Pair of playful children (Chin. wa-wa) standing in
their gowns and trowsers loosely worn, one
holding a small finger citron that stands for plenty, the other a
lidded bottle, perhaps reminiscent of a Buddhist ailment jar.
Traces of the original pigments remain
between the folds of the clothing and on the
faces.
Wa-wa, children at play, was a theme usually
associated with prosperity and joyfulness
and often appeared in traditional paintings,
lacquers
and ceramics from the Ming
period onwards. The two figures here
illustrated are recognisable by their young
hairstyle, one having the hair tied up into
two lateral knobs, the other with two bows
on the sides, above the ears.
Children depictions were often used for nianhua
(New Year) paintings and auspicious prints and ceramics,
possibly because of the word pun implicit in their
Chinese name. As an ancient saying goes:"All
senior officials are called 'zi' which is
homonymous with 'zi', meaning 'son' or 'child'. So
to have many 'zi' (sons) signifies many ministers
or high officials in the family. All these epitomize
the yearning of the people of ancient times for a
happy life. Note: 'zi' was an ancient title of
respect for a learned or virtuous man.
