafted art. The colors are rich and vibrant and the detail is truly beautiful. The set is a vintage production from the late 1970s and is a one of a kind item. If you know a collector who appreciates fine Asian arts this is a real find to consider. If dragons are your passion you can find many more dragon themed items at the store.