Fu (character)

Common card · No. 258701

The Chinese character fu (福; fú ), meaning 'fortune' or 'good luck', is represented both as a Chinese ideograph and, at times, pictorially, in one of its homophonous forms. It is often found on a figurine of the male god of the same name, one of the trio of "star gods" Fú, Lù, and Shòu. Mounted fu are a widespread Chinese tradition associated with Chinese New Year and can be seen on the entrances of many Chinese homes worldwide. The characters are generally printed on a square piece of paper or stitched in fabric. The practice is universal among Chinese people regardless of socioeconomic status, and dates to at least the Song dynasty (960 – 1279 CE). When displayed as a Chinese ideograph, fu is often displayed upside-down on diagonal red squares. The reasoning is based on a wordplay: in nearly all varieties of Chinese, the words for 'upside-down' and 'to arrive' are homophonous (dào – 倒 and 到, respectively). Therefore, the phrase 'upside-down fu' sounds nearly identical to the phrase...

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