A narrow board, made of jade, ivory or bamboo by rank, that officials gripped before the throne to shield the face and jot reminders. It survives only in historical and theatrical contexts.
history
Not used independently in modern Chinese. It is the bamboo radical ⺮ over phonetic 勿, the same sound element seen in 物.
The bamboo cap, two drooping bamboo leaves. It marks the material of the tablet, since common-rank officials carried bamboo ones, grouping it with other bamboo objects like 笔 and 筷.
Sits below and supplies the sound, near hù. The same phonetic gives the reading of 物; here it lends pronunciation only, with no connection to its "do not" meaning.
