Famille Rose Dish With Peaches And Bats

Jingdezhen ware, Qing Dynasty, Yongzheng reign (1723 - 1735)
Shanghai Museum

In China, unlike in the West, the bat was an auspicious symbol. The words for "bat" and "happiness" are pronounced the same (fu) in Chinese, so bats appear on Chinese porcelains as a rebus or visual pun suggesting wishes for happiness. Since peaches symbolize long life (previous page), the peaches and bats together on this plate mean a wish for "happiness and long life."