Page 325 - A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols BIG Book

A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols 318
Sceptre
Sceptre

ru-yi

The Chinese sceptre has nothing to do with the insignia of a ruler. It embodies the
notion of ‘according to wish’ or ‘what one wants’ (ru yi), and it is often given to old men
in token of the wish ‘May everything go as you wish!’ The ru-yi is finely carved from
wood or jade, curved in shape and fitted with a kind of head.
The magic sceptre which makes wishes come true figures often, but not exclusively, in
Buddhist graphic art. Together with the writing brush symbolising the scholar
or official, and a silver money-shoe, the sceptre completes a picture which may
be interpreted as wishing the recipient professional and social success and advancement.
The lover of the notorious Empress Wu of the Tang Dynasty was known as Ru-yi Jun
= ‘Master Gets-what-he-wants’, no doubt because of his famed sexual prowess. Formerly
at marriage ceremonies, it was customary for the family of the bridegroom to present
the bride’s family with a sceptre, in earnest of the wish that married bliss might
ensue.
Sceptres are to be seen in many Chinese paintings – held by a boy riding on an
elephant, in the hands of the He-he (when these appear as the aged Luo-han), or

The head of the sceptre: ‘As you like it’