The Past and Present of Jade Ruyi

China is an ancient civilization with a long history. Traditional Chinese culture has formed a unique way for Chinese people to express their emotions, blessings and other wishes. When relatives and friends meet or part, they often use words such as "all the best", "good luck", "peace and happiness" to express their blessings. "Ruyi" means "willingness" follows people's "wish". The speaker is sincere and the listener feels at ease. The abstract meaning is very easy to understand. With the development and progress of culture, our ancestors created some ornaments that are rich in emotional colors, and injected these auspicious blessings and wishes into these ornaments. The most typical of these is "Ruyi".

The "Ruyi" that we commonly see now is shaped like a long-handled hook, with a hook head as flat as a palm leaf and shaped like a Ganoderma lucidum. There are different opinions about the origin of "Ruyi". The more widely accepted view is that the original prototype of "Ruyi" was just a folk scratching device. According to "Nenggai Zhai Manlu" by Wu Zeng of the Song Dynasty, which quoted "Yin Yi Zhidao", "Ruyi is a claw stick used by the ancients, or made of bones, horns, bamboo or wood, with a handle about three feet long. It can be used to scratch the claws when there is an itch on the back but the hands cannot reach it, just as people wish." This "scratching" tool is called "Buqiuren" in the south and "Laotoule" in the north. The head of Ruyi is bent and looking back, which is given the warning meaning of "looking back will bring you happiness". The finger-shaped front end has practical value and can scratch itch, hence the name: "Just as one wishes".

The earliest Ruyi discovered so far was made of bronze. During the Han Dynasty, people began to use Ruyi made of bones, animal horns, jade, stone, bamboo, coral and metal materials. They were about one foot long, and the handles were mostly finger-shaped, but there were also Ganoderma lucidum-shaped, heart-shaped, cloud-shaped and so on.

Since the Tang Dynasty, the production of Ruyi has become more sophisticated, and its shapes are rich and colorful, winning people's favor. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, it gradually changed from a practical item to a decorative item and became a work of art for people to appreciate and entertain. Its length becomes shorter, and the finger shape at the handle end changes into rare Ganoderma lucidum shape, cloud shape, etc. The main body is streamlined, the handle is slightly curved, and the overall shape is beautiful and gorgeous. In terms of materials, there are more handicrafts made of precious materials such as gold, jade, crystal, ivory, agate, etc., and they use relief, hollowing, inlay and cloisonné techniques, and are decorated with fine and gorgeous patterns. Among the fine products are the Han jade sandalwood handle Ruyi, the gold hollow Ruyi inlaid with pearls, the jadeite three-inlaid Ruyi, the stone carved lacquer Ruyi, the wooden handle inlaid with jade, the cloisonné enamel Ruyi, etc., which have high artistic appreciation value.

In the late Qing Dynasty, Ruyi became an ornamental and collectible item, and its value doubled. In the Qing Dynasty, Ruyi moved from the folk to the palace, becoming a tribute presented by ministers to the emperor, and also a precious gift from the emperor for the promotion of palace maids and the selection of concubines. Empress Dowager Cixi, who believed in fortune-telling very much, was particularly fond of ruyi. When she was in power, she even demanded that a ruyi must be placed in every room in the Forbidden City. According to statistics, the Forbidden City now has more than 10,000 ruyi of various materials and styles.

After jadeite entered China, Empress Dowager Cixi had a special liking for jadeite ruyi. Officials from all over the country went to great lengths to collect large quantities of jadeite ruyi in order to please Empress Dowager Cixi. Among the ruyi in the collection of the Palace Museum, there are some with inscriptions by tribute-payers. Whenever the emperor ascended the throne, the empress and concubines had their birthdays, festivals and festive occasions, the ministers would present ruyi to the emperor, his concubines and others. It is said that when Empress Dowager Cixi celebrated her 60th birthday, she received 80 precious and exquisite ruyi gifts alone. Ruyi was also the token and certificate of the emperor's selection of his queen, and a gift given by the emperor and empress to ministers and confidants. Even some foreign envoys could sometimes receive Ruyi as a gift from the emperor.

"Ruyi", which has the meaning of auspicious blessings for thousands of years, also occupies a very important position in our modern jade jewelry. Jade carving masters make full use of the spirituality of jade and give Ruyi new humanistic and artistic charm through their exquisite skills, creating a Ruyi that modern people can't put down. It is loved and liked by modern people, and it carries our good wishes for our relatives and friends, and we hope that happiness and good luck will be with us every day.

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