S925 Silver Zhao Gongming Martial Jambhala Pendant

In the arrangement of the five wealth gods, Zhao Gongming sits at the centre and four subordinates hold the four directions: Xiao Sheng, Cao Bao, Chen Jiugong and Yao Shaosi. The set was fixed in the Investiture of the Gods, and that book carried such weight that the folk pantheon of wealth simply followed its order. This is why a New Year print usually shows one master and four attendants. How many are set out on an altar depends on the size of the shop; a small shop that honours only one is not doing anything improper.

His office is not limited to summoning wealth. The Marshal of the Dark Altar is by trade a queller of evil, and the black tiger, the iron whip and the sword are all weapons. Keeping and taking are a single thing in him: first block what should not arrive, and only then talk about what can be accumulated. That order makes sense to anyone in business, since money has to be collectable before it counts as earned. Folk usage calls this quality being able to hold the ground, which is a more solid thing than being able to draw things in. Images of the martial wealth god are usually angry, and the anger faces outward. What it guards is the household.

The pendant takes the half figure. The head is large in proportion, the layers of the crown are cut deep, the beard is divided into strands and the iron whip is tucked in at the side. The back is satin finished so it does not press into the chest. Thickness has to be controlled: too thick and the piece stands off and knocks against the collarbone as you walk, too thin and it cannot carry deep carving, so the front looks flat. The beard is the real test. Strand by strand it has to be separated, and if the separation is vague the whole thing turns into a mass. The sections of the whip, bead by bead, reduce at this size to three ridges, and three are enough to read as a whip.

On the fifth day of the first month, shops open their doors and set off firecrackers to welcome the wealth god, with whole fish, a pig's head and rice cake on the altar. That ceremony is a separate matter from wearing a pendant and the two should not be confused. Wearing one is more a reminder to yourself: keep to the rules today, keep the books clear. Whether a deal closes still comes down to the goods, the price and the people.

A black cord is steadiest, and dark brown will do as well. A gold chain is not advisable, since two yellows against each other leave it unclear which one is the subject. When the silver tarnishes the hollows go black first and the beard and crown read more clearly, so do not hurry to polish it white. Wipe along the direction of the beard; across it you will round the tips. A black cord fuzzes as it ages, and replacing it will make the piece look newer than ten rounds of polishing. Store it in its own bag rather than stacked in with other silver.