The Pot of Wealth
'The Pot of Wealth'
Yangjiabu, Shandong
34 x 45 cm
modern reprint of early 20th century image
The 'Pot of Wealth' is a common attribute in popular art, and can be seen in many of the Stove God images, as well as the image of Shen Wansan (figure 5). One legend of its origin tells of a poor man who caught an old pot in his net and took it home to use a his dog's dish. The dish, to his amazement (and, no doubt, the dog's delight), never seemed to be empty. When his wife dropped in a hairpin they found the dish suddenly filled with hairpins. When they threw in money the dish was suddenly filled with money. Having thus achieved financial security the couple went on to use their good fortune to benefit others and the man became as so-called 'Living God of Wealth'.
copyright 2003
