What does the so-called "Teng" mean? What is the symbolic significance?

The first normal form of the visual cultural image type is a totem. Totem is a primitive belief that exists universally in primitive people. Totem gradually evolved into a primitive ideology, which penetrated into all aspects of primitive life and had a far-reaching impact on human cultural creation. It is the foundation of primitive culture and constitutes the prototype of modern human culture.

The emergence and development of totem culture is the inevitable expression of human visual culture. When human beings combine visual modeling with primitive beliefs, totems come into being. People see the world with their eyes, and they are also shaped with their eyes. They think about the world they observe. They not only deify the function of the eyes, but also deify the observed images. For example, in A.D. 1722, a Dutch governor occasionally came to an island at the eastern end of Polynesia on Easter. The island covers an area of 175 square kilometers and has a population of about 1000. He declared it Easter Island. He was stunned by the rows of huge stone statues on the island. 1978, there are new discoveries in archaeology. These stone statues, which are as high as 2 1 m and weigh tens of tons, were originally inlaid with eyes made of white coral stones and red volcanic lava to examine the world. Coincidentally, the faces of the original Statue of Goddess and painted pottery sculptures unearthed at the site of Hongshan Culture in Northeast China are also inlaid with eyes made of jade pieces, which are still shining today. This is a symbol of the spiritual worship of the eyes in primitive society. Totem masks are often used in primitive culture. The huge bronze mask found in Sanxingdui, Chengdu, Sichuan, has cylindrical eyes, which is puzzling. In fact, it is also a symbolic exaggeration of human visual ability. On the masks of North American Indians, we also saw this outstanding "clairvoyance". Levi-Strauss said in his Mystery of the Mask: "The special form of eyes on the mask shows that they have superhuman vision." People can not only see the world in front of them, but also see the hidden mysterious world. This is the deification of eye function in people's totem art. Primitive people often use the illusion of eyes to establish their own mysterious beliefs. The emergence and use of totem is the expression of human visual ability. People give their beliefs, fears, desires and intoxications to totems to show them. Let totem play a powerful role in maintaining society, survival and belief. In ancient myths and legends, the great symbolic function of eyes has been preserved. There is an Egyptian myth that the moon eye of Horus, the sun god, was blinded in the battle with Seth, the god of chaos and infertility, and then returned to normal. It is because of this legend that people often wear amulets painted with the eye of Horus to protect themselves. Egyptians also carved or painted eyes on tombstones to protect the lives of the dead in another world. Greek mythology describes a cyclops family, some of which occasionally have two eyes, among which Polyphemus is the most famous. Argos had a hundred eyes, but when he died, Hera put it on the peacock's tail. In the myths and legends of China, Candle dragon is the God of Zhongshan. He closed his eyes, and when night fell, he opened his eyes and appeared in the daytime. Pangu, the great god of creation, "opened his eyes during the day and closed his eyes at night." On the other hand, Shun Di has a "double pupil". It is said that Xiang Yu is a descendant of Shun, and according to historical records, he is also a "double pupil". The monster gluttony was originally decorated with the image of eyes on the plain surface of bronze ware. The mythical figure "the Monkey King" has a pair of critical eyes that can see the devil. In Indian mythology, Shiva's third eye can spray a flame that destroys everything, and it usually grows vertically in the center of his forehead. In the art of Buddhism, the third eye means insight and is a symbol of spiritual perception. A discerning person has extraordinary insight. The depiction of eyes in mythology is a celebration of human vision.

Myth plays a prototype role in visual expression, and the creation of the world and visual image in people's eyes is inseparable from human survival. Totem is the earliest form of this visual culture. Totem is translated into English as "Totem", which is the transliteration of Ojibwa dialect "ototeman" of Algonkintribe, a North American Indian. There are many views on the study of totem meaning:

Totem is basically used to refer to a system of beliefs and customs. There is a mysterious or sacrificial relationship between a group (usually descendants) and a certain kind of object (usually animals or plants). Recognition of this relationship can take many forms. Generally speaking, it refers to the present: (1) observing the prohibition-"taboo", such as prohibiting hurting animals and plants related to totems; (2) Kinship belief-believing that group members are descendants of a mysterious totem ancestor, or are "brothers" with a certain animal and plant. Other manifestations of this relationship may be: (a) using totem as a group symbol; Believe in the "protector" of group members; I believe I have an obligation to share the "gift" that makes totem species multiply. [ 1]

Totem was once considered as the belief of North American Indians. After the research of anthropologists, it is now believed that the primitive society of human beings has experienced the stage of totem worship. Some scholars believe that the word "gluttonous" in ancient Chinese is synonymous with totem, and the gluttonous culture in ancient China is a kind of totem culture. In modern China, it was Yan Fu who first translated the word "totem" into Chinese as a "totem" (see 1903). Because the existence of totem culture is based on a "map". Sacred beliefs must be expressed through visual images. Therefore, in the totem era, people decorate images on rock walls, paint them with painted pottery, and depict them on human bodies. Primitive people made totem elves out of stones and wore them on their bodies for good luck; Huge totem poles made of wood or stone are erected in communities or altars, giving people dignity. The development of totem theory has brought great convenience to the study of primitive culture. In the past, people could not understand the images of rock paintings and cave murals, and the mysterious connotation of primitive painted pottery and bronze ornamentation. With totem theory, we can analyze visual culture.

In the study of totem theory, some anthropologists noticed the significance of visual images in totem earlier. In the Rules of Totem Worship published by 1900, French anthropologist Reinach summarized the connotation of totem worship, including: "Many ethnic groups use animal images as symbols on their flags and weapons; While people draw totem animals or describe them or tattoo themselves with tattoos. In Totem and Exogamy, Fraser divides totems into three types: national totems, sexual totems and personal totems. When Freud talked about the origin of totem, he divided his views on the origin of totem into three categories: nominalism, sociology and psychology. From the perspective of visual culture, the existence of totem ideology can be divided into three forms. (1) is concrete, including animals, plants or other things that people can directly observe. Primitive people regarded it as a totem in their beliefs. For example, there were thirty-six city-states in ancient Egypt, and each city-state had a totem flag with cows, wolves, crocodiles, baboons, snakes, bees and so on painted on it. Howett has collected more than 500 totem names among tribes in southeastern Australia. Besides the names of plants and animals, there are also some natural scenery, such as wind and rain, clouds and electricity, sun and moon, fire and water. (2) It is abstract, such as patterns, patterns and lace decorations. In the painted pottery culture of China, there is a background of totem culture. The fish pattern on the face in Yangshao culture, the frog pattern in Majiayao culture, the pattern in Dawenkou culture and the bird pattern in Dongyi culture are all totem symbols of ancient clan tribes. (3) It is symbolic. Symbol refers to what a specific entity refers to, and it has completely become a code. For example, some ancient family emblem characters in China have not been interpreted, and many of them are totem marks of ancient ethnic tribes. Durkheim, a famous French anthropologist, analyzed "totem as a name and symbol" in his book Basic Forms of Religious Life. [2] China people's surnames mean "girl", and many surnames come from totems. If there are animals such as horses, cows and bears, there are plants such as plums, peaches and poplars. Of course, totems, whether concrete or abstract, actually have symbolic functions. Totem image is visible, but it refers to another invisible mysterious entity. This is the psychological basis of totem belief. In my book Inspired Thinking and Primitive Culture, I put forward a theoretical hypothesis that totem belief originated from inspired thinking [3] and was the result of communication with another surreal mysterious spiritual force. This spiritual strength can be transformed into spiritual strength, aura, soul and spirit in different historical stages and beliefs of nations and individuals. Primitive people regarded it as "magic power" and often communicated with it through spiritual witches. Wizards have the ability to observe mysterious spiritual forces. In some totem ceremony, primitive people sometimes have the ability to see things under the influence of dance and medicinal liquor. In the rational era, it is summarized by philosophers as the "inspiration theory" of artistic creation, and artistic creation becomes obsessed with divinity, listening to God's orders or speaking on behalf of God in ecstasy. In the works of pure rationalists, inspiration loses its mysterious meaning and becomes a reward of sudden epiphany after hard work.

In the totem era, human thinking is still in a state of indifference between subject and object, and art is still in a mixed state. Everything is the result of totem worship. People put the brand of totem on all visible images. They believe that "everything is animistic", primitive thinking is still "pre-logic" or "mythological symbols" [4], and various spiritual forces can produce surreal effects, so there are many witchcraft and taboos in the totem belief era. All these have played a role through a certain operation ceremony. Therefore, in totem belief, there is a visible world of graphics, but graphics are only symbols representing another kind of physical strength, and there is also an invisible mysterious fantasy world in people's minds. Phantom world is a visual symbol world created by human beings, supported by intertextuality. People deal with their illusions through full contact between vision and image symbols. This illusion is the prototype of human psychology, and all fear, pleasure, passion and creation are deeply rooted in this deep structure.