China in Symbol： From the Totem of God Beast to the Symbol of Auspicious.

The just-concluded Winter Olympics reminds people of the dolls, Ice Dun Dun and Snow Rongrong. Their designs contain the Olympic spirit and China cultural symbols. The generation and development of a symbol has a strong and complex cultural support behind it, and once the culture has formed a symbol after a long period of accumulation, its meaning will be long-term and stable. Only by reading symbols can we understand the culture carried by symbols. In the book "China in Symbols", more than 100 symbols that can best represent China are identified.

A pair of mascots in the Winter Olympics-the ice pier and the snow rongrong-have won everyone’s love. The design of the ice pier contains the determination, courage, futurity and sense of the times of the Olympic spirit; Snow Rongrong seeks for the interior of China traditional culture, illuminates the road ahead with the metaphor of "lantern", and responds to the theme of "community of human destiny" with warmth and warmth. Ruyi Ring, Great Wall pattern, Beijing pigeon pattern and Ruyi pattern all over the snow Rongrong are typical China traditional decorative patterns, and each pattern has a profound cultural significance.

To some extent, ice piers and snow melts are symbols deliberately created to represent a cultural phenomenon and convey a certain meaning. We collect and love them, not only because they are a pair of lovely dolls, but also because of the Olympic spirit precipitated from them and the inspiring spiritual memory about the Winter Olympics. Therefore, we pay attention to some cultural symbols, but in fact we pay attention to the cultural significance it represents.

On January 18, 2022, in Beijing, the mascots of the Winter Olympics, Bing Dundun and Xue Rongrong, were on the subway line 11, and the train was decorated to welcome the Winter Olympics. Chang Zhitao/vision china Map

China is a big country with "cultural symbols". In thousands of years’ history, we are very good at symbolizing and conveying spiritual meanings that are difficult to express or are easy to escape because of mystery, such as class and power, seeking happiness, spiritual belief, and avoiding evil and disasters. China in Symbols, published by Zhonghua, selected more than 100 symbols that best represent China, such as Dragon, Phoenix, HarmonyOS, Zhu Rong, Taiji, Bagua, Hutuluo, and Sanxingdui’s "Sun-Bird of God-Man of God-Tree of God", which were divided into four series: auspicious, guardian, sacred and humanistic, and examined the generation and evolution of these symbols.

Animals as symbols

The generation and development of a symbol must have strong and complex cultural support behind it, and once the culture has formed a symbol after a long period of accumulation, its meaning will be long-term and stable. Only by reading symbols can we understand the culture carried by symbols.

As mentioned above, the theme of the mascot chosen for several international competitions held in China is panda, and panda is increasingly becoming the most representative animal of China. The panda was not so conspicuous among the animal symbols in ancient China. When choosing symbols, China prefers to choose the "god beast" handed down from ancient times. For example, the dragon and phoenix, which Wen Yiduo said were "symbols of the origin of a nation and the beginning of a culture", the nine sons of the dragon derived from the dragon system, as well as the brave and unicorn, which have experienced some combination and creation like the dragon.

Chen Rong’s Painting of Kowloon in Southern Song Dynasty

It seems that only those animals full of mystery and re-creation can be used as a symbol of auspiciousness, such as Kirin, which, as a symbol of auspiciousness, is said to appear only in times of peace and prosperity or when saints are born. The real animals are often attached to these beasts. For example, in the Ming Dynasty, a foreign messenger presented a beast, which was thought to be a unicorn, which caused a sensation throughout the country, but was actually a giraffe. The picture of Ruiying Kirin was painted by people who mistook giraffes for unicorns at that time.

Ruiying Qilin Map

Another example is the lion, an animal introduced to China from the Western Regions. The Book of the Later Han Dynasty, Biography of the Western Regions, records that the country of interest "sent envoys to offer lions", which caused a sensation in the capital. Since then, more and more countries have offered lions to China. Until the Yuan Dynasty, it was recorded that lions entered China as a tribute. After the lion entered China, it gradually merged into the myths and legends of China and became a sacred thing. However, as auspicious symbols, such as the stone lion with strong symbolic significance, it will integrate the characteristics of animals such as dragon, tiger, unicorn and gluttony, and distinguish it from ordinary lions according to the characteristics of China’s "God beast" culture.

In the "All Nations Come to Korea", it is possible to re-create a "Rui beast" based on some animals.

In the "All Nations Come to Korea", it is possible to re-create a "Rui beast" based on some animals.

Even native and common animals, in order to highlight their mystery and preciousness, will increase or decrease organs, or replace some parts to stand out from the crowd. For example, the "Four Spirits", such as the three-legged golden toad, had a high position in the Han Dynasty. In the whole process of "Ascending Immortal" in the tombs of the Han Dynasty, the Queen Mother of the West often set up a tripod in front of her, and the jade rabbit pounded the medicine and the toad took charge of the medicine, symbolizing the making and mastering of the immortal medicine.

"Errors" and "Dislocation" in the Evolution of Symbols

As a symbol, the shape and meaning of an animal will change constantly. Take the golden toad as an example. In the Han Dynasty, it was a symbol of longevity. In the Tang Dynasty, people called the golden toad the golden toad and thought it was a symbol of wealth. When these auspicious symbols are given meaning, there is often no logic. Zhao Yuntao, the author of China in Symbols, believes that the formation or evolution of many symbols can be summarized in two words-"error" and "dislocation".

Zhao Yuntao said that one of the manifestations of "mistakes and errors" is gradually "accumulation of non-achievements". For example, "Zhang Guolao" in the Eight Immortals, there is a sentence of "Mr. Zhang Guolao" in the handed down literature. In ancient times, there was no punctuation, and there was no definite sentence. Later, "Zhang Guo, the old gentleman" became "Mr. Zhang Guolao"; In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, people attached it to the character of the Eastern Han Dynasty: Liu Haichan. Because of the word "toad" in its name, people made up the story of "Liu Haichan playing with golden toad", and the name of Liu Haichan became "Liu Hai". Zhong Kui, according to an ancient book, the dialect of Qi often called the big wooden stick, namely "chuí", as "Zhong Kui". This big wooden stick can be used to drive away ghosts. Later, it was a myth that led to an exorcist named "Zhong Kui".

However, some "mistakes" are consciously generated by people. For example, taking animals and plants as auspicious elements, the formation of auspicious meanings mostly relies on associative thinking and deliberately forms the "mistakes" effect. "Deer" is homophonic "Lu", so people draw a deer, which means that they can get Fu Lu, because bats are homophonic "Fu"; There is also a typical "Four donkey kong" which has been adjusted because of the homonym "good weather" of the treasure in hand.

Ming anonymous Liu Hai Jin Chan Tu

Qing Yongzheng pastel gourd bowl

Zhao Yuntao believes that the "dislocation" in the formation and evolution of symbols is a more advanced "error". "Dislocation" means that some symbols have gradually changed in the process of sanctification, secularization and localization.

In China’s belief system, a considerable number of Buddhist immortals will undergo a "localized" transformation in China. Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva in ancient India was male and spread to China. Before the Tang Dynasty, it was mostly male with a moustache. With the improvement of women’s status after Wu Zetian came to power, Guanyin Bodhisattva also became a female image. After Yuan Dynasty, Guanyin became the mainstream. The early Maitreya Buddha was not a big belly. It is said that the shape of the big belly was based on a cloth-bag monk named Qiben in the Five Dynasties. People liked this image and gradually settled down, resulting in the big-bellied Maitreya Buddha.

Liang Kai’s Picture of a Bag Monk in the Southern Song Dynasty

With China’s vast territory and frequent dynasty changes, the choice of immortals is also very arbitrary. For example, Yan Luowang, who is familiar with the underworld, was originally the God of Mount Tai before him. According to the Natural History, the God of Mount Tai is called "Tiansun" and is the grandson of the Emperor of Heaven. He is responsible for calling people’s souls and knowing the length of their lives. During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, a new destination and manager was born in the ghost world, namely feng du and Fengdu Emperor created by Taoism. It was not until the Tang Dynasty that the Buddhist belief in Yan Luowang began to prevail.

Yan Luowang came with the spread of Indian Buddhism to the east. It can be seen that the belief symbol that we originally thought was very characteristic of China was the result of cultural integration. For example, the "hell" in folk imagination is the widely accepted and loved "the Monkey King" which combines China’s "yellow earth" with Buddhism. According to Hu Shi’s textual research, its prototype is the Indian monkey Ha Numan in the Indian epic Ramayana.

In addition to the dislocation caused by thinking and aesthetic mode and cultural integration, people’s behavior will also lead to the occurrence of "dislocation" in the symbol system. For example, sweeping graves is a custom of the Cold Food Festival in the Tang Dynasty, but the Cold Food Festival is forbidden by fire, and it is popular in the Tang and Song Dynasties to burn paper money for sweeping graves. So in order to avoid conflicts, the custom of sweeping graves has gradually become a symbol of Tomb-Sweeping Day.

Interpretation of the symbol of "daily use without knowing" in The Journey to the West

In the writing of China in Symbols, the author starts with China’s classical novels, and talks about the application of symbols in the novels, so as to arouse readers’ interest in those symbols that are "unknown for daily use".

The most prominent text is The Journey to the West. The Journey to the West’s seemingly illogical stories of ghosts and gods actually have a very solid foundation of folk beliefs. For example, at the end of The Journey to the West, why are all the scriptures that Tang Priest got back for the first time blank, and the scriptures that he finally got are shelved? Zhao Yuntao thinks: "The Tang Priest in The Journey to the West went to the Western Heaven Lingshan, and it was Jia Ye and Ah Nuo (prototype is Ananda) who led the Tang Priest to fetch books. The scripture that Tang Priest took for the first time was blank, which actually showed the purpose of Zen’s "no writing" and inheritance. " And "the story of Tang Priest’s learning from the scriptures is familiar to everyone. In history, Tang Xuanzang went to India to learn from the scriptures, mainly taking the classics of the only Sect. But the classics he brought back were quickly shelved and later lost. One of the most important reasons is that it is difficult for the general public to accept or approach the only-knowing Sect, because many terms in the classic of the only-knowing Sect are incomprehensible to most people, and the practice is hierarchical, and the steps are very complicated, and it is more inclined to professionals. "

The Journey to the West stills

Many monsters who make waves in The Journey to the West are mounts of immortals in the sky. The only demon that appears twice in The Journey to the West is the lion spirit of Manjusri Bodhisattva, once in Wuji State and once in Shituoling. In The Journey to the West, there is a monster that even the Monkey King is afraid of him, that is, the Nine Spirits Yuan Sheng, also called nine lions, which is the mount of Taiyi to save the suffering Buddha. The Holy Spirit of Nine Spirits and Yuan is very powerful, and he can capture the Monkey King and Friar Sand alive with his head, making the Monkey King flee at the sound of it. There is also the mount of the birthday girl, the White Deer, which is a demon in the lower bound and becomes the father-in-law of the King of the Kingdom of Bhikkhu.

In the Year of the Tiger, a monster spoofed by netizens-the leopard essence of wormwood flower skin, which occupies Yinwu Mountain as the king, is known as the "King of Nanshan". It is a simple monster with no heavenly background among the monsters who come down to earth to make trouble.

Leopard essence in The Journey to the West

In The Journey to the West, their scenes are also arranged according to the level of immortals and the functions of their divisions. For example, because of their low rank, the little deity-Land God, whose belief originated from the worship of "social gods" in ancient times, had a very high status before the Qin and Han Dynasties, but since the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the status of land gods has become more and more humble. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, people often thought that the Land Lord was the patron saint of the countryside or suburbs and the most basic fairy, and because of its closest connection with people’s lives, the Land Temple was also the most common.

In The Journey to the West, there are many land lords, for example, as the patron saint of special areas, such as the land of Flat Peach Garden and the land of Flame Mountain. In Che Chi Guo, the Monkey King and Tiger force big fairy beheaded each other. When the Monkey King’s head fell to the ground, Tiger force big fairy secretly called out the land and said to him, "Hold the head, and when I win the monk, I will play the king and build the small ancestral temple into a big temple with you, and the clay sculpture will be changed into a golden body." As a result, the land really listened to his words, which also shows the humble status of the land public.

The Monkey King and Land Mountain Gods in The Journey to the West

Every time the Monkey King moves reinforcements, he will meet the gods in the sky, such as the four heavenly kings. When the Monkey King moves reinforcements to heaven, he always goes to the gates of the worse gate and east door first, and he will meet the king who is the gatekeeper of today’s "turn to patrol". The author of China in Symbols believes that the one with the best relationship with the Monkey King is the growth king. "This may contain the traditional concept of" no discord, no concord "in China. When the Monkey King went to heaven for the first time, he met the king of growth and had a dispute. ….. Then the relationship between the two people became better, and the Monkey King’s "sleepy" was won by playing games with the growth king. "

The immortal system in the sky is more complicated. The young ox essence of Taishang Laojun stole the "King Kong Zhuo" and descended to the earth to take the mountain as the king, and seized the Tang Priest. He also used the "King Kong Zhuo" to take away the Monkey King’s golden cudgel. When the Monkey King complained to heaven and asked to find out which "evil star" was thinking of the lower bound, he briefly introduced the immortal system represented by the stars in the sky: first, he checked the officials of the God King on the Four Tianmen Gate; I checked the truth of the large, small and medium-sized groups in the three micro-walls; Also checked the thunder generals Tao, Zhang, Xin, Deng, Gou, Bi, Pang and Liu; Finally, I checked for thirty-three days, and I was comfortable every day; Also check twenty-eight nights, seven nights in the east, horns, horns, temples, houses, ginseng, tails and dustpans; Seven nights in the west, fighting, cattle, women, emptiness, danger, room and wall; Seven nights in the south, seven nights in the north, and peaceful nights; Also checked the sun, lunar, water, fire, wood, gold, earth seven politics; Luo, Ji Du and Bo Yu. There are stars all over the sky, and there is no lower bound of thinking.

China in Symbols by Zhao Yuntao Zhonghua Book Company

China in Symbols provides a new way to read the totem of China’s beasts and auspicious symbols. He introduces the terms of symbols and rhetoric from German philosophers Ernst Cassirer, roland barthes and other western philosophers, and uses the word "symbol" to unify more beliefs and totems scattered in China in various regions and times and write a book. While researching the origin of each symbol, we also start with The Journey to the West’s novels, such as Romance of the Gods and Dream of Red Mansions, to add interest to the narrative with "mutual proof of literature and history".