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What does 福 “fu” mean

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“fu”This Character is pronounced “fu” in Chinese.  This character literally means good fortune, prosperity, blessed, happiness, and fulfillment.

In oracle bone carvings, the Chinese character fu looks like two hands placing a jar of wine onto an altar.  The hands are offering wine to the Gods in the hope of obtaining blessing. Hence the meaning “blessing”.

One tradition from the Zhou Dynasty (beginning in 256 B.C.) holds that putting a fu symbol on your front door will keep the goddess of poverty away.  The character “fu” is posted by virtually all Chinese people on the doors of their homes during the Spring Festival (closely associated with the Chinese New Years).

Usually written in black ink on red diamond-shaped paper, fu is affixed upside down. This is because the phrase “to turn upside down” dao4, is also a pun on the word “arrived” dao4. An upside down fu therefore means “Luck has arrived”.

All the girls adopted from the orpanage that Morgan came from are considered “fu” Girls.  They are lucky indeed and so are we.