Gluttony (pinyin: Tāotiè) is a legendary fierce and gluttonous beast. Ancient bronzes are often decorated with head shapes, which are called gluttony. Legend has it that the dragon gave birth to nine sons.

"Gluttony" is a mythical beast in ancient legends in China, and its greatest feature is that it can eat. Gluttony is a fictional mysterious monster. This monster has no body, only a big head and a big mouth. It is very greedy and eats everything it sees. Because it ate too much, it finally choked to death. This is a symbol of greed.

According to Ci Hai, gluttony is a legendary gluttonous beast. In ancient Zhong Ding, the shape of its head was carved into a decoration. "

When the word gluttony is explained in Ci Hai, it is said that gluttony is "greed, the book of rites and music in the Han Dynasty"; The Danger of Gluttony Yan Shigu notes: "Greed is more gluttonous." Especially gluttony. "

"Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals": "Gluttony is the body."

There are three issues to be noted in the above paragraphs:

First, gluttony is a kind of "evil beast", not a fish, snake, python or crocodile, not a fish or reptile. There are also gluttonous patterns in Shang and Ci Hai. As long as you look at it, you can recognize who that fierce beast looks like, very much like the front of a wolf, with round eyes and fierce eyes.

Second, gluttony is very greedy. This characteristic clearly points out the characteristics of wolves. "Extreme gluttony" is one of the most prominent characteristics of coyotes. We have raised wolves, and we know this nature of wolves too well. We can cite countless examples of wolfing down food. There is no animal more greedy than a wolf. If you don't believe me, you can ask the old herdsmen who is the most "gluttonous beast" in the world. The answer must be a wolf. As we all know, "greed" is synonymous with wolf nature. Dong Zhongshu said that greed for wolves was a common custom in Qin dynasty, and he also juxtaposed greed with wolves. People in China always describe gluttony as "gorging" and put wolves in front of tigers. Wolves are more greedy than tigers. When describing greed, they all say "wolf ambition", not "tiger ambition"

Because gluttony has the characteristics of "evil beast" and "very gluttonous wolf", and the gluttonous mode is very similar to a wolf. Therefore, the legendary gluttony is probably a wolf, or a beast evolved from a wolf.

Third, gluttony has become the main decoration of business and harmony, which involves a series of problems. Baoding was an important weapon of the Chinese nation in the Bronze Age. In the Zhou Dynasty, "Ding" was a symbol of the supreme kingship and a ritual vessel, as well as a ritual vessel for offering sacrifices to heaven and ancestors. In the eyes of Chinese ancestors, Ding was in the position of national "totem pole". Therefore, only the totem belonging to the nation is qualified to climb such a lofty position, and it is carved on the Baoding. This phenomenon also reflects two problems: First, in the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, Huaxia people may still worship the wolf totem, at least the animal totem, and the totem worship legacy of the ancestors of Huangdi people in Yan Di may still exist, while Huaxia people in the Zhou Dynasty were deeply influenced by the wolf totem, because the Zhou Dynasty originated in Xirong, and Xirong was mostly a nomadic people who worshipped the wolf totem. Secondly, the "dragon" at that time may not have been generally accepted, and it has not really become the national totem of the Chinese nation. Otherwise, Baoding, a symbol of imperial power, will be decorated mainly with dragons. Moreover, at that time, Zhou had not yet sat on the throne of the dragon. At that time, he continued the nomadic legacy of Yanhuang and sat on the floor.

The decorative patterns on the Zhou Ding are mainly composed of gluttonous patterns and moire patterns, with gluttony as the center and moire patterns around. Obviously, the gluttonous beast is in the sky, sticking its head out of the clouds and looking down at the world. Its body is hidden in the clouds. I don't know whether there is a snake body or a dragon body, but if the dragon body is attached to the back of the gluttonous head, it is not far from the later standard dragon. So I think there may be a transitional stage between the wolf totem and the dragon totem. Gluttony not only has the character of a wolf, but also has the ferocious face of the context.

The real name and prototype of the beast referred to in the animal face pattern have long been buried in an era that cannot be reproduced. Later generations were named gluttonous because of their ferocious, mysterious and horrible faces, and some of them still had heads in their mouths. Gluttony was originally used in Zuo Zhuan to describe those heartless people who are greedy for money and food. Some scholars in modern times pointed out that naming the animal face pattern gluttonous is purely far-fetched and contrary to the social and cultural conditions in Shang and Zhou Dynasties.

Because of its fierce and horrible face and notorious gluttony, this beast can hardly be found in the cultural and artistic evolution of China. In the mid-Western Zhou Dynasty, animal ornamentation, which had prevailed for hundreds of years, suddenly withdrew from the main pattern of bronze decoration. However, several animal patterns, such as dragon, tiger, phoenix and turtle, which appeared on bronzes at the same time, appeared in official and folk cultures in the later cultural evolution, and became the most famous mascot and endless theme of artistic expression in China culture. Dragons, in particular, in the bronze age, mostly had the same ferocious face as gluttonous patterns. As far as mystery, power and status are concerned, dragons were far less gluttonous in the Bronze Age. However, the dragon later ascended the highest throne of China's cultural and political symbol, but "gluttony", the supreme of the Bronze Age, was hard to find.

The origin of the brave is pronounced "brave" in Cantonese. According to legend, raccoons are fierce beasts, which are divided into females and males. The male is called raccoon and the female is called raccoon. In ancient times, this beast was divided into single horns or double horns, with long manes rolled up and two horns and one horn. One horn is called "Tianlu" and the other two horns are called "evil spirits". In the south, most people like to call this beast "brave", but in the north it is still called "exorcism", and some people call it "monster" or "four unlike". Mythical animals feed on wealth and absorb wealth from all sides. Generally, people who are engaged in professional or eccentric business will put a mythical animal in the company or business premises, such as gambling, stocks, futures, finance, horse racing, entertainment, real estate and other industries. China has a tradition of "the brave fight hard", which, like the dragon and lion, can drive away the evil spirits here and bring joy and good luck.

The form of the brave is recorded in the biography of the Western Regions in the Han Dynasty: "Wu Geshan left the country to pick peaches and lions and piss cows." Meng Kang wrote in the sun: "When picking peaches, a day's Fu Ba is as long as a deer's tail. One horn is called Tianlu, and the other two horns are called Evil God. " Fighting evil is fighting. However, after the change of dynasty, the shape of the brave is relatively unified, such as short wings, double horns, curly tail and mane, which are often connected with the chest or back, with prominent eyes and long teeth. Up to now, most common animals are single-horned long tails.

There are three kinds of materials for making images: first, the metal is usually copper, because this metal is relatively cheap, and the color after polishing is close to gold. Second, wood-some old houses will use solid wood to carve the brave, and then put it on the beam to block the evil spirit. Third, porcelain-made of different kinds of jade. Mythical animals made of different materials can be placed in the auspicious position of geomantic omen, which many geographers think has the function of promoting wealth. In eight different directions, jade mythical animals are generally more able to urge money and ward off evil spirits. In fact, it will be beneficial to positive wealth or partial wealth, so it has become popular in recent years; However, urging money by magic is always religion. Therefore, no matter whether the work belongs to the right or wrong line, the magic of urging money is the strongest when the mysterious diviner is rising or when the sun is on an auspicious day of the zodiac. However, pay attention to one thing. Criminals do not necessarily have the power to urge money. This is the characteristic of the spirit beast, and the magic made by jade has the strongest financial resources.

Your role is different from that of Kirin. You are a fierce beast, and you are very protective. It has the function of town house to ward off evil spirits. In ancient times, it was also used in town tombs. It is the guardian of the mausoleum. It can be seen in front of a tomb of General Cemetery, which shows its bravery in killing people. The role of the brave in Feng Shui can be explained as follows: First, it has the function of exorcising evil spirits. Putting brave and fearless animals that have been blossomed at home can make the home run well, strengthen auspiciousness, drive away evil spirits, have the effect of town house, become the patron saint of the home and keep the home safe. Second, it has the function of seeking wealth and prospering wealth. Many people know this, and it is easy to see it in some gambling houses and sparrow houses. It is not only helpful for partial wealth, but also helpful for positive wealth, so businessmen who do business should also put it in the company or at home. Thirdly, it has the function of dispelling evil spirits in Huang Wu. Huang Wu is a terrible evil star in Feng Shui. Wherever we go, the population in the house will be unhealthy and stagnant. As explained in detail in the last article, we can solve its fierceness by putting a pair of magic tricks anywhere in Huang Wu. It would be best to put a pair at the gate. It still has many functions, but this kind of god beast is best used to turn evil spirits into houses and prosper wealth, especially in terms of wealth.