Flaming Pearl
The flaming pearl, huozhu, is a luminous orb wreathed in curling flame that Chinese art shows two dragons chasing or guarding, and it is one of the most common motifs of East Asian decoration. The image appears on temple roofs, ceramic dishes, paintings, and lanterns, and its meaning draws on several layers: in Buddhist iconography the pearl is the cintamani, the wish-granting jewel that fulfils every desire, while in Daoist cosmology it can stand for the moon, the sun, or the inner pearl of spiritual refinement. The dragon that guards the pearl is usually the celestial dragon of rain and wate