Metal Gourd Fu Character Square Tag Chain Charm

A gourd, the character for blessing, and a square plaque: three things on one piece, and the meaning is plain enough that it needs no explaining. Fu is the one character people argue about hanging upright or upside down; inverted, it puns on blessing arriving, and the old custom pasted it that way on water vats and cupboards. On a front door the old rule was never to hang it inverted, since that pours the blessing out. The strokes of the character must be separated; blur them and you have an ink blot. And the horizontals must be level, or the whole plaque slants.

The plaque is the carrier. A flat face, the character in the middle, the four corners left empty; too large and it runs to the edge, too small and the face looks bare. The gourd sits at the top as a handle, and the chain passes through its mouth. A narrow raised line runs round the four edges, light travels along it, and the plaque stops looking dead. The thickness should be even, because thick on one side and it hangs crooked. And the gourd’s mouth has to pass the chain, so try it before you buy.

The writing of the character has rules. Regular script is upright, running script is lively, clerical script is flat; on a small face a script with many strokes clogs, so a lighter one reads clearly. Cut is crisper than cast, and cast has softer edges; taste decides. Some are cut upside down, and that should be said at the point of sale so nobody goes home wondering. As a handle the gourd’s mouth must close tightly, or the chain slips out of it. Round the corners of the plaque, because a sharp corner catches clothing and tears a hole in it.

Metal charms fear knocks, and the corners of a plaque take them first. On a bag or in a car both work; avoid anywhere it will be rubbed repeatedly. Scratches show on a bright finish; a dark one wears better, and the difference appears with time. In a car, do not hang it in the middle of the windscreen, where it glares and blocks the view. Use a fine chain on the charm, since a heavy one overpowers the plaque and looks clumsy. Bright scratches, dark endures — decide by whether it is a gift or for yourself.

As a gift there is almost no wrong recipient, because nobody refuses the character for blessing. If you want to make a distinction: for someone in business, speak of blessing arriving; for a household, of the gourd vine setting fruit and the family growing. Both are old sayings, one line each and no more. The gourd and the character are both full, so do not add further bits to the piece, since extra turns it vulgar. Tell half the story of the character and stop; the whole of it sounds like a lecture. Keep a few in the shop and you are never caught empty-handed.