- Description
Daoist deities, Fu Lu Shou (Hock Lok Siew) visually embody their attributes quite literally. Scholarly Fu bears a scroll signifying good fortune, whilst Lu, in a mandarin’s robes, grasps a ruyi indicative of bureaucratic power. Shou’s bulbous bald head, luxuriant beard and gnarled staff already indicate old age, but he also carries a peach, symbolic of immortality.
Fu Lu Shou 福禄寿, or the Sanxing (三星 Three Stars), are gods of the three celestial bodies Jupiter, Mizar and Canopus, and the three characteristics of good fortune (Fu), status (Lu) and longevity (Shou) in Chinese folk beliefs. The term ‘fu lu shou’, and the display of the three figures, is common in Chinese society to indicate and attract these three attributes of a desirable life.