Page 454 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

PAQI

10. The Seal of the Law ifayin 1et Er]) is used for stamping documents used in
rituals. The action of stamping is thought to invest the document with
spiritual power.
II. The Mirror of the Law ifajing W }~n is used during the rite of Opening
the Light (*kaiguang) to cause deities to lodge within their images, and
to exorcize evil spirits.
I2. The Measure of the Law ifachi 1! R) is a ruler that has the power to
exorcize evil spirits. Made of wood, it is about 30 cm in length, about 2
cm in width, and about I cm in thickness. Both sides are marked with
gradations. A more powerful form of this implement is called Tianpeng
chi *JiR. (Measure of Tianpeng; see under *Tianpeng zhou), which is
a square stick about 35 cm long and about 3 cm thick that has no grada-
tions, but bears on both sides the name of Tianpeng Yuanshuai *!lx
g~ (Marshal Tianpeng), the Sun and Moon, the twenty-eight lunar lodges
(*xiu), the Northern Dipper, and the Southern Dipper (nandou rtoil).
13. The chime (qing~) is a bowl-shaped musical instrument made of copper.
It is placed on the right side of the central table of the altar (the Cavern
Bench, dong' an 1fPJ ~), opposite the wooden fish. It is also known as tong-
qing i\8J ~ (bronze chime), qingqing 1J!l ~ (pure chime), yuqing ~~ (jade
chime), and tongbo JluJa4 (bronze bowl).
14. The wooden fish (muyu *~) is a hollow percussion instrument made
of wood. It is placed on the left side of the central table, opposite the
chime. It is also called mugu ;j(!YJ: (wooden drum). Both the chime and
the wooden fish are made in various sizes.
15. The gao m is a divination tool in the form of a crescent made of bamboo
or wood, often painted red. One side is flat and represents Yang, while
the other side is convex and represents Yin. They come in various sizes,
between 5 and 25 cm in length, and are used in sets of two. After praying
before the deities, one throws the set of gao to the ground. If one comes
up Yin and the other Yang, it means that the deities agree; this is called
shenggao 1{r! 5 (gao of sagehood). If both are Yang, the deities are derisive;
this is called xiaogao X: r~ (gao of derision). If both sides are Yin, the dei-
ties are angry; this is called foftn 1ft: i§: (gao of submission).
ASANO Haruji
m Little 2000b, 219; Liu Zhiwan 1983a; 6fuchi Ninji 1983, 207-10; Qing Xitai
1994, 3: 255-57; Schipper and Wang 1986, 188-94; Zhang Zehong 1999a, 94-99
* gongde; jiao; zhai