Fu (tally)

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For other uses, see Fu.
Tiger tally of Western Han period

In ancient China a fu (Chinese: 符; pinyin: About this soundfú) was a tally, made of bamboo, wood, metal (gold, silver, bronze) or jade and used as a proof of authorization.[1] Most commonly, fu were made of wood or bamboo in sizes of wooden slips or bamboo chopsticks.[1] Although fu have been made in various shapes (such as tiger, dragon, turtle, snake, fish or human), most of them come in the shape of a tiger.[1]

Classical description of tallies is found in the Zhou li, which refers to the tallies of jade and horn, and mentions the shapes of tiger, human, dragon, seal, and banner.[2]

Fu (surname 符) was derived from the post of title of an official in charge of the tally.[3]

Hu-fu[]

See also: Tiger in Chinese culture

Two-piece tiger tallies (hu-fu,  [zh] in Chinese) were used to verify troop deployment orders from the central government. Left pieces were issued to local commanders, and right pieces were retained by the central government. Government orders were deemed to be authentic if they were accompanied by the right piece matching the recipient's left piece.[4] The word hu-fu first appears in the biography of Hsin-ling in the Records of the Grand Historian, where a stolen tiger tally is used to relieve the state of Zhao.[5] During the Warring States period, this type of fu was made from bronze.[5]

The tiger tally from the tomb of King Zhao Mo (趙眜) of Nanyue was cast as a single piece. It demonstrates that hu-fu are not uniform and could function as tokens instead of tallies.[6]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Tally(符 Fu)". China Info Online. Archived from the original on 24 April 2012. Retrieved 28 Sep 2011.
  2. ^ Lothar von Falkenhausen, "The E Jun Qi Metal Tallies" in Text and Ritual in Early China, 2005:83
  3. ^ Patrick Hanks, Peter McClure, and Richard Coates. The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ "Tiger Tally". China Ancient. Retrieved 28 Sep 2011.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b Needham, Joseph (1981). Science in traditional China: a comparative perspective. Chinese University Press. p. 97. ISBN 962-201-212-4.
  6. ^ Lothar von Falkenhausen, "The E Jun Qi Metal Tallies" in Text and Ritual in Early China, 2005:87
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