In the long history of our country, many objects have been born, and each object has given it a different meaning, and some objects are indeed of great significance. So we often see in film and television dramas what the function of the county magistrates using " gavel " when they are promoted to the church. You will never imagine that there is such knowledge in a small givel!
The shape of a gavel is a rectangular hardwood block. It was picked up when the ancient county officials judged the case, paused slightly in the air, and quickly fell down, making a louder sound. Under the loud noise, the whole house was shocked. It has the effect of serious justice hall, enhancing the authority of the official, and deterring the judge, so it was named the givel. In addition, the gavel is also called wake-up wood , Qipao, or the boundary square, stroke ruler and other titles. Many ancient works also introduce the gavel. In the People's Education Press Chinese textbook "Oral Skills", "The ventriloquist people sit in the barrier, a table, a chair, a fan, and a ruler." stroke refers to the givel. For example, in the 15th chapter of "The Legend of Ping Yao", there is "Qu Jianzi cleans his throat and slapped his breath on the table", and the qi pat is also the givel.
In ancient times, the selection of materials for the production of gavels was extremely particular. Most of them were high-end mahogany with hard texture and delicate texture, such as sandalwood , rosewood , yellow rosewood , chicken wenge wood , boxwood , etc. The gavel made of these wood sounded loudly when hitting the table. However, in the north, there are also people who use mulberry, jujube and black locust trees to make gavels. No matter which material you choose, it is mainly about sturdy and durable, and beautiful appearance as the supplement. In addition, the ancients also had restrictions on the weight of the gavel, such as "Mandarin·Yueyu": "The givel is six inches long, five inches wide, two inches thick and eight inches thick"; during the Ming Dynasty, it was stipulated that the net weight of the givel should be "two jin, thirteen liang, five qian, four cents". Two jin represents the north and south capitals, thirteen liang represents the south and seven north and sixty-three provinces, and five qian and four cents represent the five lakes and the four seas, with profound meaning.
According to historical records, the gavel was used as early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, but the givel did not have any carved patterns at that time. It was just for the convenience of use, and the top surface was made into an arc for use. During the Tang Taizong period, for the sake of beauty, patterns were carved on the gavel, basically all animal patterns, such as dragons, lions, tigers, etc. During the Yongchang period of Wu Zetian, the imperial court stipulated the pattern of the gavel wood as a dragon shape, and the dragon was the symbol of imperial power. In the Song Dynasty, the dragons were mainly lying on the dragons, and the dragon patterns were mostly 3 or 4 claws, with fangs and dancing claws; in the Yuan Dynasty, three or four claws were carved with dragon shapes, with a pointed mouth and a thin neck and a fat body; in the Ming Dynasty, the dragon shape changed slightly, with a large convex mouth and a thick neck and a fat body, with five claws and a horn on the head. By the time of the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, the dragon shape on the gavel was uniformly modified to make it shrink its mouth and look like a small snake.
"Gaotang" has experienced the evolution and evolution of the system of all dynasties. From the beginning, only emperors and civil and military officials could use it, and later it was spread to various civil industries to use it, becoming the emperor from the "Nine Five Priests" to the artists of "Three Churches and Nine Classes", all of which were inherited and used. Due to the different user identities, their sizes and shapes are also different, and their names are also different. There is a poem "Gaotang" circulated among the people:
is called the dragon god phoenix and the phoenix concubine,
martial arts and the tiger's power;
precepts and rules to keep the monks and Taoists,
wake up and press them closely.
roughly means that the "gavel wood" used by the emperor is called "gentian", also called "shaking mountains and rivers", which means that the emperor beat him and heard from all over the world to show the emperor's supreme authority. The "grooves" used by the queen are called "Fenghu", also called "Fengxia", which is used to show the queen's noble identity. The "gazebo" used by the prime minister is called "running", also called "Super Chaogang", which is used to show the identity and responsibility of the prime minister below one person and ten thousand people above ten thousand people.
The "gavel wood" used by the general is called "tiger power", also called "shocking tiger courage", which is used to strengthen the military's power and stabilize the morale of the army. The "grooves" used by civil officials such as censors, prefects, and county magistrates are called "grooves", which are used to seriously uphold the justice hall, strengthen the authority of officials, and shock the trial.The "gavel wood" used by monks and Taoists is called "Zhentan", "Evil Evil", "Prevention Rules", "Awakening Wood", "Token", etc., and are all used to awaken the spirit. The "grooving wood" used by the teacher in a private school is called "wake-up error", called "calling ruler" and "restraining ruler", which is used to maintain classroom discipline.
The "gavel" used in the pawn shop is called "call out" to prompt the transaction to be successful. The "gavel" used by traditional Chinese medicine shops and doctors is called "save-shen", also known as "save-sanitary", which is used to suppress the prescription and grasp the medicine. The "gavel" used in inn cabinets is called "calm". The "grooved wood" used by storytellers is called "striking", also known as "stone", "carrying the stone", "stop words", etc. When you start storytelling, you are telling the audience to keep quiet and you are about to start talking.
In the history of our country, the eight famous for the world are: "The world's fortresses are eight parts, from the king to the ministers. The king governs civil and military affairs, and civil and military affairs are all in charge of the people. The sages preach Confucianism together, and the heavenly masters shock ghosts and gods. The monks speak Buddhism together, and Taoist persuade the Xuanmen. One piece falls into the hands of the world, and wanders around to persuade the world."
Moreover, until the Republic of China period, the gavel was used when judges judged cases. Until now, the gavel has been changed to a gavel, which is used to maintain the order of the court's judgment and strictly control the rhythm of the trial. Although the gavel evolved from the ancient gavel, there is an essential difference between them: the ancient gavel gavel gives people a sense of fear, forcing criminals to tell the truth, while the modern gavel is to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the parties involved and protect the interests of citizens.
The era has been constantly improving, but some ancient systems are still being used by later generations, giving them vitality to keep pace with the times.
