1. The Three Pillars of a Good Life (人生三宝)
If one were to reduce the entirety of Chinese folk aspirations to their simplest form, the answer would be three words: Fu (福), Lu (禄), and Shou (寿). These represent Happiness/Good Fortune, Prosperity/Status, and Longevity. Together, they form the most ubiquitous visual motif in Chinese culture, appearing on New Year posters, embroidered silk, ceramic vases, and temple murals.
Fu Xing (福星), the Star of Happiness, is depicted as a portly, jovial official wearing a robe of green or red, holding a scroll or a child. He embodies general good fortune, family harmony, and the abundance of descendants.
Lu Xing (禄星), the Star of Prosperity, is dressed in the formal robes of a high-ranking mandarin, often holding a ruyi scepter or standing beside a deer (Lu / 鹿, a homophone for prosperity). He governs career success, salary, social rank, and material wealth.
Shou Xing (寿星), the Star of Longevity, is instantly recognizable: a bald, wrinkled old man with an enormous, domed forehead (symbolizing accumulated wisdom), leaning on a dragon-headed staff and holding a peach of immortality. A crane, another symbol of long life, often perches nearby.
2. Celestial Origins (星辰人格化)
The Three Stars were originally not deities but constellations. Fu corresponds to Jupiter, the largest and most auspicious planet in traditional astrology. Lu is linked to Mizar in the Big Dipper, a star associated with bureaucratic advancement. Shou is identified with Canopus, the bright southern star whose appearance was believed to extend the lifespan of those who sighted it.
Over centuries, these astronomical observations were anthropomorphized. Jupiter’s beneficent influence became the jolly official Fu Xing. The bureaucratic star became the mandarin Lu Xing. The southern star of endurance became the ancient sage Shou Xing. By the Ming Dynasty, they had coalesced into a unified triad, inseparable in both iconography and prayer. A home that possessed all three blessings was considered complete; lacking any one was seen as a fundamental spiritual deficiency.
3. The Centerpiece of New Year (春节年画的核心)
No Chinese New Year celebration is complete without the image of Fu Lu Shou. They are pasted above the main door, displayed on the family altar, or hung as large scrolls in the living room. Their arrangement follows strict conventions: Fu Xing stands in the center, Lu Xing to his left (from the viewer’s perspective, the honored east), and Shou Xing to his right.
During the Spring Festival’s opening rituals, incense is offered to the trio before any other deity except perhaps the Jade Emperor and the ancestors. Families pray that the coming year will bring not just one blessing, but all three in harmony—because what good is wealth without health? What good is a long life without happiness? The Three Stars remind worshippers that the ultimate goal of existence is not the maximization of a single virtue, but the balanced cultivation of a life that is joyful, prosperous, and enduring.