inconsequential concourse

009 - Bu bu gao sheng (歩歩高升)

There’s a Chinese proverb: “bu bu gao sheng” (歩歩高升), which translates to “step by step, you rise higher and higher” (the literal translation is “step step high rise”). Another translation of this proverb is “makes steady progress”. This string of tortoises is meant to represent this proverb.

The tortoise is an auspicious creature in Chinese culture. With their long lives and hard shells, they are often used to represent longevity and steadfastness. In this particular case, the steady pace of the tortoise is representative of the proverb - every step should be slow and steady like a tortoise, as opposed rushed. There’s a similar representation in Western cultures in Aesop’s Fables, with the fable of “The Tortoise and the Hare”.

My mother bought me this string of tortoises to hang on the back of my chair at work. It’s meant to represent a steady climb in a person’s career - deliberate and deserved, and not rushed. As there wasn’t anywhere on the back of my chair to hang these tortoises, I’ve put them next to me on the first shelf of my hanging bookshelf instead.