Horsetail Whisks

The Deer Tail ( 麈尾Zhuwei ) is in fact a duster. Ancient preachers of Dao liked to use a deer tail as duster to point to the listening crowd. The Biography of Wang Yan in the History of the Jin says, "Yan, having great talent and merit, is bright as a deity and good at metaphysical talk. He is always talking about Lao Zi ( 老子Laozi ) and Zhuang Zi ( 莊子Zhuangzi ) with a jade-handled deer tail in his jade-colored hand." This kind of deer, living only in the Ningguta and Usuli River area, has a deer's head, an ox's hoofs, a donkey's bottom, and a camel's back. So it is commonly called the Four Unlike ( 四不像Sibuxiang ).

麈尾