"Yinmu also, its bird tiger."
The Year of Nong Yin has come.
The sixth day of the first lunar month
2022
2/6
The beast is angry, the tiger is angry. Yun in the "Characters": "Tiger, the king of mountain beasts." "The tiger is a symbol of justice, bravery, strength, majesty, fearlessness, and a beast of good fortune and peace, capable of driving away disaster, evil and filth. The tiger has always been revered and admired by people, and has gradually formed a tiger culture, which has become a spiritual totem of the Chinese nation's unremitting self-improvement and bravery.
PART/
01
Chonghu culture
Tigers appeared almost at the same time or earlier as humans
It has a history of more than 1 million years
Archaeology proves that Asia is home to tigers
The tiger is majestic in appearance, majestic and powerful, and has a pattern like the Chinese character "Wang" on its forehead, which has been loved and worshipped by Chinese since ancient times, and is revered as "Sacred Beast", "Mountain King", "King of Beasts" and "God of Zhenshan".
The mainland is the birthplace of "tiger culture", which can be traced back to primitive societies about 10,000 years ago. In primitive society, the ancients lived with the beasts, hunting for a living, they were both afraid and envious of the mighty tiger, so they worshiped it as a god and totem, formed a "tiger culture", and simulated its form, imitated its roar, and created the Chinese character "tiger". The word "tiger" in the oracle bone and gold script is a simplified, pictographic or tiger skin imitation of the tiger's head, and the pronunciation of "tiger" is also the onomatopoeia of the tiger's roar.
Ancient ancestors believed that the powerful mysterious power of the tiger totem could protect the tribe, so they regarded the tiger as a protective god. Therefore, the earliest tiger culture was formed in the totemic worship of ancient ancestors.
During the xia, shang, and zhou slave societies, bronze ware appeared. Tiger ornamentation is widely used on many bronze wine vessels, ceremonial vessels, musical instruments, and weapons. During the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, the state appeared, classes began to differentiate, and utensils engraved with tiger ornaments began to have "royal colors", mainly used to decorate the life tools of the nobility. During this period, the tiger became more of a symbol of aristocratic status and military symbols, such as the engraving of tiger ornaments such as the dragon, go, knife, sword, etc., and even the direct tiger as a shape of the instrument - tiger-shaped zun and so on. In addition, the jade tiger used for decorative functions also appeared in this period, also known as "amber", which can be worn and is more popular in the Spring and Autumn period.
Tiger-shaped zun
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, tiger stripes were heavily used to decorate musical instruments, and drum racks with tigers as seats were the most common. During the Warring States period, the use of the tiger as a military symbol was more extensive. In addition to military instruments engraved with tiger stripes, the most special thing is that tiger symbols have appeared to mobilize troops and generals and symbolize military power.
At that time, bronze artifacts in the shape of tigers were used as transfer vouchers issued by the central government to local officials or generals, and most of them were engraved with inscriptions on the backs. The tiger symbol is divided into two halves, the right half is stored in the imperial court, and the left half is distributed to the general or local governor, and the special symbol is dedicated, one place and one symbol, and the two halves can only take effect after investigation and verification.
Tiger Rune
In the same period, the function of tiger stripes in warding off evil spirits also began to be highlighted, and its prominent performance was in tomb art. The tomb culture of the Spring and Autumn And Warring States period began to take shape, and the burial chamber was more exquisite than the previous dynasty, and a certain form system was formed. Decorative paintings have appeared on coffins, burial chamber frescoes and tomb doors, including a large number of tiger patterns. Since then, the tiger has been protecting the dead and has begun its mission of warding off evil spirits on the land of China.
02
Ward off evil spirits
Qin and Han Dynasty
The tiger became the main symbol of the military of the feudal kingdom
In the military, there have been more explicit and standardized tiger symbols
Because the Tiger Rune is a soldier's thing
So make it short and easy to hide
Not easily discovered and stolen
Warring States Wrong Jin Du Tiger Rune Warring States Qin
Length 9.5 cm, height 4.4 cm, thickness 0.7 cm, weight 0.08 kg
In 1975, it was excavated in the village of North Shenjiaqiao in the southern suburbs of Xi'an
Collection of Shaanxi History Museum
In addition to continuing to perform the function of warding off evil spirits, the tiger also combined with celestial signs, stars, ghosts and gods, and other beasts to form an early Chinese myth. In the history of mythology in ancient China, tigers for a long time served as escorts for gods, or as gods themselves, to protect human beings.
The ancient book "Three Auxiliary Yellow Figures" records: "The dragon, the white tiger, the suzaku, the Xuanwu, the four spirits of the heavens, are square in all directions." "The Four Spirit Patterns are the more popular ornaments of the Eastern Han Dynasty. The Four Spirits were originally mighty and spiritual animal gods worshipped by ancient humans, which first appeared in the Zhou Dynasty and were divine beasts representing the orientation, and their origin was directly related to the primitive star worship. During the Han Dynasty, the four gods appeared in the tomb room, or on the sarcophagus wall and on the epitaph, all of which expressed the hope that the four gods could protect the deceased from four directions.
White Jade White Tiger of the Han Dynasty
During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, inheriting the qin and Han immortal ideas, the tiger still appeared in the tomb brick paintings as a protective deity to ward off evil spirits. At the same time, during this period, tiger stripes were no longer used for symbolic status, from the aristocracy to the people, and widely appeared in living utensils.
During the Sui and Tang dynasties, tomb maids were more developed, and the zodiac signs related to the shape of the tiger were the first. The Zodiac was originally used for dating, but later became the guardian beast of those born in that year, and became an important folk content in traditional Chinese culture. At this time, the tiger culture gradually got rid of the scope of the connotation of the tiger culture of the former dynasty, and opened up the development situation of the tiger culture in later generations. After the Sui and Tang dynasties, there were more and more artistic carriers expressing the connotation of tiger culture, such as tiger pillows, tiger crown ornaments, tiger pattern building materials and so on.
Hebei Cizhou kiln black brown color goose rabbit pattern Crouching tiger shaped pillow
Collection of the Museum of the Kings of South Vietnam
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, tiger culture emerged with an important theme with folk connotations - to ward off evil spirits and nafu. The people believe that the tiger is the king of the hundred beasts, has the wisdom of the king, has the model of "benevolence, wisdom, and faith", can keep good faith, exorcise evil spirits, na xiang rui, and regard it as an auspicious sacred beast. The most representative is the "Five Poisons of Ai Hu". At that time, the people used the five poisonous patterns to drive away evil spirits and avoid harm during the Dragon Boat Festival, which generally refers to snakes, scorpions, geckos, centipedes, toads, and usually with tigers, wormwood and other symbols that can eliminate poisonous insects, and are called "Five Poisons of Aihu".
Ming Dynasty Tiger Town Five Poison Pattern Makeup Yarn
In addition, at the time of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the city culture developed, in the folk, the people's New Year's Day pasted the tiger god in the door, the well-off home hung the tiger painting, the custom of the town house tiger at the mouth of the village of the house gate prevailed, the popularity of the "tiger" culture in the folk has become the spiritual needs of the people, and the tiger has become one of the most loved animal images.
END