8 Amazing Chinese Good Luck Symbols For Wealth and Prosperity

Chinese culture is rich in symbolism. For example, the Chinese people have many good luck symbols they believe bring wealth and abundance to those who wear them. You can find these symbols everywhere, from offices and restaurants to homes.

This article will list some of the most well-known and popular Chinese good luck symbols to incorporate into everyday life to bring good luck.

Table of Contents

1. Auspicious Numbers
2. Cabbage
3. Lucky Bamboo
4. The Auspicious Chinese Character “福/Fu”
5. Anything Red in Color
6. Laughing Buddha
7. Lucky Fortune Cat
8. Fish Symbol

1. Auspicious Numbers

There has always been a craze for getting lucky numbers for anything possible. For instance, it can be the car plate license, house number, mobile phone number or even identification number.

How Do These Lucky Numbers Come About?

Many people derived the numbers from the Chinese language with similar pronunciation that represents different meaning:

8 – Most famous and highly sought number that is widely known to represent wealth and prosperity

6 – Business owners like to use this number for good luck

Besides single-digit numbers, they are also crazy about specific combinations of lucky numbers. For example, some popular ones are 888 (Huat Huat Huat – meaning continuous prosperity), 168 (smooth sailing life with an abundance of wealth ) and many more.

On the other hand, there is also the most dreaded number, “4”, which most Chinese believe is the most unlucky number as you pronounce it like “death.”

2. Cabbage

What! How does this even link to good luck? Yes, it is!

The Chinese name for Napa cabbage sounds like the words “hundred” and “wealth”, so it is believed to symbolise hundred of wealth. Because of this, the cabbage is often used as a display to put in a house or business space to attract money energy.

Here is how it looks like (A Liu Li inspiration of the auspicious cabbage that symbolizes hundreds of wealth)

3. Lucky Bamboo

Lucky bamboo plants are a popular gift for the new year and symbolize good luck. These plants are also said to bring good fortune and prosperity.

This lucky bamboo is one of the most famous Feng Shui cures, and it is easy to grow and doesn’t require a lot of sunlight. You can display the lucky plant at home or in your office. In addition, the number of bamboo stalks is also essential and represents different meanings.

4. The Auspicious Chinese Character “福/Fu”

Fu is one of the most widely seen and well-liked characters in Chinese culture as it symbolises good fortune or luck.

You can often find this character in painting decorations, pots, posters, lanterns and other ornaments.

During the Chinese New Year, many people love to display this Chinese good luck symbol in their household, and in most cases, it is deliberately hung upside down.

Why? It is because the Chinese word “Dao” sounds like “arrive” in tone, so it simply means “Good fortune is arriving”

5. Anything Red in Color

Red is deeply rooted in Chinese culture as an auspicious colour. It represents happiness, wealth, prosperity, and good luck. You can see it in most of the important events of Chinese, for example, traditional Chinese weddings with all dress and decor red, double happiness symbol, red packet, Chinese festival couplets and many more.

However, avoid wearing red to a funeral as it disrespects the deceased.

6. Laughing Buddha

In Chinese culture, the Laughing Buddha, also known as the Buddha of Happiness, is one of the most commonly seen Feng Shui ornaments. This figurine symbolises happiness and can enhance many aspirations such as wealth, health, career and descendent luck.

It comes in many designs, such as children all over the Buddha, sitting on a treasure, carrying a wealth bag, and more. Each design has a different meaning behind them.

7. Lucky Fortune Cat

Fortune lucky cat, also known as Maneki-Neko, originated in Japan as a good luck symbol. However, it has increasingly become popular among the Chinese in recent years. You can often see it at the retail shop cashier with its hand waving to you or near the main entrance at home. Many believed this lucky symbol could bring wealth and good luck into the household and business.