Preface
What is the matter with a little lion that makes the tiger fall to the ground? The Central Plains Empire, why does it bow down to a king of the wilderness? The legend of the mythical beast is really an elixir to ward off evil spirits? Or is it a legendary game derived from folk superstition?
1. In order to please Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the small country paid tribute to the secret beast
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Liu Che, was an ambitious emperor, and at the beginning of his coming to power, he vigorously expanded the Western Regions and increased the territory of the Han Dynasty on the grounds of "strengthening the border defense and fighting the Xiongnu". In order to consolidate the rule of the Han Dynasty in the Western Regions, he successively sent Zhang Qian and others to dozens of countries in the Western Regions, demanding that they submit to the Han Dynasty.
Many small countries in the Western Regions faced the reality of the Han Dynasty's military pressure, and in order to protect their own security, they paid tribute to the Han Dynasty. Among them, there was a small country in the northwest of the Western Regions, because of the strong strength of the Han cavalry, took the initiative to send an embassy to dedicate the most mysterious local "holy beast" to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to show his vassal and loyalty.
In the winter of Emperor Wu's second year, the Western Regions delegation finally arrived in Chang'an, the capital of the Han Dynasty, and presented Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty with what they called "Uzmi", an extremely rare and unheard of creature. This made the entire court very curious: what kind of strange beast was sent by this small country, could it be a kind of mascot, or a bad omen?
Second, Emperor Wu despised the holy beast and put it in a tiger cage
A few days later, the Western Regions mission escorted the caged beast and finally entered the palace to face the saint. Emperor Wu of Han was also extremely curious, and he had to understand it at first glance. The messenger opened the cage, and out of it came a large animal with short hair and a particularly thick mane on its head. Its limbs are thick and powerful, its eyes are vicious, and its steps are steady, and it looks like it has a certain intimidating power.
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty circled around it a few times, but he was disappointed in his heart: Isn't this a large dog produced in the Western Regions, which is no different from the wolf dogs everywhere in the Central Plains!
Coupled with this filthy long hair, it is unpleasant to look at. It must be that this small country heard that I wanted to subdue all the beasts in the world and wanted to bargain for some money, so this wild dog is also worthy of being called a "holy beast"?
Emperor Wu felt bored in his heart, and his face was a little dull. Immediately wanted to test the authenticity of this "holy beast" on the spot: he ordered someone to take it to a large iron cage in Chang'an Tiger Park, and gave it a companion, and deliberately chose the most fierce and strong tiger here - to have a life-and-death struggle to see what is the overlord of the beasts!
Third, the tiger bowed its head to the ground, and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was furious
In the Tiger Garden, the drums thundered and the ministers were silent, all waiting for the outcome of this dramatic contest - who is worthy of being called the true king of beasts. I saw that the Jinhu roared, raised his front paws and was about to pounce on the holy beast.
However, in this moment of lightning and flint, everyone was dumbfounded: they saw that the "holy beast" with a mane suddenly stopped, landed on all fours, and looked at the tiger without flinching; Then I saw that the tiger, which had been entrenched in this cage for more than ten years, knelt down with its front paws, and its whole head was lowered to the dust, and it never dared to raise its head again.
This sudden change made Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty recover from his shock, and he felt a wave of anger rushing straight to the top of his head: It was a big joke! Obviously he was just a big mountain dog, and he dared to subvert the dignity of the Tiger King in front of me! This was simply a mockery of the imperial power! Seeing that the whole house was whispering, Emperor Wu was furious: When today's face was gone, he really couldn't raise his head again!
At that time, he made an urgent order: to take this inaccessible tiger down at once, and replace it with a more fierce and strong tiger, and I want to see the bloody scene of the dog!
Fourth, the courtiers opened their eyes and brainstormed overnight
So this "holy beast" of the Western Regions was escorted to the second large iron cage in the Tiger Garden. This time, it will face a majestic tiger that has just been caught from the northern grasslands, and it is said that it can easily bite off the backbone of its prey if it is merciful. However, to everyone's surprise, when this "holy beast" entered the cage, the giant tiger had the same instinctive fear and retreat towards it, and the entire giant body actually fell to the ground, not daring to move!
This can stir up the entire court, and the hall is full of people. Either Emperor Wu was deceived or the Tiger King was suffering from a strange illness, and rumors were flying all over the sky for a while. Everyone was wondering what kind of monster this was! So Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty issued an order, asking the courtiers to find out the exact cause and details of this matter within one day, and to hold a court meeting tomorrow.
That night, the strategists and officials under Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty rummaged through the classics, visited the masses, and even asked Zhang Qian, who had been an envoy to the Western Regions, why they had no impression of this creature. Finally, at dawn, I found out the true identity of the supernatural creature in a daze—it turned out to be the legendary "lion", the king of the vast grasslands, who lived in the westerly places beyond the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The lion is similar in size to a tiger, with strong limbs, a broad forehead, and a golden mane. The most important thing is that its innate domineering and arrogant look will make many wild animals instinctively feel awe, and dare not act rashly.
In this regard, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was extremely surprised and laughed at himself: It turned out that this was the real monarch of the grassland, and he was actually the opponent of the tiger! His contempt that day was really underestimating the mysterious richness of the species between heaven and earth. This small country in the Western Regions went to great lengths to send the lion, and it was also a painstaking effort to please him! He immediately ordered the courtiers to learn more about the Xi of this beast, so as to prevent him from losing it in the future.
Fifth, the image of the lion is deeply rooted in the folk and widely spread in the Central Plains culture
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty underestimated the enemy this time, but made the image of "lion" deeper into the imagination of the people of the Central Plains. In the classic paintings, myths and literature and even buildings of later generations, all kinds of mighty lion shapes can be seen everywhere: the majestic stone lion statue often stands in front of the gate of the imperial court, and many weapons and utensils will also have small and delicate lion head decorations, and even some large families will place this beast king shape in front of their houses in order to ward off evil spirits...... It can be said that this foreign image has been integrated into Chinese art and culture, and has been endowed with a wide range of symbolic meanings.
6. The origin and spread of the stone lion in the Central Plains
There has always been some controversy about how the stone lion was introduced to the Central Plains from the Western Regions and then spread. Some people believe that after Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty obtained the "holy beast" of the Western Regions, he ordered craftsmen to make various ornaments and utensils according to its image, which may include the earliest stone lion sculpture; It is also believed that Shishi art is more likely to have spread in China after Buddhism was introduced from India and other places.
However, it is certain that by the Tang Dynasty at the latest, this beast-shaped stone carving had become quite popular in the Central Plains. It is said that Li Longji, Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, was very fond of the mighty decoration of stone lions, and once placed pairs of stone lions in his water pavilion. Under its influence, more officials and literati followed suit, making the stone lion gradually become the representative of the illustrious lintel.
This custom continued until the Song Dynasty, and some large families even hired craftsmen to build tall stone lions for their homes to show their wealth and status. During the period of Huizong of the Song Dynasty, the craftsmen carved the stone lion to an unprecedented height. The so-called "lion has the style of the Song Dynasty", it can be seen!
7. The continuation of beast-shaped stone carving in modern architecture
Even in today's modern architecture, the style and influence of the animal-shaped stone carvings from antiquity continue. We can still see various forms of beast-shaped stone carvings in the squares in front of many government offices, corporate buildings and universities. Among them, the most common are the domineering lion and the sacred and restrained unicorn shape.
The inheritance and renewal of this ancient art form is enough to see the unique aesthetic feelings of Chinese culture. This kind of aesthetic emotion seems to always revolve around the combination of focus and beauty: the external image is extremely majestic and powerful, but the inner temperament does not lose elegance and harmony. Shishi is the embodiment of this aesthetic feeling. Perhaps this is also the mystery of the longevity of the "beast" element in Chinese architectural decoration.
10. The stone lions around which we live
In fact, if you think about it carefully, the shape of the stone lion can also be seen everywhere around our daily life. Not only park squares, but even some large shopping malls will put a pair of tall stone lions in front of the door; Some cities will also set up new and unique lion sculptures at the entrances of important transportation hubs, bridges or tunnels......
It can be said that the stone lions with different expressions have witnessed the rise and fall of these modern urban spaces; It also allows every passer-by who hurried by to think about the past and recall those historical legends that have been passed down for thousands of years through their gaze.
epilogue
Looking at this magnificent story, we are always moved by those wonderful historical legends, but we often ignore the true and false parts of them. Then we need to ask ourselves: When we marvel at those seemingly evil beliefs, do we also ignore too many things that are really good in reality?
Legends are just legends after all, and reality is the soil on which we can stand for survival. Perhaps while we are chasing those bizarre legends, we should also look up at the land we live on under our feet; Look at the faces of the people laughing and laughing under the sun; Look at the real feelings around us that are unchanged and worthy of gratitude...... Isn't the true beauty of real life more precious and lasting than those illusory legends?