The Chinese Zodiac Culture 3- Tiger symbol
The Chinese Zodiac not only integrates ordinary creatures into Chinese life, but its natural habits are endowed with many cultural meanings, from animals to gods, and receive respect and worship. Only the combination of natural creatures and cultural gods can form a complete impression of zodiac animals. Let’s go to learn more about tiger生肖虎(sheng xiao hu).
The tiger is the king of all animals. Yin and tiger are matched. The word "Yin" in Oracle Bone Inscriptions is like an arrow. In Shuowen, "Yin" means "Yang Qi rises. Although there is frozen soil, it will break through the earth", which is consistent with the ferocious Yang Qi of the tiger. If the bronze tiger cannibal you of the Shang Dynasty reflects the ancient people's fear of tigers, the tiger brand in the war represents the desire for conquest. Marching with white tiger flags, those who know courage are "tiger generals". They use tiger amulets to dispatch troops, and their weapons have tiger patterns.
The 7000 year old earthenware unearthed in the Datang site in NANTUO, Changsha, has the "long tusk human face pattern" of human face and tiger head; The primitive Tomb of Xishuipo in Puyang 6500 years ago also has the image of a tiger made of clam shells. Compared with the dragon, the tiger is respected on the left. Chinese culture has always been known as dragon and tiger. The book of changes qiangua compares heaven and earth with dragon and tiger. The Dragon flies in the sky and the tiger travels in the earth. The dragon and tiger astrology is regarded as the guardian star God. According to the historical records, Liu Bang "makes people look forward to his Qi. They are all dragons and tigers".
In Chinese folklore, the tiger is most famous for the White Tiger God and the West Queen Mother. Among the twenty-eight constellations, the East, West, North and south star clusters form four images, and then combined with the five elements and five colors theory to form "East Green Dragon, West White Tiger, South rosefinch and North Xuanwu". Taoism takes the four elephants as the patron saint, and the white tiger becomes the "White Tiger God". The image of the Chinese and Western Queen Mother in the book of mountains and seas: living in Yushan, "human face and tiger body... Leopard tail and tiger teeth are good at roaring, awning hair and wearing victory". Her position is the God of punishment, in charge of disease and life and death. Other tiger gods include the God of water, tianwu and the God of punishment. The mount of the God of wealth, Zhao Gongming, is also a black tiger.