White Copper Pixiu Pendant

Accounts of the pixiu are muddled. Some say it is the ninth son of the dragon, others that it belongs with the Han dynasty stone beasts called bixie and tianlu. Neither fits a strict genealogy. What folk memory keeps is a handful of points: dragon head, horse body, unicorn feet, a taste for gold and silver, a mouth and no anus, taking in and letting nothing out. That set of ideas took shape late, only becoming tidy in Ming and Qing books. Among Han stone beasts there are indeed figures called bixie and tianlu, winged and crouched before tombs, and whether they resemble the later pixiu is disputed.

In and not out is the selling point, and also the limit. Made into a pendant, the direction of the mouth matters: outward, to bring in; inward, to keep. Both readings have believers and neither is settled. People in business mostly turn it outward, households inward. There is no need to take such rules seriously, but mention it when giving one and the recipient will think you know. Decide the direction when you buy, and once it is on, do not keep flipping it.

In a pendant, a beast form generally has to be gathered into an outline that can lie against the chest, with the four legs and the tail drawn in, or they stick out and push at the clothing. Gathered well, it is a single mass from the front and only the side shows foreleg from hind. Gathered badly, the front is a plate of metal. The head needs a direction, not straight ahead; a slight bias gives it movement. The back must be flat, because raised areas will not lie against the skin and a day's wear leaves marks. However fine the beast, if it will not sit against the chest it is an ornament, not a pendant.

White copper has a pale ground, and the mane on the body is cut fine, so it needs looking at closely. From a distance it is a plain silver plaque; up close the hair appears. That hidden quality suits daily wear, since no one will know at a glance what it is. If you want it noticed, choose brass; if you want something that rewards long looking, white copper. The two go different ways: brass warms with wear and white copper cools. The hair is cut shallow, so light flattens it and it must be seen from the side.

For someone in business, pixiu is the safe choice. Do not give one to a household in mourning; customs differ from place to place, and asking is better than not. Worn against the chest, it feels cold for the first few minutes and warms after a few steps. Take it off for the bath, and lift the sweat out of the seams with a soft brush. The pixiu's mouth is open, so do not poke at it with a needle, because thin copper dents at a touch.