Literature

The title is a play on homophones and auspicious meanings. The butterfly, written 蝴蝶, has special significance here as a motif. In Chinese, the pronunciation of the first character 蝴 sounds like 福 fú, meaning happiness or luck, and the second character 蝶 has the same pronunciation as 耋dié, meaning an 80-year-old man. Together they indicate blessings for a long and prosperous life. The butterfly has long been considered a symbol of marital harmony and lasting affection. In Taoism, a butterfly, when it appears in a dream, represents freedom of the mind.

The numbers covering the vessel are "4182." Their Chinese pronunciation is similar to that of 四季平安, "Four Seasons of Peace", which is the artist's title of the work.