Double happiness is a ligature, “囍” composed of 喜喜 – two copies of the Chinese characters 喜 (About this sound xǐ) literally meaning joy, compressed to assume the square shape of a standard Chinese character (much as a real character may consist of two parts), and is pronounced simply as xǐ or as a polysyllabic Chinese character, being read as 双喜 (shuāngxǐ).
According to legend, the origin of the word “囍” was created by Wang Anshi in the Song Dynasty. On his way to take the test, he passed by Majiazhuang, and saw a pair of couplets by Ma Yuanwai, “Horse Revolving lanterns, lights revolving horse, lights out horse stop walking”.
Wang Anshi was in a hurry to go to Beijing to take the exam, but he ignored it. He didn’t know that during the exam, the examiner asked Wang Anshi to confront the lower couplet with the “flying tiger flag, the flag tiger flies, and the flag rolls the tiger to hide”. In order to deal with the “Flying Tiger Flag”, he thought that Ma Yuanwai’s pair of couplets.
After that, Wang Anshi came to Ma Yuanwai’s house, and used the “Flying Tiger Flag” as the match “Horse Revolving lanterns, lights revolving horse, lights out horse stop walking” for the lower couplet to the upper couplet, which made Ma Yuanwai quite appreciate, so Wang Anshi betrothed Ma Yuanwai’s daughter. On the day of their marriage, Wang Anshi received the good news that he had been awarded a JINSHI. Because of the joy, he wrote the word “囍” on the door. Since then, the word “囍” has spread among the people.
Typically the character “囍” is written in Chinese calligraphy, and frequently appears on traditional decorative items, associated with marriage. The double happiness symbol is also often seen at weddings throughout the ages in Chinese society, as well as gifts for brides and grooms, and even items used by the royal family.
Serving platters
Bowl, cutlery, 80s
Tray, 80’s
The newlyweds sitting in front of the Double Happiness character are all descendants of ministers in the court at that time. The bride is Zeng Guofan’s granddaughter and the groom is Li Hongzhang’s nephew. The two families were very prominent, and at that time, such a marriage was considered a match. The combination of the two happy characters means harmony and beauty, and a hundred years of harmony.
“囍” has different visual expressions in different eras in China, but people’s pursuit of a happy and peaceful life is eternal.
References
Double Happiness (calligraphy)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Happiness_(calligraphy)
