Rice is a necessary staple for the Chinese.
So embedded is rice in meals that when a Chinese person ask someone whether he has had lunch, he don’t ask “have you had lunch” but “have you had rice” instead.
Households usually keep a stock of raw uncooked rice somewhere in the kitchen as it would be a container that would be accessed everyday.
These days, various types of containers are used for this purpose. Some people even use buckets.
While there are various types of containers to keep the uncooked grains of rice, the traditional container is in a rice urn.
These are huge vases that need to comfortably hold as much as 10kg of rice.
It’s no coincidence that the wealth vase looks similar to a traditional rice urn as rice represents the wealth of a household.
Here are some ways to ensure that your “rice bowl” is always protected and avoid bad fortune.
1) Material
Whether it’s an urn, a bin, or a container of sorts, don’t use one that is made of plastic.
To tap on earth energy, use materials like porcelain, ceramic, glass or clay.
Wooden urns are not as good as earth urns. But generally have no negative impact as well.
2) Keep the lid on
There might be reasons for a homemaker to keep the lid off. Sometimes, it due to habits.
Keeping the lid on at all times, other when you need to scoop up rice, protects the rice from pests, keeps out moisture, and also symbolizes that the wealth of the household is protected.
Mason jars for example, provide very effective sealing.
3) Large cracks
It’s common for earthware like porcelain to have chips, cracks and scratches.
These are fine and can sometimes enhance the antique look of the rice urn.
However, when there are large cracks that compromise the integrity of the container, then it must be fixed or replaced immediately.
You don’t want water to enter your urn and wreak havoc on your rice.
4) Empty
Not allowing your rice container to ever go empty is a practice that you should internalize.
A rice bin that is allowed to empty out is in auspicious.
They should be refilled as soon as the capacity hits one-third.
A rice dispenser might be able to help you better monitor rice levels if you need help in that respect.
5) Depth
The urn should have a deeper depth rather than wider length.
This signifies deep pockets.
As a rule, the depth of the rice urn should be the longest dimension among the length, breadth and height.
Shallow containers leave too much of your “money” exposed due to the large surface area, and is a sign that you would run out of money frequently.
6) Placement
Like the refrigerator, the rice urn symbolizes the wealth of the family. So it should not be placed on a space with high exposure.
If for example it is located in the kitchen and can obviously be seen from outside the kitchen, then it is badly placed.
Unlike the fridge which can be too big to hide in a cupboard, rice urns are small enough to be kept in cabinets or larders.
So do keep them stored in a safe hidden place, but is still convenient enough to gain access to daily.
7) Disturbance
It is very bad luck to knock over the rice urn whether it’s done on purpose or an accident.
With this is mind, it should always be standing firmly and not be vulnerable to knocks.
If you don’t trust others not to cause it to fall over, then take the responsibility of getting rice yourself.
8) Wealth items
Some masters advocate that a red packet filled with real money should be placed inside at the bottom of the urn.
This increases yang energy and ensures wealth luck.
