Page 189 - A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols BIG Book

A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols 182

The twelve insignia

Iron

tie

We know that iron was being used in China as early as in the second millennium BC.
However, it was not until about 400 BC that it came into general use for making plough-
shares and weapons.
It symbolises strength and righteousness. The evil sea-dragons (jiao) fear iron, and for
this reason iron figures were sunk in rivers and dams. In South China there is a so-called
‘iron-tree’ which blossoms only once in 60 years. Thus it stands for the cycle of
sixty, and symbolises long life, since this cycle represents the average life-span of a man.
‘Iron shoes’, well-known items in many legends in the Near East, are mentioned in the
classical novel ‘The Metamorphoses of the Gods’ (Feng-shen yan-yi) (ch. 54).