indirectly expresses the desire for male offspring as well as "filial piety." Frog: The frog signifies continuing matrilineal worship and the worship of Nüwa. Because the Chinese symbol for frog has similar pronunciation as the Chinese symbol for baby, frogs also appear in sachets that are blessings for a newborn. Golden fish: This image originates in Buddhist culture, typically appearing as a pair of golden fishes. It is one of the eight auspicious symbols or Ashtamangala. It represents happiness, impulsiveness, fertility, profusion, freedom, conjugal harmony, and loyalty. Buddhist culture. Heart, gold ingot, and butterfly: These images typically appear on brightly-colored sachets, which result from and symbolize a woman's wisdom. "Immortals-turtles-peach": This pattern is typical of sachets used to pray for longevity. The traditional Chinese character for longevity (壽) is placed in the center with two turtles each carrying four immortals placed symmetrically around the character. Atop the character is a peach. The image of the Eight Immortals invokes ancient Chinese idol worship and prayer for immortal life. Both turtles and peaches are metaphors for longevity in Taoist fairytales. These images represent the Taoist ideal of "Nourishing of life." "Lotus-boy": A combination of a lotus and a virgin boy, this image is typical of those conveying praying for sons. It represents the desire for offspring, per the Confucian saying of “having no male heir is the gravest of the three cardinal offenses against filial piety.” Lotuses also have many seeds (“籽”in Chinese). The character 籽 (seed) is pronounced “zi," which has the same pronunciation as "son" (子). Because males inherit property in a patriarchal clan system, praying for one's sons over one's daughters embodies the patriarchal local folk cultural ideals of “valuing the male child only” and “carrying on the family line.” In addition, "lotus" (莲), pronounced as "lian,"has a similar pronunciation as "one after the other" (连), meaning praying for honorable sons one after the other. Lotus flower: This Buddhist image represents the universe. A white lotus signifies purity while a yellow lotus denotes spiritual ascension. A lotus may also represent vulvae. Mandarin ducks playing on water: This pattern symbolizes a devoted couple living in peace and harmony. "Rooster-fish-maize": This pattern includes two roosters, two fish, and two pieces of maize cobs, a type homophone-oriented pattern. "Rooster" (鸡) is pronounced as "ji"similar to 吉 (auspicious omen). "Fish" (鱼) and "maize" (玉米) are both pronounced "yu," similar to 余 (affluence). These