# 老龍壽錢



## harleytat

I found the inscription 老龍壽錢 (_lao long shou qian_) on an old Chinese charm.

What would be a good English translation?

Does this expression have any literary or historical source?

Thanks in advance for any assistance.


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## Lamb67

It means you are as strong as a dragon and have a  long promised life.


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## harleytat

Thank you Lamb67!

I would like to understand better how this expression is constructed.

Does the 老 modify the 龍 as in "old dragon"?  Or, is it used as a term of honor and respect?  Or, does it have a completely independent meaning and does not modify 龍 at all?

Is the expression 老龍 commonly used to refer to a person?  If yes, what kind of person would it refer to?

I understand the meaning of 壽 as "longevity".

However, I do not really understand the reason for using 錢 instead of, for example, 富 (fu) for "wealthy".  Does 錢 have a different meaning here than "money"?

If you were to pick one or two English words as the equivalent to each character in this expression would it be:

老 = strong
龍 = dragon
壽 = long (and)
錢 = promised (life)

Do you happen to know if this expression has any literary or historical roots?

Thanks again for any additional help you may be able to provide.


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## Ghabi

Hi! 壽錢 should be one of those coins minted for "auspicious" purposes (in this case for "longevity"). I'm not sure what your "charm" looks like, but it may fall under this category.


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## harleytat

Hi Ghabi!

Yes, by "charm" I am referring to 花錢 or 民俗錢.

I am having a problem understanding the inscription on this particular "charm".  I am not sure of the specific meaning of the 老, 龍 and 錢 in this context and how these characters work together. 

I am hoping forum members may be able to help me better understand the construction of this inscription.

I would also be interested to know if this inscription comes from any ancient Chinese literary source or if it was used by custom for any particular occasion such as a promotion, marriage, birthday, etc.


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## audiencecy

here is a picture of 老龍壽錢  .  . 

it means wishes of longivity. I could not paste the picture here.
you can find it in this URL
http://www.cangbaoren.com/viewthread.php?tid=532923


 .... 
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## Ghabi

harleytat said:


> I am hoping forum members may be able to help me better understand the construction of this inscription.


Hi again! No mystery as far as I see: 壽錢 is what this type of coin-charm is called, and 老龍 is the decorative pattern on it as shown in the above link.



> I would also be interested to know if this inscription comes from any ancient Chinese literary source or if it was used by custom for any particular occasion such as a promotion, marriage, birthday, etc.


Not any I know of ... as you may know, the Chinese use the crane and the tortoise (as in 龜年鶴壽) as symbols of longevity, or pine (as in 老如松柏) if one likes the plant better. Dragon is always good, of course, but it's not particularly associated with a long life.


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## harleytat

Thank you Ghabi!

My charm actually has a different reverse side from the one you posted.

However, I am still a little puzzled concerning the use of 錢 instead of 富.  I have seen many charms that include 壽 and 富 in the inscription but cannot recall seeing 壽 and 錢 together before.

Could it be that 壽錢 is also being used as a pun for 受錢?


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## 南島君

Hello harleytat, 

I believe this is not something too complicated, say, to take 壽錢 as a pun for 受錢. To me it's something like:
　　　老龍　　　　　　　　壽　　　　　　錢
　　　proper.noun 　longevity 　money[coin, in this case]
　　　_老龍 auspicious coin_ / _老龍 longevity coin_

As for 老龍, i totally have no idea.

lc


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## harleytat

Thank you 南岛君!

If anyone can help with the reference to 老龍, I would be most appreciative.


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## Lamb67

Hope to generate some more discussions, please.


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## Jack12345

这个是花钱。有关介绍：
花钱-360百科
老龙寿钱，是清朝广东造币厂出的花钱。有关介绍：
清末时期的广东造币厂及所铸造的银元铜元_远山的呼唤8155_新浪博客


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## Lamb67

Good read.
Seems to mean to wish a good luck for everything in your life.


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