Oh my!

Oh my!

They're all mythical Chinese art symbols and have amazing, amazing symbolism.

Welcome to Jewels of the Trade, the channel for spreading accurate information on jade and gemstones.

I'm here today with Chris Mason, one of the co-owners of Mason K.

Jade.

And we're going to be talking about Pichus, dragons, and Fu Dogs.

Oh my!

In Jade Carvings.

Chris, thank you so much for being here.

Oh, thank you, Jordan.

This is a fun one today.

I'm looking forward to learning the difference between a dragon and a Pichu.

I love dragons.

When you talk about dragons, well, you have to always talk about Phoenix.

So we will.

Chris, let's start with the dragon.

What does the dragon symbolize in jade jewelry?

So the dragon really is a symbol of power and strength.

It always symbolized imperial strength as well.

But the dragon is also a protector and a guardian.

It's also a symbol of the yang, the male side, the yin and the yang.

So that's where we always, when we talk about dragon, we have to talk about Phoenix because there's the yin and the yang.

The yang is the male.

And it also represents heaven and the sun and lightness.

Whereas the yin symbolizes the female and the Phoenix and the earth and the moon and darkness.

So then it's the balance of power.

Male, female, yin, yang, light, dark.

It's the balance of the universe.

It's typically the serpentine.

It's a specific dragon that tends to be combined with the Phoenix.

Often we've had carvings, it's really cool, where there's a dragon on one side and Phoenix on the other.

And it's the serpentine dragon that's coupled with the Phoenix.

And that symbolizes fertility and marital bliss, that type of thing.

This carving that we have here features a Phoenix and a ling zhi.

What is that?

It's a ling zhi mushroom, symbolizing longevity.

So you've got the Phoenix on one side and then longevity on the back.

And the Phoenix is a mythical bird and it's kind of a compilation of many different birds.

The Phoenix is said, it's a gentle and benevolent creature.

And it's said to only appear in times of peace and prosperity.

So if you see one, of course it's a mythical creature, but if you see one, it's a sign of world peace.

Do women typically wear the Phoenix or do men typically wear the Phoenix?

I think females tend to.

The empress, often empresses, often had the Phoenix on their headdress or on their clothing.

So it is a female symbol.

Is it acceptable for women to wear the dragon, even though it's kind of a symbol of the male energy?

Oh, absolutely.

Because it's a symbol of power and protection.

And I love a dragon.

I would wear a dragon every day.

So there's a great story because you often see the dragon holding, clutching a pearl, you know, a round orb.

So there's a very common legend about a little boy.

So he lives in a rural province and they're very poor.

There's great famine.

Everybody's starving.

It's terrible.

But there's one patch of grass that every time he plows it, it grows back.

So he digs it up and he finds a pearl and he takes the pearl home.

The grass dies.

He hides the pearl in a sack of rice.

And the next morning, the rice is overflowing.

So he takes the pearl and shows his mother and they share it with the neighbors and they all have prosperity.

And this gets back to the emperor and they come to find the boy.

When he gets scared, he swallows the pearl and he turns into a dragon that is then able to be the guardian of the land and help the people.

So that's one of the stories that they tell.

Also read that the pearl also represents the world.

So they're like protecting the world.

I guess I never noticed how often the pearl is depicted in the dragon carvings.

Yes.

Pearl itself is a symbol of wisdom.

So what about the two dragons?

The double dragon?

What does that symbolize?

You can see that those definitely look very different than the other dragons that we have been looking at.

Those are young dragons, also known as hydras.

And they have a split tail.

That's one of the reasons you can see that.

You can see they have a split tail and they have a much longer, slender body.

They're really more playful and they represent youth and play and fun.

The numerology in the jade carvings, I think is quite symbolic.

We have here, is this nine dragons in this one?

Yes.

That's a great story.

It has nine dragon heads on it.

It is to represent the nine sons of the Dragon King and the Dragon King, mythological sons of the Dragon King.

It is a Chinese water and weather god.

I've only seen two like that.

This is the question that I really wanna understand.

What is a Pichu and is that the proper pronunciation?

And is it different from the dragon?

If so, how?

Tell us all about it.

Right, so when talking about Pichu, we have to talk about food dog.

They're almost the same, Pichu.

And I believe, and you can look it up, but I believe it's P-I and then space X-I-U, Pichu.

So the food dog, it's also known as dog of foe or foe dog or foe, F-O-O or F-O dog, foe dog, or dog of foe.

And that is because the word for Buddha or Buddhism in Chinese was foe.

And they had talked about this amazing creature, the lion, and Chinese had never seen it.

And so they had started to refer to this protector lion as foe.

Well, they didn't have any lions in China.

So they kind of interpreted it as a dog.

So it became a dog of foe, also known as a protector lion.

So they kind of look like lions, but they're kind of the shape of a dog.

We often see food dogs together in pairs, don't we?

Yes, they're often in pairs and they protect your premises.

They are believed to be protectors.

They are guardians.

So they are there to protect you.

And so is the Pishu.

They're both protectors, but the Pishu has wings.

The Pishus are very fun.

They love water, gold, silver, and jewels.

Oh, I think I'm a Pishu.

They guard your home.

They ward off evil spirits.

They bring good fortune.

They draw in money and wealth and drive away misfortune.

So if anyone out there is interested in purchasing a dragon or a Pishu or a food dog carving in jade, Mason K is the place to get it.

Ask your local independent jewelry store about jade from Mason K Jade, or if they don't offer it at your local jeweler, you can always visit MKJadeJewelry.com and you can even use the discount code JOT for 10% off.

Chris, thanks so much for joining us today.

Thank you, Jordan.

Can't wait to see you again.

It's a symbol.

I want to make sure I get it right.

Where is it?

You'll cut this part out, Jordan.