Page 369 - A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols BIG Book
P. 369
A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols 362
Tiger Tiger
hu
The tiger is the king of the wild animals. In ancient times, sacrifice was made to it
because it devoured the wild pigs which laid the village fields waste. It is a yang
creature, a bearer of the male principle; and for this reason, a white tiger symbolised
autumn and the West (West is associated with the female principle yin). The tiger is
also a symbol of courage and bravery, as it can drive off demons. This is why we find
stone figures of tigers on graves. More than one god is depicted riding on a tiger, and
some pictures show a boy doing the same thing: this is a reference to a certain paragon of
Tiger with bamboos: the positive hero (naturalistic)
