WEDDING TOKEN OR BROTHEL TOKEN?

 

I was studying a hoard of Chinese amulets and then went to an old mining town for a day out. At the bookstore was an old book with tokens that I looked through and noted a token present that I was trying to figure out. The usual name is a Wedding token, thought to help the innocent husband know what to do after the marriage. The possibly wrong explanation of these being brothel tokens makes much more sense. And knowing how much the Chinese presence in the Old West was overlooked I think that the new idea backed by a book reference may be real.

Maybe too much for bibliophiles but neat for me. The one amulet is in the upper right of the plate. Others in the hoard are not presented.

 

 

I found a translation for this one and also one for the usual tokens that are different from this one.

This one: Ming Huang Yu Ying = Bright Emperor (or Imperial Concubine). Please note that the token is upside down in the book. The moon and sun should be above the hole.

The usual ones say: Feng Hua Xue Yun = Every Season Much Love/Pleasure.

I then noted the four figures are for the four seasons.

 

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