S925 Silver Wenzhe Tai Sui Relief Pendant

Tai Sui is the deified year star. Jupiter circles the sky in twelve years, and the old astronomers divided the circuit into twelve stations, one per year, each answering to an earthly branch; the sixty-year cycle turns once, and each year has its own presiding Tai Sui with its own name. Wenzhe is one of those names. The sixty have personal names, most of them civil officials and generals of antiquity, and Taoism arranged them into a roster that takes duty year by year. The presiding figure changes annually, and so does the name on a plaque. The reckoning is very old: the character for year appears in oracle-bone inscriptions, written nothing like it is now.

Folk sayings cluster around the zodiac year. Breaking ground on Tai Sui's head is an old phrase, warning against major building work in the direction where Tai Sui sits. The custom of paying respects to Tai Sui and wearing a Tai Sui talisman in one's own zodiac year is found north and south, with different practices. Some do it every year, some only in their zodiac year, each with its own rule. Offerings vary from place to place, noodles, fruit and incense among them, and what matters is not the price.

Tai Sui images are usually dressed as civil officials, wearing a crown, holding a tablet, sitting upright, carrying no weapon. That differs from the martial look of ordinary protector deities: what is honoured is the office of the year, not fighting. The robe folds are pressed flat, and the crown and tablet carry the weight, so carve those clearly and the identity comes out. The tablet runs to the chest, and it is cut as an outline only, with the detail left to the crown. The advantage of a civil image is steadiness; it does not bristle the way a general does.

The pendant is a relief, and the face of the plaque is narrow, so the figure can only be half-length. Crown and tablet are the two recognisable points, cut deep so the outline reads clearest in raking light. The natural silver does not compete, and a dark cord sits steadier than a gold chain. The back is flat so it lies against the chest without digging, and the edge is rounded so it does not scrape a collar. For a zodiac year people mostly choose red cord; for those who do not mind the year, black wears better.

A plaque like this stays inside clothing all year and takes a lot of sweat. Take it out and wipe it once a month, press dry with a soft cloth and use a soft brush in the crevices. Do not hang it in the bathroom, where damp is harder on silver than sweat. A cotton cord absorbs sweat, so change it every six months. Bright edges are not the colour wearing off but polish from rubbing. When not worn, wrap it in one layer of tissue and do not heap it with other silver.