Speaking of the most feared animals in ancient China, tigers dare to say first, I'm afraid no one dares to say second, and this fear may also be incomprehensible to us now, because the wild mountains and forests are the paradise of tigers, and the phenomenon of cannibalism occurs from time to time.
Take the Qing Dynasty, which is the closest to the present, for example: "The Barnyard Sayings, Beasts Eating Tigers" records: "There are many tigers in the Datong Lingqiu Mountain, and the difference is tens of groups, when the day eats people." Lingqiu was stationed in the calf marshal, often grazing the camp under the horse mountain, and when the tiger was in the flock, it was remnants of the group. Soldiers are forbidden to arrest each other." The "Chronicle of Qijiang County" in the Daoguang years mentions: "The tigers appear in the sun, and the lower city towers peep into the broken households." ...... Although the walkers are in the same group as five or seven, and they hold the instrument, there will be a mistake in the middle of the front and back. ”
Therefore, in ancient novels, there will be tiger fighting heroes like Wu Song to reflect their bravery, but as the king of the jungle, the unscrupulous tiger also has a time of fear, as early as the Southern and Northern Dynasties period, the emperor looked down on the animals that the Hu people paid tribute to, let people take it to feed the tiger, but the tiger did not dare to move on the ground, what is the matter?
After the Han Dynasty was ruled by Wenjing, its national strength was at its peak, and it was unprecedentedly prosperous during the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Therefore, Emperor Wu of Han, who was bent on making some achievements, sent Wei Qing, Huo Zhiyi and others to sweep away the Xiongnu and drive the Xiongnu to the inaccessible desert north. After the Xiongnu were expelled, Emperor Wu of Han sent Zhang Qian on an envoy to the Western Regions. In the process of his mission to the Western Regions, Zhang Qian not only shipped silk, tea, porcelain and other products produced in China overseas, but also imported gemstones, glass and other products from Europe, West Asia and Central Asia.
In order to promote the prestige of the country, Zhang Qian rewarded the small countries in the Western Regions in the process of sending an envoy to the Western Regions. In order to embrace the thighs of Emperor Wu of Han, the countries of the Western Regions also sent emissaries to Chang'an with gifts to meet Emperor Wu of Han. Among the gifts sent by the countries in the western region, in addition to various rare treasures, there are also some animals that are not available in the Central Plains. For example, the rare large finches (that is, camels) and peacocks at that time opened the eyes of Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty. However, once the animals offered by the Hu people made Emperor Wu of Han very dissatisfied.
The animal was hairless, but its face was covered with manes, and it was very loud to cry, and the Hu people called it a "sacred beast". However, Emperor Wudi of Han thought that this animal was ugly and unqualified to act as a "sacred beast". However, it was not easy to refute the face of the emissaries of the Western Regions, so after retiring from the dynasty, he had people throw the "sacred beast" into the cage to feed the tigers. In Emperor Wudi of Han's imagination, this sacred beast would certainly be eaten clean by the tiger before long, but his subordinate officials reported to him that the tiger could not afford to fall in front of the sacred beast. The "sacred beast" in the eyes of the Hu people is actually a lion.
Although the tiger is the king of the forest, the lion is also the overlord of the steppe. The two kings fought each other, and in the end, the lion was superior. During the Reign of Emperor Ming of the Eastern Han Dynasty, a lion was also obtained from abroad. Emperor Hanming wanted to see if the tiger had the strength to defeat the lion after so many years, so he had people organize a lion-tiger duel. According to the "Luoyang Jialan Record", "Gong County, Shanyang and sent two tigers and one leopard, and the emperor looked at it in Hualin Garden, so the tiger and leopard saw the lion, and they all looked up and did not dare to look up." ”
It can be seen that although hundreds of years have passed, the lion is still crushing the tiger in momentum. Tigers and leopards see lions without even having the courage to look up. And Li Shizhen, a famous medical scientist in the Ming Dynasty, also said: "The lion is the chief of a hundred beasts, and the hundred beasts see it!" Because of this, the lion has become an auspicious beast in the minds of the people, not only placed at the gate, but also the folk tradition of lion dance.