For example, the Palace Museum in Beijing has nearly 3,000 ruyi variously made of gold, silver, iron, bamboo, wood, ivory, coral, rhinoceros horn, lacquer, crystal, jade, and precious gems.

Chinese ruyi was borrowed as a Buddhist loanword into other East Asian languages such as Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese, with corresponding Sino-Xenic pronunciations.

For example, the Shiji history uses it both literally for "as desired" and for the given name of Liu Ruyi (Chinese: 劉如意; pinyin: Liú rúyì) (d. 195 BC), who was the son of Emperor Gaozu of Han and Concubine Qi.

The Hanshu biography of the fangshi astrologer and mathematician Jing Fang (78–37 BCE) quotes him using ruyi meaning "as you wish" in an audience with Emperor Yuan of Han (tr.

Kieschnick (2003:144) concludes "that by the end of the sixth century, not only was the ruyi common at court, but it had even begun to take on emblematic significance as the mark of a ruler."

Davidson 1950:247) says this occurred on a hot summer day and the emperor's ruyi present was made from "heat-repelling rhinoceros horn", which is believed to be cooling in traditional Chinese medicine.

Herbert Giles (1912:185) quoted the Song dynasty archaeologist Zhao Xigu (Chinese: 趙希鵠; pinyin: Zhàoxīhú) (d. 1240) that the ruyi "was originally made of iron, and was used 'for pointing the way' and also 'for guarding against the unexpected,' i.e. for self-defence.

1627 AD Zhangwuzhi (Chinese: 長物志; pinyin: cháng wù zhì) "Treatise on Superfluous Things", by Ming painter Wen Zhenheng, discussed ruyi aesthetics.

Kieschnick 2003:151) During the Qing dynasty (1644–1912 AD), ruyi scepters became luxuriant symbols of political power that were regularly used in imperial ceremonies, and were highly valued as gifts to and from the Emperor of China.

The Qianlong Emperor presented a ruyi to the British ambassador George Macartney in 1793, and in his description (quoted by Kieschnick 2003:139–140), "It is a whitish, agate-looking stone, about a foot and a half long, curiously carved, and highly prized by the Chinese, but to me it does not appear in itself to be of any great value."

During the historical evolution of Chinese ruyi "as desired", they have been used as backscratchers, ritual objects in Buddhism and later Daoism, pointers for public speakers, prized icons of political power and wealth, and auspicious gifts expressing best wishes.

The ruyi shape appears as a motif in decorative knots, Oriental rug patterns, folk artifacts, and even modern corporate logos.

Not only were these utensils frequently portrayed by artists and sculptors, but the Shōsōin treasure house of Tōdai-ji temple, in Nara, has preserved several 8th-century ruyi (Davidson 1950:242).

The first type shows minor elaborations upon the basic slender-handled structure of the early ruyi, but the slight curve at the top was exaggerated into a decorative ornament, a medallion-like form, frequently a stylized fungus.

The second type of contemporary ruyi shows a radical change, in addition to the decorated end, two other smaller inlaid plaques or medallions, with one at the middle of the handle and the other at the base.

Berthold Laufer (1912: 339) believed the first Chinese representation of a ruyi was in an 8th-century Mañjuśrī painting by Wu Daozi, which showed it held in his right hand taking the place of the usual sword.

Laufer noted the artistic similarly between the curved handle of a ruyi and the long stem of a lotus blossom, which was frequently depicted in the hands of Bodhisattvas, e.g., the Longmen Grottoes.

(1912:339) Admitting that the "original significance of this implement has been lost long ago", Laufer hypothesized that the ruyi may have developed from a ritual jade that began as a Zhou dynasty "symbol of light, generative power and fertility".

The primary terms and Chinese/Japanese translations are: First, the anuruddha/ruyi/nyoi scepter is defined in the Digital Dictionary of Buddhism: An instrument held, especially by the abbot of a temple, during ceremonies and sermons shaped as a short staff curled in an S-shape and made out of wood, or more precious materials, such as ivory.

The Chinese Buddhist monk Yi Jing 義凈, who travelled in India from 673 to 695, translated kalpavriksha as ruyishu in describing the Uposatha day celebration (tr.

… Said to be obtained from the dragon-king of the sea, or the head of the great fish, Makara, or the relics of a Buddha.Erik Zürcher (1997:407) suggests that association between ruyi and the legendary ruyibao "wish-fulfilling gem" explains the dichotomy between it being both a mundane backscratcher and a Buddhist symbol.

There lived in Northern India a Buddhist abbot, "Buddha's vow" by name, who for the sake of mankind sought the "Precious pearl which grants all desires".

In modern Japanese usage, the loanword nyoi 如意 "as desired; as [one] wishes" means "ease; comfort; freedom" or "(Buddhist) priest's staff".