法器-Peach wood sword 桃木剑

## **Brief Introduction 简介**

桃木剑是道教的一种法器，在中国传统习俗中也被认为有镇宅、纳福、辟邪、招财等作用。在制作上，通常取天然桃木，纯手工雕刻（现代为节约成本很多已使用机器雕刻）一般认为，桃者为五木之精，亦称仙木，故有辟邪镇宅的作用；桃木剑则因而具有了这方面的能力。

## **Ability 能力**

**①放置:**

镇宅辟邪

**②挥砍:**

斩鬼纳福

## **Legend 传奇**

桃者：为五木之精，亦称仙木，有镇宅辟邪之神功，相传古神话中，有夸父逐日，干渴而死，化为桃林，有神荼郁垒，二神用桃剑击杀妖魔，以保百姓安宁，三国时期的曹操，因疑心太重，落下头疼病，久治不愈，后经军师提议，在中原精选优质桃木，制成一把桃木剑，悬挂室内，头痛之症，不治痊愈，后来南征北战，建立了霸业。桃木镇宅辟邪在民间广为流传，凡盖新房就用桃枝订在房屋四角，以保家宅安宁，大吉大利，迎亲嫁娶，也用桃枝，意为婚姻美满，富贵平安，逢年过节，也要取桃枝挂门边，用来镇宅接福，节日祥和，桃木应用在我国和东南亚国家广为流传和使用。桃木以果实为主，它的树干，粗短弯曲，又易变形，所以取材极难，在我国中原地区，民间有经泡、蒸、煮、捂、晾、干燥等处理十八道工艺，处理后的桃木剑经久耐用，色如紫铜，清香亦人。
传说东南方向的桃木枝具有镇灾避邪之功效。记载东南桃木枝避邪之说历史久远，辞源:古时选东南方向的桃木枝刻桃木人，立于户中以避邪，汉时，刻桃印挂于门户，称为桃印懋，后汉书议志中[仲夏之月，万物方盛，日夏至阴气萌作，恐物不懋]。以桃印长六寸方三寸，五色书如法，以施门户，宋代刻桃符[古代大恩挂的两块书着门神名字的桃木板]意为压邪。现今，东南亚国家民间以桃木剑置于户中用于避邪。<太平御览>引<典术>:桃者，五木之精也，古压伏邪气者，此仙木也，桃木之精气在鬼门，制百鬼，故今做桃木剑以压邪，此仙术也。桃木制鬼的传说施丰富多彩的，<淮南子。诠言>说"异死于桃上"东汉许慎注:"口/大杖，以桃木为之，以击杀羿"的传说 ，羿以善射闻名，逢蒙拜师学艺，学成后恩将仇报，从老师身后下毒手，举起桃木大棒向羿的后脑勺猛砸。羿死后，做了阅领百鬼的官。此外在古代神话里，夸父追日，干渴而死，死后化为桃树。将桃树说成施追赶太阳的英雄所化。

## **Historical Origin 历史渊源**

在中国古代神话中，相传有一个鬼域的世界，当中有座桃都山，山上有一棵覆盖三千里的大桃树，树梢上有一只金鸡。每当清晨金鸡长鸣的时候，夜晚出去游荡的鬼魂必赶回鬼域。鬼域的大门坐落在桃树的东北，门边站着两个神人，名叫神荼、郁垒。如果鬼魂在夜间干了伤天害理的事情，神荼、郁垒就会立即发现并将它捉住，用芒苇做的绳子把它捆起来，送去喂虎。因而天下的鬼都畏惧神荼、郁垒。于是民间就用桃木刻成他们的模样，放在自家门口，以避邪防害。后来，人们干脆在桃木板上刻上神荼、郁垒的名字，认为这样做同样可以镇邪去恶。这种桃木板后来就被叫做“桃符”。

到了宋代，人们便开始在桃木板上写对联，一则不失桃木镇邪的意义，二则表达自己美好心愿，三则装饰门户，以求美观。又在象征喜气吉祥的红纸上写对联，新春之际贴在门窗两边，用以表达人们祈求来年福运的美好心愿。

“千门万户曈曈日，总把新桃换旧符”。桃木避邪，民间传说久矣，究竟源于何时，起于何载？

桃木治鬼的传说丰富多彩，《淮南子·诠言》说：“羿死于桃口”。东汉许慎注：“口，大杖，以桃木为之，以击杀羿，由是以来鬼畏桃也”。羿以善射闻名，逢蒙拜师学艺，学成后恩将仇报，从老师身后下毒手，举起桃木大棒向羿的后脑猛砸。羿死后，做了统领万鬼的官。古人关于桃木避邪的联想，是与这一神话故事有关的。试想，桃木棒连统领众鬼的羿都能击杀，用来治鬼就更不在话下了。

另外，《左传》昭公四年（公元前538年），记载着桃木能发挥神秘力量的一件事：“古者日在北陆而藏冰，……其藏之也，黑牡秬，以享司寒；其出之也，桃弧棘矢，以除其灾也。”这段话是说：古人冬天把冰块藏在深山大谷的冰窖里，藏冰时，要用黑色雄性生畜和黑黍祭祀寒之神，而取冰使用时，则要用桃木做的弓和棘制的箭进行除灾的仪式。

桃者，五木之精也，故压伏邪气者也。

传说，主宰人间寿算的南极仙翁，掌上总是捧着一个硕大的仙桃，所以桃又有避邪去病、益寿延年之说。而南极仙翁手中的这颗仙桃。

有一山名曰陶（桃）山，陶山至小泰山之间，环绕山顶的是拔地通天的悬崖峭壁，雄奇险峻，绵延数十里，七十二个洞穴天女散花般分布在峭壁上，这七十二洞，洞洞都有妖魔鬼怪。每当夜幕降临，七十二洞妖怪便钻出洞来群魔乱舞，兴风作浪，祸害百姓，涂炭生灵。此事传至东海度朔山，山上神荼、郁垒二神听后怒不可遏，就地取材，折桃枝为武器，将妖魔鬼怪打的死的死，伤的伤，逃的逃。侥幸逃走的妖怪看见桃枝便魂飞魄散，所以朝东南的桃枝便有了灵气。此后，当地百姓便将朝东南的桃木枝折下，或做成宝剑悬于室内，或刻成桃人、桃符悬于梁上、门后，妖魔鬼怪望风而逃，再也不敢近前了。汉代《风俗通义》所说：“腊除夕饰桃人……葵以卫凶”的风俗，其实就是对桃木避邪的解说。

记载桃木避邪之说历史悠远，《辞源》载：古时刻桃木人，立于户中以避邪。汉时，刻桃印挂于户懋，称为桃印。后汉书仪志中“仲夏之月，万物方盛，日夏至阴气萌作，恐物不懋”……以桃印长六寸、方三寸，五色书如法，以施门户。宋代刻神荼、郁垒二神像或只写大名于两块门板之上，也称“桃符”或叫“门神”，“……百鬼畏之”。

由此可见，只有桃木能避邪，也只有肥城的桃木才是真正的“降妖木”。

关于桃木能避邪的传说不一，但桃木毕竟是吉祥平安的象征。

1. ↑ Peach wood sword is a kind of magic weapon of Taoism. It is also considered to have the functions of house holding, blessing, evil spirits dispelling and wealth attracting in Chinese traditional customs. In terms of production, it is usually made of natural peach wood. Pure hand carving (modern machine carving has been used to save costs) generally believes that peach is the essence of five trees, also known as immortal wood, so it has the role of warding off evil spirits and suppressing houses; Peach wood sword thus has this ability.

报错

笔记

双语对照
2. ↑ placed
3. ↑ To ward off evil spirits
4. ↑ Slash
5. ↑ Kill the Ghost and Receive Luck
6. ↑ Peach maker: It is the essence of five trees, also known as immortal wood. It has the magic skill of suppressing evil spirits. According to the ancient myth, there are Kuafu chasing the sun, dying of thirst, and turning into a peach forest. There are two gods who use peach swords to kill demons to ensure the peace of the people. Cao Cao in the Three Kingdoms Period, because of his heavy suspicion, fell ill with a headache and could not be cured for a long time. Later, upon the proposal of the military adviser, he selected high-quality peach trees in the Central Plains to make a peach wood sword, which is hung indoors. The headache can not be cured, Later, they fought from south to north and established hegemony. Peach trees are widely spread among the people to ward off evil spirits. Peach trees are used to build new houses at the four corners of the house to ensure the peace of the house. Peach trees are also used for wedding, which means a happy marriage, wealth and peace. Peach trees are also used to hang beside the door when festivals are celebrated, so that people can enjoy the happiness of the house. Peach trees are widely spread and used in China and Southeast Asian countries. Peach is mainly fruit. Its trunk is thick, short, curved, and easy to deform, so it is very difficult to obtain materials. In the central plains of China, there are eighteen folk processes for soaking, steaming, boiling, covering, airing, and drying. The treated peach wood sword is durable, its color is like copper, and its fragrance is also human.

It is said that the peach tree branch in the southeast has the effect of preventing disasters and evil spirits. It has a long history to record that the southeast peach tree branch is used to ward off evil spirits. The etymology is: in ancient times, peach trees were selected from the southeast peach tree branch to carve peach wood people and stood in the house to ward off evil spirits. In the Han Dynasty, peach seals were carved and hung on the door, which was called "peach seal letters". Later in the Han Dynasty, in the annals of the Han Dynasty, [the mid summer moon, everything flourished, the summer solstice was filled with yin, and things were feared but not words]. The peach seal is six inches long and three inches square. The five color book is like the law. It is used to give alms to the door. In the Song Dynasty, the peach symbol [two peach wood boards with the name of the door god written on them in ancient times] is carved to suppress evil spirits. Nowadays, people in Southeast Asian countries place peach wood swords in their homes to ward off evil spirits< Taiping Yulan>Citation<Classic Skill>: Peach is the essence of five trees. In ancient times, it was the immortal wood that subdued evil spirits. The essence of peach wood is in the Ghost Gate, making hundreds of ghosts. So today, we make peach wood swords to subdue evil spirits. It is also the immortal skill. The legend of peach wood ghost making is colorful,<Huainanzi. Commentary>It was said that "different people died on peaches" Xu Shen of the Eastern Han Dynasty noted that the legend of "mouth/big stick, which was made of peach wood, was used to kill Yi". Yi was famous for shooting. When he learned martial arts from his teacher, he would repay his kindness and revenge when he learned it. He killed him from behind his teacher, raised the big stick of peach wood and smashed it at the back of his head. After Yi died, he became the official of reading and leading hundreds of ghosts. In addition, in ancient mythology, Kuafu chased the sun, died of thirst, and turned into a peach tree after death. He described the peach tree as a hero chasing the sun.
7. ↑ In ancient Chinese mythology, it is said that there is a world of ghosts, in which there is a Taodu Mountain, on which there is a big peach tree covering 3000 miles, and on the top of the tree is a golden rooster. Whenever the golden rooster crows in the morning, the ghosts wandering out at night will return to the ghost land. The gate of the Ghost Land is located in the northeast of the peach tree. There are two gods standing beside the gate, named Shenta and Yulei. If the ghost does something harmful at night, Shenta and Yulei will immediately find it and catch it. They will tie it up with a rope made of reed and send it to feed the tiger. Therefore, all ghosts in the world are afraid of the divine tea and Yulei. So people carved them with peach wood and put them at their doorways to avoid evil spirits and disasters. Later, people simply carved the names of Shentu and Yulei on the peach wood board, believing that this could also quell evil. This kind of peach board was later called "Tao Fu".

In the Song Dynasty, people began to write couplets on mahogany boards, one of which was not to lose the significance of suppressing evil spirits, the other was to express their good wishes, and the third was to decorate the door for beauty. In addition, couplets were written on red paper, which symbolized happiness and auspiciousness, and were pasted on both sides of doors and windows during the Spring Festival to express people's good wishes for good luck in the coming year.

"Thousands of households are burning the sun, and they always exchange the new peach for the old charm". Peach wood has been a folk legend for a long time. When and where did it originate?

The legend of Taomu governing ghosts is rich and colorful. Huainanzi Commentary says: "Yi died in Taokou". Xu Shen of the Eastern Han Dynasty noted: "The mouth, the big staff, is made of peach wood to kill Yi. Since then, ghosts have been afraid of peaches.". Yi is famous for his shooting skills. He learned from his teacher every time he met Mongolia. When he learned, he would bite the hand that feeds him. He killed him from behind his teacher and threw a peach wood stick at the back of Yi's head. After Yi died, he became an officer in charge of all ghosts. The ancients' association of peach trees to avoid evil spirits is related to this myth. Just imagine that the peach wood stick can kill Yi, who is in charge of all ghosts. It's even easier to use it to cure ghosts.

In addition, in the fourth year of Zhao Gong (538 B.C.), Zuo Zhuan recorded that peach trees could play a mysterious role: "The ancient people hid ice in the northern land every day... They hid it, black peonies, to enjoy the cold; they came out of it, peach arches and arrows, to eliminate disasters." It said that the ancients hid ice in the ice cellar in the deep mountains and valleys in winter. When they hid ice, they used black male livestock and black millet to sacrifice to the God of Cold. When they used ice, they used a bow made of peach wood and an arrow made of thorns to perform a disaster removal ceremony.

Peach is the essence of five trees, so it can suppress evil spirits.

It is said that the Antarctic fairy, who dominates the calculation of human life, always holds a huge peach in his palm, so the peach also has the theory of avoiding evil and curing diseases, and prolonging his life. And this peach in the hands of the Antarctic fairy.

There is a mountain named Tao (Tao) Mountain. Between Tao Mountain and Xiaotai Mountain, there is a precipice that stretches for tens of miles. Seventy two caves are scattered on the precipice. There are devils and ghosts in these seventy-two caves. Whenever night falls, seventy-two hole monsters will drill out of the hole to dance in disorder, making waves, harming the people and killing the people. The story reached Dusuo Mountain in the East China Sea. The gods of tea and Yulei became furious after hearing about it. They used local materials and took peach branches as weapons. They beat monsters to death, hurt them, and escaped. The monster who escaped luckily saw the peach branch and was scared out of his wits, so the peach branch towards the southeast had an aura. After that, the local people broke down the peach tree branches facing the southeast, or made them into swords and hung them indoors, or carved them into peach figures and peach charms and hung them on beams and behind doors. Demons and ghosts fled at the sight of the wind and dared not come near any more. According to the Custom Tongyi of the Han Dynasty, the custom of "decorating peach people on the eve of the Lunar New Year... using sunflowers to guard against evil spirits" is actually the interpretation of peach trees to ward off evil spirits.

It is recorded that the theory of peach trees avoiding evil spirits has a long history. According to the "Origin of Ci", peach wood people were carved in ancient times and stood in households to avoid evil spirits. In the Han Dynasty, peach seals were carved and hung in Humao, called peach seals. In the later Han Dynasty, "In the midsummer moon, all things prosper, and in the summer solstice, Yin Qi sprouts, and people are afraid of things."...... Peach prints are six inches long and three inches square, and five color books are like the law, so that they can help people. In the Song Dynasty, two gods, named Shenta and Yulei, were carved on the two door panels or only wrote their names on the two door panels, also known as "Taofu" or "Door God", "... ghosts are afraid of it".

It can be seen that only the peach wood can avoid evil spirits, and only the peach wood in Feicheng is the real "demon wood".

There are different legends about peach wood's ability to avoid evil spirits, but peach wood is a symbol of good luck and peace after all.