Gourds, wind chimes and old coins: three everyday feng shui items in Vietnam and how to use them

Short answer: the gourd, hồ lô in Vietnamese and wu lou in Mandarin, is associated with health and blessings, partly because immortals in Chinese legend carried medicine in one and partly because its Chinese name sounds like the words for "blessings and prosperity". Wind chimes, chuông gió, are believed to use sound to stir stagnant energy and ward off bad influences. Round coins with a square hole, tiền xu, stand for prosperity and completeness. All three are cheap and everywhere, and each one is easy to misuse: chimes that keep neighbours awake, small coins within a toddler's reach, and "antiques" that were cast last year.

The gourd: an immortal's medicine flask

A hồ lô is a bottle gourd, two rounded chambers joined at a narrow waist. Dried and hollowed out, gourds were once used as flasks for water, wine and medicine. Among the Eight Immortals of Chinese legend, Li Tieguai, known in Vietnamese as Lý Thiết Quải, is usually shown carrying a gourd of medicine, which is how the object became linked with healing. In Chinese, the name also sounds close to the phrase for blessings and prosperity, adding a lucky meaning. Both meanings come from legend and wordplay, not from any medical effect.

You will find gourds made from real dried calabash, wood, brass, ceramic and stone. They are hung at the head of a sick person's bed, placed on desks or worn as pendants. To be clear: a gourd is not a substitute for medical care. Someone who is ill needs a doctor; a gourd by the bed is a family's way of saying "get well soon".

Wind chimes, sound and the neighbours

Chimes come in two main kinds: metal ones with hollow tubes of different lengths, and bamboo, wood or ceramic ones with a softer, lower sound. Feng shui holds that the sound moves stagnant energy and disperses negative influences. In a shop, a chime over the door has one effect anyone can verify: it tells the shopkeeper a customer has come in.

The biggest mistake with wind chimes in Vietnam is noise. Tube houses share walls, apartment blocks stack dozens of households, and a metal chime on a windy balcony can ring all night for everyone. A few suggestions:

• Hang chimes indoors, where there is a gentle breeze, rather than on an exposed balcony.
• Take them down or tie the striker at night and during the storm season.
• Choose bamboo or wood if you share walls; they are quieter and lower in pitch.
• If a neighbour mentions it, take the chime down. Good relations with the people next door are worth more than any chime.

Chimes hung at head height in a walkway get walked into, and a metal chime outdoors in a typhoon can be torn loose. Use a sturdy hook and check the cord now and then.

Square-holed coins

Traditional East Asian coins are round with a square hole. The common explanation is that the circle represents heaven and the square represents earth. As feng shui items they are tied in strings of three or five with red thread, taped under furniture, placed under the doormat or tucked into a wallet.

The most common set is the "Five Emperors" coins, tiền Ngũ Đế, issued under five consecutive Qing dynasty emperors (Shunzhi, Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong and Jiaqing) and meant to symbolise prosperity passed down through generations. Some Vietnamese buyers prefer coins of Vietnamese dynasties such as the Lý, Trần, Lê and Nguyễn, as a way of keeping the custom Vietnamese.

Real antiques and new castings

Most coins sold as feng shui items are newly cast reproductions of old designs, cheap and bright brass in colour. That is perfectly fine if the seller says so. The problem arises when new castings are chemically aged and sold at antique prices. Signs to watch for:

If you want to collect genuinely old coins, learn through collectors' groups and people who can authenticate them, not from a seller's story.

Child safety

Coins, mini gourds and wooden beads are small and round, exactly the kind of thing a toddler puts in their mouth. A string of coins under the sofa or under the doormat is the first place a crawling child will reach. In homes with children under three, keep these items high up or fix them firmly in place. If you suspect a child has swallowed something, go to a medical facility straight away rather than waiting to see.

Giving them as gifts

A small gourd, a string of coins on red thread or a bamboo chime makes a light, inexpensive gift for a housewarming, a hospital visit or the new year, and Vietnamese friends will understand the gesture. Present it as a good wish rather than a promise. Handing a gourd to a sick person's family with the words "hang this and they will recover" can be taken more literally than you intend. With chimes, think about where the recipient lives: a loud metal chime for someone in a thin-walled apartment may become a burden they feel obliged to hang.

Using them in moderation

Because they are cheap, it is tempting to buy a lot: chimes at every window, coins under every table leg, a gourd in every room. Too many dilutes the meaning and clutters the home. One chime over a shop door to announce customers, one small gourd by a relative's bed as a good wish, one string of coins in a drawer, is enough to enjoy the custom without bothering anyone. If you are renting, all three are easy to take with you when you leave, which is part of their appeal for foreigners who move often.

To compare gourd sizes and materials, the Vietnamese-language shop Vật Phẩm Phong Thuỷ, which ships within Vietnam, has a section of feng shui gourds; choose one that suits the spot where you plan to hang or place it.

Frequently asked questions