A cord twisted from threads of five colours and tied on the arm at Duanwu, the Dragon Boat Festival. Ying Shao recorded the custom in the Eastern Han. Its name, changming lü, means ‘long-life thread’.
Record, Folk and Modern are kept apart, and each one carries its source.
Ying Shao’s Fengsu Tongyi, written in the Eastern Han, records five-coloured silk tied on the arm at the Duanwu festival. People said it kept plague away. Our source is the China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network, which cites the book.
To verify: The passage in the Fengsu Tongyi itself; we have it second-hand
The thread is known as changming lü, ‘long-life thread’. The same custom is linked with a later piece of folk silver, the longevity lock, or changming suo, worn by children. Our files find no early record of the lock itself.
To verify: How the thread custom and the silver lock came to be linked
We tell the thread as a Duanwu custom that carries a wish for good health, and make no health claim. Any thread or bracelet we make is for adults only: no baby jewellery and nothing for young children, under UK toy-safety rules and because of the risk of choking.
