S925 Silver Wealth Treasury Round Tag

Some people keep this plaque in a wallet, one layer away from the bank cards. Others wear it at the neck, against the chest. The treasury is an account in folk usage: everyone has one, and while it holds something, life runs smoothly; when it is empty, whatever comes in leaks away. Daoism and folk practice both keep the idea, and there is a corresponding rite for repairing the treasury that follows a whole procedure. I do not perform rites. I only want the idea stated plainly: it is about what stays, not about what arrives.

The round plaque takes that character for storing. A circle has no beginning and no end; go round it and you are back where you started. A raised line contains the edge, a flat field is left in the middle, the front carries characters and the back is plain. The sheet is not thick, and after the characters are pressed into it, it still has to lie flat; warp it and it will not sit against the chest. The worst thing you can do with a plaque like this is make it look like a coin. Round outside and square inside is money. A round plaque is a round plaque. The width of the line has to be even as well, because wide in one place and narrow in another makes the front look crooked. Pressing the characters stretches the silver and thins the rim, so the edge has to be trimmed afterwards.

Wear it however you like. On a cord at the centre of the chest, or not worn at all: in a wallet compartment, one layer away from the cards so they do not scratch it. Some keep it in the armrest box of the car, some under the ledger. Everyone has a place for it and none of those is out of order. If it is going on the body, use a dark cord and no elastic, because the plaque has weight. Face it outward and the characters show; face it inward against the skin and in time the sweat darkens the cuts.

For someone in business this plaque is more use than a pile of good wishes. It promises nothing, so the person receiving it will not feel that you are making wishes on their behalf. For an elder it is steady too: few characters, no noise. What is stored is surplus rather than windfall, and that distinction is worth making clear so that nobody treats it as a route to a fortune. Most people who buy it want peace of mind, and in that, an object is only a small part.

A flat silver plaque scratches more easily than anything else in the box. Do not put it in a pocket with coins, since one day is enough to leave fine scratches. When it tarnishes, press flat with a silver cloth rather than rubbing in circles, because circles round off the raised line. Leave the black in the cuts; that is the bone of the character. Fingerprints come off with a soft cloth, not a wet wipe.