Is the tiger and the dragon compatible? Are the tiger and the dragon compatible?
Is a Tiger and a Dragon compatible?
Text: Ni Fang Liuzhou Xiude (History Reading Column)
2008 In the summer of 2020, the Capital Museum held an exhibition of 5,000 years of civilization treasures called "Memory of China", which focused on displaying cultural relic stars from all over the country. Many museum treasures have also been put on display. The terracotta warriors and horses of Qin Shihuang, known as the wonders of the world, the gold-lined jade clothing of the Han Dynasty, the Zongmu mask of Sanxingdui, the sun god with gold foil bird patterns from the Shang Dynasty, etc. are gathered together in order to convey the Chinese civilization. It has a long history and is profound.
Under the dim light, the treasures competed with each other. Although there was no warm atmosphere or dazzling colors, they showed various characteristics with their own distinctive shapes and deep sense of history. The glorious civilization of the era is awe-inspiring.
Among these national treasures, a bronze cultural relic called "Dragon and Tiger Four Ring Bronze Drum Base" is considered an inconspicuous one. Compared with the bronzes of the same era, it does not have as great a reputation as Zeng Hou Yi Bingjian. It is not as huge as the Prince Wuding, and it does not even have the good luck to rely on the heroes. However, these cannot weaken its domineering power or detract from its charm at all, because it is its existence that remembers the thousands of years of Chinese civilization. root.
Name: Dragon and Tiger Four-ring Bronze Drum Base Year: Spring and Autumn Period Land of Excavation: Shucheng County, Anhui Province Collection: Anhui Provincial Museum Cultural Relics Value: First-Class Cultural Relics
As the saying goes: There is no place to be found if you step through iron shoes, and it takes no effort to get it. Many national treasures and cultural relics in Chinese history were unearthed due to chance, and the Dragon and Tiger Four Ring Bronze Drum Seat is no exception.
In September 1980, workers at the kiln factory in Jiulidun Village, Kongji Town, Shucheng County, Anhui Province dug out an ancient tomb while collecting soil. Immediately, provincial and county cultural relics workers arrived and it was identified that it was an ancient tomb. A Spring and Autumn Tomb and carried out rescue cleaning on it.
According to on-site investigation, the tomb clearly showed signs of being dug twice. Experts concluded that many precious cultural relics had been stolen by the tomb owner. But what makes the experts happy is that despite the visit of the tomb keeper, 183 documents were finally cleared out, including 170 bronzes. In this regard, Professor Shang Chengzuo, a paleographist and archaeologist from the university, was so impressed that he wrote a poem praising the case: "There is no way that the Spring and Autumn Period Shu Guo Xiao, the mouth of the cow-shaped basin is difficult to trace. Who is the real copy of Hengxuan's legacy? I was shocked to see the case. "It's amazing."
While the cultural relic workers were sorting out the objects with joy and worry, a hollow tripod-shaped bronze vessel aroused their interest.
At first glance, this bronze vessel appears to be round in shape, a round copper ring with no bottom and a slight incomplete upper part. The whole seat has a diameter of 80 cm, a height of 29 cm, and a weight of about 100 kilograms. If you look closely at its shape, you will see that it is particularly unique. The mouth is made of a tiger's head and a dragon coiled around it. The tiger's ears are erect, its eyes are wide open with anger, and its mouth is open like a roar. The dragon with one horn and the tiger can be said to be a dragon encircling a tiger, and the image is very vivid. The body of the vessel is fully decorated with snake patterns.
Its outer wall is also decorated with four rings and two weeks of inscriptions, which is vivid. Last week it was about 98 words, and next week it was about 52 words. The number of inscriptions alone is enough to excite cultural relics workers. You must know that among the bronzes unearthed in Anhui, except for the Ejun Qijie unearthed in Shouxian County in 1959, no other bronze has so many inscriptions. 's inscription.
So what kind of bronze object is it and what is its purpose? The research results are unexpected!
At first, because the inscription was severely rusted and difficult to read, almost everyone did not know what kind of artifact it was. Later, the expert group of the Object Appraisal Association identified the word "Juan Drum". Known as "Bronze Drum Base". Later, because there were two symmetrical and four intertwined dragons entwined on it, it was named "Dragon and Tiger Pattern Drum Base". It was also called "Dragon and Tiger Four Ring Bronze Drum Base" because of the four rings on the side. It also has other names: "Spring and Autumn Bronze Large Drum Base" or "Four-Ring-shaped Ware".
In the final analysis, this object is a drum base. As the name suggests, it is the base that carries the drum. In ancient times, drums were musical instruments used in war, music and dance and other activities. There is a saying in "Guoyu·Wuyu": "The drums are always built, and the scriptures are held in hand, and thousands of people think of a phalanx." Judging from the images of land and water attacks, Jiangu is a military instrument and is often used together with Ding Ning's gun.
There are records in ancient documents: the dragon is the leader of the water tribe, and the tiger is the king of mountain beasts. This object combines dragon and tiger into one body, and its supreme authority can be seen from its carvings alone. The tiger father has no sons yet, so it can be seen that the drum status it carries is even more extraordinary. We can imagine the 3000-year-old bronze drum seat with four rings of dragon and tiger, sitting on a high platform. Listening to the exciting drumming from above, looking at the passionate sergeants and praying for them.
As for the specific identity of the owner of the dragon and tiger four-ring bronze drum base, it is still confusing. However, from the bronze burial objects such as large, fine and exquisitely decorated bronze bells, tripods, chariots and horses, and halberds unearthed at the same time, as well as the identified inscriptions, it can be roughly inferred that the owner of this tomb is likely to be At that time, there was a certain monarch in Qunshu. The so-called Qunshu are the seven small states that united into a military group such as Shu, Shuyong, and Shuliao during the Spring and Autumn Period. They are the descendants of Gaotao in the area of Liu'an and Shucheng in Anhui today.
It is a blessing among misfortunes that the bronze drum base with four rings of dragon and tiger escaped the claws of tomb robbers and was preserved.
The most rare and precious thing about this national treasure-level cultural relic, the "Bronze Drum Base with Four Rings of Dragon and Tiger", apart from its status as one of the only inscribed drum bases in China, is its dragon and tiger carvings. Not to mention how outstanding this carving technique is, but the root of five thousand years of civilization it represents - dragon and tiger culture.
In our culture, dragons and tigers, as the most domineering beings, are often given special cultural significance and exist in expressions in various aspects such as economy, military, culture, language, literature, and medicine.
The Chinese dragon and tiger culture originated from the confluence of the two major ethnic groups of Xi and Yan in ancient times, and there are signs of it in the Yangshao culture. The fusion of Longnuwa and Hufuxi became the Han culture. The basis can be found not only in the literature. In recent years, a number of prehistoric cultural relics have been unearthed, which is the most convincing evidence. In 1987, a clam sculpture with the shape of a dragon and tiger was unearthed for the first time in a tomb at the Yangshao Cultural Site in Xishuipo, Puyang, Henan (see the picture below); the "Dragon and Tiger Statue" unearthed in Funan, Anhui, and the unique and carved sculpture unearthed from the tomb of the Nanyue King of the Western Han Dynasty in Guangzhou The exquisite "dragon and tiger pattern jade belt hook"...
(The clam sculpture is in the shape of a dragon and tiger, some scholars have revealed that it is an archaeological fraud)
The dragon and tiger are The oldest and most influential Shouhe mascots in ancient China include the green dragon, white tiger, red bird, and Xuanwu mythical beast. Ancient people with rich imagination believed that they lived in the sky and were responsible for guarding the celestial palace and dividing the stars in the sky. Their placement is specified and used as standards for forecasting seasons.
Later, because of its respected status and protective meaning, the emperors also liked to use dragons and tigers to describe themselves. Dragons and tigers gradually became symbols of imperial power. Liu Zhiji of the Tang Dynasty said in "Shi Tong Shu Zhi": "Tiger Sitting on a dragon plate, the emperor showed his supreme dignity. "The bronze ritual vessels of the Shang Dynasty include dragon and tiger statues, and many vessels are decorated with dragons and tigers. For example, a pair of dragons and tigers are clearly painted on the lacquer box of Marquis Zeng Yi of the Warring States Period, and the emperor's jade seal of the Han Dynasty also has a dragon and tiger button.
Both tigers and dragons were worshiped by the ancients, but after the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the status of tigers declined greatly. The status of dragons and tigers as guardians of imperial power was gradually replaced by double dragons and foreign lions. Dragons also became The only symbol of the emperor - the emperor's face or complexion is called "Longyan", the emperor's happiness is called Longyan Dayue, the clothes the emperor wears are dragon robes, and even the patterns embroidered on the emperor's uniform are also called dragon scales. Du Fu's poem "Autumn Xing" goes: "The clouds move and the pheasant tail opens the palace fan, and the sun circles the dragon's scales to recognize the face." The bed where the emperor slept was also called the dragon bed. The poem about the palace of Lady Hou Shu goes: "The fragrance of the royal furnace hits the dragon bed." .
"Dragon" is as powerful as "tiger". Why can the dragon become the incarnation of the Chinese emperor, but the tiger cannot? Its status is not even as good as that of a lion?
There are naturally many reasons, but the most important thing is that dragons exist in real life and everyone has seen them. There is no sense of mystery, although they are not invincible. But the dragon is different. In real life, people cannot see it. It is a kind of mythical beast that appears or disappears. This is the meaning of the so-called "dragon can see its head but not its tail". The cultural attribute of the dragon just caters to the imperialist centralization mentality of China, which likes to make mysteries, so there was the "god-making movement" - the dragon was elevated to a high position.
However, the dragon and tiger culture has continued to develop, and its status has not been shaken. There are still two generals, Qinglong and White Tiger, guarding it.
Both dragons and tigers are overlords in their respective fields, so people usually use dragons and tigers to describe mighty and majestic people to reflect their leaders. The dragon represents the higher authority of the class, and the tiger represents the strongest power in the world. The relationship between dragon and tiger means opposition, so there is a saying that dragon and tiger will fight.
According to legend, a tiger came to a water pool in Sizhou to drink water. The dragon in the pool thought that the tiger had invaded its territory, so it jumped up and fought with the tiger. As a result, the thirsty tiger was defeated by the hungry dragon and was killed by the dragon. Stunned him with his tail, picked him up and swallowed him. Su Dongpo wrote a poem based on this: "There is a hungry dragon hidden in the scales, and a thirsty tiger is caught by turning its tail."
Because dragons are responsible for rainwater, and the relationship between dragons and tigers is so delicate, there is a practice of praying for rain during droughts. It is said that there was a severe drought in central and southern China during the Tang Dynasty, so villagers often tied bones with long ropes and threw them into Longtan. When Russia falls, "clouds rise in the pond, and rain also falls."
Today's statement is more inherited by Feng Shui and is used to survey the site of house construction and calculate marriages. In many places, especially in rural areas, many people believe that men and women whose zodiac signs are dragon and tiger are not suitable for marriage. Why? The reason is that "" has transplanted culture into people's marriage taboos. To this day, in some places, some people still believe that "when a dragon and a tiger fight, one of them will be injured." There is a saying that a white horse offends a green ox.
On the other hand, how can dragon and tiger get along with each other? If the dragon and tiger are unified, they will be domineering and invincible. In the process of language creation, the ancients especially liked to refer to dragon and tiger together. Idioms such as "dragon tower and tiger strategy", "dragon pan and tiger squat", "dragon tiger wind and cloud" all show impressive momentum and prestige.
This kind of dragon and tiger culture not only exists in language, but those in power are more willing to make it into artifacts to show their supreme authority and glory. In the ancient Spring and Autumn Period, bronze wares with dragon and tiger carvings were particularly popular and were highly sought after by princes and nobles. The bronze drum base with four rings of dragon and tiger is a work from this period. Of course, even nobles would not dare to use such noble carvings casually. If they are not careful, it will be a serious crime of beheading.
This article is "new" in manuscript trading and is used by the Department of History.
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