Horses that eat tigers and leopards?
The Ancient Qi book "Shan Hai Jing" records that in ancient times, there was a strange beast, when people called it bó (駁), which is very similar to a horse, but unlike a horse, it is said to eat tigers and leopards.
But such a legend broke our understanding of horses, and now we know 99.9% of the animals on the planet. Among them, the lions, tigers, and leopards in the cat family, in addition to humans, are the strongest land beasts on the earth.
In the animal world, all kinds of walking animals, including wild horses, zebras, etc., see tigers and cheetahs, they all quickly hide away, but why can they feed on tigers and leopards?
If the records of the Classic of Mountains and Seas are not credible, they have always appeared in many historical records, and even an idiom has been produced, which is sloppy. Many ancients have proved that the barrid is a real beast, and they have vowed to speak frankly about how magical and mighty the barge is.
What does the steamed bun look like in ancient texts?
There is another way to write the word "refutation", which already appears in the oracle bone, according to the oracle bone, his image is a horse, and there will be many mottled and interlaced textures on the body.
In the "Erya", it is recorded that "refutation": "such as horses, saw teeth, tigers and leopards", it can be seen that the ancients saw the bun, there is a strong bite ability, jagged fangs, which in any animal, is a symbol of a beast.
And the Classic of Mountains and Seas records: "The mountain of zhongqu ... There are beasts, which are shaped like horses and have white bodies and black tails, a horn, tiger teeth and claws, sounds like drum sounds, and their name is 駁, which is a tiger-eating leopard, and can be a soldier. "It is recorded here in more detail, and the bun resembles what we now call a unicorn, but instead of a rhinoceros, it looks like a rhinoceros, but a horse, with tiger teeth and claws, and a white fur and a black ponytail. The most important thing is that its sound is like a drum, and under normal circumstances, other beasts of prey will be frightened to lie still when they see it.
In many of the Classics of Mountains and Seas, the ancients painted their horses in the shape of unicorns according to the records in the book, and scientists once wondered whether they were relatives of animals such as rhinos.
However, in the "Erya Yin Tu", it was found that the bun also has no horn, and this picture depicts a bun, the front hoof is holding a tiger gnawing, and a fierce tiger next to it actually fled in panic after seeing it. Therefore, no one knows whether it has horns or not. Only through some historical texts, flipping through them may be varieties with classification, some with unicorns and some without.
Regarding the bunting, there is also a puzzle that posterity is very confused about, that is, this beast that can eat tigers and leopards, but sometimes likes to mix with mortal horses, and is willing to be driven by people, which is completely inconsistent with the image of the beast?
Although people are very confused, but in the "Pipe", Guan Zhong in the Spring and Autumn Period encountered such a strange thing, when Qi Huangong went out hunting in the suburbs, he did not expect to meet a fierce tiger, originally thought that there would be a fierce battle, but what made Qi Henggong very confused was that this tiger did not do anything, crawling on the ground did not dare to move, and also flew poop.
This surprised Qi Huangong, and at the same time, Guan Zhong, who was beside him, found that his mount saw the tiger, and he did not panic at all, and magically and proudly paced there leisurely.
Qi Huangong's face was full of doubts, so he asked Guan Zhong what was the situation? Guan Zhong thought for a moment and said witfully: "This steamed bun is also eating tigers and leopards, so the tiger is suspicious." It turned out that Qi Huangong was lucky to get the bun, so when he encountered the tiger, he was calm and relaxed, and the tiger would be uncertain, of course, it was impossible to go forward.
This is still not a case, in the Western Han Dynasty miscellaneous history novel "Say Garden", it is also recorded that Jinping Gong encountered a tiger: At that time, Jinping Gong also went out hunting in the suburbs, and happened to encounter a tiger again, but the tiger was also lying still, and Jin Ping Gong triumphantly asked Shi Kuang, it is said that the overlord was born, even the beast saw it, and would involuntarily lie on the ground and dare not get up, am I the legendary overlord? In fact, the implication is that he is boasting that he is the overlord.
However, this master Kuang was very faceless, and said bluntly: "Therefore, the tiger of Imafu is not moving, and he is not the virtue and righteousness of the lord." "The meaning is that it has nothing to do with The Duke of Jinping, and the tiger does not move, but because of the steamed bun." Jin Pinggong was greatly displeased when he heard this, and later Jin Pinggong secretly gave Shi Kuang small shoes to wear for this purpose.
The mount of a warrior?
In the historical records, in addition to the king's ride, there are also famous generals who ride. In the Classic of Mountains and Seas, it is recorded that the warriors who ride the horse will be victorious. This is not without a source, in the Tang Dynasty's "Xiyang Miscellaneous Tricks", it was once recorded: Qin Qiong's BMW was called The Kulei Leopard, this Hulei Leopard is very spirited, it drinks wine every day, and is brave and loyal, and later after Qin Qiong's death, it hissed and accompanied its master away.
In the "Speaking of Tang" and other popular interpretations, the Hulei leopard is even more magical, he has a handful of hair on his head, as long as in an emergency, pull this handful of hair of the Hulei leopard, he will thunderously shout, the other party's mount will hear the sound, will fall to the ground, four hooves to the sky,
Hulei leopard, in fact, should be the descendant of the steamed bun. However, the ancient literati inkers could not explain why they were willing to be driven by others if they could eat the horses of the tiger and leopard?
It is true that it is impossible to explain it now, but not all of them like to be mixed with mortal horses, some outstanding steamed buns, like to haunt the mountains, but because ordinary people can't understand their identities, as long as some erudite people can understand their origins.
According to the "History of Song", Liu Chang of the Northern Song Dynasty once sent an envoy to the Khitan and heard that there were strange beasts in Shunzhou (present-day Fuxin, Liaoning), and according to what the locals saw and heard, it was said that this strange beast resembled a horse, but it fed on tigers and leopards, and the Khitan people did not know it at that time, so they came to consult Liu Chang.
After listening carefully to the narration, Liu Chang confidently recited the passages of the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" and "Guan Zi" and told the Khitan people that this was a bund, and when the Khitan people heard it, they greatly admired him, and praised Liu Chang as a learned and knowledgeable person, and treated him well. Later, however, the records of the Yu dynasty were lost in the Yuan and Ming dynasties.
It was not until the "Chronicle of Hangzhou Prefecture", published during the Kangxi Dynasty, that the last sighting of the Lu was recorded, and it was also the most recent record of the appearance of the Lu.
In the summer of the tenth year of Shunzhi (1653 AD), there were many tiger plagues in the beautiful Hangzhou at that time, which made everyone feel overwhelmed. The locals have thought of many ways, but these tigers are too fierce, so everyone is discouraged.
One day these tigers suddenly disappeared, and later someone said that he saw a giant beast, "very much like a horse, almost eight feet tall, long, purple mane", when the onlookers found it, but did not dare to get too close, looking at the beast from a distance, only to see him drive the tiger to the river, and then leisurely gave the tiger lunch, and drank water while eating.
Coincidentally, the tiger plague in Hangzhou has since disappeared. At that time, people were very curious, in the place where the tiger was rid of the tiger, the tiger's head, four claws and so on were also returned. At that time, people saw the steamed tiger lunch, and the steamed bun did not like the tiger's head and tiger's foot, which was a new knowledge of the steamed bun.
With the passage of time, the bun has never appeared again, its traces have appeared in history, and the "bun" has come from mythology, but it has constantly changed its life trajectory. So is this ancient magical animal really just a legend?