White Tiger God is the patron saint of ancient Taoism in China. It was originally the official name of ancient stars, seven western huts among 28 stars. Because it is located in the west in the shape of a tiger, it is called five elements and five colors. It is also one of the four gods. In Book of Rites, there is a saying that "Suzaku is in front, Xuanwu is behind, Qinglong is on the left, and white tiger is on the right". Most Tujia people believe in the White Tiger God. When Tujia people in Hubei offer sacrifices to the white tiger, the altar owner will cut off his head with a pig-killing knife and bleed it, then drop it on paper money and hang it for burning. Children of Tujia nationality in Hunan province get foot wind disease, which is often thought to be caused by white tigers, so wizards must be asked to drive away the "white tigers". When driving away, put a chair outdoors, tie bamboo with branches and leaves, and tie a white rooster. Wizards will cast spells indoors. When the rooster crowed, the white tiger was driven away.
Shaanxi has the custom of sending cloth tigers to raise children. When the child is full moon, my uncle's family will send a tiger made of yellow cloth. When I enter the gate, I will break a tiger's tail and throw it outside. Giving cloth tigers is to hope that children will be as powerful as tigers when they grow up; Breaking the tiger's tail is to hope that children will avoid disasters and difficulties in the process of growing up. The custom of giving tiger pillows is popular all over Shanxi. Whenever a child has a birthday, an uncle will give his nephew a tiger pillow or a pair of tiger pillows, which can be used as pillows, toys and blessings.
The marriage custom of "hanging tiger buns" is popular in hua county, Shaanxi. Before the Chinese New Year, the man would steam a pair of tiger buns and tie them with red ropes for a bumper harvest. When the bride arrives, she will hang the tiger buns around her neck and take them off after entering the door. The bride and groom will share, indicating that they are dating. It is worth mentioning that this kind of steamed bread is also divided into male and female. There is a "king" on the head of the male tiger steamed bread, which means that the man should be the master; The tigress has a pair of birds on her forehead, which means that her wife flies with her husband. There is also a little tiger in front of each tiger's neck, which means wishing the newlyweds an early birth.
Tiger support
In ancient times, some doctors in China collected and experimented with the efficacy of various drugs everywhere. They usually have a bell in their hand. The bell is shaped like a copper ring, and people call it "tiger support" or "tiger title". This is their amulet.
Legend has it that Sun Simiao, the king of medicine, was suddenly stopped by a tiger on his way up the mountain to collect medicine. The tiger is ahead and can't escape. The medicine king carries a long pole for collecting medicine with him, but it is not easy to deal with tigers with this clumsy pole. He was at a loss and just stared at the tiger in fear. Strangely, the tiger didn't pounce on him. Instead, he squatted on the ground with his mouth open. He looked at the drug king with sad eyes and kept shaking his head gently. King Yao was shocked by what he saw. He slowly approached the behemoth in front of him. He saw a huge animal bone stuck deep in the tiger's throat. The kind drug king wants to help him and take out the bones for him, but he is worried that if the animal suddenly shuts up because of pain, his arm will be bitten off. Just then, he remembered a copper ring on the pole. He took it off and put it in the tiger's mouth to open his mouth, so that he didn't have to worry about his own safety. He put his hand through the center of the copper ring, reached into the mouth of the blood basin, quickly pulled out the bone and quickly applied ointment to the wound. When the drug king took the bronze ring out of the tiger's mouth, the tiger kept nodding, as if thanking the kind doctor. Since then, the copper ring has been transformed into a hand-cranked rattle, which has become a symbol of herb picking. All doctors will take them with them when they go out to collect medicines to show that they are all disciples of the King of Medicine. Only the King of Medicine can treat tigers and will not be attacked by them.
Tiger learning
In China's folk fairy tales, there is also a widely circulated story of "tiger learning skills": although the tiger swaggered around in the mountains, it had one of its biggest weaknesses, that is, it could not climb trees. Because a long time ago, tigers didn't have any skills, so they could only learn all kinds of skills from cats. The enthusiastic cat soon taught it various skills such as vertical, jumping, jumping and flapping, and also discovered the fierce and cruel nature of the tiger, leaving a hand in the process of teaching. When the tiger felt that he had completely learned the cat's skills, it uncharacteristically bit off the hand that fed it, and even jumped on it, trying to eat the cat in one bite. The cat, on the other hand, jumped to the top of the tree in no hurry to avoid being blindsided. The tiger crouched under the tree, helpless, and begged the cat to teach him how to climb the tree. Cats are no longer fooled, and tigers can't learn to climb trees at last.
Tiger counting
In ancient China, the image of the tiger was greatly admired, especially in the military. For example, the military symbol of dispatching troops carved a tiger with gold, which is called the tiger symbol.
The symbol of the tiger first appeared in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. At that time, the bronze tiger was used as a transfer certificate issued by the central government to local officials or garrison leaders, and was called the tiger symbol. There is an inscription on the back of the drum, which is divided into two halves. The right half is kept in the imperial court, and the left half is given to generals or local governors. It is always dedicated to a place and a symbol. It is absolutely impossible to mobilize troops from two places at the same time with one roller. It takes two halves to verify the truth before it takes effect. In the Museum of Chinese History, there is a "Western Han Yang Hou Hu Hui", which is 7.9 cm long and 2.5 cm wide. The tiger is crouching, with a flat head and a protruding tail between the left and right neck ribs. Quot Take Tang Yanghou as the first tiger symbol ". The Shaanxi Museum in xi also has a tiger sign found in the western suburbs of Xi. It is a cultural relic of the Warring States Period from 475 BC to 22 BC1year. It is called the "Du" scepter of the Qin Dynasty. 4 cm high, shaped like a tiger, symbolizing military strength and urgent March. The body of the tiger symbol is engraved with a 40-word gold inscription, which describes the object and scope of transfer, but it is extremely beautifully made.
Tiger symbols played an important role in ancient wars, and many related stories happened. According to Records of the Historian, in 257 BC, during the Warring States Period, the State of Qin sent troops to besiege Handan, the capital of Zhao. Zhao's wife was Wei Xinling's sister, and he asked Wang Wei and Xin Lingjun for help. Wang Wei asked the veteran to lead a 654.38+ 10,000-strong army to save Zhao, but later he was afraid of the strength of Qin State and ordered the troops to sit tight. In order to save Han, Xin, the son of Wei, conspired with Ruji, Wang Wei's wife, to let Ruji steal the tiger symbol in Wang Wei's bedroom, and used this tiger symbol to seize the army, defeat Chi and save Zhao. Mr. Guo Moruo once chose this theme to create the script of the famous drama Tiger Fu, which was performed by Beijing People's Art Theatre. In Chapter 51 of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Cao Cao and Battle of Red Cliffs suffered a crushing defeat. Zhuge Liang took advantage of the emptiness of the southern county, ordered Zhao Yun to capture the city successfully, and captured the commander-in-chief of the garrison, Chen Jiao, to obtain a spell, and then used this spell to cheat the garrison of Jingzhou out of the southern county. Then Zhang Fei attacked Jingzhou, and then transferred the garrison of Xiangyang in the same way. Guan Yu took the opportunity to attack Xiangyang. Zhuge Liang drove Cao Bing away with a little tiger symbol and captured the three cities without bloodshed, while Zhou Yu of Soochow, who spent a lot of money, food and military forces, got nothing. How can he not be angry? This also shows the great role of the tiger symbol at that time.
Historically, the shape, quantity, inscription and grade of tiger symbols have also changed greatly. From the Han Dynasty to the Sui Dynasty, the tiger symbols were all made of copper, and on the right was the respect for the inscription on the riding seam. In the Sui Dynasty, it was changed to Fu Lin. In the Tang dynasty, because of avoiding tigers, they switched to fish symbols or rabbit symbols, and later switched to turtle symbols. In the Southern Song Dynasty, the symbol of the tiger was restored. Tiger-headed cards were used in the Yuan Dynasty, and later generations evolved into bronze medals.
The story of tiger's head shoes
Today, children can still be seen wearing tiger-headed shoes in rural areas of China. Tiger shoes are all made of cloth, and the toe is made into the shape of a tiger's head. Tiger-headed shoes have a long history in China. Behind this history, there is such a legend.
A long time ago, in the famous ancient city of Yangzhou, there lived a boatman. His name is Dayang. He is generous and willing to help others. Soon, an elderly traveler came to the village, and she praised Dayang's kind character. When she left, she gave an ancient painting to Dayang. In the picture, a beautiful girl is sewing a pair of tiger-headed shoes with needle and thread. The boatman likes this painting very much. As soon as he got home, he hung it on the wall beside his bed.
One night, the girl in the picture suddenly came out of the picture and had a good time with Dayang. Since then, they have met every night. A year later, they gave birth to a boy, and the boy brought more joy to the couple. However, something unfortunate happened. When the village chief heard that there was a strange painting in the Da Yang family, he proudly took it away. The goat hated the vicious village chief, but there was nothing he could do. The greedy village head hangs the picture on the wall of the bed like a big sheep, expecting the woman in the picture to come down every day. To his disappointment, nothing happened.
When the sheep's child grows up, he always keeps calling his mother. The sheep had to keep coaxing him that his mother had gone to the far west and could not come back. What the sheep said didn't help at all. The child insisted on finding his mother. Finally, he embarked on a journey to find his mother. He sailed west day and night, and finally he found his mother and many fairies taking a bath in a puddle in the forest. "Oh, my child, how did you run so far to find your mother? Quot "Just as the mother was talking, two crystal tears rolled down the child's cheeks. "Mom, you know, I lost you too much." "We can't really be together until you walk into the village chief's bedroom in the tiger's head shoes I sewed for you. Son, close your eyes and let me take you home first. "
After a whirlwind, he was surprised to find that he had arrived home. He told the village chief that he could summon the woman in the painting. The greedy village head eagerly took the child into his bedroom. When the child saw his mother, he shouted at the painting, "Mom, let's go." As soon as the voice fell, the woman in the painting answered, picked up the child and went out. However, the greedy village head blocked the way. He arrogantly asked this woman to be his wife. After being rejected, the village chief rushed over like a mother and son. The child bravely rushed up to fight with him. At this moment, the pair of tiger-headed shoes came loose from the boy's feet and immediately turned into a colorful tiger, only to see it quickly pounce on the evil village head. The village chief's cry for help and the tiger's roar resounded throughout the village ... Tiger shoes saved the mother and son and their families. Since then, people have started to make tiger-headed shoes for their children, hoping that they can protect the safety of children and families.