1800-1850

See C.A.S. Williams, Outlines of Chinese Symbolism and Art Motives, New York, 1976, p. 403 where the author notes "Liu Hai was said to have been a Minister of State during the 10th Century A.D. It was claimed that he had a mystical three-legged toad that would take him anywhere he wanted to go. Every so often, the creature escaped down a well, and Liu Hai had to fish him out with a line baited with gold coins. He is usually represented with one foot resting on the toad, and holding a string of five gold cash in his hand. This design is deemed most auspicious and conducive to good fortune. Another version of the story however, is that the toad lived in a deep pool and exuded dangerous poisonous vapors. Liu Hai was said to have hooked the creature with a strand of cash and destroyed it. The moral of the story being money can lead to ruin.