The latter theory is that ruyi originated as a backscratcher in early China, and was amalgamated with the Buddhist symbol of authority. Davidson (1950:239) suggests "as desired" signifies a backscratcher owing to "its apparent ability to reach otherwise inaccessible areas of the human body". During the Later Han dynasty (25–220 AD) and Jin dynasty (266–420 AD), literati and nobles often held ruyi during conversations and other social occasions. It was called a tanbing 談柄 "conversation baton" (cf. the Native American talking stick) and was used much like the zhuwei 麈尾 "deer tail" (analogous to a fly whisk), which practitioners of the qingtan 淸談 "pure conversation" movement popularized during the Six Dynasties period (220–589 AD). Besides the ruyi, other objects used as a tanbing "discussion stick" included the tanshan 談扇 "discussion fan" and tanzhu 談麈 made from the tail of a Père David's deer. Davidson (1950:247) says "there seems no doubt that the primary and original function of the ju-i was that of a scepter qualifying the holder to "take the floor." Its origin was probably in India where the branch of a tree seems to have served a similar function. Any other purposes the ju-i served, such as a note tablet, honorific insignia, good luck gift, or even backscratcher, were merely later accruals." The ca. 554 AD Weishu history records a story that when Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei (r. 471–499 AD) wanted to retire from the throne, he tested his sons by letting them choose among a number objects, and the one who selected a bone ruyi (symbolizing political rule) became Emperor Xuanwu of Northern Wei (r. 500–515). Kieschnick (2003:144) concludes "that by the end of the sixth century, not only was the ruyi common at court, but it had even begun to take on emblematic significance as the mark of a ruler." Although the ruyi symbolized imperial political power, it differed from the Western royal scepter because Chinese officials and monks commonly used it. In Buddhist usage, holding a ruyi when teaching gave the holder the right to talk. The biography of Tiantai Buddhist patriarch Zhiyi (538–597) says that when he was teaching Prajna in place of his teacher Huisi 慧思 (515–577), Huisi would sit holding a ruyi in his hand (Davidson 1950:244). The (c. 886) Duyang zabian 杜陽雜編, which is a collection of Tang dynasty (618–907) stories, records that Emperor Wenzong presented an ivory ruyi to his