Shou (character)

Three of the most important goals in life in Chinese traditional thought are the propitious blessings of happiness (fú 福), professional success or prosperity (lù 祿), and longevity (shòu 壽).

Longevity is commonly recognized as one of the Five Blessings (wǔfú 五福 – longevity, wealth, health, love of virtue, a peaceful death) of Chinese belief[3] that are often depicted in the homophonous rendition of five flying bats because the word for "bat" in Chinese (fú 蝠) sounds like the word for "good fortune" or "happiness" (fú 福) or in this case, "blessings".

Other symbols in Chinese iconography that represent longevity include pine trees, cranes, spotted deer, special collectors' stones (shòushí 壽石), peaches, and tortoises.

[5] These are often depicted in small groupings to emphasize the central, symbolic meaning of the picture (for example, cranes standing amongst pine trees).

[6] As a sign for a resonant cultural concept, the character became a part of many Chinese names (e.g. Palace of Tranquil Longevity in Beijing).

The character for longevity ( shòu 壽 ), that here we can see in one of the highly stylized forms, decorates the four corners of this modern Chinese carpet.
Ceramic roof tiles in Yunnan
Flying red bats surround four shòu characters.
A peach and the character shòu both representing longevity