Peach wood, tao mu (桃木), is the wood of the peach tree. In Chinese folk belief it is the wood that ghosts fear. It has been carved into door charms, figures and swords meant to keep evil spirits away, while the peach fruit stands for long life.
Why ghosts fear peach wood
The belief is very old. The historian Robert Antony notes that the philosopher Zhuangzi mentions peach branches placed on doors to keep ghosts from entering, and that many people still put peach boughs on their doors at the Lunar New Year. In Chinese culture, he writes, the whole tree, from fruit and pit to wood, is tied to springtime, fertility and above all long life.
Shentu and Yulu under the great peach tree
The story behind the custom comes from Han dynasty writings. On Mount Dushuo in the eastern sea grew a giant peach tree whose branches coiled for three thousand li. Among its branches was the gate through which all ghosts came and went. Two gods, Shentu and Yulu (also read Yulei), kept watch there. They bound harmful ghosts with reed ropes and fed them to tigers.
So, the story goes, the Yellow Emperor had large peach wood figures set up, the two gods and a tiger painted on doors, and a reed rope hung beside them. The University of Michigan Museum of Art describes Shentu and Yulei as guardians of the entrance, meant to keep evil spirits out.
From peach wood charms to spring couplets
In time the carved figures gave way to peach wood boards called taofu (桃符), hung on either side of the door at the New Year with the gods' pictures or names on them. In the 10th century Meng Chang, ruler of the Later Shu kingdom, had New Year lines written on a peach wood board. Many Chinese sources count it as the first spring couplet, though the National Library of China points to older New Year couplets in a Tang manuscript from Dunhuang. Paper later took the place of the wood. China Culture dates the red paper couplets still pasted on doors today to the Ming dynasty. People long went on calling them peach wood charms.
Peach wood swords
A sword of peach wood is a classic tool of Daoist exorcism. Antony writes that because peach wood was thought to hold supernatural power, it has always been the preferred weapon of Daoist masters for slaying demons. A Daoist culture database dates their wide use in ritual to after the Sui and Tang dynasties, to dispel evil spirits and control ghosts. In south China, Antony adds, people wear small peach wood swords as amulets or hang them over the door.
The peach of immortality
The fruit has a legend of its own. Britannica describes the pantao, the flat peach of immortality, growing in the garden of Xiwangmu, the Queen Mother of the West. When the peaches ripened every 3,000 years, the Eight Immortals gathered for a banquet. Xiwangmu was said to have given these peaches to Emperor Wu of the Han, and the Walters Art Museum dates her visit to 110 BC. The white-bearded god of long life, one of the three star gods in our guide to the fu character, is usually pictured holding a peach.
Peach wood at Buddha.store
We carry peach wood beads and charms on bracelets and a keychain. For the zodiac bracelet, our Chinese zodiac guide explains the twelve animals.
