Charms are among the most fascinating objects of our Museum, of oriental tradition that combines earthly and heavenly dimensions. Worn in many ways, they provide well-being and protection to those who own them.
Reading of the charms
To read them it is necessary to follow the following rules, and the order of the elements indicated with the letters of the alphabet: A (alto), B (basso), D (destra), S (sinistra).
People often evoked plants, flowers, historical heroes and benevolent stars constellation to ward off spirits and protect themselves; they often use literary references and syntactic figures. All figurative works are conceived to be read as symbols carrying messages.
Palace charms
Some gold, silver or bronze charms date back to the end of the Tang Dynasty, issued for imperial anniversaries or as to protect the Empire. They show symbols or good wishes, and were given as imperial gifts to the court members, to authorities, and to the persons of rank.
On some of them there are small holes that demonstrate the custom of sewing them on clothes or hanging them on the walls. With the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912), their fame was enormous, and it was distributed to the population in large quantities.
Religious charms
In the museum there are few pieces of clear and univocal religious good-luck charms, for they depict real religious images. In China, the strong syncretism between Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism was combined with popular beliefs. Yet, ever paying attention to earthly needs.
Zodiac charms "Shengxiao qian"
The Zodiac is the central character of the charms, called "birth coins". They present the 12 animals of the Zodiac, the animal of birth of the recipient, or the heavenly spirit protector of those born in each of the years of the Zodiac, the star Official is Benming xingguan.
Charms chasing demons
These are the "pieces of submission and victory", good-luck charms chasing away demons that reproduce some protective spirits, the ancient and valiant deified generals, the stars, some weapons (sword, tridents, arrows), the Fu, the Taoist magical writings, and the figure of the Eight Trigrams.
In popular China, in addition to benevolent spirits, there are evil ones, who died in violent form, without burial, or who have not received justice. They live in abandoned places, and wander mostly at night to take revenge, stealing souls and disturbing the living.
Good wish charms
In the beginning they were "the 3 abundances" San duo: happiness, long life, and the gift of descendants. Then came the Wu fu, “Five Blessings,” each with their own protectors. The inscriptions were mostly wishes for long life, social success, and financial well-being.
Day charms, or elegant coins ”ling long qian”
Excavated to make the reproduced figure appear, these have the same decoration on the front and back. The long dragon and the feng phoenix usually appear, symbols of happiness and wedded harmony, the zodiac, hunting or fishing scenes, floral motifs, palaces and temples.
Pumpkin shaped charms
Then there are various good-luck charms in the shape of a pumpkin, two coins of different sizes placed side by side and equipped with a hook. The pumpkin in Taoism represents the sky and the earth in miniature. There are also rectangular-shaped charms and others in the shape of a peach, symbol of longevity.
Games with tokens were widespread among the literati and soon became real good-luck charms. As in the case of the horse coins used for the dame, which bore the famous horses on one face and on the other either the name of the horse or the heroes, and of the great generals with fortunate inscriptions.
