In which dynasty did Tiger Teng first appear in China?

This answer is included in the excellent answer "The Year of the Tiger doesn't scare you"

"You can't be scared in the Year of the Tiger, but the Spring Festival will be fun." Go and have a look.

No matter the dragon totem, tiger totem or other totems in ancient China, they all originated from the matriarchal clan period in primitive society. Due to the limited production capacity of primitive people, they can only make a living by collecting and fishing and hunting. Once they encounter natural disasters in the natural environment, they basically have no resistance, so they are full of awe and fantasy about nature.

People's cognition at that time was limited. When faced with the unknown things in the world, it is easy to regard these animals and plants as their ancestors or protectors. They generally believe that these animals and plants have a supernatural power. As long as they believe in them, they can gain their strength and skills. The tiger totem in China has a deep relationship with the Yi people in Yunnan. They began to worship tigers in the matriarchal clan period of primitive society, forming an ancient tiger totem belief. In fact, in the final analysis, totem is just a personalized object of worship, but people at that time did not have such cognition.

According to the Yi folk epic "Meige", at the beginning of the creation of the gods, the sky was split by the test of lightning. Later, in order to solve this problem, he sent his son to surrender and recognize the tiger, with his head on the same day, his left eye as the sun, his right eye as the moon, and the rest as the universe, similar to Pangu in fairy tales.

As one of the oldest ethnic minorities in China, the Yi people have taken the tiger as their totem since primitive society, among which the Hei Hu clan is the most representative. People in this clan worship Hei Hu and take Hei Hu as their totem. Until now, there are still some people who worship the tiger totem and call themselves Luoluo, the nation of tigers. There is also a saying in many villages of the Yi people that a tiger dies and a flower dies. In this regard, there is a clear record in Zhu Yi Customs in the Annals of Yunnan: "Luo Luo is also a barbarian. ..... Emirates died, wrapped in tiger skin was burned to death, ... People often die into tigers ... "

In these shrines of Yi people's families, tiger-shaped ancestral spirits are often enshrined, that is, the tiger god in their mouth, also known as Ronnie, is the supreme god in their hearts. So in their eyes, Ronnie can not only help them eliminate disasters and exorcise evil spirits, but also bless their happiness and well-being. Therefore, when people visit places where Yi people live in compact communities, don't be too surprised to see villages, streams and roads with tiger names. After all, in the eyes of many Yi people, the place where tigers live is naturally related to tigers.

When matriarchal clan society was transformed into paternal clan, the productivity of primitive people was greatly improved, and they began to learn to think, and they had a sense of independence, denying the kinship between animals and plants and themselves. At this point, totem belief basically came to an end, but this does not mean that totem will be eliminated by the society at that time. On the contrary, in the subsequent dynasties, totem belief not only did not disappear, but also spread to culture, art and other fields, leaving many totem-related cultural relics for future generations, which is of great reference significance for us to study ancient history and culture.

For example, since the Western Zhou Dynasty, tigers have been used to symbolize the courage and strength of soldiers, and even the military symbols used to dispatch troops are engraved with a tiger, which became the tiger symbol. Although the tiger has always been regarded as a symbol of power and strength, it can only be a king, not an emperor. After all, kings can have many, but emperors can only have one.