First, the creation of Kirin and China people's thought of "Jimei"
Kirin, an animal, was created by mixing thoughts according to the way of thinking of China people. Judging from its external shape, it is characterized by moose body, oxtail, horseshoe shape (called "wolf's hoof" in history books), fish scale skin, horns with meat at the corners and yellow. This model is a new combination after dismembering many real animals. It concentrates all the advantages of these precious animals on Kirin, a fictional god beast, which fully embodies the concept of "Jimei" of China people.
The so-called "Jimei", in layman's terms, is the performance of concentrating all the beautiful things on one thing. This concept is the goal and desire that China people have been pursuing in the spiritual and material world for thousands of years. Therefore, it makes sense for Kirin to combine deer, cattle, horses, fish and other auspicious animals.
Deer worship belongs to primitive animal worship in China and was a symbol of emperors in ancient times. At the same time, it is also included in the category of theology and political science. "Song Shu Fu Rui Zhi" says: "White deer plain, Wang will benefit from it." "Ruiying Map" also said: "Wang Cheng Sheng testimonies, nothing to lose, then White Deer comes." Later, when people worshipped immortals, white deer was regarded as a sacred animal in the immortal family. Mongolians in ancient China worshipped white deer. In the Secret History of Mongolia, there are myths and legends about the birth of Bailuyuan God. Manchu has a myth of deer god. Among the Oroqen, Ewenki and Hezhe who raise reindeer, deer is often the god of shaman wizards, who think shaman often appears in the shape of deer. Even shaman witchcraft firmly believes that the true soul of shaman can be turned into a battle between deer and body. If the deer wins, the life of shaman will be over. In the folk, deer also appears as a long-lived beast, which is used to express the theme of celebrating and praying for life on many occasions. In addition, deer and "deer" are homophonic, symbolizing good luck.
Cattle went to the altar in ancient times and became an indispensable sacred object in sacrificial activities. According to folklore, cattle are gods sent by heaven to help mankind. It cultivated silently in the fields, bringing material wealth to mankind, and its dedication also gave human spiritual wealth. Cattle worship is very common among people of all ethnic groups in China. There is bull worship in the northwest and many buffalo worship in the south. According to historical records, during the Warring States period, there was a Nut Temple in Qin State, which was the earliest recorded worship of cattle in ancient times. China's Naxi, Tajik, Uygur, Kazak, Kirgiz, Salar, Hani and other ethnic minorities regard cows as creatures. Miao, Tujia, Buyi, Dong, Bai, Ewenki and Dai also have the custom of offering sacrifices to sacred cows.
Horses are regarded as intelligent, loyal, brave and hardworking animals with noble, elegant and noble temperament. In the Book of Changes, the horse symbolizes the sky, that is, "making for the sky". Horse worship is popular among nomadic people and hunting people whose main motive force is horses in northern China. There are many records about the ritual of offering sacrifices to the horse god and the construction of Ma Chong Temple in the literature of Qing Dynasty. In addition, in ancient times, white horses were often sacrificed to heaven, and the teacher swore an oath. They think that the white horse belongs to Yang and is driven by the gods. The green ox belongs to yin and is enjoyed by the land god. Mongolian, Oroqen, Ewenki and other ethnic groups all have the custom of choosing what gods to worship when offering sacrifices to gods or protecting gods by livestock. This kind of god horse is not allowed for women to ride, but can be eaten everywhere, not allowed to drive away, and even can eat young crops in the field at will. Shenma chooses full white, full tail and full mane, never trims it, and often ties colorful silk threads at the end of the mane as a mark.
As an aquatic animal, fish scales are regarded as auspicious and beautiful decorations, and "fish scale brocade" is a traditional auspicious pattern. Fish worship is widely spread among the Han, Manchu, Tibetan, Mongolian, Bai, Hani, Wa and other ethnic groups in China, and there are stories of fish carrying the earth in many myths. The world image on the silk paintings of Han tombs unearthed in Mawangdui, Hunan Province also puts the earth on two huge fish. Fish is homophonic with "fish" and becomes a symbol of a rich and happy life.
The ancient Chinese creatively combined the above auspicious animals to construct the image of Kirin, which accords with the psychological acceptance and artistic appreciation cultivated for a long time.
Second, Kirin and the inheritance of Confucianism
Kirin is endowed with excellent quality in legend. For example, it is called a "benevolent beast" because it is docile in nature, does not cover insects, does not break grass, has horns on its head and meat on its horns. Zhao of Xiliang said in the "Kirin Fu": "A round hoof, the rules are good, you must choose the swimming place, and you must be in the back, don't jump into the trap and get into trouble." Fu Ruizhi, the Book of Song Dynasty, said: "The benevolent wears righteousness, does not drink the pool, does not trap, and does not catch." "Shuo Yuan" also has the following words: "With benevolence and righteousness, the tone is gentle, and the steps are regular, the twists and turns are moderate, and the soil is chosen before proceeding. The location is flat but the place is backward, and it does not live in groups, does not travel, and is chaotic. " Record. It embodies the modesty of Kirin's kind gentleman. The reason why Kirin worship can be accepted by the general public and the ruling class in its development and inheritance is precisely because this kind of "benevolent animal" quality conforms to China's ethics and Confucianism for thousands of years.
Confucianism was founded by Confucius, a great thinker and educator in the late Spring and Autumn Period in China. As far as its purpose, function, purpose and structure are concerned, it can be said that it is a school with moral education as its core, which has played a great positive role in the development of China culture and world culture. The core of Confucianism is "benevolence", which can be said to be the fundamental and highest moral criterion of Confucian ethics. Its main purpose is "love", that is, "I have tried my best to stand up and become a person, and I have tried my best to realize it." "Don't do to others what you don't want them to do to you." According to Confucianism, people are human because they have a "caring heart", and whether people should be respected and reused is determined by the moral standard of a "lover".
Confucianism is the dominant ideology of China's traditional culture. During the Warring States period, Confucianism and Mohism were also called "outstanding scholars". Qin Shihuang used legalism to unify the world and burned books to bury Confucianism, which dealt a serious blow to Confucianism, but the Qin Dynasty "died the next year". At the beginning of the Han Dynasty, Huang Lao's learning was highly praised, and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty listened to Dong Zhongshu's suggestion, deposed hundreds of schools and respected Confucianism alone. Therefore, Confucianism officially occupied the dominant position. Metaphysics prevailed in Wei and Jin Dynasties. Although Ji Kang openly advocated "not Tang Wu but thin Zhou Li", metaphysics still respected Confucius as the highest saint. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Buddhism flourished and Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism were respected at the same time, but the political statutes were still Confucianism. The rise of Neo-Confucianism in the Song Dynasty restored the authoritative position of Confucianism and was respected by the rulers throughout the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. Until the May 4th period, Confucianism was severely criticized, and the ideological era in which Confucianism dominated came to an end, and the pattern of Confucianism's exclusive respect was gone forever. However, the dominant position and far-reaching influence of Confucianism in traditional culture are unparalleled.
In folklore, Kirin is also closely related to Confucius, the founder of Confucianism. It is said that on the night of Confucius' birth, there was a family in the Confucius' mansion where Kirin came, and a jade book was spit out, which read, "The children of water and spirit are weak for five weeks, seeking wisdom." Words. It tells everyone that Confucius is a descendant of nature. Although it does not occupy the throne, it has a virtue, which is called "the king of elements". Confucius' family tied a colorful embroidery on the corner to show their gratitude. In the last years of Zhou Wangjing, when someone was digging a plow in Qufu, they dug up colored embroidery originally tied in a rare place. Later, three volumes of jade books were derived, and Confucius became a saint after intensive reading. Today, the Confucius Temple is decorated with books to show the auspicious arrival and birth of sages.
In the era of Confucius' life, "the conquest of rites and music came from princes", and the ceremony collapsed and the society was restless. Legend has it that Kirin was found in the countryside and was looked down upon. Confucius lamented that Kirin's "untimely birth" marked the end of the world and the poverty of philosophers. Spring and Autumn Annals was written here, so it is also called "Lin Shi" and "Lin Jing".
Thirdly, the auspicious significance of Kirin and the profit-seeking nature of human beings.
Every nation and every region has its own culture, which is deeply hidden and does not show its own national and folk characteristics in many aspects. Different nationalities and races also make human beings have certain differences in appearance and skin color. However, people of different nationalities and races have some common basic physiological and psychological characteristics. The theory of the same basic psychological characteristics of human beings is called "the theory of the same mind and nature" in academic circles. One of them is the desire for profit.
The "profit" of the profit-seeking mentality cannot be narrowly understood as interest and money. It refers to everything that is beneficial to human beings. It is the psychological characteristics that human beings yearn for, pursue auspiciousness and happiness, and hope that everything will develop in a direction that is beneficial to them, and often explain the development of things that are beneficial to them or give them characteristics that are beneficial to them. Throughout the ages, people who have existed and existed, no matter what nationality or culture, have such psychology. No one yearns for disasters and disasters, and no one wants everything to develop in a direction that is not conducive to them. The teachings of Christianity and Buddhism require people to endure suffering and abstinence, with the aim of getting rid of original sin, getting rid of the frontier and guiding people into heaven or paradise, which embodies this profit-seeking nature. Kirin worship also has such a mind. Just like the "happy ending" put forward by China's narrative literature works in the reflection on traditional culture. This is also the main reason why Kirin has been circulating for a long time.
Legend has it that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty once won a unicorn. In October of the first year of Yuanshou (BC 1 League Year), Emperor Xingyong visited the five halls and won the title of "Bai Lin", which was sung by Emperor Xiangrui. Therefore, the original name of Yuan Shuo was changed to Yuan Shou to show good luck. In addition, he also built the Kirin Pavilion (filial piety system) and gave the minister platinum. In the third year of Ganlu (5 1 year BC), Emperor Gaozu painted the images of Huo Guang, Zhang Anshi, Han Zeng,, Bingji, Du Yannian,, He, Xiao and Su Wu 1 1 to show his contribution. Later generations often use "Kirin Pavilion" or "Lin Pavilion" to express outstanding achievements and the highest honor. It is also said that Song Taizong also won the Kirin, and the Manchu Dynasty congratulated him. It can be seen that the auspicious meaning of Kirin has been widely recognized.
Fourth, the application of Kirin statue in real life
Kirin, the most desirable auspicious animal in ancient China, represents the happiness of a generation. So people at that time hoped that Kirin could always accompany them, bring them good luck and light, and eliminate ominous. When this ancient belief was handed down, the auspicious meaning of Kirin was also recognized by the general public and firmly existed in people's consciousness. Kirin has become a symbol of a certain concept, the embodiment of a certain artistic conception, the display of a certain strength, and has stimulated people's imagination, guided people's spirit to conform to a certain concept, entered a specific realm, given people hope, comfort and some pursuit power, and transformed it into folk life, which is manifested in all aspects of national culture.
(1) seeking children and raising children China's traditional concept of fertility is to have many children and grandchildren, and to have many children and be blessed. He regards not having children and carrying on the family line as the greatest unfilial duty. This traditional concept is deeply rooted and has influenced generation after generation. Hundreds of children and other celebrations, from women's pregnancy to the birth of babies, all reflect people's unremitting efforts to pray for this. Because Kirin once came to a saint like Confucius, people believe that Kirin can not only send children, but also help them. Therefore, the phenomenon of folk culture with the theme of "Kirin sending a child" is not only seen in pictures and blessings, but also in activities at the age of 20, with a wide range of manifestations, which is intended to pray for the early birth of your son and the virtuous future generations.
In modern Changsha City, Hunan Province, dragon dances are held every new month. At that time, whenever the dragon lantern juggler played with the family of infertile women, the host family would give gifts and let the dragon dance around the infertile women, then shorten the dragon body, ride a child and walk around the hall to show that the unicorn would send the children. In some places in Shandong Province, there is also a way to pray for children, that is, infertile women carry their children around the yard or in the hall with paper-tied Kirin, and some people tie colored embroidery on fish scales to let Kirin send their children.
As far as the design of Kirin Songzi is concerned, it is both complicated and simple. Complex may be centered on boys, wearing a long life lock, holding a lotus and holding a sheng; Or riding a unicorn for the boy with a book hanging in the corner; or being escorted by the lady behind the boy with an umbrella and a fan. Jane rode a unicorn for the boy and held a lotus in her hand. In folk prints, there are also auspicious couplets of "Kirin in the sky and Lang in the underground".
(2) Architectural Decoration Brick Carving and Wood Carving is an important way of architectural decoration in ancient China, with rich themes and excellent carving, which endows architectural modeling with vivid images. Brick carving is mostly used for the facing of brick structure buildings and the eaves of brick walls of wooden structures; Wood carving is not only used for the exterior eaves of buildings, but also for the decoration of interior eaves. Tianjin brick carving is a leader in the art of brick carving, and it is also a fine tile-making product during Qianlong and Jiaqing years in Qing Dynasty. Brick carvers are called "carvers". Daoguang developed into an independent industry and formed the world-famous "Tianjin Brick Carving". The wood carving skills of hanging flower doors, internal and external cards, forehead, flower cover, four screens, flower board and flower teeth are also a must.
The buildings in China, especially the residential buildings, are mostly brick-wood structures, which are popular with auspicious patterns with profound decorative meanings, such as eaves, Fangshan walls, lintels, window frames, screen walls, column bases, panel walls, roofs and drum stones. Kirin is one of the commonly used auspicious animals. Some decorate stone Kirin on both sides of the gate, which not only shows the nobleness of the gate, but also avoids evil spirits.
(3) Decorations and patterns Since ancient times, people like to wear the craft statues of Kirin as amulets, which are made of gold, silver, copper and jade. Pay special attention to wearing "Kirin lock" for babies to pray for their longevity. In addition, the traditional patterns with Kirin artistic modeling as the pattern are also widely used. During the reign of Wu Zetian in the Tang Dynasty, the official robe was embroidered with Kirin, which was named "Kirin robe" and was specially worn by military commanders above the third grade. In the Qing dynasty, Kirin was embroidered on the "supplement" of military attache and became a symbol of hierarchy. In folk paper-cutting, New Year pictures, embroidery, batik and other arts and crafts, Kirin has left a vivid shadow.
(4) Praise and Greeting Most people praise other people's children with such laudatory names as "Kirin", "Liner" and "Linzi". For example, the Southern Dynasties' Biography of Chen Shu Chu Ling said: "When Baozhi was a teacher, the world called him a Taoist. How old is the mausoleum? His family took it away. The top of the treasure said:' The stone unicorn in the sky is also'. " Tang Du Fu's Poems on Du Gongbu Caotang Summer Xu's two sons: "Didn't you see that Summer Xu's two sons are wonderful? I feel that Ji Meng is following them and Confucius is hugging them, not unicorns in the sky." ; Our son Feng Chu is a symbol of noble offspring. With "Lin toe", I wish my descendants a lifetime of virtue; Take "Lin's toes as a sample" as the horizontal approval of the wedding couplet, and wish you a kind offspring; Metaphor "forest liver and chicken marrow" is an extremely rare food; Praise and explain the preciousness of goods with "Fengkou in the forest" and "Rare".
Although Kirin is an imaginary animal created by ancient people in China, it is always so vivid and deeply rooted in people's hearts in real life. Whether as an ideological form or as a materialized form, Kirin has long been shown as an auspicious image, which not only reflects the psychological status of Kirin in the hearts of China people, but also embodies the profound thought of "the unity of man and nature". This belief in supernatural things is the development of worship of material gods. Kirin will be the eternal mascot of China people's life.
Kirin (male called Qi, female called Lin) is called Lin for short. It is a sacred object produced by the ancient people's fuzzy collection of long-haired animals such as deer, horses, cattle, sheep and wolves. Its images are generally sheep's head, deer's body, horseshoe, wolf's hoof, oxtail and a pair of meat horns. In the eyes of the ancients, Kirin belongs to the benevolent beast, which is "the length of the caterpillar", "the handsome hair" and "the head of the four spirits". It is the rule of "faith, loyalty, tone and step", gentle and gentle, and pays attention to gfd in every move; It "chooses soil to walk", "does not eat insects, does not break grass"; Elegant personality, of course, will not offend any traps and traps. Kirin also has a rare longevity, ranging from 1000 to 3000 years. It also especially likes virtuous kings, "when you arrive, you are benevolent." It is said that Confucius once shed tears for a unicorn with a broken left leg. Someone asked him why, and Confucius said: Lin came out only when he was a Ming emperor. This forest came out at a bad time and was very hurt. I feel sad about it. Therefore, we have seen many examples of Kirin's "seeing a wise king" in the history books, such as "When the Yellow Emperor was there, Kirin swam in the suburbs", "When Tang Yu was there, Lin Feng swam in the fields", "When Yu was there, Kirin walked in the court", "When he became a king, Kirin swam in the garden", "When Zhang Di was there, Lin saw fifty times" and so on. Obviously, the worship of Kirin, like the worship of dragon and phoenix, is also the product of the ancients' suspicion, awe, understanding and worship of the outside world, especially the animal kingdom, and always embodies the ancients' yearning and praise for the ideal society, benevolence and morality, and wise monarch. Of course, these "watches" will not see any real Kirin, because Kirin is a sacred object, which is not found in nature, but only the vague collection objects of Kirin-deer, horses, cattle, sheep and so on. People are human, and God is divine. The divinity of Kirin can be summarized by auspiciousness, spirituality, moral integrity, kindness and nobleness. Lucky Kerry is the concentrated expression of these gods. As the saying goes, "the world is at peace", "Virtue is good for birds and beasts, and Kirin is good", "Set a net to burn the forest, and Kirin will go". According to legend, when Confucius was about to be born, there was a unicorn spitting jade (not called jade) in Qufu Que, Shandong Province. Yan Zhizai, the mother of Confucius, knew that this was auspicious, so she tied an embroidered belt (a kind of silk rope of ancient seal) on the corner of Kirin. Kirin is wearing this silk rope (is it a red rope? ), stayed in Que for one night and left the next day. Soon, the future great sage Confucius came to the world. Since then, traditional auspicious patterns have appeared, such as "Lin Tu Yu Shu" and "Qilin Songzi". Later generations carved, embroidered and painted gold and silver necklaces, hats, Chinese-style chest covers and pictures with the theme of "Kirin giving a son" as a good product to congratulate relatives and friends on the birth of their son.
The picture of Kirin sending a child is generally a fat doll with a rich appearance, riding on Kirin with lotus flowers, lotus roots (figuratively speaking, "giving birth to a precious child") and round treasures in his hand. Kirin is cocky, cocky, cocky, covered in scales and flowers, standing on Xiangyun, full of energy and high spirits. In the Jianghuai area, there used to be a custom of "Kirin sending a child" during the Spring Festival. From plane to three-dimensional, from static to dynamic, it can be regarded as "Kirin sending a child": lively young men hold Kirin models or pretend to be Kirin, lead around with lanterns, walk around the village and perform various dance programs. In recent years, some places have excavated traditional cultural themes and "danced" Kirin again, which means seeking luck and happiness. Jade Kirin is a unicorn carved from beautiful jade, which was often worn by the ancients as an ornament. Because Kirin is rare and precious, and it can express good luck, emperors made it into the shape of Kirin with golden jade and gave it to relatives to reward their subordinates. In this way, wearing jade unicorn means showing identity and glory. Lu You, a poet in the Song Dynasty, said in a poem, "Let things be accommodated, and wear jade unicorn on your waist", which is exactly the case. The same is true of the use of gold coins called Linzhi. The literal meaning of "Lin toe" is the foot of Kirin. In the Book of Songs, there is an article called "The Foot of the Forest", which says, "The toe of the forest is a vibrator; Lin's decision, vibration male surname "at such a time. This means that all the descendants of Zhou Wenwang can follow in the footsteps of Kirin, just stop and stop. The world is virtuous and will never do anything against the ceremony. Since then, "Linzhi" has become a special vocabulary to praise the virtue of royal children. Later generations often use "Lin Zhi's image" as the banner of couplets, hoping to give birth to kind offspring. The casting of Linzhi gold in the Han Dynasty began in the second year of the Western Han Dynasty (95 BC). In the spring of this year, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty went out to travel. After returning to Chang 'an, he issued an imperial edict, saying that he had won a hundred forests in previous years, and he saw Tianma at the water's edge of Wowa and gold at Mount Tai. According to these three auspicious things, he can make a batch of gold coins that look like Lin Zu. From then on, the Han Dynasty had the Lin Toe Gold, which was mainly used to reward governors. Kirin is also used for people's names, place names, official names, palace pavilions, year numbers, clothing names, book titles, product names and so on. Used for names, such as Xuling and Zaohui in the Southern Dynasties, commonly known as "Kirin II". Du Fu, a great poet in the Tang Dynasty, once wrote a poem for him: "Confucius and the Stone Family embrace, not a unicorn in the sky". There are also "Jade Kirin in Hebei" in Water Margin, and Lu Junyi, Zou and others in Qing Dynasty. -Anything that can be named after Kirin generally has the strangeness, virtue, beauty and beauty of Kirin. For example, Lu Junyi, second in Liangshan, Shui Bo, said, "His eyes are wide, his eyebrows are divided into eight characters, and his body is nine feet like silver. Magnificent, instrument like a god ",and, with stunts, martial arts high strength," loyal to the liver, strong spirit lingyun; Generous ",thus" the British name is full of Kun. " Used for place names, such as Linzhou in Tang Dynasty, whose hometown is in Shenmu area in northern Shaanxi today. And linyou county, Shaanxi Province. According to legend, during the reign of Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty, a white unicorn once left the palace in Tiantai Mountain, the famous hall of Renshou Palace, and wandered freely for a long time. The monarch and ministers of Sui Dynasty thought it was auspicious, so they changed the original Fengqi County to linyou county and linyou county, hence the name. Also, the official position in charge of royal affairs is called "Lin Dian"; The secretary province in the Tang Dynasty was called "Lin Tai". There were "Kirin Hall" in the Han Dynasty and "Linde Hall" in the Tang Dynasty, especially the "Kirin Pavilion" built by Xuan Di, the emperor of the Han Dynasty. The image of the protagonist was painted and hung in the pavilion for future generations to pay tribute to. The so-called "painting a pavilion after success" and "having a male name for thousands of years". The appellations of "Lin Jia" in the Jin Dynasty and "Linde" in the Tang Dynasty are all based on the so-called "Lin Jian" which means auspiciousness. Clothing includes "Kirin robe" and "Kirin auxiliary clothing" (official clothing of Wuyi in Ming and Qing Dynasties). The book titles include, (both refer to Spring and Autumn Annals, named after Confucius wrote Spring and Autumn Annals, and the masterpiece is Lin), Lin in Tang Dynasty, Lin Tai Story in Song Dynasty, etc. These products are called "Eucheuma" (a tropical seaweed with high economic value), "Kirin Ruyi" handicrafts and "Kirin Zi" mattresses. Compared with dragons and phoenixes, Kirin is rare. In fact, no one can regard the dragon, phoenix and unicorn as sacred objects, but only as works of art or various materials drawn from three sacred objects. There is a saying in "Bao Puzi": "One person in 10,000 people' does not fight when he sees money, and he is not discouraged when he hears popular words', which is very high. Therefore, "people who do it are a dime a dozen, and people who get it are like horns." There is also a saying that "learning is like a dime a dozen, becoming a unicorn". The meaning is similar, that is to say, there are many people who work hard, and there are few real winners. Therefore, people often evaluate those precious and rare people and things as "rare", "rare" and "charming". So, what is the relationship between Kirin and Dragon and Phoenix? According to our point of view, the dragon is a fuzzy collection of ancient animals such as fish, crocodiles, snakes, pigs, horses, cows and deer, and natural phenomena such as clouds, electricity and rainbows. Forest is a fuzzy collection of ancient hairy animals such as deer, horses, cattle, sheep and wolves: there are some similarities in materials. From the perspective of divinity, the forest has the divinity of auspicious, psychic and noble, and the dragon also has the divinity of auspicious, psychic and noble. In other words, Lin is a bit like a dragon, and so is a dragon. Comparatively speaking, because the dragon has also included natural phenomena in its collection, its divinity is certainly greater. In the Ming Dynasty, there was a man named Shen Defu, who put forward a theory of "dragon lust", saying that "dragons are extremely lewd and will be handed over whenever they meet. "If you get a cow, there will be a forest; If you get a jackal, you will have an elephant; If you get a horse, you will have a pony; If you get a pheasant, you will lay eggs in Cheng Jiao, which is the biggest disaster. " Some scholars criticized this statement as nonsense and without any academic value. I think there are still some merits. From the point of view of fuzzy sets, dragons, forests and phoenixes are all products of "collection" and "fusion" of various animals, and it seems reasonable to call such "collection" and "fusion" "hybridization". It is one-sided to say that dragons and cows make friends, but it also shows the close relationship between Kirin and dragons and cows. The unicorn patterns we see are somewhat like cows, and the head and tail are like dragons. Amin Xia Yuanji thinks that Kirin has the characteristics of "dragon head", "phoenix imagination" and "turtle writing". He described in the "Kirin Fu": "The richness of bones, the wonder of gods, and the purity of gods. Xia Ming is the dragon head, and the clouds hold the phoenix. The stars are dazzling and the turtles are colorful. The oxtail blows in the wind and moves in the snow. " The hoof is kicking, the dust touches the wrist, the meat horn is swaying, and the jade mountain is across the forehead. "In this way, it is not a problem to classify Kirin as a' dragon'; It also makes sense to say that it is a "dragon" or an "incarnation" or "variant" of a dragon. In some places in Hunan and Hubei, dragons are often asked to play the role of "Kirin to send children". When dancing dragon lanterns in front of the door, women who want to have children often add money and things to let the "dragon" walk around and let a little boy ride on the dragon's back (as a "unicorn to send a child") around the hall. In this regard, someone wrote a poem: "Women can embrace dragons, and infatuation is also strange; "The real dragon is not as good as the paper dragon. Sending a child can be a unicorn. " 199965438+In February, the "Guoan Cup Chinese Dragon Dance Competition" was held in Beijing, and the Kirin Dance Performance Art Troupe of Huanghua City, Hebei Province participated and won the silver prize. Linlin and Feng are also related. Shuowen said that the phoenix is "before the rainbow, after the forest", which means that the second half of the phoenix is similar to the second half of the unicorn. Deer, horses, cows and sheep are the main materials of Kirin, so "Hou Lin" comes after deer, horses, cows and sheep. Comparing the patterns of deer, horse, cow, sheep and phoenix, I don't think they are very similar, and it seems a bit "phoenix' horse has nothing to do with cow'". However, we can understand the above statement as long as we think that the ancients used fuzzy thinking. Kirin, as a sacred animal and an auspicious animal, it is certainly not a problem to participate in the fuzzy collection of Phoenix. But what Feng learned is probably just the Excellence, elegance, gentleness and auspiciousness of Kirin. The connection, integration and complementarity of divinity make Lin and Feng often cooperate, correspond and contrast. The so-called "Kirin is in the air, and the phoenix comes to the instrument"; The flying person is a phoenix, and the walking person is a forest where the phoenix smells fragrant and the unicorn spits, and there are also "Feng Chu, our son" (referring to aristocratic children), "our angular distance" (referring to precious but not practical things), "Feng Weixianglin" (referring to very outstanding and rare talents), "rare" (referring to rare and valuable people or things), and so on. Kirin, phoenix, turtle and dragon together constitute the "four spirits" in the eyes of the ancients. Why is it called "Four Spirits"? Because "our body is trustworthy, the phoenix knows how to control chaos, the tortoise indicates good luck and bad luck, and the dragon can change." "The ancients also believed that taking dragons as livestock (that is, keeping dragons-of course, dragons, phoenixes and dragons can't be kept as sacred objects, but their vague collections), and fish will not be scared away in the water; With phoenix as livestock, birds in the tree can't fly; Taking forests as livestock, wild animals on the ground will not run; With turtles as livestock, human friendship will not be lost. Generally speaking, Kirin is also one of the traditional cultural symbols of the Chinese nation; Kirin worship, like dragon and phoenix worship, is the product of ancient people's suspicion, awe, understanding and worship of the outside world, especially the animal kingdom. It always embodies the yearning and praise of the ancients for benevolence, morality, wise monarch and ideal society. Today, the image of Kirin as a mascot is still loved by people. To rank, the dragon should be the first, the phoenix the second and the unicorn the third.
As for whose Kirin Mountain is ... it is better to ask who the crane is!
References:
The third series of Asian folklore studies, Dragon of Dragon and Kirin. com。