Cicada in Chinese Culture

The ancients believed that all things have spirits, and cicadas underwent several deformations in the stages of eggs, pupae, larvae and adults, and finally “shed out of the muddy and floating dust”. Cicadas drink dew to absorb the wind, which is elegant and noble. For thousands of years, people have used cicadas in paintings, poems, decorations and contents. After continuous derivation, the ancients gradually formed their unique feelings for cicadas.

Analytical Dictionary of Characters

Cicada: Dan is not only a sound side but also a form side. It is the omission of Zen, the symbol of being free from worldly strife and meditation. Cicadas, insects plus cicadas, represent insects that are clean and do nothing.

Lu Ji wrote in “Han Chan Fu · preface”: “if there is a bamboo on the head of the husband, it will be gentle; if there is Qi and dew, it will be clear; if millet does not enjoy it, it will be cheap; if it does not live in a nest, it will be frugal; if it should wait and keep it, it will be trustworthy; if it is crowned, it will be able to take its capacity. If a gentleman has his actions, he can serve the king and stand up, isn’t it a worm of supreme virtue?”

A little cicada is endowed with: Wen, Qing, Lian, Jian, Xin. Jade, which occupies one of the most important colors in Chinese culture, is respected for its benevolence, righteousness, wisdom, courage and cleanliness.

“Jade, the beauty of stone”, with jade as the quality and cicada as the type, has achieved the best carrier of the dual noble qualities of integrity, honesty, honesty, benevolence, righteousness, wisdom, courage and purity. A gentleman wears a jade cicada, which has become the best ornament for an ancient gentleman to clarify his nature and ambition.

With the passage of time, there have been more jade products in the shape of cicadas, such as wearing cicadas, crown cicadas, and containing cicadas.

Wearing cicadas and crown cicadas: Jade cicadas with perforations have been found since the Neolithic age. The jade cicada is decorated with a hole in the middle of the cicada on the crown of the emperor, which is the crown cicada and takes the meaning of the cicada’s purity.

Containing cicadas: the ancients regarded death as life, and cicadas went into the soil in the early winter. In the summer of the next year, larvae emerged from the soil and became cicadas. Cicadas had the meaning of illusion and regeneration in the hearts of the ancients, and were placed in the mouth of the dead in order to keep the soul alive and reincarnate. Jade was a sacred thing in the hearts of the ancients to communicate with heaven, earth, man and God, so jade cicadas were often put into the mouth of the dead to help them play a media role in the process of rebirth.

If you want to learn more funny Chinese Culture, see at https://www.globalmandarin.com/services/chinese-culture-lessons