▲ Screenshot of CCTV's "National Treasure Archives" "20130824 Ancient War - Battle of Handan"
The background of this famous war, the allusion of "Xin Ling Jun stealing the charm to save Zhao"
If the Duke of Wei, Xin Lingjun, did not turn back to hou for his livelihood, if Ru Ji failed to keep his promise, if Jin Wei had not been killed by Zhu Hai... What will be the fate of xinlingjun, wei and zhao?
The story of "Xin Lingjun stealing the charm to save Zhao" in the "Records of History" is really dangerous and full of ups and downs. And the master key among them, the "symbol" of the "stealing symbol", is the tiger symbol.
In that year, the Qin army besieged Handan, and the King of Zhao sent a letter to Wei requesting reinforcements. The King of Wei first sent the general Jin To the rescue, and the Later Qin State sent messengers to threaten the King of Wei: if he dared to help, he would attack the State of Zhao and come to destroy Wei. The King of Wei was afraid and ordered the garrison at Yu Yi. Zhao Guo was helpless, and then turned to The Prince of Wei, who repeatedly asked the King of Wei to send troops to save Zhao and was refused.
Hou Sheng offered a plan to kill the Wei King's favorite concubine Ru Ji and kill his father's enemy, so that he could steal the Tiger Charm of the King of Wei, and with the Tiger Charm, he could win the army of the general Jin to send troops to aid Zhao.
After several twists and turns, Prince Wei obtained the Tiger Charm and seized military power to support the Zhao state, and finally the Qin army was retreated, and Zhao Wei was at peace.
▲ Screenshot of CCTV's "National Treasure Archives" "20130824 Ancient War - Battle of Handan"
What is the Tiger Rune that is so important?
The so-called tiger symbol, that is, the soldier symbol, was the relic used by the emperor to dispatch troops at that time, mostly made of bronze wrong gold to make a small standing tiger or a tiger shaped token, the mystery of this card is divided into two halves, the monarch and the general each hold half, and the back of the left and right symbols has a mortise and a one-to-one correspondence. Only tigers in the same group can send troops together, which is also the origin of the word "conformity".
It is reported that the Tiger Charm was invented by the Zhou Dynasty military master Jiang Ziya, in order to convey the order to the monarch to transfer troops without mistakes, in the primitive ancient times of communication equipment, it can be called a password to ensure security.
▲ Screenshot of CCTV's "National Treasure Archives" "20130824 Ancient War - Battle of Handan"
What does the Tiger Charm look like? One of the most famous tiger charms unearthed in the same period is the Warring States False Golden Du Tiger Charm stored in the Shaanxi History Museum.
This Duhu charm has a wrong gold inscription of 9 lines and 40 characters, and the font is a small seal: "The Symbol of the Armor." Right Cai Jun, Left Cai Du. Whoever is armoured and employs more than fifty soldiers will be able to do so, but he will dare to do so. Although the mother will be a symbol, this is the longest inscription among the tiger runes unearthed so far, showing the military system of the Qin state during the Warring States period, and also reflecting the superb level of wrong gold craftsmanship at that time.
▲Warring States Bronze Wrong Golden DuHu Charm (left half of the symbol front and back) Shaanxi History Museum collection
This is the left half, 9.5 cm long, 4.4 cm high, and 0.7 cm thick – amazingly, such a small thing can affect the wind and clouds on the battlefield at that time.
Another very precious tiger charm is the Yangling Tiger Symbol hidden in the National Museum of China, this symbol is slightly smaller than the Du Hu Symbol, only 8.9 cm long and 3.4 cm high, also cast in bronze, complete shape, can be divided into two, the left and right necks of the tiger have the same wrong golden seal inscription 12 characters: "The symbol of the armor soldier, the right is in the emperor, the left is in the Yangling", which can be seen that its use is no different from the Du Hu symbol.
▲Qin Yangling Tiger Charm National Museum Collection
Why should something so important be in the shape of a tiger? This involves the cultural origin of the "tiger".
Speaking of which, the tiger totem has existed since ancient times, and it is with the earliest dragon totem. Ethnologists such as Liu Yaohan and Yang Hesen proposed that the ancient totems of Tiger Fuxi and Dragon Nüwa constitute the cultural tradition of Chinese dragon and tiger culture.
In the traditional impression, Fuxi and Nuwa are both human heads and snake bodies, why do you say "Tiger Fuxi"?
In fact, the tiger totem worship has been popularized as early as ancient times, and the totem of the Fuxi clan is the tiger. After the Qin and Han Dynasties, there was always the saying that "the dragon is the true son of heaven", and fuxi was honored as the head of the three emperors, so the tiger yi was turned into a dragon, and since then there has been the saying of the human head and the dragon body.
▲ Tang Anon. "Fuxi Nuwa Portrait Page" Collection of the Palace Museum After taking the dragon as the son of heaven, Fuxi's tiger totem underwent a change
Tiger culture can also be found in ancient myths, such as Pangu.
The Han document "The Chronicle of the Three Kings" says: "Pangu Clan, the ancestor of all things in heaven and earth" In the original data of the Yi people, it is believed that the tiger is Pangu, in its culture, there is a huge tiger in the universe in the chaotic era, its eyes become the sun and the moon, the skin becomes the sky, the stomach becomes rivers, lakes and seas, the bones become mountains, and the tiger hair becomes flowers and trees.
In any case, the tiger and Chinese culture have formed an indissoluble relationship: Yin Xu The tiger characters in the oracle bone have a head, tail, torso and limbs, which are very graphic; the Zhou Yi Qiangua Wen says: "The cloud is from the dragon, and the wind is from the tiger", which puts the tiger and the dragon side by side.
Taoist worship of the tiger, believing that the tiger is the protector of the dharma, Zhang Tianshi, Zhao Gongming (god of wealth), the Queen Mother of the West (the goddess of the black tiger) and the land lord, all use the tiger as a mount; the Waidan family uses the dragon as a metaphor for water, the tiger as a metaphor for fire, and the Neidan family says that "the god is a dragon, and the qi is a tiger."
▲ Modern Xu Beihong's "Riding the Tiger God of Wealth Chart Axis" Collection of the Palace Museum
The worship of the tiger has a long history, and since the tiger symbol, the tiger has evolved into a symbol of "official" and "general", the flag of war has a tiger-shaped flag, a heroic warrior is called "Tiger General", the envoy sent by the state is called "Tiger Festival", the Yamen Gongtang erects a "Tiger Head Card", the door leading to the palace is called "Tiger Gate", and the lobby of the royal palace is "White Tiger Hall"...
Thus passed on to the folk, "tiger" has become a tiger head shoes and tiger head hat that protects disasters and symbolizes the future, and gradually, the tiger has also become a symbol of protection, wealth, strength, and so on.
In the process of gradual development and evolution, tiger culture has gradually and completely integrated into Chinese culture. From the national military power and the status symbols of the heavy subjects, down to the daily use of the actual lives of the people, it is everywhere.
▲ Qing Tongzhi Yellow satin nail gold thread embroidered tiger head pattern small clip shoes Collection of the Palace Museum
Tiger culture is so broad and profound, this year is the Year of the Tiger, Guanfu Museum has also done the relevant "Tiger Cultural Creation", such a piece of [Guanfu Curium Porcelain Golden Tiger Qingquan Cup]
Its design is taken from the tea saint Lu Yu "Tiger Hill Ask Spring", according to legend, Lu Yu once lived in Suzhou Tiger Hill Mountain, he found a spring in the mountain, the spring water is sweet and delicious, very suitable for frying tea, so he dug a stone well on the tiger hill, then called "Lu Yu Well", also known as "Lu Yu Spring".
The name "Tiger Hill" comes from a legend - it is said that in the Spring and Autumn Period 2400 years ago, Wu Wang Lu died in the battle with the Yue Kingdom's Wedge and Li, and a few days after his death, his son was buried in Haiyong Mountain, it is said that three days after the burial, there was a white tiger crouching on the mountain, so the name of "Haiyong Mountain" was changed to Tiger Hill Mountain.
Tea and tiger, these two cultures are naturally linked. Therefore, we used the Warring States Golden Tiger ornament as the main element of the design of this "Curium Porcelain Golden Tiger Qingquan Cup", supplemented by sterling silver gold plating, and presented with curium nails by the traditional curium porcelain method
The cultural creation created by the same collection and the "Guanfu Golden Tiger Yingrui Golden Red Packet" launched when the Year of the Tiger is approaching, this object can be used as a hanging ornament, hanging in the hall or carrying it with you, you can appreciate its prestige, and you can borrow its guardianship, which can be described as a multi-pronged move
Secondly, in addition to the Golden Tiger Xiangrui Qi blessing, this cup is also taken from the elegance of the Song Dynasty official kiln tea utensils: blue ash glaze charm, purple mouth iron foot, large pieces of opening, reproducing the ancient tea style▼
Tea and tiger meet in culture, and the ancients and the present people have made friends at the tea party. There is no esoteric truth that you can't get in a cup of tea, as long as you "have a tiger in your heart and smell the roses"...