The Tiger of the Chinese Zodiac

People regard the tiger as the king of all beasts, and call it the mountain king, "Shu Wen * Tiger Department": "Tiger, the beast of the mountain king." If the tiger is a tiger, the tiger has the elegant name of "yin". The Taoist masterpiece "Zhen Gu * Wing Zhen Jian" written by Tao Hongjing of the Southern Dynasties states: "Those with white teeth of Yunyin Beast are tiger teeth...Yiyun Yinke." Both Yin Beast and Yin Ke are tigers. A similar nickname is "General Ban Yin." An ancient legend says that during the time of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, there were talents who chanted at Nanshanzhuang. Visitors knocked on the door and claimed to be General Nanshan Banyin. They chanted and talked freely. After the guests left, it was found out that General Ban Yin had been changed by the tiger in the mountains . Ge Hong’s "Baopuzi" records: "Yin Sun in the mountains", this is based on the saying that Yin is a tiger.

The ancients gave many unique names to the tiger, and they also imagined the tiger as a beast that is capable of resilience and justice. In the novels of the Tang Dynasty, there are even stories about using tigers as coal to promote the goodness of the Qin and Jin Dynasties among adults. From the illusory and beautiful world to the cruel life of reality, people have to face the tigers.

There are many stories and customs about tigers in ancient times. Let Gu Yifang show you the stories and customs about tigers below.

No. 1:

The Yi nationality celebrates the "Tiger Festival" every year, starting from sunset on the eighth day of the first lunar month and ending with the sun rising on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. There are many activities in the Yi Tiger Festival. People not only sacrifice to the tiger god, but also make up tigers and perform tiger dances. Finally, the tiger god old man went to every house and family to pay a New Year greetings, saying good luck, wishing the five crops and six animals prosper.

The White Tiger God is the patron saint of Taoism in ancient China. It was originally the ancient star official name. Among the twenty-eight stars, the West Seven Stars is called because it is located in the west in the shape of a tiger. It is called according to the five elements and five colors. It is also one of the four gods. "Book of Rites·Qu Lishang" has the saying "former Suzaku, back Xuanwu, left green dragon, right white tiger". Most Tujia people believe in the white tiger god. When the Hubei Tujia people worship the white tiger, the altar master will use the pig-killing people to chop off his head and bleed it, drip it on paper money, and hang it for burning. When the children of the Tujia nationality in Hunan get the foot wind disease, they often think that it is caused by the white tiger and the wizard must be asked to drive away the "white tiger." When driving away, place a chair outdoors, tie a bamboo with branches and leaves, and tie a white rooster on top. The wizard will cast the spell indoors. If the rooster croaks, the white tiger will be driven away.

The image of the folk tiger has gone through a long period of time. Although it has lost the ferocity of the mountains and forests, and replaced it with a naive manner, it is still undiminished in the eyes of people. Town houses, tombs, and exorcism and disaster avoidance will be given to him. Different positions give different uses. Some folk arts and crafts make the image of the tiger more vivid and have a wider mass character, and it embodies people's yearning for auspicious happiness.

No. 2:

In Shaanxi, there is a famous "cloth tiger" toy. It turns out that Shaanxi people have a child-raising custom of feeding tigers. When the child is full moon, the uncle's family will send a tiger made of yellow cloth. When entering the gate, he will break a section of the tiger's tail and throw it outside. Sending a tiger to the cloth is to wish the child to be as strong as a tiger when he grows up; to break the tiger's tail is to hope that the child will be free from disasters as he grows up. At present, this kind of cloth tiger has become a traditional handicraft with Chinese characteristics.

No. 3:

In Shanxi and other places, the child-rearing custom of sending tiger pillows is popular. Women are pregnant , put a small cloth tiger next to the pillow, hoping that the child in the mother's womb is as strong and cute as a tiger. As soon as the child is born, the grandmother's house will bring tiger buns, tiger collars, and tiger quilts. Tiger cloth is placed on the table, and tiger paper-cuts are pasted on the doors and windows. Let the tiger guard around the child. When the child is one year old, his uncle will give one or a pair of cloth tiger pillows, which are used as pillows and toys to express blessings. When a child can walk, he must wear a tiger hat, tiger shoes, and a bib, and dress the child as a little tiger that suppresses evil.

No. 4:

The Tujia Nationality claimed to be the "Queen of the White Tiger". They use the white tiger as the ancestral god and totem. In most Bai families, a wood-carved white tiger is enshrined in the shrine all the year round, praying for the tiger to give auspiciousness and descending auspiciousness, and casting artifacts in the shape of a tiger for the purpose of suppressing demons and dispelling evil. White tigers can also be seen everywhere in the daily life and folk culture of the Tu people ; when they get married , the male’s square table must be laid on a tiger blanket to symbolize the worship of the tiger ancestors; in the Tu people’s folk dance “Saerho”, there is a “hug”. Dances such as "Tiger Head" and "Fighting Tiger Down the Mountain" use tigers to drive away evil and suppress evil, hoping for peace and happiness. There are folk proverbs of the Tujia nationality: "Three dreams, the white tiger sits in the hall, and the one who sits in the hall is the house god" and "The white tiger sits in the hall, no disaster and no disaster."

No. 5:

The wedding custom of "hanging tiger buns" is popular in Huaxian County, Shaanxi. After the new daughter-in-law is taken to her husband's house, the mother-in-law's family will tie a pair of steamed tiger-shaped steamed buns together with a red string and hang them around the new wife's neck. After entering the bridal chamber, the new wife wants to take down the steamed bun and share food with the bridegroom officer, indicating that the two are dating. What’s particularly interesting is that this pair of buns is also divided into male and female. The male tiger bun has a "king" on the head, which means that the man wants to be the king; the tigress bun has a pair of flying birds in the forehead, which means Wife flies with her husband. There is also a small tiger in front of each tiger's neck, expressing the wish that the newcomer will have an early son.

Part 6: (Chinese Zodiac http:///shengxiao/)

The Bai people regard tigers as their ancestors and consider themselves "tigers and tiger girls". The Bai people have to hang tiger pictures in their homes, and for important family events such as building houses and weddings, they also choose Tiger Day as auspicious. Bai hunters do not fight tigers, and even if they are killed by tigers, they are regarded as "immortals".

Tiger