The origin of traditional auspicious patterns

What is wishful thinking? What is its source and use?

Ruyi looks like a long-handled hook with a flat head like a scallop. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, the name Ruyi was used to express good luck and happiness, and it was an object of enjoying luck.

The word "ruyi" comes from the Indian Sanskrit "Ana Law". The earliest wishful thinking, the end of the handle is in the shape of a finger to show that the hand can't reach it and scratch it. There are also heart-shaped handles made of bamboo, bone, copper and jade. Ask the monk to write the text on the table in case he forgets it. In ancient times, there were bodhisattvas with wishful hands. In ancient China, there were "tickling sticks" (now called tickling) and "water" (also called "face water" and "hand board"), and both were used as desired.

There is no evidence to prove when Ruyi came to China from India. The Biography of Wang Dun in the Book of Jin records that Sun Quan once got the handle of wishful thinking. "Every time after drinking, I taste the Wei Wudi Yuefu song:' An old horse crouches in the tiger, aiming at a thousand miles, a martyr dies, and a strong man breaks his wrist', and I spit on the pot with wishful thinking, and the pot is lacking." There is a story in Youyang Miscellanies in the Tang Dynasty: "Brahmins are not empty, so they have to always hold the door and serve the gods, and Xuanzong respects them." ..... and was going to the bathroom with Luo. Luo scratched his back with his backhand and said,' It's a great honor to respect teachers and attach importance to teaching.' The flower stone on the temple is as slippery as jade, so I rushed to the front and patted it repeatedly. When he wanted to take it, he said, "Saburo, don't get up. This is a shadow. Raise your hand to signal Luo Ruyi. Li He, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, wrote in the poem "The Residence in Changgu Mountain at the Beginning of Offering Gifts": "Hang it on the wall as a curtain to read the horn towel". Visible, in the Jin and Tang Dynasties, China had a good idea, which was used for scraping.

In ancient times, as a kind of arts and crafts, it was mostly in the Qing Dynasty and rare in the Ming Dynasty. During the reign of Kangxi, Ruyi became the plaything of the emperor and empresses in the palace, and there were Ruyi beside the throne and in the bedroom to show good luck. Ruyi includes enamel Ruyi, wood inlaid Ruyi, natural wood Ruyi, Jin Ruyi, jade Ruyi and agarwood Ruyi. Emperors and Empresses in Qing Dynasty used Ruyi as a gift to princes and ministers. In the Republic of China, Ruyi became a valuable gift, and wealthy families gave gifts to each other, wishing all the best.