Why is the Chinese character "福字" posted upside down?

The word "Fu" (福印) is now interpreted as "happiness", while in the past it meant "good fortune" and "good luck". Chinese New Year sticker "Fu" character, both now and in the past, are sent to people's desire for a happy life, but also the wish for a better future. In order to more fully reflect this desire and wish, folk will also be "Fu" word upside down stickers, indicating that "happiness has arrived" and "good fortune has arrived". During the Chinese New Year, every family puts up large and small "Fu" characters on the doors, walls and lintels of their houses. It is a long-standing folk custom to post the word "Fu" on the Spring Festival.

Related Legends

The Origin of Stickers

Legend has it that the custom of sticking the word "Fortune" began when Jiang Taigong sealed the gods. When the gods were assigned, Jiang Taigong's wife, Ma, also came to ask for the god's seat. Jiang Taigong had no choice but to make her the "God of Poverty", and stipulated that she could not go to any place where the word "Fortune" was posted. So, the people put up "Fu" and firecrackers to drive away this unwelcome "god of poverty".

The legend of the upside-down Fu

The reason why the word "Fu" is posted upside down, the legend began in the Qing Dynasty Prince Gong's residence. On the eve of the Spring Festival that year, the housekeeper routinely wrote a few big bucket "Fu" word, asked people to stick on the door of the Royal Palace. There was a housekeeper who was illiterate, but even the "Fu" character head down on the sticker. Prince Gong Fujin very angry, want to whip punishment punishment. But the housekeeper is a man of words, panicked, kneeling down to state: "slaves often hear people say, Prince Gong life high fortune, now really big fortune to (down). It is a happy omen." Prince Gong listened to feel reasonable, thought: "No wonder passers-by said Prince Gong Fu to (down), said a thousand times, gold and silver increase ten thousand kilograms. Uneducated lackey, really can not think of this kind of trick it!" So he rewarded the butler and the housekeeper with fifty taels of silver each, but it was really a blessing in disguise!

The upside down Fu legend two

"Fu" word upside down in Chinese folklore there is a legend. Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, used the word "Fu" as a secret mark to prepare for murder. Kind-hearted Empress Ma to eliminate this disaster, so that the city size of the family must be in the morning before the door in their own home posted a "Fu" character. Naturally, no one dared to disobey Empress Ma's order, so every house put up the word "Fu" on its door. One of the families could not read or write, so they put the word "Fu" upside down. The next day, the emperor sent people on the street to check, and found that all the families have posted the word "Fu", and there is a family to put the word "Fu" upside down. The emperor was furious at the report and immediately ordered the imperial guards to decapitate that family. Queen Ma saw that things are not good, busy Zhu Yuanzhang said: "that family knows you visit today, deliberately put the word of blessing upside down, this is not the meaning of "blessed to"? When the emperor heard that it made sense, he ordered the release of the people, and a big disaster was finally eliminated. Since then, people have been posting the Chinese character "福字" upside down for good luck and in honor of Empress Ma.

Inverted posting of the word three

Every Spring Festival, families will be in the house door, walls, lintels, pasted on the large and small "Fuk" word, but when pasted, whether it should be pasted or inverted posting, but let a lot of people have a hard time. Folklore experts say that the flavor of the year is like this "Fu" word, do not have to speak of the form, how to paste can be, as long as you feel the joy, it is in the heart of each of us. Many people think that the word "blessed" to be posted upside down, meaning "blessed", in fact, this is a will be wrong for the wrong "mouth color". In traditional folklore, there are only three kinds of cases can be posted upside down "Fu": First, there are people's homes in the previous year encountered a catastrophe, in order to reverse the luck will be posted upside down; Second, the toilet, foot basin, spittoon, garbage cans on the "Fu" word upside down, meaning that the bad things out of the pouring; in the house of the cabinet should be upside down the word of blessing, the cabinet is to store the goods place. Posting the Chinese character for good fortune upside down means that good fortune (and also wealth) will always come to the home, the house and the cabinet. In the third case, it's just for "good luck".

Posting the Chinese character "福" for the Spring Festival is a long-standing folk custom in China. According to the "Meng Liang Records" records: "the New Year's Day in the near and far, the mat store hundreds of goods, painting the door god peach symbols, welcome the spring cards ......"; "the common people's home regardless of the size of the family, all cleaned the doorway, to dust, clean the home, change the door god, hanging Zhong Kui, nail peach symbols, stick the spring cards, sacrifices to the ancestors". The text of the "sticker spring" is written on red paper "Fu" word.

The word "fu" is now interpreted as "happiness", while in the past it meant "good fortune" and "good luck". The Chinese character "福", whether nowadays or in the past, is a symbol of people's desire for a happy life and their wish for a better future. Folk in order to more fully reflect this yearning and wishes, simply will "Fu" word upside down sticker, said "happiness has been down" "fortune has arrived." Fu" word upside down in folklore there is a legend. Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, used the word "Fu" as a secret mark to prepare for murder. Kindness of Queen Ma to eliminate this disaster, so that the city size of the family must be in the morning before the door in their own home posted a "Fu" character. Naturally, no one dared to disobey Empress Ma's order, so every house put up the word "Fu" on its door. One of the families could not read or write, so they put the word "Fu" upside down. The next day, the emperor sent people on the street to check, and found that all the families have posted the word "Fu", and there is a family to put the word "Fu" upside down. The emperor was furious at the report and immediately ordered the imperial guards to decapitate that family. Queen Ma saw that things are not good, busy Zhu Yuanzhang said: "that family knows you visit today, deliberately put the word of blessing upside down, this is not the meaning of "blessed to"? When the emperor heard that it made sense, he ordered the release of the people, and a big disaster was finally eliminated. Since then, people have been posting the Chinese character "福字" upside down for good luck and in honor of Empress Ma.

The folk will also be "Fu" word fine as a variety of patterns, patterns have the star of longevity, longevity peach, carp jump Dragon Gate, the five valleys, the dragon and phoenix, and so on. In the past, the folk have "the 24th day of the Lunar New Year, the family writes a big word", "Fu" word was mostly handwritten, nowadays the market, stores are sold.