What was the ancient "Ruyi" for?

Ruyi, a tool used by folk in ancient China to scratch. It is popular in most parts of the country.

Ruyi, also known as "holding the king" and "holding friends", evolved from the ancient water wand. Wat, or handwritten version, is also called the imperial court among the people. When the minister sees you, he holds it in his hand. You can write it down in case you forget it. Scratching sticks, also known as "Dont Ask For Help", is a way to scratch sticks, but it is satisfactory, hence the name.

Since the Song Dynasty, the function of Ruyi has changed, from practicality to display, and it is associated with auspicious patterns. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the custom of saying auspicious words prevailed in society and reached its peak. The materials for making Ruyi products are gold and silver, porcelain, jade articles of various colors and bamboo wares.

Ruyi's ear belt is often tied with a piece of jade, sometimes with two persimmons and sometimes with a sheep. There are many homophones in Chinese characters. It is an interesting language art to combine natural creatures with homophonic and auspicious words in daily language.

For example, "persimmon" and "thing" are homophonic, and two persimmons are "everything". Attached to the wishful thinking, synthesizing "all the best"; "Sheep" means "good luck", and the sheep on the wishful thinking represents good luck.

Extended data

artistic value

Although wishful thinking is for different purposes, the initial wishful thinking is undoubtedly imitating the shape of a human hand. This kind of creativity can also be said to be an extension of human will. It was only after the Tang Dynasty that the hand shape evolved into a cirrus shape, a ganoderma lucidum shape, a heart shape and a flower shape, and it was made of jade jewelry, which not only made it a work of art, but also added a bit of fairy and peaceful charm.

In the Qing Dynasty, Ruyi craft reached its peak and its function reached an unprecedented nobility. Every prince, minister and governor will be satisfied with North Korea's good luck on New Year's Day.

Today, the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace in Beijing can enjoy the royal wishes of the Qing Dynasty. In the folk, the big wishful thinking is the decoration of the hall, and the small wishful thinking is a gift to express good wishes. Common materials are gold, silver, jade, horn, tooth, jade, coral, copper, bamboo, wood and so on.

Many traditional mascots in China are related to the New Year, and Ruyi is a household name.

Baidu Encyclopedia-Ruyi