In old China, a carpenter's tools were also considered to be representative of the quality of his craftsmanship. This antique carpenter's tool has several traditional Chinese symbols hand carved into its body. Among them are motifs of flowers, growing bamboo shoots and the classic cloud motif form, which evokes T'ang and Song paintings and came to symbolize good fortune and happiness. In addition to stretching the cord to confirm a vertical axis, the old Chinese carpenter would fill the bowl with charcoal and the stained cord could then be used to snap a straight line.