Page 29 - A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols BIG Book
P. 29
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Back-scratcher
sao-zhang
Many folklore museums have examples of this object. Usually it consists of a bamboo
handle to which the scratcher itself – shaped like a claw or a hand – is fastened.
The instrument seems to have another function as well: that of ‘talk-stick’ (tan zhu,
literally ‘talk-help’). Often this was no more than a pine twig, sometimes a sceptre,
which the teacher placed before him: a student wishing to initiate a discussion picked it
up and began to speak. It seems likely that this usage came with Buddhism from India at
an early date.
Vase with back-scratcher and staff of office:
‘(May you have) the peace you desire!’
The back-scratcher plays a part in the legends associated with the goddess Ma-gu.
