This wonderful antique Chinese wall mounting wooden plaque carved with calligraphy is very special. The four carved characters read from the right to the left: “Qian-Kun-Rui-Qi”. “Qian-Kun (乾坤)” being the Heaven and the Earth, the nature, were used in Chinese astrology to calculate time for Chinese agriculture; “Rui-Qi (瑞氣) ” means “auspicious Qi, good Qi”. Rui pronounced as “re”. Many already know that Qi (氣) is an important concept in Daoism and particularly in Chinese medicine. One wants to be rid of the bad Qi in the body and cultivate positive, good flowing energy that circulates in the body, whether through practicing Qi-Gong, meditation of all kinds, receiving acupuncture treatment, or through drinking or taking herbs that promote the internal adjustment of body's own healing mechanism through a systematic cooperation of the whole body. Here, the “Rui-Qi could also mean the auspicious good Qi that exists in the universe, as Heaven and Earth are the ultimate source and confinement of all human existence and activities. It, Heaven and Earth, is one, within which Yin and Yang cycle and never cease. “Qian-Kun” is often paired with “Ri-Yue (日月, Sun-and-Moon) “ as Chinese astrology is much associated with the movements of the sun and the moon, and the earth.

This plaque was more likely placed above a doorway or high on a wall of the main hall in a building. The gorgeous calligraphy is masterfully carved and painted over with black lacquer against the now faded red color pigment once lavishly covered with glittering tiny ground Mother-of-Pearl shell for the once prominent building that was meant to be protected in the gigantic universal good Qi.

This plaque is approximately 40 to 48" long.

---