Song Baolan Honey Brother Tells Stories,
In Chinese folklore, the ornamentation and image of the tiger have become symbols of Nafu exorcism, town house disaster, and prayer for good luck. For example, during the New Year, the elders will let the children wear tiger head shoes, wear tiger head hats, and sleep on the tiger head pillow, hoping that the children will not be invaded by evil spirits and grow up safely and healthily. Or put a tiger map on the gate to drive away evil spirits and guard the family home. In addition, let's see what other images the mighty tiger has.
Ritual instrument Theosophical Tiger elephant divine power
In the ancient astronomical concept, there are four elephants, namely the four elephants of the Green Dragon, the White Tiger, the Suzaku and the Xuanwu. In the Chinese painting of the stars, the western stars are dominated by a tiger with an open mouth and a cocked tail, and the stars are arranged. The White Tiger lord of the West, which belongs to gold, is known as the God of War, who is in charge of the killing of the earth, and has the divine power to punish evil and promote good. The saying of "left green dragon and right white tiger" is familiar to the Chinese through the generations of divination and selection of auspicious or platoon troops.
In ancient times, people used many bronze or jade vessels to make tiger shapes and draw tiger stripes. For example, the tiger, the bronze tiger bird and the beast, the dragon and tiger pattern bronze zun and so on. There are three-dimensional round carved jade tigers, tiger-shaped jade pieces and so on. The western constellation is the white tiger constellation, the main earth of the conquest, killing, "send troops Ruiyu, for the tiger text" ("Shuowen Jiezi Yubu Yubu") jade is jade amber, "Zhou Li" regards jade amber as one of the six instruments, "with white amber to the west".
In the three ancient dynasties (Xia Shang Wednesday Dynasty), the Xia Dynasty had the Dragon Banner tiger calendar, the excavated cultural relics of the Shang Dynasty had the Dragon and Tiger Zun, and the Zhou Dynasty had the Dragon and Tiger Festival, such as the "Zhou Li Di Guan Palm Festival": "The envoys of the state of all states, the tiger festival of the mountain country, the festival of the people of the country, and the dragon festival of the Ze country." "Dragons and tigers move at the same time.
In the "Customs and Customs and Rituals" written by Ying Shao of the Han Dynasty, it is said: "The tiger, the yang, the chief of a hundred beasts, can fight and frustrate sharply, eat ghosts and ghosts", "draw tigers and doors, ghosts do not dare to enter". Tigers are the kings of the hundred beasts and can devour demons and ghosts, so when the ancients celebrated the festival, they would paste a tiger map on the door of the house, paint the tiger, and use the tiger god Wei town to guard the family home and expel evil spirits.
Tiger will be tiger handsome
Tigers are mighty and fierce beasts. In the eyes of the world, the tiger, with its unshakable image of might, has been regarded as a symbol of bravery or authority for generations, and has been widely used in the military.
In the Spring and Autumn Period, Qi Guo Guan Zhong's book "Guan Zi Situation Solution", which said: "Tigers and leopards, the fierce beasts are also." In the midst of the deep forest and broad zeal, people are afraid of its might. "The tiger and leopard are mighty beasts, and during the Zhou Dynasty of the Shang Dynasty, the army was named after the "tiger". The "Chronicle of Zhou Benji" records that King Wu of Zhou led a large army to Mengjin, and the army he led was "three hundred times the Rong army, three thousand tigers, and forty-five thousand soldiers", referring to warriors with "tiger ben".
The ancients called warriors Tiger Ben, Tiger General, Tiger Fu, etc., and some military camps were also called Tiger Ben Camps. According to the Book of the Later Han Dynasty, "The Tiger Ben Zhonglang General, than two thousand stones." This note: The Main Tiger Ben Su Wei. "During the Western Jin Dynasty, the Han system was still used, and Guanglu Xun was under the command of the General Ofe Wu Ben Zhonglang. The military attache's uniform is called "tiger suit"; the military general's camp curtain is called "tiger tent"; and the ancient relics of military mobilization include "tiger charm". In the Ming Dynasty, a short and thick artillery piece was also called "Tiger Crouch Cannon" and so on.
During the reign of Emperor Duzong of Song, the Dragon Flying List appeared. Xinghua Chen Wenlong is a big winner in the world, and a high school champion. Hu Yuelong was the provincial yuan, and was the first place in the Song Dynasty's ceremonial department. Coincidentally, at that time, Fan Wenhu was the commander of the palace, and he was the commander of the palace commander in front of the forbidden army, while Sun Huchen was the commander of the infantry. So someone came up with a pair, Cloud:
"Dragon Fly Strategist Yuanlong Of The Dragon Province."
The tiger tent is handsome and the tiger is handsome. ”
Buddhist monk Fu Hu legend
Since the tiger is mighty and intimidates hundreds of beasts, then the person who can control the tiger must also be extraordinary, not a fairy, not a Buddha, or a god. The Fuhu culture left by the Buddhist faith has influenced the artistic creation and architectural art of successive generations, and many paintings and scenic spots depict the deeds of the Fuhu monks.
Book 97 of the Taiping Guangji records a monk who was then called empty as a Zen master. When he was young, he longed for the Buddhist life, and after some twists and turns, he came to Luhun Mountain and practiced in the temple. There were many fierce beasts in the mountains, but the tiger did not have the tiger king's shelf in front of him, and was very gentle with the monks, showing no signs of ferocity. Sometimes, when a Zen master stumbles upon wild boars fighting tigers in the mountains, he drives them away with a wave of his cane: "Lord, you are not allowed to fight each other." "Tigers and wild boars will spread out playfully. People revere the Zen master, and no one dares to treat him lightly.
During the Northern Wei Dynasty, there was a time when the monk chou saw two tigers on Wangwu Mountain, roaring and fighting, trying to suppress each other with momentum. The monk stepped straight forward and inserted his tin staff between the two tigers. Facing the compassionate monk, the two tigers seemed ashamed, so they lowered their heads and scattered.
During the Western Jin Dynasty, the Tianzhu monk Qi Yu entered China, and when he crossed the river in Xiangyang, the boatman saw that he was a monk and was dressed in rags, so he did not let him take the boat. When the ship reached the other shore, people were surprised to find that Qi Yu had crossed the river. And there were two tigers walking in front, as if to guide the way for the qi domain. The tiger retracted its ears and lowered its tail, very docile. Qi Yu was like a pet, touching the tiger's head, and the tiger left. People on both sides of the strait looked at the strange picture of people and tigers following each other, and they all followed the qi domain.
The Celestial Master Drives the Tiger and returns evil to righteousness
In the Taoist belief culture, Zhang Tianshi drove the tiger and expelled evil spirits for the people. Volume 18 of the True Immortal Body Dao Tongjian records that when the Han Dynasty heavenly master Zhang Daoling was practicing Dandan, there were often green dragons and white tigers around Danding. After he was cultivated, one year there was a white tiger god in the Fangling area of Xicheng, but he liked to drink human blood, and the local people had to kill one person every year to sacrifice the white tiger in order to survive. Zhang Tianshi had mercy on the people, so he summoned the White Tiger God, taught it with divine power, and turned evil back to righteousness, relieving the people of the demon difficulties.
Since the Song Dynasty, every Dragon Boat Festival, wormwood is woven into a tiger, called Ai Hu. Every household hangs a statue of Zhang Tianshi riding a tiger to ward off evil spirits. A Song Dynasty proverb says: "Hang up the heavenly master, hold your eyes, look straight down, ride a fierce big Ai tiger, idle god wave ghost to avoid others." He also said, "At noon on the fifth day of May, the Celestial Master rode Ai Hu." The red mouth is on the blue sky, and the hundred worms return to the earth house. The proverb depicts Zhang Tianshi expelling demons and evil spirits for the people and protecting their peace.
Resources:
Taiping Guangji, vol. 97
Qi DongYe, vol. 17
Biography of the High Monk, Vol. 9
The Biography of the Continuing High Monk, Vol. 16
The General Guide to the True Immortal Body Of the Ages, Vol. 18