First, "one dragon gives birth to nine children, each with its own differences". What does the legendary brave dog look like and what is its origin? The Chinese nation has been an imaginative nation since ancient times. They are good at adding more fantastic animals to various fictional myths to enrich their inner world and satisfy their external desires, which is a beautiful sustenance. With the development of the times, they combine heaven, earth, people and harmony, and with the help of various beasts, they reach the spiritual world of "harmony between man and nature", which is the product of the continuous development of human spiritual world.
As for the image of mythical animals, before it was "deified", people generally classified it as tigers and leopards and other beasts, which were called the five ancient beasts together with dragons, phoenixes, unicorns and turtles. Among these wild animals, except the tortoise, all other wild animals are fierce. Guo Pu once said, "A brave man is a leopard." Lu Ji, a famous scholar in the Three Kingdoms period, once commented on The Book of Songs. According to various inferences, he came to the conclusion: "In summer, there is a fox name instead of a fox. Its skin is like a fox and looks like a leopard. A leopard is also a tiger, but its shape is different from that of a tiger." He thinks this animal is a bird of prey, with fur like a fox and body like a tiger and a leopard.
"Life" wrote: "Three generations of artifacts, Xia, Shang and Zhou, were named after Longsheng Jiuzi." Since then, animals have changed from ordinary beasts to "descendants of dragons", and their images have changed from tigers and leopards to more ferocious ancient beasts. According to legend, this animal has gathered 26 shapes and 49 incarnations, and the images of all exotic animals are fused together. After the evolution of various myths and legends and the processing of folk art, it is already "his body is like a lion, with a long beard on his chin and wings on both sides of his body." His hair is gray, and he often flies in the sky. His sideburns are connected with his chest and back, and he has one of the most prominent characteristics: his mouth is very big and he has no anus.
Legend has it that the brave dog once helped Emperor Yan and the emperor fight meritorious deeds, so it was named "Tianlu Beast". Because it was conferred by the royal family, it is also called "treasure of the earth", and because it often drives away wild animals and evil things, it is also called "exorcism". However, as the son of the dragon king and the hero of the emperor, he became addicted to pleasure after receiving the knighthood. He eats gold, silver and jewels, so he is full of jewels and shines everywhere. Because he ate too much, he once couldn't help urinating in front of the emperor. The emperor was furious at his indecent behavior and ordered him to be whipped and his anus sealed, so he was very brave.
2. Magic: As a highly deified beast, the image of early human spiritual beliefs is constantly changing, gradually forming three postures of sitting, squatting and crossing, and representing different beliefs of people in the process of evolution.
1. Totem God of primitive tribe
People in China like to use birds, animals, fish and insects as their totems. In an ancient tomb in Puyang, Henan Province more than 5,000 years ago, experts unearthed a dragon totem made of shells, which may be the earliest totem culture discovered so far in the history of China. Gong Yu, the Book of History, said that "birds wear skins and flowers", indicating that ancient humans used birds as totems, and they also decorated their clothes with bird patterns. "The Book of Songs and the National Wind" wrote: The life of the mysterious bird was born in the business, and the house was full of yin; It is also recorded in Historical Records of Qin Benji: "Before the Qin Dynasty, Zhuan Xu's descendants, Sun Yue, Nu Wa, the mysterious birds laid eggs, and Nu Wa swallowed them, giving birth to a great cause ... The descendants were either in China or in Yidi, and the birds spoke." It can be seen that in China's totem culture, animal totems dominated by birds occupy a large part, and by analogy, animals are beasts such as tigers and leopards, which naturally occupy a place in China's totem culture.
China people call themselves "descendants of the Yellow Emperor" because five thousand years ago, Emperor Yan defeated him and unified the tribes in China. Although Emperor Yan was defeated, his excellent qualities have not been erased. People did not forget Emperor Yan when they respected him as the ancestor of Chinese humanities, so they called themselves descendants of the Yellow Emperor. According to legend, the Yellow Emperor is the son of Shaodian, the leader of Xiongshi tribe, also known as Xuanyuan.
Historical records. The Biography of the Emperor records that the emperor once coached and led six wild animals, namely tiger, leopard, raccoon, raccoon, bear and scorpion, to defeat Emperor Yan and unify the tribes in the south. The reason why there are "demons" and "demons" is because there are gender differences in this animal. Males are called "demons" and females are called "demons". In order to make this animal more mythical, people combine the two and call it magic. People are also arguing about the story of these six wild animals participating in the war. Some scholars believe that these six kinds of wild animals did exist in the Yanhuang War, while others believe that wild animals are difficult to tame. Maybe the Yellow Emperor led them into the war just to intimidate them, and it was the Yellow Emperor's army that really fought. As for why brave warriors will also join the Yellow Emperor's war, it is probably because the Yellow Emperor is the leader of the Xiong tribe, and brave warriors are beasts closely related to tigers and wolves, so it is natural to obey Xiong's orders, and "brave warriors" should also be the representatives of their respective totems.
2. the product of the war era: you shine brilliantly.
Since the Yellow Emperor unified the tribes in China, the war began to subside and people lived a quiet life again. This is what they believe and worship as the patron saint of the tribe. However, the war will never subside. With the development of society, people began to have class consciousness, primitive clan commune began to collapse, and private ownership economy rose. So, in order to compete for wealth and make themselves stronger, tribes began to fight frequently, and the "God of War" came into being. "Book of Rites Quli" records: "If there is a judge before, you must carry a tiger's skin; If there is a beast in front, you must carry it. " It shows that people put the brave on the chariot, with the soldiers in front and the brave behind. It is such a huge monster that the enemy will feel scared when they see it and dare not fight easily. There is also a legend that hanging a skin on a chariot can also scare off the enemy. It can be seen that this ancient beast, whether it really appears or not, gives people an invisible pressure and is a well-deserved god of war, which can make the enemy lose confidence and flee without fighting.
The famous Peking Opera "Lost Street Pavilion" tells the story of Ma Su's lost street pavilion and Zhuge Liang's tearful beheading of Ma Su. There is a sentence: "The two countries are fighting against Long Hudou and going their own way." What is this for? It turns out that because of the name of the god of war, people directly use the word brave to represent the army, such as a hundred thousand troops, or they can be called hundred thousand brave. There is a cloud in Wang Shifu's The West Chamber: "I admire Wei Tong a million times and sit on the side." In addition, there is "a constant, riding a cloud." And "100,000 brave people have entered the broadcast, and autumn has not violated the market." Many people use "courage" to refer to troops with strict military discipline and heroic combat. It can be seen that the brave, as an invincible god of war, has always occupied a godlike position in the ancient army. Only in the war in the late feudal dynasty, people have regarded the brave as a tool for the exchange of interests. They are commanding a hundred thousand brave men. The ultimate goal is not to defend our country, but to elevate ourselves to a higher position and get a hereditary title. Therefore, in the feudal dynasty, which was gradually corrupt in the later period, due to the relaxation of the military system,
As an ancient totem, the loyal patron saint has already had the function of protecting the gods. People think that it can not only protect the people of this tribe, but also protect diseases, drive away monsters and give it many protective functions. Because the brave are also called evil spirits, many nobles will give their personal servants a name of "evil spirits" in order to protect themselves. For example, in the TV series The Roar of the Tiger by Sima Yi, Wei Mingdi Cao Rui was extremely afraid of his father Xelloss's death to his mother Zhen Ji and his indifferent behavior and attitude, so he named the eunuchs around him to ward off evil spirits and protect himself from harm. Because the mythical animals were given by the emperor himself, many mythical animals were placed in palaces of past dynasties, symbolizing the majesty of the royal family and defending its property. Also, because they can exorcise evil spirits, emperors and dignitaries will place two animals next to their graves after their deaths to protect themselves from external disturbances.
Fourth, the ultimate transformation: the symbol of wealth China people have always been masters of making money, and the word "businessman" was invented by China people. The so-called "360 lines, each line is the best", those who want to enter the official career through the imperial examination will worship Confucius, the most holy teacher; People who like martial arts hope that they can go through five hurdles and cut six generals like Guan Gong, so they worship idol Guan Yunchang; As for businessmen, they should worship Tao Zhugong Fan Li the most. After leaving Gou Jian, the King of Yue, he traveled around the world and accumulated countless wealth. He is the originator of business. Businessmen not only worship the real Fan Li, but also the brave, just as scholars worship the Analects of Confucius and martial men worship the Dragon Crescent Moon Knife. Businessmen believe that the brave will eat gold, silver and jewels, which will certainly bring them endless wealth.
Businessmen have been the mainstay of social and economic development since ancient times. Although the basic national policy of "emphasizing agriculture and restraining business" has been implemented in ancient times, it is simply not feasible for the whole country to rely solely on agriculture as the economic lifeline without businessmen. In fact, ancient people thought the same as modern people. As long as they have money, their position is naturally there. Although money is not everything, many things can be done with money. Therefore, the mascot, of course, will not escape their eyes, because not only can not get in, but also can keep their wealth. Moreover, in feng shui legend, the five elements belong to fire, and fire can win gold. According to the principle of "mutual resistance" in Feng Shui, you can not only keep your wealth. It can be seen that even countries have a special liking for this auspicious thing, hoping that by guarding it, China will accumulate more and more wealth and become a super economic power.
The brave man is called "Tianlu beast" and has the feeling of "Fu Lushou". People think that this name can make money, increase rank and title. Because he lost his manners in front of the emperor, the emperor blocked his anus, so he couldn't get in, which also meant that his wealth was not exposed and all his gold, silver and jewels were not lost. Of course, he will be madly sought after by people. In this era when money is relatively important, people certainly want to have more and more money, so this feature is widely used in various shops and families. In addition, there are men and women. Men are equivalent to men, responsible for making money, and women are equivalent to women, responsible for keeping money. Therefore, it is best to put a man and a woman at home to achieve the dual purpose of making money and saving money. There are also people who have always followed the principle of "touching the ass". They think that once you do this, you will lose your wealth or be bad for your career. At the same time, you can't touch its mouth, because it has eaten countless gold and silver jewels with its big mouth. Once touching its mouth, it will make him lose his spirituality and wealth will not patronize. Although it is just a joke, it is enough to prove people's sense of identity that the brave can accumulate wealth. It can be said that "there is a family and a mouth, and money is endless."
To sum up, after thousands of years of changes, the brave man has changed from the primitive totem to the god of war, from the god of war to the patron saint, and finally to the god of wealth, which actually conforms to the changes of the times. According to the needs of each era, it flexibly changes its identity and eventually becomes a mascot symbolizing wealth, which is the meaning given to it by our era. This lovely auspicious thing keeps pace with the times from beginning to end.