But besides its place on the table, fruit holds a prominent place in the world of Chinese art and the Chinese imagination as well. While fruit and floral images have been used symbolically in the arts of both East and West for a long time, animal images predominated in the art of pre-Han China (before 206 B.C.)
利用草木造型為裝飾圖案、象徵吉祥，或代表某種聖靈的意義，東西雙方都有。比較起來，中國在漢代以前的藝術圖案，乃以動物紋為主，甚至可以說，直到佛教東傳，西方的植物紋才大量傳至中國。