Hebao, the pinyin for Chinese embroidered pouch, is derived from the original name of an ancient food and turns out to be a bag for containing things. There are three shadows of meaning for embroidered pouch: 1. It refers to a bag woven out of satin and cloth. It has a thick inner layer, and is embroidered outside. It is widely spread among people and servers as a gift for expressing friendship and souvenir in social life. It can be used in daily life as mirror bag, fan bag, watch bag, card bag, tobacco bag and wallet, etc. Girls make it for practicing embroidery. There goes a custom in Suzhou of Jiangsu Province that girls begin to learn embroidery and make various pouches at the age of about seven. When married a girl gives the pouches she has made to the relatives and friends of her husband's family on the occasion of wedding. They act as the gifts and a manifestation of her deftness in handiwork. Secondly, on the Dragon Boat Festival, Chinese people have the custom of inserting Chinese mugwort to exorcise the five poisonous creatures while girls make the embroidered pouches. In the pouch there are mugwort leaves and perfumed grass, so it is also called "perfumed pouch." It is attached to the front of clothing or hung around the child's neck. It can also be hung on the hooks of a bed net. Thirdly, it is a credit symbol for love. It is mainly given by the female part to the male part. 2. It refers to a kind of paper cutting. The paper is cut into pouch shape and can be used as the embroidery base or directly pasted onto the window paper. 3. It refers to a kind of folk song. Especially in the north, this kind of song is narrative and an expression of love. It varies little in music but is abundant in lyrics. In conclusion, the latter two shadows are the derivations of the first. Popularized by the folk song, the unique cultural meanings of the Chinese embroidered pouch is enhanced.
Though Hebao looks small, it has a history as long as 2000 years. It is a kind of pouch always made of silk that with some spicery inside, it could give out a sense of fragrant smell. It functions like the perfume today.
Originally, people wore Hebao as an ornament. For it’s a personal accessory, it later developed into a token of love between couples, which symbolizes his or her eternal love. What’s more, it is a good chance to represent the girl’s smartness, too. At present, not many Chinese couples present Hebao as tokens to each other. But they still like it and may sometimes buy it to their loved ones.
