Imperial yellow pieces with bat - happiness - decoration. Tongzhi period (1862-1874).
Due to the homophony of the Chinese word fu for "bat", and fu for "prosperity and good fortune" the bat has become a symbol for good luck, often found in red, the color of joy. Five bats above a peach represent good luck and longevity related to the Five Blessings; of longevity, wealth, health, virtuousness, and a peaceful end. The symbolic value of the color of red, enhances the "good luck".
Five red bats are among the most popular themes in Chinese decorative arts. Red bats provide a rebus or visual pun for vast good fortune. Bats painted upside down provide a further rebus, since the word for upside down, dao, is pronounced similarly to the word for arriving, and thus an upside-down bat signifies 'happiness is arriving'.
To enhance their symbolism of blessings, they are often paired with other symbols of prosperity, such as peaches, bamboo, chrysanthemum, roses, pomegranate, dragons, and carps, among others.
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