Fu Chinese Character: Good Fortune Symbols
To celebrate one of the most important festivals in China, Omeida Chinese Academy organized a series of activities. In the morning, we talked about Chinese New Year customs. In particular, we talked about the meaning of the ‘Fu’ Chinese character.
What does Fu character in Chinese mean?
The Chinese character Fu (福) means happiness, blessing, and good fortune. People across China have the tradition to paste this character on their doors or windows during the Spring Festival to greet the Chinese Lunar New Year (which falls on February 5 this year). They believe doing this will bring good fortune. It is written on diagonal square red paper and the the character is usually pasted upside-down. This is because Chinese people love wordplay. Since the word for ‘arrive’ in Chinese sounds the same as the word for ‘upside-down’, pasting the character upside-down signifies that ‘good fortune has arrived’. Calligraphy enthusiasts will write the character themselves. Omeida students had a go at using a traditional calligraphy brush and ink to write the character.
Students show their handwritten character ‘Fu’ to celebrate the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year. Writing with a brush was a new experience for many students! However, there were teachers and other experienced in calligraphy there to guide them.
Some students struggled at first and found it difficult to write with a brush. However, once they gained confidence, it was a piece of cake for them.
All the students from Omeida Chinese Academy gathered in front of school and showed their beautiful handwritten Fu character. Good job everyone!
