[Summary] The metal plaque made in the shape of a tiger is one of the important symbols that distinguish the Zhubei Archaeological Culture Group from the Central Plains Farming Culture Group during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. For a long time, the metal decoration style or factors of animal themes have been the attention of researchers, in recent years, with the increase of discoveries and the deepening of research, the changes and laws of metal ornaments with the overall shape of the tiger's full body shape in the distribution of time and space are becoming clearer and clearer. Through the distribution of the morphological characteristics of various types of tiger-shaped plaques in different time and space, it is possible to understand the differences between different archaeological and cultural systems in the application of tiger-shaped plaques and the customs of instruments.
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the archaeological and cultural groups in northern China were more popular in the decorative custom of tigers, and the metal plaques made in the shape of tigers became one of the important symbols that distinguished the Zhubei Archaeological Culture Group from the Central Plains Farming Culture Group at that time. The discovery and research of tiger-shaped ornaments has long attracted the attention of researchers and has become one of the symbols of the nomadic cultural group in northern China. In recent years, with the increase of discoveries and the deepening of research, the changes and laws of tiger-shaped metal plaques in the distribution of time and space have gradually become clear, creating conditions for researchers to further understand the historical truth they reflect.
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During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the characteristics of animal husbandry and production shown by various archaeological and cultural groups in northern China became more and more prominent, and the difference between them and the Central Plains Farming Culture Group in the south became more and more obvious, among which metal plaques made of animal images or patterns became an important feature of the Northern Cultural Group that distinguished it from the Farming Culture of the Central Plains, while the performance of tiger-shaped plaques was more prominent. The increase in the proportion of livestock in the living industry will undoubtedly increase the chances of human contact or confrontation with carnivores such as tigers. On the one hand, the domestic animals raised by human animals themselves are also the food source of tigers and other beasts, on the other hand, animal husbandry is limited to the limited land load and there is a greater demand for activity space, and the existence of these factors is reasonable or logical for the recognition of the greater use of tiger theme decoration by the northern archaeological and cultural groups in the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period.
The so-called northern Region of China in the archaeology of the Spring and Autumn Warring States is actually the area defined by the southern boundary of the northern end of the distribution of the Central Plains states at that time, and with the decline of the northward distribution of the Central Plains forces, the boundaries of the region are also changing, so it is not a very stable range, but it can be roughly the Warring States and the Great Wall of Qin and Han as the southern boundary, dynamically frame the theoretical scope of the region.
In the space-time range defined by the above conditions, the condition of tiger-shaped metal plaques is in the rough order from east to west, and there are mainly the following discoveries.
According to the statistics of excavation reports, a total of 27 metal plaques representing the overall tiger shape have been excavated from the cemetery, of which 1 is made of gold and the rest are made of bronze (Figure 1, 1, 9). Excavators divided the limbs into lying down and walking according to the appearance of the limbs, of course, there are actually some states between the two or ambiguous, but regardless of the form, the tiger's claws do not show the claws of the toes, which is a common feature of the tiger-shaped metal plaque in the cemetery. In some tiger-shaped plaques that should be the parts that should show claw patterns appear is a round hole or a round nest, similar phenomena are also seen in the tiger's eyes, tail end and joints and other parts, according to the well-preserved gold tiger-shaped plaque, the round hole or round nest is used to set the gemstone, but there are also some relatively simple bronze tiger-shaped plaques above the hole, the nest may have only symbolic significance, and there is no or can not accommodate the substantive gem embedded. The size of the tiger-shaped plaque in the jade emperor temple cemetery is basically close, the general body is between 4 and 5 centimeters, and it is divided into different directions of left and right according to the head direction, and there are vertical buttons on the back of the body for wearing. In terms of excavation location, the metal tiger-shaped ornaments in the Jade Emperor Temple cemetery are all from the neck or chest of the deceased, so they should be used as necklaces. As far as the phenomenon of excavation is concerned, except for a few combined applications of two pieces, it is basically used as a single piece, and the situation of two pairs of applications can also be divided into different ways such as left and right juxtaposition and top and bottom overlap. Tomb owners with tiger-shaped plaques can identify the gender of males, and occasionally children possess them. The rank of the tiger-shaped plaque tomb does not reflect a special limit, and the time basically exists throughout the age of the cemetery. Several tiger-shaped plaques have also been found in the Hulugou cemetery, which also belongs to the Jundushan area, of which M46:4 is walking, the tiger's tail and hind limbs are connected, there are many round nests throughout the body, and there are vertical buttons on the back, which are 4.5 cm long (Fig. 1, 8). M185:7 is regarded by the excavation report as the image of a horse, crawling in shape, with 6 round nests all over the body, a vertical button on the back, and a length of 9 cm (Fig. 1, 3).
In northern Hebei, tiger-shaped metal plaques were unearthed in many places, and the Xuanhua Xiaobaiyang site is another site where tiger-shaped plaques were found more, and 7 of the 48 tombs cleared unearthed tiger-shaped plaques, with a total of 11 pieces, of which the largest tomb was excavated 3. In terms of scale, the tiger-shaped plaque here can be divided into two types, with similar shapes, both lying down or creeping, with round holes or round sockets in the eyes, claws and tail of the tiger, and vertical buttons on the back (Fig. 1, 7). Huailai Ganzibao cemetery out of 1 piece of golden tiger shaped plaque and 9 pieces of bronze tiger shaped plaque (Figure 1, 2, 4), according to the size can be divided into two categories, of which the larger is 4 to 5 cm long, the smaller is not more than 3 cm. Regardless of size, the tiger's claws and tail ends and joints on the body appear as round holes or round fossa. There are two tombs excavated from the Luanping Zigou cemetery with bronze tiger-shaped plaques (Figure 1, 5, 6), and it seems that the scale of the tiger-shaped plaques here is slightly larger, but whether it reflects the real situation, because there is no official excavation data reported, it is difficult to make a conclusion for a while. Fengning Wudaogou Gate Cemetery M4, under the neck of the deceased, there is a creeping bronze tiger-shaped plaque, which is different from the tiger-shaped plaque found at other sites, and the tiger tail of this plaque is curled upwards on the tiger's back. The bronze tiger-shaped plaque collected from the Longhua Zhuanshan Cemetery (Figure 1, 10), which is 12 cm long and has a semi-circular button on the back, may be functionally different from the tiger-shaped plaques seen in other cemeteries only in terms of size, and although the details of the tiger's head and claw are more prominent, the round holes in the claws still exist.
The central and western parts of Hebei are also the areas where tiger-shaped metal ornaments are found, and over the years there have been reports of tiger-shaped plaques unearthed in front of the Taihang Mountains or in the shallow mountain area of Jizhong. Six gold-inlaid turquoise tiger plaques (Fig. 2, 1 and 2) were unearthed from a stone tomb found and excavated by farmers in Diaoyutai, Tang County, all of which were walking, with a drooping tail and a horizontal strip connected to the hind legs. The length is 4.7 cm, of which 4 pieces are to the left and 2 pieces are to the right, and there are round holes in the eyes, tail, claws and joints of the tiger to insert turquoise, and the tiger ears are triangular hollow, which are also inlaid with turquoise. According to reports, 6 tiger-shaped ornaments are from the waist, and there are also gold disc wire, gold buttons, copper buttons and turquoise beads at the waist. In a stone tomb in the same village of XinleZhong, there is a gilded bronze tiger-shaped plaque (Fig. 2, 4), the tiger is creeping in shape, the front is gilded, and the edges are slightly rolled. The tiger has a round hole in the eye, claw and leg joints to set the gem, and three young tigers are connected between the head, foot and tail. The plaque is 16 cm long and the excavation site is unknown. A gold tiger-shaped plaque (Fig. 2, 3) was excavated from a stone tomb destroyed by villagers in Shunping Tanshan Village, the tiger is creeping in shape, the front is raised, the back is concave with buttons, the tail end and claws of the tiger are ring-shaped, and the tiger's body and ears have cutholes to inlaid with turquoise, with a length of 11.1 cm. A gold tiger-shaped plaque (Fig. 2, 5) was excavated from a stone tomb at the Mancheng Quarry, with a creeping shape, with round holes in the eyes, claws and joints of the legs, vertical buttons on the back, and a young tiger between the neck, foot and tail of the tiger, with a length of 9.6 cm.
Western Liaoning and its northern region also belong to one of the distribution areas of tiger-shaped metal plaques, although the number is small and scattered, but it can still reflect the state or law of the distribution of some tiger-shaped plaques. The Small Black Stone Ditch in Ningcheng is the largest and highest-grade Xiajiadian upper cultural cemetery ever found, and some tiger-shaped ornaments have also been found here, including 2 bronze tiger-shaped plaques excavated in M8501, which are creeping in shape, the tiger's tail and front and back legs are decorated with slash lines, and the middle is a round hole with radioactive patterns, 4.7 cm long, and a horizontal button on the top of the back (Figure 3, 1). In addition, there are 6 bronze plaques with double tiger creeping up and down, which are represented by circles at the joints of the tiger's body and legs, with round holes in the eyes, claws and tail ends, and two long strips of bridge-shaped buttons on the back, which are 2.8 cm long (Fig. 3, 5). Two gold tiger-shaped plaques were unearthed from the Lingyuan Sanguan Dianzi Tomb Group, both of which were creeping in shape, the tiger's mouth and eyes were depicted by carved lines, the tiger's ears were erect, the tail was drooping, the tail end had a round hole or ring, the tiger's claw had a toe pattern, and there were 2 small buttons on the back, and one of the tiger's body and leg joints also had ornaments (Figure 3, 6). There are 2 tiger-shaped plaques excavated from the Tailai Pingyang Cemetery, of which M150:5, nearly rectangular, the tiger is hanging its head and standing, the tiger's claws are divided into toes, and there are wide vertical buttons on the back, which are 4.5 cm long. Because of the position of the chest under the deceased, when it is an accessory (Fig. 3, 4). M188:26, nearly rectangular, the tiger is creeping in shape, with a mouth of a beast, a round nest of eyes, tail and claws, 5.3 cm long, between the thighs of the deceased (Figure 3, 3). The Hailar Shertara Farm collected a tiger-shaped plaque with a creeping tiger with a ring or round nest ornament on its eyes, tail and claws, and a semi-ring-shaped double button on the back, which is 5.3 cm long (Fig. 3, 2).
The central region of Inner Mongolia is a relatively concentrated area of tiger-shaped plaques, and a number of tiger-shaped plaques have been excavated in the Maoqinggou cemetery, of which the iron ones have rusted and difficult to distinguish the details, while the bronze ones are still well preserved. Of the 4 pieces made of bronze, the only one that actually looks like a tiger is M55:4, the overall shape of the plaque is rectangular, the tiger is standing, the tiger ears are prominent, the four claws are clearly patterned, and the tail is draped with a slash pattern, 10.3 cm long, out of the waist and abdomen (Figure 4, 3). Although the remaining three pieces are also represented as tigers, they are mainly presented through the depiction of line engravings, of which it is worth noting that the claw patterns of the tiger are very clear and prominent (Figures 4, 2, 4). Eight tiger-shaped plaques were unearthed from the Helinger Fanjia kiln, with the tiger creeping like a tiger, the eyes, tail ends and claws as a round nest, the tail ornaments with slashes, the mouth of an animal head, and a double button on the back, 5 cm long (Fig. 4, 10). The M12 kiln in Chengxian County unearthed 2 pieces of transparent carved tiger-shaped ornaments, the tiger bowed its head and tail, as a tearing bite, the tiger's lower hind legs were pressed with a sheep, the tiger ears were prominent, the tiger's claw toes were clearly patterned, the tail ornament was slashed, the tail end had a round hole, and the back had a double button, 7.6 cm long, out of the waist (Figure 4, 1). A gold-quality carved tiger-shaped plaque was unearthed from a gold and silver ware cellar found in Dongsheng MillIngfangqu, the tiger stood in the shape of a tiger, the forelimbs trampled on the wolf's body, the tiger and the wolf bit each other, the tiger's claw pattern was clearly exaggerated, and there was a button on the back, 13.8 cm long (Fig. 4, 5). A silver tiger-shaped plaque was collected in the lime ditch of Yijinholo Banner, the tiger was erected, the mouth biting and clawing an animal, the tiger ears were prominent, the four-clawed toe stripe was clearly exaggerated, the tail was drooping, and there were double buttons on the back, which were 10.4 cm long (Fig. 4, 6). There are 5 tiger-shaped plaques excavated from the Liangcheng Xiaoshuang Ancient City Cemetery, which are divided into two types: bite and up and down oblique symmetry. M9:2 is a flat through-carved type, the tiger is creeping in shape, the forelimb is pressed down on a beast, the mouth is mutilated, the claws have toe stripes, the tail end and claws have round holes, the tiger body is carved with cloud-like ornamentation, and the front and back ends have vertical buttons, 8.4 cm long, out of the waist and abdomen (Fig. 4, 7). M11:2, flat through-carved, tiger creeping, a herbivore between the mouth and front paws, clear and exaggerated toe lines on the paws, double buttons on the back, 11 cm long, out of the vicinity of the right forearm (Fig. 4, 8). M6:1 is basically similar to M11:2, except that the back half is mutilated, out of the front of the left forearm. The upper and lower oblique symmetry is M3 and M13, the shape is generally close, the ornamentation is complex and simple, but the claw toe pattern is clear and exaggerated, and there are double buttons on the back. M3:5 Out of the waist, it may be equivalent to a belt member or trim with a cloud plate. M13:2 is on the side of the right forearm (Figure IV, 9). There are four tiger-shaped ornaments in a group of gold and silver vessels unearthed by the shenmu Nalin tall rabbit, with the tiger's head as a three-dimensional circular carving, while the tiger's body is a relief, the tiger's claw toes are clearly prominent, and the tiger's tail is drooping (Fig. 4, 11).
The relevant areas of Ningxia and Gansu are also areas where tiger-shaped ornaments are found to be relatively abundant, and the tiger-shaped plaques here are basically belt-shaped ornaments. There are more tiger-shaped ornaments excavated from the Guyuan Yanglang Mazhuang Cemetery, a pair excavated in III.M4, the shape is the same, the transparent carved tiger is erect, the mouth bites a small beast, the tiger claw pattern is clear, the tiger tail is drooping, the tiger head has a square button hole at the front, and the back has a bridge-shaped single button, 12 cm long, out of the waist and abdomen (Figure 5, 2). There are also three tiger-shaped plaques, all of which are through-carved and have a bite-themed motif, of which I.M12:5 is standing, and the tiger's tail is rolled up on the tiger's back, with a length of 9.5 cm (Figure 5, 3). III.M3:65 is slightly creeping, with tiger claws particularly prominent and exaggerated, 8.1 cm long (Figure 5, 1). Both have buttons on the back. There are two tiger-shaped plaques excavated from Pengyang Zhangjie Village M2, but the difference between the two is more obvious, one of which is the theme of bite, the tiger body uses a finely carved yin line to express the details, 7.5 cm long (Figure 5, 7), and the other only expresses the image of the tiger in a transparent carving and simple line manner, 6.8 cm long (Figure 5, 6). What both have in common is that the toe stripes of the tiger's claws are prominent and exaggerated, with buttons on the back. The two plaques are adjacent to the waist and abdomen of the deceased, so although the two are not paired, they should be used as components of a set of straps. Xiji Chen Yangchuan Village unearthed a piece of transparent carved tiger shaped ornaments, as a standing bite, the tiger's right front paws step on a beast, the tiger's tail is rolled up close to the tiger's back, the tail end is bird's head shape, connected with the bird's head protruding from behind the tiger's head, the tiger's claw pattern is clear, the instrument table is slightly convex, decorated with various line engravings, quite complicated, the tiger's head has a semi-circular buckle hole at the front end, and a button on the back of the tail, with a length of 12.2 cm (Figure 5, 9). Chen Yangchuancun has also unearthed 2 tiger-shaped ornaments for a standing bite, one of which has a protruding buckle ring or hole at the front of the tiger's head, the other has a convex nail at the front of the snout, and the rest are basically the same, so the two are likely to belong to pairs of buckles (Fig. 5, 8). Pengyang Ancient City Village has collected 1 tiger-shaped ornament, for the theme of penetrating carving and biting, the tiger is standing, the right forelimb is raised to catch a small beast bitten by the tiger's mouth, the tiger's claws are divided into toes, and the tiger's tail is rolled up on the back, 6.9 cm long. A tiger-shaped ornament excavated from Pengyang Xinji Poplar Forest Village is in the shape of a standing bite, and the more special one is that there is a protruding half ring that may be worn at the concave bend of the tiger's waist (Figure 5, 4). Triangle City Village, Shuangwan Town, Jinchang District, Jinchang District, collected a tiger-shaped ornamental plaque, which was erect and bitten, with the forelimbs pressed against the captured animal, and the front of the tiger's head had a semi-circular buckle hole, the claw pattern was clear, and the tiger's tail was drooping, and it was 11 cm long (Figure 5, 11). Qingyang Wujiagou Circle collected 1 tiger-shaped ornament, as a standing bite-shaped, flat slightly convex, the front of the tiger's head has a semi-ring buckle hole, the front of the ring has a beak-like convex button, the claw pattern is clear, the tiger's tail is drooping, and the back is near the tail with a vertical button, 10.2 cm long (Figure 5, 5). Qingyang collapse head and other places also collected a number of tiger-shaped ornaments, mostly for the tiger dragon entanglement and fighting theme, the body tattoos are complicated, the tiger claw pattern is clear, the tiger tail is rolled on the back, the tiger head end has a convex button or buckle hole, and the back tail end is vertically buttoned. Three tiger-shaped plaques were excavated from a tomb in Yucun, Ningxian County, which were creeping in shape, with convex backs and concave surfaces, curved body patterns, body and limb junctions and tiger claws decorated with swirling coils, and vertical buttons in the middle of the back, 6.2 to 6.7 cm long (Figure 5, 10). Lixian Dabaozi I.M25 has a bronze tiger, in the form of a skeleton to represent the tiger's mouth, in the form of a creeping shape, the tiger's tail is rolled into a semi-ring, the middle of the body and the inside of the tail are decorated with plagiarism, and there is a vertical button on the back, 6.5 cm long.
In the Xinjiang region, which is the area of peripheral influence or source, tiger-shaped ornaments belonging to the Spring and Autumn Warring States period have also been occasionally found, but may be relatively late in age. Pankan of Adin Lake once collected a transparent carved tiger-shaped ornament, which was made into a standing bite shape, and the tiger had a curled animal in its mouth, with clear claw lines, a drooping tail, and a ring on the tail end. A pair of transparent carved tiger-shaped plaques were excavated from the M7 of the Ertanggou Cemetery in Shanshan County, which were erect and bitten, the tiger's head was elongated, the tooth snout was exaggerated, the claw pattern was expressed, and the biting animal was very small and difficult to distinguish.
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Through the combing of the archaeological findings of tiger-shaped plaques in different regions of the north, it is possible to further analyze and understand their performance and law in the spatial and spatial distribution. Judging from the time of archaeological discovery and research confirmation, the earliest age of the tiger-shaped ornament plaque seen so far may be from the Western Zhou Tomb in Yucun, Ningxia Ning County, and the specific age roughly belongs to the later stage of the Western Zhou. Roughly similar in age may be the Xiaoheigou M8501, as a remnant of the later stage of Xiajiadian's upper culture, researchers generally believe that the tomb is roughly dated from the late Western Zhou Dynasty to the early Spring and Autumn Period. In the era of the Jade Emperor Temple culture, researchers currently roughly determine that from the middle of the Spring and Autumn Period to the early Warring States period, the existence of tiger-shaped ornaments was basically carried out, but the early performance was more developed, while the later stage was manifested as a trend of decline. The tiger-shaped ornaments found in the central and western parts of Hebei are mostly related to the Zhongshan Kingdom or Xianyu Baidi at that time, and the age is roughly from the middle of the Spring and Autumn Period to the early Warring States period. The tiger-shaped plaques in central Inner Mongolia are based on the early remains of the Fanjia kiln and the Maoqinggou cemetery, which are roughly dating from the early Warring States period, and later discoveries may have reached the end of the Warring States period or the Qin and Han dynasties. Other related discoveries in the Gansu region of Ningxia are generally dating later, mostly belonging to the remains of the late Warring States period, and the lower limit may be the same as the late remains of central Inner Mongolia. Among the sporadic discoveries in other areas, the overall morphological style of the plaques collected by the Tailai Pingyang Tomb and Hailar Shertara is close to that of the Fan family kiln, so the age or time is not far away, the age of the Three Officials Dianzi Tomb Group roughly belongs to the middle of the Warring States period, while the age of the related tomb group in Xinjiang is basically the late stage of the Warring States or even later.
The form and decoration of the tiger-shaped plaque also reflect a certain regularity in the state presented in different spaces. Distributed in northern Hebei and central and western Hebei generally belong to the Jade Emperor Temple culture and Zhongshan Kingdom crowd group, the overall shape of the applied tiger-shaped ornaments is relatively slender, and the difference between horizontal width and vertical height is relatively large, generally around 3:1. The tiger's eyes, claws and tail ends, as well as the joints of the leg body, usually have round holes for setting gemstones, and some plaques in these parts are only symbolically expressed in the round nest, ring or vortex pattern, and the tiger's claws basically do not show the image of the toe. Even in the tiger-shaped plaques of northern Hebei and central and western Hebei, there are some differences, and the theme of the large and small tiger rings similar to the sub-tigress is only found in the central and western Hebei regions. The overall shape of tiger-shaped ornaments in other regions is no longer as slender as that of northern Hebei and central and western Hebei, and the aspect ratio is about 2:1. In addition to the small double ancient city tombs in central Inner Mongolia, the tiger-shaped ornaments are mostly used as bite-eating themes, and in addition to the Fan family kiln, no matter what kind of theme, the toe pattern of the tiger's claw is clear or even exaggerated. One of the most noteworthy is the tiger-shaped plaque of the small double ancient city M13:2, which shows clear toe lines on the tiger's claws, while still retaining round holes in the claws and tail ends. In the discovery of Ningxia Gansu region, the tiger-shaped ornaments in Yucun in Ningxian County and Dabaozi Mountain in Lixian County are relatively different, although they are based on tigers as the theme of expression, but the overall style and decorative details still reflect the meaning of the broad Central Plains culture, so they should be different from those tiger-shaped ornaments that reflect the colors of the Northern Animal Husbandry Culture Group in the later stage. Excluding the findings of Yucun et al., the performance of tiger-shaped ornaments in Ningxia gansu is roughly similar to that of central Inner Mongolia, and it is also based on the image of bites, while compared with other regions, the shape of the plaque here with prominent clasps or buckle holes at the front is rarely seen in other regions, and the phenomenon of tiger tail rolling up on the back, especially the tiger's tail end and the tiger's head, extending the braid with a bird's head is also rarely seen elsewhere. In addition, the more elaborate style of decoration of the plaque body is also more prominent in this area, which may be influenced by the processing of precious metals such as gold and silver. Although there are such early discoveries as the Small Black Stone Gully M8501 in western Liaoning and its northern regions, in the vast area, the performance of tiger-shaped ornaments has not formed a specific inherent style, among which the tiger claws in Pingyang tombs are manifested as round holes and split toes, and the tiger claws of the Three Officials Dianzi plaque also show toe stripes. Due to the scattered discoveries in this area and the large distance in the space-time range, it is difficult to form a more systematic and clear understanding of the performance of tiger-shaped plaques in this area for the time being. However, it should be noted that in fact, in the M8501 stage of Xiaoheishigou, the performance of the tiger's claw has two forms: toe and ring (hole), such as the tiger-shaped decoration on the horsebit number M8501:173, and the toe pattern of the tiger's claw is very clear and exaggerated.
The changes or patterns in the expression of tiger images on tiger-shaped plaques in different regions can also be reflected in other ornaments related to tiger themes. Some tiger-shaped decorations made of gold sheets or gold leaf and attached to other textured utensils have been found in various areas, such as the M8102 excavation of the early Warring States outside the ancient city of Lingshou in central and western Hebei (Fig. 2, 6), although it has been more mutilated, it can still be seen that the tiger's claws are decorated with round nests, and from the signs of fragments, the device may also show the image of the large and small tiger. A batch of gold and silver vessels unearthed in the sand nest of Aruchaiden in central Inner Mongolia includes 21 tiger-shaped ornaments, which are pressed by thin gold pieces, the limbs of the tiger are bent forward and creeping, the mouth is open, the tail is drooping, the tiger's claw toe pattern is clearly exaggerated, and there are 4 small holes in the tiger's body for continuous embossing, which is 3.9 cm long. The tiger-shaped ornaments in a group of gold belt tools excavated from Majiayuan M14 in Zhangjiachuan, Gansu Province, are decorated with gold wrapped or attached to the buckles at both ends, not only as a bite theme, but also the tiger's tail is attached to the back, and the tiger's head has a braid with a bird's head opposite the tiger's tail. Qingshui Liuping's tiger-shaped gold ornaments are also used as biting contents, and the ornamentation is elaborate, and there are small holes in the four corners of the body for concatenation.
The changes brought about by space are not only reflected in the representation of tiger images, but in fact, differences in function may be easier to recognize the changes or differences in archaeological cultures in different regions. In the relevant discoveries of the Jade Emperor Temple culture in northern Jibei, the tiger-shaped ornament plaque can clearly be excavated from the neck and chest of the deceased, indicating that these tiger-shaped ornaments were used as neck ornaments at that time, and such tiger-shaped ornaments were only equipped with wear buttons on the back, and there was no hole for the buckle, so it could not be used as a buckle. The related discoveries in the central and western Hebei are generally similar to the Jade Emperor Temple culture, and the location and shape of the excavation indicate that it cannot be used as a belt tool, but is more likely to be a necklace to wear. The specific wearing method, on the analysis of the phenomenon unearthed, both used alone, such as the golden tiger-shaped ornament of the Jade Emperor Temple M18, there are also pairs of applications, such as the Jade Emperor Temple M11, etc., when paired combinations have different combinations of left and right relatives and upper and lower overlaps, and even more similar to the Diaoyutai Situation that unearthed 6 pieces at the same time, it may reflect a more complex combination of forms, perhaps similar to the cumbersome jade pendants in the burial of the Central Plains nobles in the Zhou Dynasty. The tiger-shaped plaque from the small black stone ditch M8501 is difficult to confirm, and in terms of shape, it is very clear that it cannot be used as a buckle. The tiger-shaped plaque of the Pingyang Cemetery M150 is located under the neck and is located in the main position of a set of ornaments, so it should belong to the component of the necklace, and the M188:26 is isolated between the calves, although the use is difficult to identify, but it will not be applied as a buckle or should be clear. The tiger-shaped ornaments in the same form as the Pingyang M188:26 were excavated at one time in the Helinger Fanjia kiln, although it is difficult to investigate the details of the burial by the farmers, but it is more likely that they belong to the same tomb. Such a number of the same ornaments were found in a concentrated manner, and most of the people who can be clearly functioned according to the known are decorations with appendages on the belt, but after all, the excavation situation is unknown, so the specific function of such tiger-shaped ornaments is still difficult to understand. Unlike the discoveries in the east, in central Inner Mongolia, Ningxia Gansu and other areas that are biased to the west, a considerable part of the tiger-shaped ornaments that can be judged to use function should be used as belts for human waists. The tiger-shaped plaques of the Maoqinggou cemetery were excavated from the waist and abdomen, of which M5 and M27 were distributed in pairs, so they should be used as belt tools. However, if there are still more individual excavations and the shape of the buckle hole and the buckle tongue that have not yet appeared, the application of the tiger-shaped ornament as a buckle has not yet formed a matching pair of customization. In the later middle and late Warring States period, the tiger-shaped ornaments seen in central Inner Mongolia and Ningxia Gansu as the characteristics of the application of belt tools are more clear, and in terms of shape, there are basically relatively regular buckle holes or prominent buckle tongues at the front end, and the phenomenon of pairs of excavations with the same or similar form in the burial is also more common.
Combined with the time change, from the late Western Zhou Dynasty to the early Spring and Autumn Period, there has not yet been a tiger-shaped ornamental plaque showing the theme of phagocytosis, but the ornamental plaque of Xiaoheishigou M8501:170 has been made as a tiger or other carnivores and a sheep with large horns, in which the shape of carnivores is significantly larger than that of sheep, and the paws cover the hooves of sheep, which may be in the context of showing the weak and the strong, so the bite is likely to be an earlier theme in northern China. Tiger-shaped ornaments as buckle applications basically began to appear at the end of the Spring and Autumn period or the Warring States stage, and were manifested as pairs of pairs in Maoqinggou earlier, but the mature buckle tongue combined with the buckle holes may appear slightly later. The tiger-shaped plaques that represent strange themes, which are low in the late Warring States period, should probably be related to the spread or influence of the so-called Scythian beast style in the west or northwest.
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As the largest cat mainly active in Asia, the tiger should also be the most ferocious beast that people in Asia have usually faced since the Holocene, and the fear and jealousy of tiger infestations have gradually evolved into the worship or alienation of tigers, and the image of the tiger as an example reflecting the specific materialization representations of the spiritual consciousness field is not difficult to confirm, whether in ancient history or legend, or in archaeological discoveries. Made or decorated with the image of a tiger in metal utensils, in Chinese archaeological discoveries at least can be traced back to the Shang Dynasty, the so-called "tiger cannibal" and "dragon and tiger zun" all render the mighty or ferocious tiger, the ears of the famous Si (Hou) Mother Peng Dading are decorated with symmetrical double tigers (Figure 6, 1), in addition to the large three-dimensional copper tiger in the Tomb of the Xingan Shang Dynasty (Figure 6, 8), there are also many crouching tigers as decorations on the ears of the copper Ding (Figure 6, 3), The expression or prominence of the tiger image became an important part of the ceremonial system at that time through the bearing of bronze heavy objects and exquisite jade.
If the tiger's claw is used as an observation point, the style expressed in the Shang Zhou bronzes can be roughly divided into two categories, one of which is to reflect the characteristics of the tiger's claw more realistically, such as the Shang Dynasty tiger cannibal bronze pluto (Fig. 6, 2) now stored in the Senussi Museum in Paris, France; the other type is also manifested as a sign of the toe of the claw, but it does not reflect the true or exaggerated image of the tiger's claw, but has the color of the bronze curl, stealing and even vortex at that time, such as the large bronze tiger of the Xingan Shang Dynasty tomb. The two types of tiger claw expression styles seem to have been parallel, but the performance of the real image of tiger claws mostly appears on three-dimensional or circular carved utensils, while utensils in the form of flat or relief are mostly presented in a style similar to the pattern.
Observing the metal tiger-shaped plaques in the northern region, the tiger claw image similar to the specific pattern of the Shang representative still exists, such as the claws of the Yucun and Dabaozi mountain tiger-shaped plaques, although they show the pattern of the toes (Figure 6, 4, 5), but they do not reflect the image of the real tiger claw but are more represented as geometric patterns, so it is essentially different from the tiger claw images in central Inner Mongolia and the Gansu region of Ningxia that use tiger-shaped ornaments as belts. Although the remains such as Umura are also distributed in the northern region, their nature may be significantly different from that of the Rongdi Group, which accounts for a high proportion of the animal husbandry economy in the northern region. Dabaozi Mountain has been able to clearly belong to the remains of the Qin people at that time, and although the Yucun tomb has unearthed some relics that may show the color of the northern ethnic groups, it is still dominated by the factors of the Central Plains system, so it can be regarded as the remains of the Zhou cultural system that has more connections with the Rong people at that time. It is precisely because of this change in family lineage that the tiger-shaped ornaments left behind by Umura and others essentially reflect the continuation or inheritance of the tiger claw image style in the Central Plains or the Southern Plane since the Shang Dynasty. Coincidentally, in recent years, in the Shijia cemetery in Ningxian County, Gansu Province, and Liu Jiawa cemetery in Chengcheng, Shaanxi Province, some tiger-themed ornaments (Fig. 6, 6, 7), the performance of tiger claws are also as plagiarism or paisley patterns, Liu Jiawa cemetery has been identified as the remnants of the Rui state in the Spring and Autumn Period, and the Shijia cemetery is also considered to be the main remnant of the Zhou culture, so the existence of such tiger-shaped ornaments similar to those seen in Yucun can obviously not be simply regarded as factors or influences of the northern system culture. The style of the tiger claw of the southern Central Plains system as a specific ornament may also have had an impact on the cultural groups with a prominent proportion of the animal husbandry economy in the northern region, and the claw pattern of the Maoqinggou M55:4 tiger-shaped ornament is quite curly or swirling, which may be related to the influence of the princely states distributed in the north at that time.
Author: Qiao Liang, Research Librarian, China Academy of Cultural Heritage
Originally published in: Northern Cultural Relics, No. 6, 2021
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Reprinted from: Archaeology Heilongjiang