English: A Chinese numismatic charm of unknown origins, it was produced around the same time period as the machine-struck Guangxu Tongbao (光緒通寶) at the Guangzhou Mint in the Province of Guangdong.
This is the reverse side of the Guangming Shijie (光明世界) machine-struck Chinese numismatic charm, the most commonly found reverse side is identical to that of the standard Cantonese Guangxu Tongbao cash coins, which feature the Manchu inscription "Boo Guwang". Another version has a reverse inscription which is identical to its obverse inscription.
This particular version has 9 (nine) five-pointed stars on its reverse side. In ancient Chinese symbolism this can have multiple meanings, for one the ancient Chinese people, and particularly the Daoists, believed that the star constellation known as the “Big Dipper” or “Ladle” (北斗) consisted of the seven (7) different stars that we observe today alongside what they claimed were two (2) “invisible” or “attendant” stars making a total of nine (9) stars in the constellation. According to the Daoists, the “Big Dipper” was the location where they believed that the gods lived and the "Big Dipper" constellation also served as the emperor’s chariot. Among the major Chinese Buddhist and Daoist deities that they worshipped is the “Dipper Mother” (斗母元君) which is pronounced as "Doumu yuanjun" in the Mandarin Chinese language, who is alternatively referred to as the “Queen of Heaven” (天后), which in the Mandarin Chinese language is pronounced as "Tianhou", and the “Goddess of Beidou (Goddess of the “Big Dipper”)”.
In Chinese mythology, she is considered to be the mother of the Nine (9) Emperor Gods who are represented by the nine (9) stars of the "Big Dipper" constellation. In Chinese traditions, she is honoured each year on the 9th (ninth) day of the 9th (ninth) lunar month of the traditional Chinese calendar (commonly referred to as the "Agricultural calendar").
Finally, the number “nine” (jiu 九) is considered to be an auspicious number to the Chinese because in the Mandarin Chinese language it has the same pronunciation as the word “forever” (jiu 久).