In 2022, we will usher in the Year of the Tiger. The tiger ranks third in the zodiac, and the ground branch is Yin, called YinHu. In the mainland, tiger culture has a long history and is widely spread. Since ancient times, the tiger has been worshipped by people, is a symbol of justice, bravery, majesty, and a beautiful and lovely image. The cultural totems, idioms and folklore stories that revolve around the tiger are rich and impressive.
But how much do you know about tiger culture? This article talks about tiger culture that you don't know from multiple angles such as Chinese character structure, art culture, and zodiac signs.
Glyph evolution:
The "tiger" of the oracle bone is like a fierce tiger, some are painted very realistically, the golden glyph is in the same line as the oracle bone, there are also a little variation, simplifying the body into a line, the small seal glyph begins to abstract and line, the "tiger" character of the modern letter is formed by subordination and italization on the basis of the small seal glyph, the line of the seal representing the tiger's head and the tiger's body becomes "praying" (tiger character head), and the "human" shape representing the tiger's leg is written as "child" (the old style is written from "child") or "several".
"Tiger" in Oracle:
Book V of the Shuowen Jiezi: "The Tiger, the King of the Mountain Beasts." From the worm, the tiger's foot resembles a human foot. Pictographic. All tigers belong to the tiger. ”
Xu Shen's meaning is roughly: "Tiger" is the king of the beasts in the mountains and forests. Its glyph uses "虍" as a ideogram, and the tiger foot is somewhat like a human foot. It is a hieroglyph. All words related to "tiger" can use "tiger" as a ideogram.
The ancient Chinese people's love for the tiger was also overflowing with words, and it was ranked in the twelve zodiac signs of folk culture, ranking third, dominating the genus "Yin" in the twelve places, named "Yin Hu", so the "Yin Time" (from three o'clock to five o'clock in the morning) in the twelve o'clock of the day is also known as "Tiger Time". Why is it called "Yin Hu"? Legend has it that because in ancient times, from three o'clock to five o'clock in the morning was Yin time, when tigers were the most active period in the mountains, and they came out to roam around for food, the most ferocious, so it was called "Yin Tiger". Tigers are often known in Chinese culture as the "king of a hundred beasts".
In the Book of Poetry, Lu Song Panshui, the brave and martial subjects are called "jiaojiao tiger ministers", the Shang Shu Mu Oath says that the king of Wu has "three hundred tigers", and the mighty generals in Chinese history are known as "tiger generals", and "tigers" have become a symbol of the bravery and goodness of army generals.
The tiger symbolizes power, the state uses soldier symbols, and the festivals held by envoys going abroad are all named "tiger symbols" and "tiger festivals" in the name of the tiger characters. The "Tiger Charm" is made of copper and divided into two halves, half of which is stored in the Imperial Court, and half of which is paid to foreign officials, and the Imperial Court has sent envoys to hold half of the charms, and to issue orders to foreign officials, and half of them are true, that is, to issue orders, and "Tiger Runes" represent the highest military authority.
Zhang Shanxiao, "Tiger"
In ancient artifacts and artworks, tigers first appeared in the form of tribal totems and later became symbols of military power and combat effectiveness. However, in folk crafts, the image of the tiger becomes mighty and cute, in order to highlight its auspicious function of warding off evil spirits and ensuring peace.
The earliest tiger image found in mainland archaeology is a dragon and tiger pattern made of mussel shells excavated in 1987 on the west slope of Puyang, Henan. This archaeological discovery proves that dragons and tigers were worshipped gods in ancient times, and were totems of many clan tribes. For example, the clan emblem of the ancestors of Liangzhu is the "Divine Man And Beast Face Diagram", which often appears on various utensils. It is characterized by a feather-crowned "god man" riding on top of a beast, which many scholars believe to be a tiger.
"Bian Zhuangzi Thorn Tiger Diagram" (partial)
From the Yin Shang, Western Zhou, Spring and Autumn, Warring States, to the Qin Dynasty, Han Dynasty stone carvings, as well as bronze, iron, gold and silver, jade, porcelain, the shape and ornamentation of the works of art based on the tiger are more abundant.
In ancient times, tigers were the embodiment of justice, so since then, people have painted tigers on the door, not only expressing people's love for tigers, but also playing a role in driving away ghosts, which later evolved into door god paintings.
In the folk, people use the tiger as the prototype to sew a tiger's head hat, hoping that the child will be as brave and powerful as the soldier wearing the tiger helmet armor; sewing it into tiger head shoes, so that the child will wear shoes with tiger eyes as soon as he is born, and take the right path and follow the path for a lifetime; sew a cloth into a tiger with cloth, loaded with peach wood chips to make a well-behaved tiger, hoping that the child will be as healthy and brave as a tiger, and bless the child's life; sometimes the nose is made into a bottle shape, because the "bottle" represents "peace" called "peace tiger", hoping that the tiger will bless the family peace; sometimes the tiger is made into a yuan treasure. Decorate fish and copper coins, hoping that tigers will help them take care of their family wealth, and sometimes add cinnabar to their homes and ward off evil spirits in the town house.
The tiger's bravery, majesty and strength, coupled with its bloodthirsty and ferocious habits, make people very afraid. Some of the idioms and sayings that we are familiar with, such as sheep entering the tiger's mouth, riding a tiger is difficult, talking about tiger discoloration, etc., reflect human fear of tigers. This fear gradually developed into a cult of tiger force. For example, ancient weapons and armor were often decorated with tiger heads and tiger stripes, the relics that conveyed military orders were called "tiger symbols", the deliberative hall where military discussions were called "White Tiger Hall", the brave and warlike generals were praised as "tiger generals", and the brave and fierce troops were called "tiger and wolf divisions". Among the martial arts equipment exhibited in the martial arts hall of the Cangzhou Museum, there are some tiger head decorations, and the shadow of the tiger can also be seen in many martial arts moves, such as the eight pole boxing, which is called "Tiger Hard Climbing Mountain".
Of course, the New Year is indispensable to paste the Spring League, how can the Year of the Tiger be less "Tiger" Word Spring League, which is arranged for everyone:
Spring is the first of the four seasons, and the mountain tigers are king
Years of peace and prosperity Tiger tiger positive spring
Good luck in the Year of the Ox
Yin Shi is a dawning tiger age vibrating mighty wind
The people's courage is like a dragon and a tiger, and the motherland's rivers and mountains are like drawing pictures
People add ambition and tiger wings Snow dance harvest year swallow dance spring
Happy Celebration of the World kang ping shi Tiger year to celebrate the happy spring
Finally, a small question: Do you know what "tiger" reads when it comes to surnames?
The answer is "māo". In the mainland, the number of Tiger surnames in the population is extremely rare, mainly distributed in Zhaotong, Yunnan and Chengdu, Sichuan, Xindu District, Pidu District, in addition to Gansu, Nanjing, Guizhou, there are also Tiger surnames. Don't mispronounce such a surname.
Hand-drawn: King value
Draft: Hu Yalan
Data is integrated from China Daily, Cangzhou Daily, etc