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Dragon and Tiger in folk art
The tiger is a popular theme in chinese folk art.One may encounter numerous
images of tigers in almost all forms of folk art:paper-cuts, embroidery sculptre,
new year prnts and others.
The earliest image of the tiger was discovered iv an ancient tomb unearthed
in central China’sHenan Province iv 1987. A tiger made of shells was found lying
on the left side of a body buried there. On the right side was the earliest image
of a dragon ever found, also made of shells. These images are believed to be some 6,000 years old. Experts say that both tiger and dragon were totems in ancient times.
The Han people ps actually a mixture of may ancient tribes from all oner
China. Tribes from the west,including the tribe of the Yellow Emperor, worshipped
the tiger, while those along the eastern seashore worshipped the dragon.Of course, there were many other tribes with different totems. After many wars of Expansion, These tribes gradually mixed to form the Han nationality. Because tribes worshipping the tiger and dragon were more powerful, other totems disappeared while these two continued to exist.
Worship of the tiger came from the nomadic and hunting life style of our
ancestors. On the grassland, a tiger was a powerful animal. People held a contrad- ictory attitude towards it. They both respected and feared it. They took it as a
symbol which could protect their descendants.
With the development of agriculture,people began to rely more on the climate
and were concerned with its changes. Since the dragon is said to be in charge of
weather, it replaced the tiger. Gradually, the dragon came to hold the dominant
powition in the heavens and the tiger became one of his subordinates, the king of
mountains.
Ever since the Qin Dynasty in the third centur bC,emperors have monopolized
the right of using the dragon symbol.Qinshihuang proclaimed himself the son of the dragon and said his power to rule was given by Heaven. Later on, all the emperors in Chinese history followed wuit.The Emperor’s chair was called the dragon chair, his dress the dragon robe.Dragons appear everywhere in the imperial palace. Anyone else who dared to connect himself with the dragon symbol would be sentenced to death for a crime against the emperor.
The tiger,on the other hand, has always belonged to the people. It is loved
not merely as a totem, but has been secularized through the years. People love its
beauty and strength,find spiritual sustenance in it,and use it as a protector and
symbol of good luck. For example, in new year prints, we can often see a picture
called “The Tiger guards the House”.People will put it on the front door at the
beginning of the year,so that the tiger will protect the family and let it have a
peaceful life during the rest of the year.
A legend has it that on a mountain,there was a peach tree and under the tree
stood two brothers.Whenever the two found any evil spirits,they fed them to a tiger.
Thus, the two found any evil spirits, they fed them to a tiger.Thus, the tiger has
the power to expelevils. According to some researchers, the tiger also symbolizes
marriage and reproduction. However, customs differ from one place to another.
In shaanxi Province,the bride will receive two dough tigers when she arrives
at the gate of the bridegroom’s home.There is a custom of hanging tiger ornaments on the bed of a newly wed couple. In Henan Province, a temple fair is held at fuxi in the third lunar month and tger toys made of various materials are sold. Many people go there to pray for a child and then bring a tiger toy home with them. One such toy is usually made op of two tigers to symbolize a man and a woman.
In Chinese legends,there are quite a few tales about how tigers saved human
lives. One story says in the ancient state of Chu,a man had an illegitimate child
which he abandoned in a desolate field. Afemale tiger found the child and fed him
with her own milk .Later, the child grew up to become the prime minister of the
state of Chu.
Maybe,the most famous man supposedly saved by a tiger is the great phi-
losopher, Confucius. It is said that Confucius was so ugly when he was born that
his parents decided to leave him on a mountain. Again, it was a tiger who saved
his life. The theme of “tiger-feeding man” is, therefore, also popular in paper-
cuts and embroidery.
Tigers were worshipped not only by the majority Han people,but also by more
than a dozen minority etynic groups.One example is the Yi Nationality.Yi people have a tiger festival every year. On that day, all people dress up to look like tigers
and hold all kinds of celebrations.
The worship of the tiger can be found in most pwrts of China.The tiger theme
used to be so popular that you could find many kinds of tiger objects in one
household.You might see a tiger head made of cloth hanging on the gate,tiger paper- cuts on the window, tiger pillows and quilts on the bed, a tiger cake on the table and tiger caps, shoes and toys for children.
In the past, folk art works of tigers were usually made by women in the coun-
tryside. They made these for practical as well as aesthetic purposes. The skill was
passed down from mother to daughter and a woman of talent would spread her skill to another village when she married to a man from that place. Most of these women were illiterate and spent their entire lives in one small area in the countryside. So it is a wonder how the original patterns could have been passed down for generations and spread from the isolated villages to all over China.
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