This year is the Year of the Tiger. Tiger, the king of all beasts, and the king of the jungle. Among the people, tigers often appear as ferocious beasts, making the people afraid to talk about tigers. But on the battlefield of Jinshen and Iron Horse, tigers are a symbol of mighty and bravery, and their auspicious beast attributes are much higher than their ferocious beast attributes. Whether it is a commander or a unit, they are proud to be called a tiger. As early as the pre-Qin era, tigers were firmly bound to the army. In the history of war, tigers have become military totems that have not been easy for thousands of years. They not only run through ancient and modern times, but also traverse all over the world. Especially in the late Han and Three Kingdoms eras that are familiar to the Chinese, the military culture of respecting tigers is everywhere.
Three City Guards Tiger Talisman (Three Kingdoms Period)
Tiger of the Imperial Guard: From Tiger Marquis to the chariot Tiger Soldier
0 The army codenames of the late Han Dynasty were impressive. Whether it is Cao Wei camp camp Tiger Leopard Cavalry , or the chariot Tiger Soldiers of the Eastern Wu camp, they all take the name of tigers. Of course, the "Tiger Army" did not appear since the end of the Han Dynasty. To be more precise, the tiger culture at that time basically inherited the Han Dynasty , such as the famous imperial guard "Tiger Ben" of the Han Dynasty .
For a long time, "Tiger Ben" has become synonymous with the warriors. The earliest source of this word can be traced back to the King Wu's attack on Zhou . The first sentence of "Shangshu Mu Yu" is "HTM3 King Wu 300 chariots (cars), and 300 tiger Ben fought with Shang in Muye, and wrote " Mu Yu ". "The "Ben" of tiger Ben means running, which means running. Perhaps a talented ancient man saw the fierceness of elite warriors on the battlefield when fighting, and thought of the tiger running and hunting fast, ruthless and accurate, so he had the vivid word "tiger running".
In ancient times, emperors regarded themselves as real dragons. The so-called dragons fly in the sky and tigers walk on the earth. As the king of a country, they naturally hope that the king of all beasts can be used by themselves. Since the pre-Qin era, tigers have been painted with tigers in the emperor's bedroom, so they are called "Tiger Gate". As a force to protect the emperor, of course, it must be named after the tiger, and the word "tiger" has also been upgraded from a metaphor to a formal position name for the country. In "The Literature of Zhou·Xia Guan·Hu Ben", there is the position of "Hu Ben", and under the Hu Ben family, there are also tiger soldiers. These elite officers and soldiers were responsible for the entry and exit of the king in the pre-Qin period and served as the duty of the imperial guards.
The title of "Hu Ben" was interrupted for a time. After the founding of the Western Han Dynasty, , the imperial guards were set up as "Qimenlang". This name is like a janitor, even today, and the martial Han people might think so, so they abandoned it during the Ping Dynasty of the Western Han Dynasty and officially renamed it "Hu Ben Lang". At the same time, the General of the Hu Ben Zhonglang was set up, which is equivalent to the commander of the imperial guards and commanding the Hu Ben Wang army. Below the General of the Hu Ben, there are the left Pushe, the Right Pushe, the Left Pushe, the Right Pushe, the Right Pushe, the Hu Ben, the Central Secretary of the Hu Ben, the Secretary of the Jiedu. The responsibility of this Tiger Army is to protect the emperor's safety.
This kind of treatment of guarding the lord with tiger soldiers is not only enjoyable by emperors. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the world was in chaos, and the warlord who emerged suddenly had a special liking for tigers. People who are familiar with the story of the Three Kingdoms must be familiar with the tiger guarding Cao Cao's side - " Tiger Idiot " Xu Chu . In the novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", the decisive battle between Xu Chu and Ma Chao and for 300 rounds is vividly written. Although this is a fabrication by a novelist, in official history, as Cao Cao's guard, Xu Chu did save his master in danger many times, and his courage is even worse than the legend of the legend.
In the early years, Xu Chu was a heroic and handsome man. When he first joined Cao Cao, he was compared by Cao Cao as a fierce general in the early Han Dynasty Fan Kuai . Soon he was appointed as the commander of and served as a guard. Xu Chu's body can very well reflect the phenomenon of tigers being respected in Cao's camp. As the commander of the imperial guards, Xu Chu guards were like a tiger in the house. During the battle of Guandu, Xu and his group planned to assassinate Cao, but were discovered by Xu Chu and killed on the spot. Later, Xu Chu made contributions in the battle of Yecheng in and was awarded the title of "Hou Neihou" by Cao Cao in the ninth year of Jian'an (204). But people did not call him that at that time, but based on his fierce and brave characteristics, he was given a louder title - Hu Hou.
"Huhou" Xu Chu is famous, and his imperial soldiers are all called "Tiger Soldiers".Once Ma Chao negotiated with Cao Cao. Seeing that there were few people around Cao Cao, Ma Chao intended to be unfavorable to him, but he was afraid of Xu Chu, so he asked Cao Cao: "Where is the tiger marquis?" Cao Cao pointed to Xu Chu with a big shoulder and a round waist beside him. Ma Chao did not dare to take action. From this perspective, Xu Chu did play a role in protecting the master and exorcising evil spirits and ensuring safety, and can afford the name of "Tiger Marquis".
Of course, the tiger soldiers are not unique to Cao Cao's family. Before becoming the emperor, Sun Quan of the Eastern Wu also had his own "tiger under the car". "The Three Kingdoms·Wu Book·Biography of Gan Ning" talks about the 20th year of Jian'an (215), when Sun Quan personally conquered Hefei, he encountered a plague, and the military all withdrew from the epidemic area. "Only, more than a thousand tiger soldiers were under the chariot, and Lu Meng , Jiang Qin , Lingtong and Ning Congquan Xiaoyao Jinbei." It seems that the "tigers under the chariot" should belong to the monarch's personal army.
Why do both emperors and princes like to refer to the imperial guards who guard themselves as "tigers"? This is closely related to the worship of tiger totem by the nobles since the pre-Qin period. In ancient society, people's definition of tigers has always been polarized. On the one hand, the harm of tigers makes them ferocious beasts, but on the other hand, some people believe that tigers are extremely masculine and regard them as masculine beasts, which can drive away evil spirits and suppress ghosts. Most of the nobles with certain power and status are admirers of the latter. These people live in different environments from those of ordinary people. They do not need to face the threat of tigers in the mountains and forests. They not only cannot empathize with tigers, but they tend to develop a kind of admiration for strength and regard them as a good beast like a protector. Among the bricks of the tombs of the nobles of the Han Dynasty, there were a large number of tiger figures and tiger figurines, which probably meant to use tigers to guard the tomb for themselves. Emperors of the Han Dynasty awarded the imperial guards in the name of "Tiger Ben", and Cao Cao and other princes were also happy to call their personal bodyguards "Tiger Hou", which was probably due to this mentality.
"Tiger Step Sima" bronze seal (Three Kingdoms Period)
Tiger troops on the battlefield
The more chaotic the times are, the more the soldiers in charge admire the tiger totem. Among the heroes of the Three Kingdoms, Cao Cao is the most typical. This treacherous hero in a troubled world not only needs to be guarded by the tiger marquis and tiger soldiers, but also needs a fast, agile and fierce army like a tiger and leopard to overcome all obstacles and pacify the world. Therefore, an elite army named Tiger and Leopard Cavalry was born under Cao Cao's command.
Under Cao Cao, who respects tigers, can this army afford the name of tigers and leopards? According to the "Three Kingdoms: Book of Wei", "the purely supervised tigers and leopard cavalry are all the fierce and powerful in the world, or they may be supplemented by a hundred people." This concisely shows that this army is an elite selected from a hundred, similar to the special forces in the modern sense. In just three years, it created a series of brilliant results: in the tenth year of Jian'an (205), the Nanpi battle was killed Yuan Tan; in the 12th year of Jian'an (207), it marched north to Wuhuan and captured; in the 13th year of Jian'an (208), it rushed to Changban and defeated Liu Bei. In the 16th year of Jian'an (211), it pacified Xiliang, Cao Cao "firstly used light troops to pick them up, fought for a long time, and then led the tiger cavalry to attack each other", and finally defeated Ma Chao. From these battle examples, it can also be seen that the tiger and leopard cavalry are good at beheading operations, thousands of miles of raids, assault-breaking formations and other raid operations, which are also very consistent with the characteristics of tigers and leopards prey. Once the target is determined, it will immediately be extremely ferocious and quickly and decisively hunting prey, without any delay.
During the Han Dynasty, tigers could also be seen in the titles of military generals awarded by the imperial court. Before , the Eagle and Tiger were the only animals selected for the title of general, namely General Yingyang and General Huwei. During the late Han and Three Kingdoms period, the generals of Tiger 3 were mainly seen in the Cao Wei regime and the Sun Wu regime. The Cao Wei camp had and the ban , and the Eastern Wu had Lü Meng and Ding Feng , both of which were famous generals in the world. Although the Shu Han camp has not been awarded this position, Zhao Yun was also called "General Tiger Power" in the army. However, the "Tiger Power" here does not refer to the title, but praises his bravery and courageousness and power.
says that there is no "tiger" in Shu Han. Maybe someone will ask, isn't the "Five Tiger General" a tiger? Unfortunately, this household name is not seen in official history. However, in the late Han and Three Kingdoms period, it was very common to call brave generals who fought bravely " tiger generals " and "tiger ministers".The "tiger general" was first produced by the Xinmang period. Wang Mang "received nine generals, all of whom were called tigers" and called "Nine Tigers". By the end of the Han Dynasty, it had become the general name for brave generals. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were called "tiger and bear generals" by Zhou Yu . As for the "tiger minister", the source was earlier. In "The Book of Songs·Lu Song·Panshui", there is a sentence "Accusing the tiger minister, offering a favor in Pan's favor". Later, the meaning of the tiger minister and the tiger general can basically be equated. In " Three Kingdoms ", Cheng Pu , Huang Gai , Han Dang , Jiang Qin, Zhou Tai , etc., into a volume to make a biography, praising "All these generals are tiger ministers on the river." It can be seen that for generals and ministers in the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period, using the tiger as a metaphor is definitely a kind of praise.
Guisha stone plaque found in Cao Cao's tomb
The era when fighting tigers is glorious
From the Han Dynasty to the Three Kingdoms period, another tiger culture - fighting tigers are popular. There is an allusion of "Feng's wife fighting against the tiger" in the pre-Qin classic " Mencius ". After the rise of school hunting activities under the influence of the martial spirit of the Han Dynasty, hunting the tiger, the king of , , will inevitably become a military general and will be recorded in history.
In "The Three Kingdoms", Cao Zhen , Cao Pi , Xiahou , Sun Li , and Sun Quan all have the deeds of fighting against the tiger. Their methods of fighting against tigers are different. Cao Pi led the army to fight and hunt the tiger, while Sun Li got off the horse and drew his sword to fight with the tiger but did not fight. These two people can be ignored. It is worth mentioning that Cao Zhen and Xiahou said that Cao Zhen was "chased by a tiger when he was hunting, and shot the tiger and fell down accordingly"; Xiahou said that he was hunting in the fields with his father Xiahou Yuan , "When he saw a running tiger, he drove the horse and chased it. He could not be blocked, and he fell down with one arrow." This kind of long-range shooting of tigers often requires an arrow to hit the key points. According to the records of literature, the two generals shot the tiger at the horse was also heroic.
The most exciting hero of the Three Kingdoms in the official history is Sun Quan. In October of the 23rd year of Jian'an (218), Sun Quan encountered a tiger while riding a horse through Qinting. He wanted to shoot a tiger with a cool and cool tiger, but he didn't expect that the tiger was too agile and rushed up and bit his horse. In the critical moment, Sun Quan threw the double halberd away and hit it accurately. The close servant Zhang Shi took the opportunity to hit the tiger with a long spear and finally successfully captured it. Hundreds of years later, Su Dongpo also praised in his poems for "shooting the tiger with his own eyes and watching Sun Lang." Perhaps because of this brilliant record of fighting against tigers, Sun Quan had a special liking for the word "tiger". His eldest daughter, , Sun Luban, , whose name is Dahu; his youngest daughter, , Sun Luyu, , whose name is Xiaohu. Unexpectedly, in the later political struggle of the Wu Palace, the two tigers killed each other, and the little tiger eventually died at the hands of the big tiger.
The novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" created by the end of the Han Dynasty History of the Three Kingdoms as the bone does not include the story of Cao Zhen, Sun Quan, Xiahou, and others in the official history. Instead, it creates a plot of Dianwei chasing the tiger through the stream, and its main function is to set off Dianwei's bravery.
Compared with Sun Quan and Cao Zhen, Cao Cao, the King of Wei who owns the Hu Hou and the Tiger Army, has no record of fighting or shooting tigers. However, among the more than 50 stone tablets unearthed from Cao Cao's tomb in Gaoling, people found 7 eye-catching weapon stone tablets, including ", the tiger halberd, often used by King Wu of Wei, ". In addition to the inscription "often used by King Wu of Wei" and various weapons names, these seven stone tablets all use the same adjective - Tiger. "典" has the same style, and it means fighting or killing. However, if Cao Cao really used these weapons to kill tigers, it would never be possible to mention them in historical books. Referring to the names of "Tiger Cart" in " Wei Shu " and "Taiping Yulan" and other documents, it can be seen that the word "Tiger" on the stone plate should be a popular word from the late Han Dynasty to the Wei and Jin Dynasties. As for why it was "Tiger", the most likely situation is that the tiger-beating culture was prevalent at that time, and there was an extended meaning with deterrence and majesty, and it was mostly used for weapons, chariots and other military-related objects.
From the tiger army, tiger soldiers, tiger marquis, tiger generals, tiger ministers to shooting tigers, fighting tigers, and slapping tigers, tiger culture in the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms era is everywhere.Indeed, the more chaotic the times are, the more masculine beasts like tigers are favored by heroes. If the world is a deer, aren’t the warlords competing for the Central Plains also a group of tigers hunting?
Special Composition Zhouyu
Proofreading Sheng Yuanyuan
Source: Ziniu News
