Chinese art is more than four thousand years old, thereby attracting the attention of many researchers: sinologists, culture experts, historians and philosophers. It is difficult to overestimate the role of ornament in the applied and decorative arts of China as it is not the form but the surface decoration that constitutes the principle element of Chinese handiworks Rich auspicious set of patterns was developed in the country back in the Neolithic in peoples’ substantive work and reached its peak during the reign of the Ming and Qin Dynasties, embodied in a variety of ornaments decorating almost all Chinese handicrafts a few centuries ago as well as in the present. In this article we made an attempt to trace the origin, development and transformation of the meanings of Chinese auspicious ornament of the II–I millenniums B.C. in the context of history, show the influence of religious, cultural, political and economic aspects of life in Chinese society on the formation of the main themes of the auspicious ornamentation in general, and particularly on auspicious motifs, which now occupy a leading role in the surface decoration of Chinese art pieces.