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merasunaar · 2 years ago

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The Advantages of Investing in Gold

Investing wisely is crucial for long-term financial growth and stability. While there are various investment options available, gold has stood the test of time as a reliable asset class. In this blog post, we will explore the advantages of investing in gold compared to other forms of investment, highlighting why it's a prudent choice for investors looking to diversify and safeguard their wealth.

Tangible and Intrinsic Value: Gold is a precious metal that has been coveted by civilizations throughout history. Unlike stocks, bonds, or digital currencies, gold is a tangible asset with intrinsic value. Its rarity, durability, and aesthetic appeal make it highly desirable, ensuring its long-term value.

Hedge Against Inflation: One of the primary advantages of investing in gold is its ability to act as a hedge against inflation. When the value of fiat currencies declines due to inflation, gold tends to hold its value or even appreciate. Investors can protect their purchasing power by allocating a portion of their portfolio to gold, which serves as a reliable store of wealth during times of economic uncertainty.

Portfolio Diversification: Diversification is a fundamental principle of investment. Gold offers a unique diversification opportunity due to its low correlation with traditional asset classes like stocks and bonds. During periods of market volatility or economic downturns, gold often performs differently, acting as a hedge and reducing the overall risk in an investment portfolio. By including gold, investors can potentially enhance their portfolio's stability and reduce volatility.

Safe-Haven Asset: In times of geopolitical tensions, economic crises, or stock market declines, gold has historically been considered a safe-haven asset. Investors turn to gold as a reliable store of value when other investments become uncertain. Its enduring value and global acceptance make it an attractive option for individuals seeking stability and security in their investment choices.

Liquidity and Global Acceptance: Gold is a highly liquid asset. It can be easily bought or sold in various forms, such as gold bars, coins, or Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs). The global acceptance of gold ensures that investors can access liquidity and fair prices across different markets. Unlike certain investments that may face restrictions or regulatory challenges, gold offers a straightforward and universally recognized avenue for wealth preservation and capital appreciation.

Potential for Long-Term Growth: Over the years, gold has shown the potential for long-term growth. While short-term fluctuations are common, gold's value has steadily increased over extended periods. This historical trend underscores its ability to preserve wealth and deliver attractive returns over time, making it an attractive investment option for patient investors.

Conclusion: Investing in gold provides numerous advantages that set it apart from other forms of investment. Its tangible nature, inflation hedging capabilities, portfolio diversification benefits, and status as a safe-haven asset make it a prudent choice for investors aiming to protect and grow their wealth. Whether you are a seasoned investor or a newcomer to the financial world, considering gold as part of your investment strategy can help you achieve your long-term financial goals.

Remember, investing in any asset carries risks, and it's essential to consult with financial professionals to understand how gold can fit into your overall investment plan. With careful consideration and strategic allocation, gold can serve as a valuable addition to your investment portfolio, enhancing its stability and potential for long-term growth.

For more information and personalized advice, please visit our website, www.merasunaar.com, where our team of experts is ready to assist you in making informed investment decisions.

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atticagoldl · 2 years ago

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WHAT IS THE 24K GOLD RATES IN BANGALORE TODAY?

GET LATEST 24K GOLD RATES IN BANGALORE TODAY Many factors affect the price of gold today, including currency values, speculation in the market, current events and more. Thus it can be hard to predict whether its price will rise or fall; however there are several steps you can take to ensure you always make wise purchasing decisions when investing in precious metals. Physical Bullion Is the…

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niteshade925 · 4 months ago

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April 20, Beijing, China, National Museum of China/中国国家博物馆 (Part 4 – Chinese Historical Fashion Exhibition continued):

Alrighty, Ming and Qing dynasty fashion, here we go! Sit tight because this is an extra long post that took me a long time to research

First is this marvel, a replica of the phoenix crown/fengguan/凤冠 of Empress Xiaoduanxian of Ming (明孝端显皇后). The real artifact is in this museum, but it's probably not exhibited much for conservation reasons.

Phoenix crowns are the formal headwear for empresses, which according to etiquette rules set at the beginning of Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644), must have 9 dragons and 4 phoenixes (btw the original Chinese term is fenghuang/凤凰, which is a different mythological creature from the phoenix, but "phoenix" is the commonly used translation now), but this crown has 9 dragons and 9 phoenixes, indicating that etiquette rules have loosened and shifted by late Ming.

The phoenixes on this crown are blue because they were actually made with the iridescent feathers of kingfishers in a process called diancui/点翠. All species of kingfishers are now legally protected animals in China, so when buying hanfu accessories, you may come across "imitation diancui"/仿点翠, these are usually either made with enamel or dyed chicken or goose feathers. Another thing to note is the appearance of the jewels on this crown. Ming-era people liked keeping the jewels in a "natural look", so these jewels had no facets.

Recreations of Ming-era hanfu. Left is the semi-formal outfit of aristocrat women in mid to late Ming dynasty. Right is the casual outfit of late Ming scholars and literati. The woman's cone-shaped hairstyle is called a diji/䯼髻, and the set of hairpins that goes on a diji is called toumian/头面. She's wearing a type of top called an ao/袄 and a skirt aka qun/裙, specifically a mamianqun/马面裙, or "horse face skirt". Note that the bottom hem of an ao is not tucked into the skirt. The man is wearing a square-ish hat called a fangjin/方巾 and should also be wearing a wangjin/网巾 underneath (can be understood as a hairnet). He's wearing a daopao/道袍 and a hechang/鹤氅 on the outside.

Also I did make a mistake while dividing up the pictures for these two posts, some of the following artifacts are from earlier dynasties. Ugh if only I had time to take pictures of all the placards.

A pair of mojie/摩竭 shaped gold earrings from Liao dynasty (916 - 1125). Note that the placard says it's "摩羯形" or "Capricorn-shaped", but this apparently is sort of a misnomer? Sort of, because this representation should be of the makara (मकर; translated as 摩竭 in Chinese), a sea creature from Hindu mythology, but at the same time it is the equivalent of Capricorn in Hindu astrology. However since the name "Capricorn" stuck, it's now commonly referred to as "摩羯". 摩竭 and 摩�� have the exact same pronunciation though.

A pair of phoenix (fenghuang) shaped gold hairpins from Liao dynasty:

After a lot of pulling my hair out researching, I finally found what time period this gold belt buckle came from. It's from Eastern Han dynasty (25 - 220 AD). The gold filigree and beads form the pattern known as panchiwen/蟠螭纹, where pan/蟠 and chi/螭 are both types of loong dragon in Chinese mythology.

The gold decoration on a xiapei/霞帔 (the V-shaped wide band in the diagram on the right) from Liao dynasty. Xiapei originated in Song dynasty (960 - 1279) as part of the formal attire of consorts, but later developed into a part of the formal attire for women in general. Xiapei also looked different at different time periods in history, but from Song-era to Ming-era, its structure didn't change by much.

Finally back to Ming dynasty. This is a gold cap inlaid with gems and pearls. From the size of this cap and the included hairpins, we can deduce that this cap is meant to encase the bun on the top of the head (the hairpins that go through the cap would hold it in place).

Like the gold cap above, the next few are all from the same tomb of a Ming dynasty noble, and they are all themed similarly--they all depict scenes in a heavenly palace. Of these, the first three that has miniature architecture in gold are parts of the toumian worn on a diji hairstyle. This first one is a pair of yanbin/掩鬓 (lit. "covering temples"), so called because they are worn on the sides, close to the temples.

This next one has some confusion regarding the naming. According to an article by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Institute of Archaeology, the top artifact is a fenxin/分心 and the bottom artifact is a tiaoxin/挑心, but according to 撷芳主人 (if you are a hanfu enthusiast you have probably heard of this person or seen their works, they are the one who drew the cute illustrations of Ming-era fashion), the top one may be a manguan/满冠, and the bottom one should be called fenxin/分心. Note that 撷芳主人's conclusion is mostly based on Ming-era records and novels. Regardless of the naming, the top one here should be worn on the base of the diji, and the bottom one should be worn at the front center of the diji.

This one also has some confusion in the naming, the Institute of Archaeology calls it a dingzan/顶簪, while 撷芳主人 calls it a tiaoxin/挑心. Again, regardless of the naming, this one is worn on the very top of the diji, so the hairstick portion goes straight down through the diji. If you look closely, you can even see people and animals in the details.

Left: a pair of gold phoenix (fenghuang) hairpins made in the 22nd year of the Yongle Emperor of Ming. Right: gold filigree bracelets inlaid with gemstones.

Ming-era portrait of a scholar official. Before cameras were introduced in late-Qing dynasty, portrait paintings were the most realistic depictions of what people looked like back then. Such portrait paintings mostly began in Song dynasty and continued through to Qing dynasty.

Illustrations of the different buzi/补子 (also known as "mandarin square") used by different ranks of officials in Ming dynasty. All ranks are organized from highest on the left to lowest on the right, top row is for civil officials, bottom row is for military officials, and bottom right is for nobility. All illustrations here come from the Ming-era illustrated encyclopedia Sancai Tuhui (《三才图会》). For those who are interested, a scan of Sancai Tuhui is available on Internet Archive for free (link goes to first chapter, most chapters are available).

Also from Sancai Tuhui Chapter 62 (all pictures here come from Ch. 62-64), illustrations of the twelve ornaments (called shierzhang/十二章) on a mianfu/冕服, which is the highest level of formal attire for an emperor in Ming dynasty. These twelve ornaments depict things including celestial bodies (note that sun contains the three-footed sun crow, and moon contains the moon rabbit), elements of nature, mythical creatures, and representations of life, and are supposed to represent the values and traits that an emperor should possess:

And wrapping up the section on Ming-era hanfu, here are the headwear of different classes of people in Ming dynasty, from commoners to the literati to important government officials.

Note the net-like hair accessory on the left. This is a wangjin/网巾 during Ming dynasty (illustration from Sancai Tuhui), and is worn by all men regardless of social class. However, wangjin is worn almost like an "undergarment", so it's almost always covered by something else. Which means all those historical cdramas set in Ming dynasty that have their characters wear only a wangjin in public are, in fact, inaccurate.

Some hats of commoners and scholars in Ming dynasty. Note the left one on the second row, that is the same hat worn by the Fox Scholar in the episode Goose Mountain of the animated series Yao Chinese Folktales (《中国奇谭》).

Some of the formal headwear of government officials in Ming dynasty. These are called liangguan/梁冠, lit. "beam crown", where the liang/"beam" refers to the metal arches that go over the top. The more liang there are on the hat, the higher the rank of the official.

And last but not least, Qing dynasty (1616 - 1911) fashion. Left is Qing-era men's outfit for horseback archery and hunting, called xingfu/行服. His hat is composed of two parts, the actual hat called dingdai/顶戴 (here it's specifically the winter version) and the back decoration made of horsehair and feathers that signifies status is called hualing/花翎. Back is the casual outfit of late-Qing Manchu noblewomen, with the characteristic hairstyle called dalachi/大拉翅, a vest called kanjian/坎肩, and a robe beneath called chenyi/衬衣. These are all considered part of qizhuang/旗装, or traditional Manchu clothing. On the right is the late-Qing casual outfit of upper class Han women, with an ao/袄 top and a langanqun/阑干裙 skirt (a type of mamianqun/马面裙), and a headband decorated with pearls called mo'e/抹额. Note that although the exact origin of the modern qipao/旗袍 is disputed, it definitely has elements from at least one of the following: the Manchu chenyi, the Han ao, and the late Qing and early Republic era men's changshan/长衫.

A little historical background on why this particular display is arranged in this way. In early Qing dynasty, the Manchu ruling class enforced the policy of 剃发易服 (lit. "shaving hair and changing clothing") specifically on Han men in order to force conformity to Manchu traditions in terms of hairstyle and clothing, but Han women were not included in this policy. So in early Qing, Han women still wore the same clothing as they did prior in late Ming, but over the time the fashion of Han women absorbed many elements of Manchu fashion. However, this wasn't a one-way influence. By late Qing, many elements of Han fashion were adopted by Manchu fashion as well, so this influence really went both ways. Today, Manchu people is one of the 56 officially recognized ethnicities in China (4th largest ethnicity by population), and the traditional fashion of Manchu people is a part of the diverse culture of modern China.

Below is a real example of a chenyi, chenyi were popular among Qing dynasty imperial consorts as informal dress:

The hairstyle of Manchu women (called qitou/旗头) at different times during Qing dynasty. The one at the far right was what early qitou looked like, while the one on the far left appeared in late-Qing. The two hairstyles on the left frequently appear in period dramas set in Qing dynasty.

A belt called jifudai/吉服带 with pouches and decorations. Jifudai is so named because it's supposed to be worn with the semi-formal jifu/吉服 outfit. This particular jifudai is yellow, a color reserved for the emperor.

Real examples of Qing-era Han women's outfit, with an ao on the left, and a langanqun on the right. Langanqun is a type of mamianqun, but the construction is different from Ming-era mamianqun, in that langanqun is made from numerous rectangular and trapezoidal pieces of fabric sewn together into two larger pieces, whereas Ming-era mamianqun are simply two large pleated pieces of fabric. The way these skirts are decorated are also somewhat different. Visually speaking, Qing-era langanqun have woven and/or embroidered patterns that are arranged vertically, creating a "paneled" look, whereas Ming-era mamianqun have woven and/or embroidered patterns that repeat and extend horizontally as to wrap around the entire skirt.

Aaaaand that's it for this exhibition! Phew. I highly recommend everyone go visit the free virtual exhibition (link here), partly because when I visited the National Museum of China, I was in a huge hurry (I only had one day to see everything), and so the task of taking pictures of the exhibition was split between me and a family member, but I'm not sure they understood how many pictures I wanted....so what's in my posts here are only a very small portion of the actual exhibition. The actual exhibition doesn't just have artifacts and replicas of artifacts, but also have paintings and real articles of clothing from Qing dynasty, which were all amazing to look at.

#2024 china #beijing #china #national museum of china #historical fashion #historical clothing #chinese historical fashion #hanfu #chinese hanfu #manchu fashion #fashion history #chinese history #chinese culture #history #culture

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olaqueenbeeofastrology · 22 days ago

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#Goldmember @snl

Show stopping

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F🛍️r

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Day left

👇

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mimisempai · 1 year ago

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Only if you want

Summary

It's not their first make-out session, but tonight the mood is different. What if the florist and the bookseller were ready to take things to the next level?

Notes

50 Types of Kisses - Writing Prompts

Kiss #19: One person stopping a kiss to ask “Do you want to do this?”, only to have the other person answer with a deeper, more passionate kiss.

On Ao3

Rating T - 916 words

Fanart made for this series made by the so talented @ruby-gold

Aziraphale wasn't sure how he and Crowley had ended up like this.

A few minutes earlier, they'd been cuddling on the sofa while Aziraphale had been reading, and now Crowley was astride him, their lips locked in a rather passionate make-out session. Not that the bookseller minded, far from it. But he sensed there was something different in the air tonight.

Crowley's hands had pulled the flaps of his shirt out of his pants and were caressing his back, causing Aziraphale to moan into the kiss. Then the florist straightened slightly and placed his hands on the bookseller's chest, near the first button of his shirt.

He asked softly, "Is that okay?"

Aziraphale, not trusting his voice, nodded eagerly and Crowley planted a quick kiss on his swollen lips before undoing the first button.

He pressed another kiss, this time on Aziraphale's chest, right on the patch of skin he'd just exposed, and continued until the bookseller's shirt was completely unbuttoned.

When he had finished, he spread the shirt flaps and placed his hands on Aziraphale's stomach, making a few light circular strokes and saying softly, looking into the bookseller's eyes, "You are so beautiful."

Aziraphale gasped at the admiration in the florist's voice, then, slightly embarrassed by the compliment, covered his eyes with his arm.

But Crowley would have none of it. He lifted the bookseller's arm and told him gently, "Don't hide from me, sweetheart."

Aziraphale, unable to look away, said shyly, "It's... it's just that you're the first... to say something like that to me."

Pressing another light kiss to his lover's lips, Crowley replied, "It's that everyone else has been blind. You know I can't lie to you, you're beautiful."

Unable to answer, Aziraphale wrapped his arms around the florist's neck to pull him against him, capturing his lips in a passionate kiss as Crowley's hands continued to spread his shirt, roaming the bookseller's upper body with gentle touches.

Then the bookseller whimpered into the kiss and Crowley pulled away, worried he'd gone too far, but Aziraphale said in a voice heavy with desire, "Me too, I want to touch you."

Crowley nodded as eagerly as Aziraphale had earlier, and Aziraphale immediately tugged the florist's t-shirt from his jeans before lifting it carefully, the brush of his fingers sending a shiver down Crowley's spine. Then Crowley lifted his arms to help his lover remove the garment, which he tossed carelessly behind him, and the bookseller placed his hands on the florist's chest, enjoying the contact of the soft skin and firm muscles beneath his hands as he began to caress him.

The tentative touches at first became more deliberate, and this time it was the florist who couldn't hold back a moan as the bookseller's hands moved down his hips until they met the waistband of his pants.

Boldly, Aziraphale slid his hands forward and, now resting on the first button, began to undo it with trembling fingers, but suddenly Crowley's hands came to rest on his, stopping his fingers in their motion.

The bookseller stopped immediately, both afraid that he had gone too far and confused because he could see and feel that the florist was in the same state of arousal as he was.

Crowley raised one of the bookseller's hands to his lips and, after kissing the palm gently, asked softly, "Do you want to do this?"

For that alone, Aziraphale could have said yes immediately.

He hadn't had many sexual encounters, and the few he had, his partners hadn't shown him this kind of consideration. For him, those encounters had just been about scratching an itch. More fumbling in the dark of a hotel room than anything else.

Now Crowley was giving him a chance to stop. To say no.

Aziraphale studied his face, touched by the open expression, a mixture of concern and hope. So much honesty. And most of all, so much love.

Aziraphale knew that if he said no, Crowley would stop immediately. No second thoughts, no hard feelings, no consequences to their relationship.

But Aziraphale didn't want to say no.

He wanted Crowley as he'd never wanted any of his previous lovers. His desire was rooted in his deep love for the florist, so he didn't hesitate a second longer and, placing his hands on Crowley's cheeks, he pulled his face to his own before kissing him passionately.

When they drew apart to catch their breath, the bookseller, holding Crowley's face close to his own, said quietly, "Yes, I want to. And you?"

Aziraphale realized that his lover's answer was as important to him as the question Crowley had asked. He wanted them to be equals in this relationship. What Crowley wanted was as important as what he wanted.

Crowley nodded and replied, "Yes, so do I, and you don't know how much, my angel."

Aziraphale lifted his hips slightly against the florist's, still astride him, and playfully replied, "I think I've got a little idea."

Then, planting another kiss on Crowley's lips, he added, "On the other hand, how about we continue this on a playground a little more comfortable than this old couch?"

Crowley laughed softly, then slipped off the bookseller's lap to stand before reaching out to him, and once they were both on their feet, they walked hand in hand to the stairs that led to Aziraphale's room.

The speed with which they climbed the stairs left no doubt of their desire and eagerness to continue what they had begun.

Still not beta'd

Still not my native language

Still hoping you'll enjoy this story 🥰

Still thanking you for bearing with me 😝

Ineffable kisses series : here

Ineffable Husbands masterlist : here

The florist and the booksellers series : here

#good omens #aziracrow #ineffable husbands #ineffable boyfriends #aziraphale #crowley #good omens fanfiction #aziraphale x crowley #crowley x aziraphale #50 kisses #human au #alternate universe #flower shop

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