Lucky Peach: A Chinese Symbol of All Things Good
As a kid, every summer I’d look forward to playtime around the neighborhood. Riding my bike to the beach, meeting new friends at the playground and endless hours of sitting in front of the television. Those were the days. But there’s still something I look forward to during the summer as an adult. That's eating summer peaches. The fuzziness of the skin, the juicy meat of the fruit and especially how the taste lingers on your lips long after you’ve finish eating a peach are my reasons for my love of this summer fruit.
When I was growing up, we had two Chinese statues in the house that contained peaches.
One was an over grown peach being carried off by several jovial looking children dressed in mismatched looking loose clothing. The other was of an old man with an elongated bald head, an extra long beard with a peach in one hand and a long staff in the other similar to the one pictured below. I never knew the symbolism of peaches in Chinese culture until I began research for this post.
The Chinese god of longevity, known as Sau, is a symbol of the easy life, smooth living, and victory over strife. Attached to the end of his staff is a gourd, said to hold the elixir of life, or immortality. Sau is usually depicted holding a peach, the divine fruit of the gods.
The peach tree and all it’s components–the wood, fruit, blossoms and petals all carry different symbolic meanings in Chinese culture. The peach tree symbolizes longevity. The wood from the tree is said to ward off evil, and ancient warriors crafted weapons from it. The petals of peach blossoms have a history of use by Taoist magicians, and are known to put men into an intense trance of love. The peach tree blossoms during spring and is considered the ideal season for young couples to marry. The peach fruit, similar to the tree as a whole, symbolizes a long and healthy life. The fruit also bears associations of perpetual vitality. It is said that the Peach plant of immortality, located in the Kun Lun mountains, would produce fruit only once every 3,000 years. When this happened, the Eight Immortals (a legendary group of enlightened ancient beings) would gather and eat of the magic fruit, assuring their immortality.
The peach is often depicted in Chinese paintings, sculpture, pottery, clothing and food. To honor such a lucky symbol, we created our Lucky Peach truffle. A soft flavor of chocolate blended with white peach puree. But the best part of our truffle is that is it available year round. No need to wait for the summer harvest, drop by our shop or if you’re not in the area, our website is just a click away.
