What is the legend about Pixiu?
Pixiu, also known as Tianlu, ward off evil spirits, and Baijie, is a mythical beast in ancient Chinese myths and legends. It has a dragon head, a horse body, and lin feet. It looks like a lion and has a fur color. Gray and white, it can fly. Pixiu is a ferocious and powerful creature. It is responsible for patrolling in the sky to prevent demons, ghosts, plagues and diseases from disturbing the heaven.
In ancient times, people often used Pixiu as a title for the army. It has a mouth but no anus. It can swallow everything without releasing it. It can attract wealth and accumulate treasures. It can only go in but not come out. It has special magical powers. It is said that Pixiu is the ninth prince of the Dragon King. Its staple food is gold, silver and jewelry. Naturally, it is full of treasures. Compared with other auspicious animals, such as the three-legged toad, it has more heads. Therefore, it is deeply loved by the Jade Emperor and the Dragon King. However, eating If you take too much, you will have diarrhea, so one day you may defecate in the open because you can't help it, which made the Jade Emperor angry, so he slapped him, which hit his buttocks, and the anus was sealed. From then on, gold and silver jewelry could only go in but not out. . After this allusion spread, Pixiu was regarded as an auspicious beast that attracts wealth and treasures. Many Chinese people wear Pixiu jade products for this reason.
It is said that Pixiu violated the rules of heaven and was punished by the Jade Emperor to feed only on wealth from all directions.
King Wu of Zhou
Gold-inlaid Pixiu of the Eastern Han Dynasty (5 photos)
Pixiu is a beast from the Western Regions that lived in Tibet and Kangding, Sichuan more than three million years ago. , has extremely strong fighting ability. When Jiang Ziya was helping King Wu defeat Zhou, he encountered a Pixiu during a march, but no one knew it at the time. Jiang Ziya thought it looked very powerful, so he tried every means to tame it and use it as his mount. Use it to fight and win every battle. King Wu of Zhou saw that Pixiu was so brave and magical, so he gave him an official title with the title "Yun". At that time, Jiang Ziya discovered that Pi Xiu ate an astonishing amount of food every day but never urinate or defecate. Its only excretory system is to secrete a little bit of strange-smelling sweat from the fur all over its body. After smelling this strange fragrance, animals from all over the world rush to compete for food, and in the end they are eaten by Pixiu. [3]
Zhu Yuanzhang
After Zhu Yuanzhang established his capital in Nanjing, he dug out a pair of Pixiu from the ground. Pixiu was the ninth prince of the Dragon King, so he ordered people to build Pixiu next to Linggu Temple. The temple enshrines this pair of Pixiu. After Zhu Yuanzhang established his capital in Nanjing, he built the Zhongshan Gate, but there was no money in the treasury. Prime Minister Liu Bowen (also a Feng Shui master) suggested that Zhu Yuanzhang use brave animals to collect wealth. Zhu Yuanzhang obeyed and placed a pair of the largest brave animals in the world at the gate of the country. As a result, the gentry in both rivers donated money and started a lot of construction work. , the grand scene made Zhu Yuanzhang deeply moved, and praised: The Ming Dynasty subjects are so loyal, and the country will last forever.