The image of the tiger looks intimidating and beautiful. A colorful fur, there is a "king" in the middle of the forehead, which has a strong visual impact.
Since ancient times, people have often copied the appearance of the tiger and written about its appearance. Among ancient artifacts and artworks, tigers originally appeared in petroglyphs and totems.
In the rock paintings in the Wolf Mountain area of the Yinshan Mountains, you can see the various postures of tigers - sitting and walking, galloping and jumping, distinctive tiger stripes, fierce tiger heads, as well as tiger teeth and ear ears, all of which come to life.
The dragon and tiger pattern excavated in the west water slope of Puyang, Henan Province, made of mussel shells, can be called "China's first dragon and tiger map".
Liangzhu culture's "Divine Man Beast Face Pattern", a "God Man" wearing a feather crown rides on top of a beast. This beast, many scholars believe, is a tiger.
Liangzhu culture "god, man and beast face pattern" jade, source: Liangzhu Museum
The Ba people living in the southwest region also use the tiger as a totem, and the bronzes they cast are mostly engraved with tiger stripes. Among them, the Bashi ge tiger stripe can best represent the art of bashu tiger stripe.
The Warring States Bronze Tiger Button collected by the Three Gorges Museum is a fierce tiger with teeth and a cocked tail, and the image is extremely vivid.
Among the Bronzes of the Shang Zhou Dynasty, there is an artifact called "Tiger Cannibal" that is incredible. The bronze is in the shape of a tiger sitting, with the tiger's hind paws and tail as the three support points, and the tiger's front paws embrace a person, the person and the tiger face each other, and the human head is located in the open tiger's mouth, looking to the left. What does this shape represent? What does it symbolize? So far no one has been able to explain clearly.
In the Oracle and Gold scripts, the word "tiger" is a vivid hieroglyph.
In ancient jade, a large number of jade amber and jade tiger appeared, with reliefs, round carvings, and different shapes.
In the Han Dynasty, the "Four Gods And Treasure Mirror" often appeared in the images of the green dragon, the white tiger, the suzaku, and the Xuanwu, representing the gods of the east, west, south, and north, respectively, and were the specific presentation of the tiger walking on the altar.
Han Dynasty Four Gods Museum Mirror, Source: Liaoning Provincial Museum
Traditional paintings after the Tang and Song dynasties, with tigers as the theme of the masterpieces emerged in an endless stream. There are not only "Upper Mountain Tiger" and "Lower Mountain Tiger", but also "Adult Tiger Change Map" and other works with profound meanings.
In addition, in the art categories such as sculpture, ceramics, gold and silverware, the artwork with tiger as the theme is more abundant. The tiger image of folk crafts such as New Year paintings and paper-cutting, in addition to being mighty, adds a bit of liveliness and cuteness, which is full of fun.
Text/Guangzhou Daily, New Flower City Reporter: Zhong Kui
Guangzhou Daily Xinhuacheng Editor: Zhao Xiaoman