What are the totems of the Chinese people?

The eight totems of the Chinese people are the dragon, whale, snake, tiger, giant lucid, eagle, red carp and white shark.

Totem is, is the ancient primitive tribes superstitious some kind of natural or blood relatives, ancestors, protection of the gods, etc., and used to do the clan's emblem or symbol. Primitive peoples' worship of nature is the basis for the emergence of totems. The use of totems to explain myths, classical records and folklore is one of the earliest cultural phenomena in human history.

People in different regions and countries have different totem worship, for example, the Chinese usually have a dragon as their totem, while Russia has a bear totem worship.

Expanded:

Traditional Chinese Mascot - Eagle

The eagle is the king of birds and the overlord of the air. In ancient China, it was the totem worshipped by the northern peoples; in the Chinese land, the eagle is the symbol of the god of war and the sign of the hero.

According to modern zoological classification, the eagle is a group in the falconiformes eagle family, is a carnivorous raptor, including hawks and sparrowhawks. The broad sense of the eagle also includes other birds, such as kites, harriers, etc., in our country the most common eagle is the hawk, sparrowhawk and pine eagle. But in ancient literature, often the larger birds in the falcon family and owl family birds (such as owls) are also known as eagles.

The eagle this raptor, as early as in the primitive hunting era by the worship of mankind, it is that superb flying technology, fierce and unusual capture pouncing skills and proudly stood up to the mighty posture, so that people feel very magical.

While the eagle does not pose a threat to human survival, in the face of the brutal natural environment, hunting ancestors fantasize about having the same skills as the eagle, which is extremely natural. In order to capture the prey more easily, the hunting ancestors domesticated eagle as their assistant, the eagle harrier has become their indispensable dependence, and even become their clan totem and mascot.

China's northern ethnic groups such as the Manchu, Herzhe, Ewenki, Kazakhs have the worship of the eagle. Especially in the northeast, where the belief in the shamanic ethnic groups, almost all have their own eagle myths and legends as well as a variety of taboos and rituals of the eagle.

People's Daily Online - Chinese Eagle as Clan Totem

Baidu Encyclopedia - Totem