Touched by Indigo - Royal Ontario Museum

happy events and wish fulfilment.
The simulated lock worn around the neck with a chain reflects a
time-honoured custom. In the days when ordinary people had limited
knowledge of medical care and hygiene, parents of frail or sickly children
would often resort to all sorts of strange ways to safeguard the
lives of their offspring. In Anhui province, for instance, such parents
would request eight acquaintances to be the child's foster fathers.24
The eight selected men would have to pool money together to buy
a silver lock which they would hang around the child's neck with
a chain. From the moment the lock was put on, it was to remain
with the child until he/she reached twelve years of age, at which
time it would again be taken off by the same eight foster fathers.
It was believed that when a lock was put on the child, it would
be like closing a gate and shutting all evil spirits out. By the
time the lock was removed, the child would have passed
through the most dangerous period of growth in his or her life.
People in other parts of China used other ways to secure a sum
of money to buy the lock. In Zhejiang province people would distribute
a hundred small red packets to acquaintances to solicit small
donations.25 The natives of Jiangxi province would send out hundreds
of red paper packages, each having seven grains of rice and seven
black tea leaves.26 The packages were to be returned to the senders
with a small cash donation. Yet, sometimes people would simply give
a beggar money for the small change he had accumulated because
this would be the easiest way to obtain money that had been collected
from many sources.27 The inclination to obtain money in these
peculiar ways was probably based on the belief that through the concerted
effort of many people to provide for the lock, their collective
concern would strengthen the lock's protective power.
Such locks were commonly called "hundred-families locks"
(baijia suo) or long-life locks (changming suo).While most were made
with silver, gold-plated or gold ones for children of wealthy families
were also produced, frequently not because the children were frail
4Q front
but because they were deemed to be too precious to be without
these talismans of protection.
THIS WAISTCOAT was collected by Mrs.
L.M. Edmonds during 1921-1943 while she was
working in Sichuan province for the United Church
of Canada. It has deeply cut armholes and a high
round neck, with the front flap closing to the right
fastened with knotted cord buttons and loops.
For decoration, the front is embroidered
in the centre with a flower basket
attached with a tassel. The basket contains
a small bouquet of chrysanthemums and
two stems of lingzhi. A cut branch with
two mandarin oranges is placed to its
left. A pair of butterflies flit about. The
larger one seems to be interested in the
opened flower. The smaller one is seen close to the
tassel. To either side of this central composite motif is an identical
motif made up of a butterfly and a clump of orchid. The back shows
a completely different subject—a procession depicted in three rows.
The blue embroidery is mainly worked in cross stitch. Small details
are executed with other methods of stitching, such as straight stitch,
back stitch, pine-needle stitch, and double running stitch. The mouths
of all the figures, the flower in the horse rider's hat, and the hanging
tongue of the horse are embroidered with pink silk floss. This subtle
colour variation enlivens the otherwise rigid compositional scheme.
The array of motifs is bound up with many layers of sym-
40. CHILD'S WAISTCOAT, Cotton, 1920-1943, Sichuan province, Gift of Mrs. L.M.
Edmonds, 975.355.JO, L 38 cm x W. 43.8 cm
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