Jia Baoyu and the lock of jade

Something else I learned about from Rob's friend Jasper:

Another tradition in China is to put a necklace with a traditional Chineselock on the baby, and bracelets are also popular in the same way. Thistradition can also be rooted from a long time ago. The locks are usuallymade by silver, gold or jade, and silver prefered, with words on them. It'ssaid that these materials have special rays that can scare monsters away,and the words can bless the baby with best luck and happiness. Jia Baoyu,the main character in one of the most famous Chinese literature novel, wasborn with such a lock of jade in his mouth.

Attached are some pictures of such locks and bracelets. The patterns on thelocks could be the the Chinese Zodiac of the baby, and the text could be"长命百岁" (live as long as a hundred years if translated directly) orother good wishes for the baby.

If you're interested in learning more about Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu, here's a link.