What does the wooden fish stand for?

Muyu is one of the important Buddhist musical instruments. In ancient times, it was called "wooden fish drum", "fish drum" or "fish board"

In the round wooden fish, there are not only single fish and Pisces, but also a dragon-shaped wooden fish with two heads. It is said that this is based on the meaning of "turning fish into dragons" to express the meaning of "turning ordinary people into saints"!

The shape of wooden fish was originally a straight fish. This kind of "wooden fish" is usually called "Bangzi". This kind of bangzi is hung in the hall of a temple or under the corridor of a warehouse, and it is knocked when there are many people. Later, a round "wooden fish" evolved. This "wooden fish" is placed in the temple hall, and it is tapped when chanting to control the tone and remind the soul.

There is a legend about the origin of "wooden fish". It is said that there was once a monk who was reincarnated as a fish in his next life because he violated Master's teachings. The fish has a tree on its back. When the wind and waves are stirred, it is unbearable. As for bleeding. Later, his master passed by the seaside and pitied his suffering, so he founded the Land and Water Law Society for him. The so-called "land and water dharma club" is a "uncovered dharma club" that supports the "four saints" and gives alms to the "six mortals". The guilty monk got rid of the fish by relying on the merits and interests of the "Land and Water Law Society". According to the last words of the sinful monk, his master carved the tree on him into the shape of a fish and hung it in the temple to warn the monk. This is doubtful. )

In addition, according to two ancient books, Notes on the Clear Rules of Baizhang and Notes on Buddhist Rites, "It is said that fish often wake up day and night without closing their eyes; Therefore, in Buddhism, wood is carved into a fish' wooden fish' and patted when chanting to warn the public not to slack off. "

According to the stone "Yao Lan" (also known as "Buddhist Canon"), "The five-point monk asked the Buddha: What kind of wood should be used for the hammer ("hammer "is also called" cone ")? The Buddha replied, "Except lacquer tree, all other wood can be made of it as long as it can make a sound.". "

The carving method of "Muyu" is to carve a piece of wood into the approximate shape (blank) of Muyu, then hollow out the inside, and then carve the shape into head, tail and armor. Paint the exterior, and then make the finishing touch with gold and black. Its size, the smaller caliber is only two or three inches, and the larger caliber is one foot or even two or three feet.

Big wooden fish, knocking on the table mat. The little "wooden fish" knocked in his hand.

The posture of holding the "wooden fish" is: when not knocking, support with both hands; The fish vertebra is outside the "wooden fish", supported by two index fingers and two big fingers, and supported by the other six fingers.

The posture of playing "wooden fish" is: holding the fish in the left hand and holding the vertebra in the right hand. Holding a fish is holding it with mom's fingers, forefinger and middle finger. Pinch the spine is also pinched by the mother finger, index finger and middle finger. The vertebral head of the fish is facing the wooden head upwards. Put your hands together This is the so-called "crossing roe".

Knock "wooden fish" hard and steady, don't neglect the heavy, slow and urgent. If you need a quick tap, you should gradually accelerate from slow to urgent. Wooden fish is the most commonly used wooden fish-shaped device in Buddhism and Taoism. There are two kinds of wooden fish-shaped vessels: long wooden fish and round wooden fish. Long wooden fish are mostly used to gather believers, while round wooden fish are used to recite scriptures. Scholars believe that wooden fish was originally a Buddhist musical instrument and was introduced into China from India with the introduction of Buddhism. However, there is no clear evidence for this traditional method. According to the interpretation of the Jin Dynasty, Mr. Huang indicated in the article "Examination of Muyu" that "three thousand monks eat with a hammer", and concluded that if the hammer was a wooden fish, the wooden fish had already appeared in Kanguo of the Jin Dynasty. As for the wooden fish used in China monasteries, Mr. Huang pointed out that it was in the Tang Dynasty (1) at the latest, according to the poem "Cherish the Old Monk in Shangmoti Monastery" written by Tang Tu (8 3 7-9 0 8). Mr. Huang believes that "wooden fish was used to gather monks or police from the Tang Dynasty to the Five Dynasties", and wooden fish was used to recite scriptures at the latest in the Southern Song Dynasty. Mr. Huang's masterpiece aroused the writer's great interest in wooden fish, but he had reservations about the use of wooden fish in Taoism. However, the author found that wooden fish actually originated from Taoism and has nothing to do with Indian Buddhism, which is quite surprising.

Jia Shanxiang's Legend of the Dragon in the Northern Song Dynasty (Volume 5);

In the third year of Kaiyuan in the Ming Dynasty (7 1.5), Kaiyuan Temple was established in the world ... In the thirteenth year, Taiqing Palace was set up, with Taiwei Palace in the east, Wei Zi Palace in the north, and Seven Holy Palaces in Luzhou, the former residence of Shen Yao. Also given a crown, crimson yarn, curtain, dragon, door halberd, like a palace. Zhou Pu dug up the ground and got the jade. It looks like a half moon. It has the image of a fairy tinkering with medicine. It is very clear and definite. The emperor's imperial seal was hung in Yuan Temple in Taiyuan Town, named Yan Yueqing. Zhang Qi, who stayed in the East, played Lushan Mountain in Ruzhou and was named Yu Ying. There was a knock at the door miles away, and the emperor's edict hung in the Father's Hall of Taiqing Palace. There is a fish in the building in Quzhou, which is three feet long. It looks like iron, purplish and blue, like a sapphire. This is almost beyond human power. It knocks loudly. Its fish is indescribable, and it was sent as a tribute. The emperor ordered it to show a hundred people and could not distinguish it. The emperor's name is Rui Yuqing, but he is still hanging in Taiwei Palace, and he can't be attacked unless he lectures and sets up a fast. Therefore, each palace competes with wooden and stone models to gather the masses for generations. (Collected Books Third Edition 1 8/3 0-3 1 page)

Xie Shouhao of the Southern Song Dynasty recorded the same thing in Volume 8 of Mixed Yuan Shengji. Finally, he said, "From then on, there were wooden fish in the palace." (Collected Books 1 7/8 6 1)

It can be seen that Taoist temple began to use wooden fish in the 13th year of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty (July 2.5), which was more than 100 years earlier than the record in Four Empty Pictures. From the above, we can know that wooden fish is long at first, and it is not only used to gather Taoist disciples, but also to pass on scriptures. Quzhou is now Quzhou City, Zhejiang Province. You can know from the worship of stone fish in Quzhou Taoist Temple. Prior to this, Taoist temples in Quzhou or Jiangbiao used stone fish to summon Taoists or give lectures. Why did you carve jade into the shape of a fish? There are two reasons: first, fish is auspicious; Secondly, I believe that fish-shaped objects can make louder sounds. This custom dates back to the Six Dynasties. Liu's Unique Gardens in Southern Song Dynasty (Volume 2);

When Emperor Wu of the Jin Dynasty was in power, Wu Jun collapsed on the flat bank, leaving a stone drum and making no noise. Huayun asked Zhang Hua, "You can take paulownia from Shu and carve it into a fish shape. If you hit it, it will make a sound. " As the saying goes, sound travels for dozens of miles.

It can be seen that in the Western Jin Dynasty, people had carved the shape of fish out of paulownia wood and used it as a beating instrument.

1 9 8 8 The sarcophagus of the Han Dynasty unearthed in Liu Yang Township, Jintang County, Sichuan Province, has paintings of horses, fish and priests, as shown in Figure 3 below. Undoubtedly, hanging fish should be a buzzer like Tudor, indicating that there is a custom of using fish-shaped buzzers among Han people. The sarcophagus paintings in Han Dynasty in Sichuan are mostly based on fairy tales. Sichuan is also the birthplace of Taoism, which probably used fish-shaped singing instruments.

However, it can be considered that during the Jin and Song Dynasties, a wooden fish-shaped object appeared in the Taoist temple. "Different Garden" Volume Seven Clouds:

Jiang Daozhi saw a floating hawthorn by the water and made it into a fish. Some Taoist divination and papers are all about fish, and I often follow them, but they have been lost for more than 20 years. The dreamer said, "I'm going to play in Xiangshui for a while. I'm going to live in Xiang Jun Temple for my second concubine." If you return it today, you can find it in the water. "When I reached the water's edge, I saw a carp. I got the paper first when I bought it, and later I realized that the dreamer had given up. Thunder and rain, there are five colors on the house, reaching the sky. Later generations had the Xiang Jun Temple and saw this fish grinding beside the Second Princess.

Xiang Jun Temple is located in Junshan, Dongting Lake, and is famous for its ChristianRandPhillips. Jiang Daozhi carved wood into a fish, which is hollow, similar to the round wooden fish in the afterlife, but with different uses. It can be seen that the wooden fish used in Taoist temples began in the Tang Dynasty, but its source was in the Han and Jin Dynasties.

King of the Five Dynasties (8.7.0-about 9.5.5), A Talk goes:

A white coat asked Tianzhu Chang Laoyun, "Monks and monasteries all hang wooden fish. Why? " Answer: "Use it to warn the public." Bai Yi said, "Why do you have to carve fish?" The elder couldn't answer, so he asked Wu to argue. The teacher said, "Fish don't taste their eyes day and night, and practitioners want to forget to eat and sleep day and night to gain enlightenment." five

Tianzhu old man never knew the history of swordfish, and the editor's interpretation was nothing more than self-deception. In fact, at this time, the monk's family hangs wooden fish for no more than 100 years. But strangely, in the Tang Dynasty, when the dispute between Buddhism and Taoism was fierce, the temple imitated wooden fish, but it did not attract the attack of Taoist priests, so that Buddhists tied the development of wooden fish with the name of Buddha.

The style of wooden fish used in Taoist temples in Tang Dynasty. On the one hand, it has its origin, on the other hand, it is also related to the likes and dislikes of Xuanzong in Tang Dynasty, and temples have gradually acquired this style, which reflects the prosperity of Buddhism and Taoism from one side.