ABSTRACT
Though the implication of their attributes may suffice for merchants with a modicum of education, most of the coloured representations of the Heavenly Pair are furnished with suggestive titles for the unlettered, who like to get their money's worth, and to know what to expect from the divinities they patronise. The Ho Ho formula is consequently always expressed in terms of money. "Harmony and Union bearing wealth", "Harmony and Union offering valuables, piling them up, and helping to grow rich" are some of the superscriptions. The box is often shown uncovered, revealing gold and silver ingots, coins and jade, and, as wealth is supposed to bring contentment, occasionally a peach and a bat are thrown in to foretell a care-free old age.
