Page 453 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

414 THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TAOISM A-L

AA! (Placard of the Thunder Command). It is 18 cm in height, 7 cm in
breadth, and3 cm in thickness. It reproduces the imperial tallies given to
officials by the emperor. The priest holds the placard in his hands when
giving orders to heavenly officers and generals.
4. Bells are held in one hand by the priest. They are called sanqing ling'=: rJlf
it (Bells of the Three Clarities) or Jazhong it i!i'! or Jaling rt # (Bells of
the Law). Their function is to beckon the deities and exorcize demons.
Made of brass, they are about 20 cm in height and IQ cm in circumterence.
The Three Clarities (*sanqing) are represented on the upper section of
the handle.
5. The hand-held burner (shoulu Cf. JJlt) is an incense burner with a handle. It
is held by the high priest (gaogong r'<iJ rh; see * daozhang) or by the leading
community representative. The smoke arising from the hand-held burner
is thought to represent the transmission of sincerity to the deities.
6. The water bowl (shuiyu ;](:rt) contains purified water (jingshui /j't;1<).
Made of brass, it is 4 cm in height and 6 cm in circumference. The priest
holds it in his left hand while in his right hand he holds a flower with the
stem attached (or a small twig of willow) that he uses to sprinkle water
in order to purifY the ritual space.
7. The Jengzhi ;0 fT is an oblong piece of wood used by the high priest to
signal the progress of the ritual, by beating it on the table. It is also called
chiban :1&;\'& (Plank of the Imperial Decree), yuzhi ~ §' (Jade Injunction),
andjingban ?iH& (Pure Plank). It is 10 cm in length, 4 cm in height, and
3 cm in depth. It resembles the gavel used by judges in olden times, and
the "wake-up wood" (xingmu ~1t*) employed by lecturers.
8. The Dragon Horn (longjiao jf!!, ift) is a horn flute used to summon the
deities and exorcize evil spirits. It is also called lingjiao Ji m (Numinous
Horn) or haojiao ~1Jf. m (Horn of Orders). In Taiwan various types are
used: the Black-head and Red-head priests (see *hongtou and wutou) use
flutes made of buffalo horn or tin, respectively, while the ritual masters
(*Jashi) use flutes of buffalo or ox horn. This instrument is about 30 cm
long and about 10 cm in circumference.
9· The Rope of the Law lfasheng 1tAAlD is a whip symbolizing a snake. Its
cracking noise is said to scare away evil spirits. It is also called Jabian 1t
1\i! (Whip of the Law),fasuo 1tw;- (Cord of the Law), andjingbian ?JIKf
(Whip of Purity). Its wooden handle is about 20 cm long and about 3 cm
thick and is carved to represent a snake. Its attached rope, made of plaited
flax and cotton and about one meter in length, represents the snake's
body and tail.

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