The fierce tiger is not afraid of the enemy, and the martyrs are not false.
The enemy insults his class and falsely speaks of his kindness.
The minions deceive the white blade, and the courage is invincible.
It is necessary to know that it is easy to sing water songs, and there is no regret until death.
This is the Tang Dynasty poet Li Xian's "Fierce Tiger Line", which is a metaphor for people with a tiger, and the penmanship is heroic, which can be called a unique song for eternity.
Tigers are man-eating beasts with a bad reputation since ancient times. Confucius said that "harsh government is fiercer than tigers", Ouyang Xiu said that "fierce tigers walk in the daytime, their hearts are idle, when the road chooses human flesh, pigs do not look like", Su Shi said "shoot tigers, see Sun Lang"... They all regard tigers as harmful. In everyday language, there is no shortage of derogatory terms such as the heart of a tiger and a wolf, the work for the tiger, the widow of the tiger, and the three people becoming a tiger.
So, why did Li Xianyong praise the tiger? Because in daily life, tiger worship is also common: newborns wear tiger skin hats and tiger shoes, old-fashioned families often hang "Tiger Pictures", northerners like to use tiger pillows, and tiger shapes are often seen in daily decorations... In addition, there are many good words with tigers, such as tiger tiger shengwei, raw dragon and live tiger, tiger dragon disk, tiger back bear waist and so on.
In traditional culture, tigers, like dragons, are both terrifying and useful beings, and even the zodiac has given the tiger a place. To this day, there is no answer as to why these 12 animals were used, when exactly the zodiac age was used, and what is the significance of such an age.
Of the 12 zodiac signs, except for the legendary dragons, most of the rest are vegetarian or omnivorous, and only tigers and snakes are pure carnivores.
So unsociable, how did it get mixed in?
(Song) Anon. "Bian Zhuangzi Thorn Tiger Diagram"
The zodiac signs are first arranged by month
The Zodiac has a long history, existing at least during the Western Zhou Dynasty. In August 1929, Mr. Guo Moruo completed the book "Shi Zhigan" and creatively proposed that the zodiac signs may have been introduced to China from ancient Babylon.
Guo Lao found that as early as 2100 BC, ancient Babylon had set 17 star names, including archers, scorpions, crabs, goats, water bottles, geminis and so on. Later, the zodiac said that it spread to ancient Egypt, ancient Greece and other places, and in ancient Greece, it developed into the 12 constellations.
Guo Lao believes that when the astronomical achievements of ancient Babylon were introduced to China, the zodiac theory had not yet been formed, and although the Chinese divided the sky into 12 parts, it was named by itself, that is, it became a zodiac sign.
There are two vulnerabilities to this statement:
First, the zodiac is counted on a monthly basis, while the zodiac is counted annually.
Second, the stem branches of the zodiac have Chinese characters, such as Zi Ugly Yin 卯, etc., which are difficult to understand and are very different from ancient Babylon.
Let's look at the first vulnerability. In the 1930s (the 1940s), the Chu Shu Shu (also known as the Chu Shu Shu) was unearthed from the Chu Tomb in Changsha, Hunan Province, in which the twelve zodiac signs, arranged by month, were exactly the same as in ancient Babylon.
The Book of Chu shu is arranged in the following ways: deer, yu qi, otter, quail (pronounced tongru, quail bird), Jurman, snake, dove, Zhu Rong, eagle, mantis, harvest, wolf. Yu Qi, Ju Mang, Zhu Rong, and Harvest are four gods who are divided into the north, east, south and west.
Let's look at the second vulnerability. Scholar Wang Ning found that the meaning of the twelve stems exactly matches the twelve constellations. For example, zi, the oracle bone has the meaning of growing up and being able to walk, which is close to the ancient Babylonian Scorpio; ugly in the oracle bone, there is the meaning of balance, corresponding to Libra; Yin has the meaning of a girl in the oracle bone, corresponding to Virgo; 卯 in the oracle refers to the Yellow Emperor, is the god of war, corresponding to Leo; Tatsu has the meaning of public opinion in the oracle, corresponding to Cancer, and the ancient Babylonians call Cancer a ghost cluster...
It is difficult to say that it is a coincidence that they are so similar.
There may have been a zodiac sign before the Xia Dynasty
After the publication of "Shi Zhi Gan", it caused great controversy.
In 1975, Hubei Yunmeng Slept Tiger Unearthed Qin Jian's "Book of the Day" (equivalent to the original "Yellow Calendar"), which recorded the zodiac sign:
Sub, rat also. Thieves exchange (sharp) mouths.
Ugly, cow also. Thieves have big noses.
Yin, tiger also. Thieves are strong.
Oh, rabbit also. Thieves face.
Tatsu, Thief Boy, Blue Red.
Oh, worm also. Thieves are long and black.
Noon, deer also. Thieves have long necks.
No, ma also. Thieves have long whiskers.
Shin, ring (i.e. hedgehog, tong ape) also. Thieves circle noodles.
Unitary, water (i.e. falcon, sound like chase, meaning pheasant) also. The thieves are tall and yellow.
Shu, the old sheep also. The thieves were red.
Oh, also. Thieves have big noses and ticket lines.
Individual projects are different from today, and the names of the animals are not recorded after the Chenhou, which may be that the dragon has become a royal symbol during the Qin and Han Dynasties, and Fang Shu does not dare to mention it. Some scholars believe that in the "Shizhigan", it is said that "the zodiac sign only appeared in the Eastern Han Dynasty", but the Qin Dynasty has already taken shape, so the zodiac should be spontaneously formed locally.
In fact, the discovery is not enough to overturn Guo Lao's argument. Guo Lao believes that Babylonian astronomical knowledge was introduced to China between 2400 BC and 2000 BC, nearly 2000 years before the Qin Dynasty.
In the 1980s, archaeologists found a large number of bronze artifacts in the ancient tomb of Hami Tianshan North Road in Xinjiang, which were introduced to China from Central Asia between 3000 BC and 2500 BC. In addition, wheat, cattle, sheep, goats, etc. have also been introduced to China from Central Asia. Since these can be introduced, why can't the astronomical results of ancient Babylon be introduced?
Studies have shown that in the second half of the 3rd millennium BC, the rate of convergence of the four civilizations into the Central Plains accelerated, and by the 2nd millennium BC, the Xia civilization was born.
Tigers used to have a higher status than dragons
If the zodiac is an imported product, then how did the native animal such as the tiger get mixed in? This may be related to the tiger worship of the Shang Dynasty.
China has worshipped tigers since ancient times. In May 1987, in Xishuipo, Puyang City, Henan Province, the dragon and tiger and other animal motifs (mussel shells symbolize fertility) made of mussel shells were found in the Yangshao culture period, which was 6,000 to 8,000 years old, causing a sensation. People call the unearthed dragon "the first dragon in China", and the unearthed tiger is less mentioned.
In fact, in ancient times, dragons and tigers were all means of transportation between gods and people.
For example, the aforementioned Eastern God Gu mang, the southern god Zhu Rong, and the Western god Harvest are all riding on two dragons; the Yellow Emperor and the Queen Mother's mother are riding on the four dragon royal carriages; the sun god is riding on the six dragon royal carriages, and Fuxi is the coachman... It can be seen that the dragon is equivalent to today's BMW and Bentley, which is used to show the identity of the master. When the ancient emperor traveled, he played 109 flags, the top three were the wind and rain thunder flag, and the dragon flag was only ranked 69th.
During the Shang Dynasty, the status of the tiger may have been higher than that of the dragon, because the Shang Dynasty believed in shamans, and the tiger was a psychic intermediary.
At the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada, there is a fragment of a momentary tiger leg bone, and the front side is engraved with the record of the king hunting tiger: "Xin You, Wang Tian Yu Chicken Record (Lu), won the big tiger, in October, only the king three worship day." "Meaning: In the third year of Emperor Yi (presumably 1099 BC), in October Xin You, the King of Shang hunted in Jilu (late Shangtian Hunting Ground, in the area of present-day Wenshui, Shandong), and obtained a tiger head, and made a bone from the tiger bone to feed (slightly closer to a spoon, but almost no curvature).
Cooking spoons with tiger leg bones has religious implications, that is, it is believed that a person is combined with a tiger after death, or a tiger is combined with a person after death, in order to pass away. This custom was still preserved in the southwestern ethnic groups during the Wei and Jin dynasties, and after death, the tiger skin wrapped the body was cremated and could be reborn as a tiger.
What does "tiger man-eater" really mean?
The tiger was regarded as a link in the cycle of life, so a peculiar bronze artifact appeared at the end of the Shang Dynasty, the tiger cannibal (yǒu). At present, two archaeological finds have been made, one in Japan and the other in France. The shape is that the tiger opens its mouth and places a human head underneath, which used to be thought to show the tiger eating people.
French Senucci Museum Tiger Man-Eater
The famous scholar Li Xueqin found that the tiger cannibals are all wearing hair on the back, no hair on the forehead, all wearing clothes, and not bo-shirt long sleeves, which may represent a special identity. The posture of these people is very similar to that of the Savos man of New Guinea, which also appears in statues of American Indians and Sumatra Bataks. In the two Indian statues, the bear is also devouring people.
According to the American scholar Flaiser, these statues belong to the "other-me type", that is, to imagine other things becoming another self, that is, "this person was swallowed by a bear, but through this process, the protection of the animal is obtained" is obtained. To be devoured means to be one with the divine animal.
In ancient bronzes, there is not only a tiger cannibal, but also a dragon cannibal shape, which has the same meaning. Many bronzes have gluttonous patterns, which were named by Song Dynasty scholars, "because song dynasty epigraphers did not observe carefully enough." In fact, most of the food patterns are tigers, and some are deer, sheep and other animals, which have also been tigerized.
The purpose of making so many tiger stripes is to ward off evil spirits. According to the "Han Old Yi": "It is said that the ghosts of the epidemic are expelled, and the peach people, the reeds, the cang'er, the tiger, etc., are gradually merged into the cang'er." The Eastern Han Dynasty Ying Shao said in the "Customs and Customs": "Painting the tiger at the door, the ghost does not dare to enter." The tiger, the yang, the chief of a hundred beasts, can fight and defeat sharp, eat ghosts, and now people have evil encounters, burn tiger skins and drink them. Striking its claws can also ward off evil. ”
The middle of the lintel of the ancient gate would be painted with a tiger's head, as was still the case in the Tang Dynasty. Duan Chengshi's "Youyang Miscellaneous Tricks" said: "It is customary to paint the tiger's head on the door, the word Shuyun (pronounced gradually, ghost death as 聻), the name of the yin knife ghost name, but also the malaria." ”
Why did the tiger's aura disappear?
The status of the tiger was once higher than that of the dragon, but later it only smelled "the descendant of the dragon" and did not smell the "descendant of the tiger". Because under the erosion of commerce, the tiger's aura gradually disappeared.
In ancient times, the nobles took pleasure in fighting tigers, and King Wu of Zhou once "hunted the king of Wu, and the bird (captured) tiger had two out of twenty". In the Spring and Autumn Period, Guan Zhong advised Duke Huan of Qi: "The courtiers are greedy for profit, and should not share in profit." Why don't you send the skins of tigers and leopards and the brocade to the princes, and make the princes repay them with a mantle and a deerskin? "Even if you use high-grade tiger skins and exchange them for inferior deer skins with the princes, the princes are greedy, and naturally obey the orders of the State of Qi from then on."
Guo Pu's note in "Erya" said: "Han Law, catching a tiger, buying three thousand, and his dog (little tiger) is half." "What is the official acquisition of tiger skin for?" Because of the royal uniform, "the horse has stables, and the car has a house." Pi Xuan, with tiger skin as Xuan", Xuan is a carriage with a curtain, and Tianzi's car must use tiger skin.
During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Tao Hongjing first proposed that tiger bones be used in medicine in the "Notes on the Materia Medica", and the tiger's situation became further worse. During the Song Dynasty, the official acquisition of tiger skin "Boma" (that is, to buy horses in the border areas). In the Yuan Dynasty, it was stipulated that Jurchen hunters could use tiger skins to offset the mink skin tax: "Fifty pieces of tiger skins are folded in one piece." One piece of golden leopard skin is folded into forty pieces. Fifteen bearskins are folded one by one. One piece of leopard skin is folded into ten pieces. Seven deerskins are folded in one piece. ”
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the population increased rapidly, and in order to encourage reclamation, the official organization fought tigers. In 1682, Kangxi toured the east for 79 days, shooting 39 tigers, and shooting up to 5 in a day. In his later years, he said to himself: "Since childhood, whoever uses a shotgun to bow and arrow, he has received Tiger 135." ”
Ming Zhao Ruyin,"Wind Forest Tiger Map" (partial)
According to the Qing Dynasty's "Records of Wuning County", Wuning County, Jiangxi Province, "There are Many Tigers in Yiduo, there are Ke Ji wise men in the lower south, and at night they hold wooden poles to lead fierce dogs to chase beasts, and when they reach Ma Chunsaka, they see a large beast in the field, and the dogs fight straight forward, and Ji Zhi fenqi kills them in a row." Negative return, go to Mao to cook food, the whole family dozens of people are full, more than three days of drug dealers to their homes, see Yu Claw: When to get the tiger? Where is the bone? A: I thought that Tian Feng was a meat lover, and the remaining bones were all in the belly of the dog. Drug dealers are sorry. ”
Killed as a wild boar, the tiger could no longer rise to prominence.
Why did the surname Tiger change to "Cat"
In real life, the image of the tiger is mighty and deeply loved by people, and many people are surnamed tiger. Curiously, in Sichuan, Yunnan and other places, many people with the surname Hu call themselves "cat" when pronounced hu.
According to the scholar Hu Li Ping Hook Shen, there are four kinds of folklore:
First, these tiger people migrated from the north to the south, and the tiger became a "cat" when it left the mountains and forests.
Second, the distant ancestors came from the Western Tiger Larsen (that is, Khorasan, including present-day Iran, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and other regions), the ancestors in the Tang Dynasty were named Huwei generals, with tigers as the surname, and descendants called themselves "cats" to avoid the previous generations.
Third, many people with the surname Tiger are engaged in the fur business, and customers are not willing to "seek skin with tigers", so they change their name to "cats".
Fourth, Long Yun gave his mother a grave to avoid "dragon and tiger fighting", so he changed the local tiger surname to "cat".
None of these claims are true. Sichuan and Yunnan are mountainous; and since ancient times, they have only avoided names and not surnames; many generations of farmers with the surname of Hu also call themselves "cats"; as for the death of Long Yun's mother, it is impossible to change the pronunciation of the people with the surname of Hu in Sichuan, and they have generally called themselves "cats" before.
Hu Liping believes that the change in pronunciation may be related to the local Yi people in the southwest. The Yi culture reveres the tiger and believes that "the human tiger is of the same origin". According to the "New History of the Five Dynasties", "His men were vertebrates and feet, and they were draped in felt, and the leader was clothed in tiger clothes." Li Jing's "Yunnan Zhiluo" of the Yuan Dynasty says: "Luo Luo, that is, Wu Manye, the chieftain died, wrapped in tiger skin and burned, and his bones were buried in the mountains... Old age (death) often turns into a tiger cloud. ”
In local daily speech, tigers should not be mentioned arbitrarily, and cats are generally used instead. In Yi, it is pronounced "miao", and in some Yi villages, people with the surname Hu also call themselves "cats". After the Ming Dynasty, people surnamed Hu entered Sichuan and Yunnan with the army, and out of respect for local culture, they also called themselves "cats". (Editor-in-charge: Shen Feng)