Longevity locks
Meaning
The longevity lock (changming suo) is a padlock-shaped silver pendant stamped with wishes such as 'long life, wealth and honour'. It 'locks' the child's soul and life to the world of the living so illness and spirits cannot take it.
Intent
It was given to a baby at its one-hundred-day or one-year celebration by family, and worn until childhood was safely past. Hanging bells and fish added to the protection and noise.
Significance
It is one of the most beloved Chinese children's amulets, a gift still given today, and the idea of locking life in place is distinctively Chinese.
History
Longevity locks are known from the Ming dynasty and were most popular in the Qing dynasty and the Republic (17th–20th centuries).
Making yours
5–10 cm hollow repoussé silver lock, often with enamel, on a neck ring with dangling bells.China & Taiwan: the tradition
China has one of the oldest continuous amulet traditions, from Neolithic jade (Hongshan and Liangzhu, c. 3500–2300 BCE) to Han dynasty exorcism batons (gangmao) and cicada tongue-amulets for the dead. Daoism developed fu talismans, writing in a celestial script that commands spirits and is issued like official documents. From the Han period coin-shaped charms (yasheng qian, 'suppressing coins') carried auspicious words and spells. Much Chinese protective imagery works through puns: bat (fu) sounds like fortune, fish (yu) like abundance, gourd (hulu) like protection.
Expressions of love, Mill Bridge, Leamington - geograph.org.uk
Elderly Chinese woman wearing a silver lock charm (Qing Dynasty)
Lock charm on a Budai statuette inside Wok Golden City, Veendam (2018)
Utility damp stone wall
Brass lock charm - Scott Semans
Lock*More from China & Taiwan: Coin charms (yasheng qian) · Jade & hardstone amulets · Taoist fu talismans
Every type in the gallery
Anything in the gallery can be made, by hand, in the prescribed metal or yours and, where the tradition names an hour, at that hour or with a plain note that it was not. Numbered. Price on commission, quoted first. I reply within one business day.