White Copper Zhao Gongming Ring

The characters on the face are set around the band, their tops turned to one side, so the inscription is read by turning the ring through a full circle. The cuts are sunk deep, with a slight bevel left at the edge; run a finger over them and they feel blunt rather than sharp. The face is a little wider than the band and curves away at both sides, so it does not press on the neighbouring fingers. The band is round in section, polished inside and flattened outside, and wear leaves no ridge. Every starting and finishing stroke is kept inside the face.

Zhao Gongming's formal title in Daoism is Marshal of the Zhengyi Xuantan: black face, heavy beard, a black tiger, an iron whip. Folk practice counts him among the gods of wealth, and the one kept in a shop is usually him. Carving a deity's name into a ring is close to carving scripture or a taboo name — the point is to carry the name with you, not to use it as a seal. Worn on the finger it shows when you write or lift a cup, which is closer to the body than anything hung at the neck.

Two colours are offered, white copper and brass. The dark in the cuts comes from oxidation and from the difference in polish, not from lacquer packed into the letters. The white copper version is cool and does not stand out against plain clothing; the brass is warmer and sits better with leather cord and old wooden beads. Both change with sweat: brass goes deeper, white copper goes grey. Contrast in the cuts of the white copper piece is weak — direct light shows the characters, while side light leaves almost a plain band.

Measure the size carefully. A copper band cannot be hammered and adjusted the way silver can; one adjustment leaves marks and two can crack it. If your knuckles are thicker than the base of the finger, take half a size larger, because a tight band leaves a line after a day. A wide face makes the hand look shorter, so it suits long, slender fingers. Fingers swell in summer; measure in the evening, since a morning measurement usually comes out small.

The inside of the band rests on skin, collects the most sweat and darkens first, so wipe the inside rather than the face. For dust in the cuts, brush dry with a soft toothbrush, following the strokes. Do not wash your hands or shift furniture while wearing it: copper is not very hard, and a knock against something harder leaves a dent, and a dent across a character cannot be put right. In summer a copper ring leaves a green mark on the finger. Wash it off; it is not a fault in the ring.