Page 220 - A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols BIG Book

A-Z 213
Ma-gu

Ma-gu is a fairy: she carries a bamboo staff with a basket hanging from it, and she is
accompanied by a boy carrying a peach. She is often depicted with unusually long
nails, which she uses for scratching her back; her hair may be in a bun, or it may be down
to her waist. She is also represented as the companion of Xi-wang-mu. Many tales
are told about her. She is supposed to have lived at the time of the Emperor Xiao (AD
147–68). During a banquet, her host became obsessed with the idea of how nice it would
be to be scratched by her long nails, when his back got itchy. For these unseemly
thoughts he was thrashed by an invisible whip, but the expression caught on and entered
the language: ‘as delightful as being scratched by Ma-gu’. Even the great Tang poet Li
Tai-bo made poetic use of the reference.
There were temples to Ma-gu in many parts of China, and caves and mountains were
named after her.

Ma-gu with the peach

Wherever she goes she is welcome as an auspicious goddess. Pictures of her along with
the ‘peach of immortality’ or a basket filled with flowers or miraculous mushrooms, were
brought as birthday presents.
It seems that her long nails gave rise to the idea of the back-scratcher which is
still in use today. It is usually made of wood.