White Copper Wenchang Emperor Script Pendant

Wenchang, the Emperor on High, governs literary fortune. The deity grew out of local worship around Zitong and was later joined to the Wenchang star of the sky, becoming the figure scholars made offerings to. Old academies usually kept a niche for him, and incense before an examination was for steadiness of mind. His birthday falls on the third day of the second lunar month, and some places still hold a fair for it. The Tract on Hidden Virtue issued under his name is a moral instruction book, mostly about how to conduct oneself and how to deal with others. What he governs is literary fortune, which is not the same thing as an examination score today; in the old system it meant the civil examinations.

On the plaque the Emperor sits, wearing a futou cap and a broad-sleeved robe, a scroll or a ruyi sceptre in his hand. The figure takes the upper half; the lower half leaves a vertical panel for lettering, four characters only, cut shallow. A horizontal line separates figure from text. The weight of the plaque sits low, so it does not hang top-heavy and does not turn over.

With a subject drawn from books and documents, the danger is a casting that goes soft. Three passages carry dense line work: the scroll, the cuffs, and the wings of the cap, and these are where a casting fuses together. Here the edges of the scroll are separate and the layers of the roll can be read. The wings on either side of the cap are thin but unchipped. The beds of the characters are cleaned out and the white space between strokes is open rather than filled in. These are the places that show how carefully the mould was dressed. The casting is even in thickness, and it rings clear when tapped.

Two versions: the pendant on its own, and the pendant with a chain. The version with a chain is fine-linked with a small pendant, understated enough for someone who wears a shirt most days. The pendant alone can take a cord or a chain you already use. As a gift, the chained version is the easier choice since it can be worn straight out of the box. For yourself, the pendant alone is better value, and you can change the cord to suit your taste and adjust the length.

Worn on the chest, the face of a white copper plaque that touches the skin darkens slowly, while the outward face takes a thin haze first. There is no need to hurry to wipe it off. Once the haze is even, the modelling of the relief actually reads more clearly. Press with a soft cloth when cleaning rather than scrubbing with a silver cloth. Silver cloth carries abrasives, and too much rubbing rounds the cuts of the characters. When the piece is off, bag it rather than leaving it in a drawer to be jostled among other things.