Volume 3, Chapter 18: Hanging Hooks.

 

Ch’in should be hung up.  One should not leave them horizontal for long periods.  It is be feared that this (horizontal placement) might cause warping in the waist.  Avoid hanging the ch’in in wind, sun, damp, or wet places.  It is appropriate to use a wooden pillar or wooden wall, window frame, or other place. 

In order to make a hook, use brass or iron.  The head of the hook should be rounded and flat, and five to six-tenths of an inch in length.[1]  The hook’s body should be one and one-half inch long, four-tenths of an inch wide, and one-tenth of an inch or so thick.  The tail of the hook should be around one-half inch in length.[2]  It should stick out like a rat’s tail.  Use a piece of hard wood, that is five inches long, four tenths of an inch thick, and about half an inch wide.  Drill a hole in the center and stick in the hook’s rat tail, twisting it in to the base, and nailing it level.  On both ends of the piece of wood, drill a hole.  Use small nails with heads that are an inch long and nail them into a pillar or wall, thus making it not too difficult to move to another place.  It is appropriate to wrap the hook in cloth to avoid damaging the phoenix pond. 

Another method:  Take a piece of bamboo that is one and a half inches long, two tenths of an inch thick, and with the center about three tenths of an inch wide.[3]  Drill a small hole (in the center).  Both ends should be somewhat rounded.  Use two strands of cord that is six to seven inches long.  One end goes into the bamboo hanger, and the other end goes around the nail.   Put the nail into the pillar or wall.  Put the bamboo piece into the phoenix pool and hang up the ch’in.  This is both stable and easy to use.

 

Figure 1: Wall Hanging Hardware

 

 

 


 



[1] See the figure at the top of the picture.

[2] This is the part that sticks into the wooden mounting bracket shown in the lower right-hand of the figure.

[3] The bamboo (and nail) hanging mechanism is shown on the left-hand side of the figure.