20
22
The Year of the Tiger is auspicious
This year is the Year of the Tiger. Like the dragon, the tiger is a totem of the Chinese nation originating from ancient times and is a traditional mascot. In the oracle bones, there is the word "tiger", a hieroglyph, which is shaped like a tiger with large fangs, long legs and sharp claws, a colorful body and a tail. But the tiger is different from the dragon, the tiger is a considerable animal, so the written record of the tiger is very detailed and endless through the ages. In fact, the tiger has long entered the poem, and the tiger is mentioned many times in the Book of Poetry, some describe the fierceness of the tiger, some admire the mighty warriors of the tiger, and record the integrity of the tiger in the name of the tiger, and most of them use the "tiger" to send sentiments and words. Therefore, when the tiger enters literature as an image, the tiger is no longer a simple creature, but an image with a certain meaning.
Tigers are very brave, majestic, but dangerous, which makes the ancients worship and fear. The Zhou Yi Zhengyi mentions that "the cloud is from the dragon, the tiger is from the wind", comparing the dragon in the sky with the tiger on the earth, as a symbol of god and power. Over the course of its long history, the dragon has gradually become a symbol of kingship and power; the tiger has disappeared into the folk, becoming a legendary story image and a protector in folklore. On the other hand, because tigers can hurt and eat people, in real life, tigers have both a beast and a dangerous side. But often people prefer to represent bravery, prestige, nobility, literary style and ambition. This kind of auspicious and comprehensive contradictory imagery is precisely the characteristic of Chinese tiger culture.
Therefore, the word "tiger" often forms an image together with other characters, such as "bandit tiger, leading the wilderness" in "Xiaoya He Cao Bu Huang". Mourn my husband, day and night", etc., using the tiger to symbolize the bravery and majesty of man. The ancients also cleverly regarded the pattern of the tiger's forehead as the Chinese character "wang", so the word "tiger ben" in the pre-Qin classics refers to the warrior like a fierce tiger as the royal guard, and the officers also have the positions of tiger benzhonglang general and huya general. "Daya Changwu" of "Wang Fenwu, like shock and anger." Enter the tiger chen, Kan is like a tiger. Pu Dun Huai Is still ugly. Cut off Huaipu, the place of the Wang Shi", describing the Zhou Dynasty's army as a tiger, under the leadership of "Tiger Chen", laying heavy sieges on the banks of the Huai River, taking advantage of the victory to chase after the poor and capture a large number of prisoners. The Book of Poetry also records several princes, nobles, and warriors in the name of "tigers". Since then, the imagery of the tiger in the song has been in the same vein as the image of the tiger formed in poems such as the Book of Poetry.
Looking through ancient texts, most of the materials related to tigers seen are narrative. Compiled in the northern Song Dynasty Taiping Xingguo three years of the "Taiping Guangji", to collect the Song Dynasty before the Zhiwei legend, of which only four animals can be independently volumed, of which the dragon, tiger story accounted for eight volumes, even if the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties tiger story is not as good as the fox story, in the quality slightly inferior, but in the quantity still surpassed the fox story, tiger became the largest number of Chinese animal theme novels.
In Chinese culture, tigers are powerful and righteous animals capable of driving away fire, theft, and evil. Ordinary people often use tiger paintings, tiger faces, tiger gate gods, etc. to pray for blessings and avoid evil. Beginning with the Book of Poetry, the famous works of singing "tiger" in ancient poems have been in history, and "tiger" has become a rich image, which is omnipresent in various fields of traditional culture such as novels, operas, paintings, and folklore.
Just as the so-called "tiger and tiger are strong", I also wish everyone in the new year, tiger and tiger will be strong!
