The Chinese Zodiac Culture 3- Tiger symbol

Thursday, January 12, 2023

The Chinese Zodiac not only integrates ordinary creatures into Chinese life, but its natural habits are endowed with many cultural meanings, from animals to gods, and receive respect and worship. Only the combination of natural creatures and cultural gods can form a complete impression of zodiac animals. Let’s go to learn more about tiger生肖虎(sheng xiao hu).

Chinese Zodiac Tiger

The tiger is the king of all animals. Yin and tiger are matched. The word "Yin" in Oracle Bone Inscriptions is like an arrow. In Shuowen, "Yin" means "Yang Qi rises. Although there is frozen soil, it will break through the earth", which is consistent with the ferocious Yang Qi of the tiger. If the bronze tiger cannibal you of the Shang Dynasty reflects the ancient people's fear of tigers, the tiger brand in the war represents the desire for conquest. Marching with white tiger flags, those who know courage are "tiger generals". They use tiger amulets to dispatch troops, and their weapons have tiger patterns.

hu fu

The 7000 year old earthenware unearthed in the Datang site in NANTUO, Changsha, has the "long tusk human face pattern" of human face and tiger head; The primitive Tomb of Xishuipo in Puyang 6500 years ago also has the image of a tiger made of clam shells. Compared with the dragon, the tiger is respected on the left. Chinese culture has always been known as dragon and tiger. The book of changes qiangua compares heaven and earth with dragon and tiger. The Dragon flies in the sky and the tiger travels in the earth. The dragon and tiger astrology is regarded as the guardian star God. According to the historical records, Liu Bang "makes people look forward to his Qi. They are all dragons and tigers".

bai hu

In Chinese folklore, the tiger is most famous for the White Tiger God and the West Queen Mother. Among the twenty-eight constellations, the East, West, North and south star clusters form four images, and then combined with the five elements and five colors theory to form "East Green Dragon, West White Tiger, South rosefinch and North Xuanwu". Taoism takes the four elephants as the patron saint, and the white tiger becomes the "White Tiger God". The image of the Chinese and Western Queen Mother in the book of mountains and seas: living in Yushan, "human face and tiger body... Leopard tail and tiger teeth are good at roaring, awning hair and wearing victory". Her position is the God of punishment, in charge of disease and life and death. Other tiger gods include the God of water, tianwu and the God of punishment. The mount of the God of wealth, Zhao Gongming, is also a black tiger.

Sign up for a free trial now!

FAQ / Tips

We offer highly flexible class schedules that cater to your needs, with lessons available from 7am to 10pm Beijing time, seven days a week.This allows you to conveniently take lessons at any time and from any location that suits your schedule.
At Chinese Learning, protecting our customers' personal information is a top priority. We have implemented robust security measures to safeguard your data and prevent any unauthorized access or disclosure. For further information on our privacy practices, please refer to our Privacy Policy, which outlines our commitment to data protection and privacy.
Thank you for choosing Chinese Learning for your language learning needs.If you need to cancel or reschedule a lesson, please do so at least 4 hours ahead of time. To request a cancellation, please send an email to ivy.wang @chineselearning.com or service @chineselearning.com.We appreciate your cooperation and understanding, and we look forward to providing you with the best learning experience possible."
We offer secure and convenient payment options, including PayPal. PayPal is a widely recognized and trusted online payment platform that provides a secure way to make transactions. We also follow industry-standard security protocols to ensure the safety of your personal and financial information.
Our instructors are highly skilled and experienced experts in Chinese language teaching, with proficiency in multiple languages. They hold at least a bachelor's degree in teaching Chinese as a foreign language, and possess extensive teaching experience and knowledge. Through a rigorous selection process and ongoing training, our instructors are equipped to provide students with authentic pronunciation, accurate language usage, and cultural background knowledge, all of which are essential for achieving mastery of the Chinese language.
If you have any questions or concerns, you can send an email to: service @chineselearning.com.We have a team of professionals who will be happy to assist you with any issues as soon as possible.