Celebrating the tiger |
虎年说虎:西方眼中的东方文化符号 |
www.i21st.cn |
BY 花消英气 from 21st Century Published 2022-01-25 |
With the Chinese New Year less than a month away, people are getting ready to welcome the Year of the Tiger. Do you know anyone born in the Year of the Tiger? What's their personality like? Are they brave, strong, tenacious and sympathetic? If so, then they are a typical “tiger”. In Chinese culture, tigers are considered the king of all beasts. They symbolize power, energy, protection, generosity and unpredictability. Tigers are regarded as fearless creatures, so that's why in China you can see images of tigers on the walls of temples and houses to ward off disasters and danger. Tigers have an important cultural significance not just in China, but across Asia. As they mostly live in Asia, for many people in the West they have become a cultural symbol of Eastern countries. For example, strong economies in the East – Singapore, South Korea, China’s Hong Kong and Taiwan – were called “The Four Asian Tigers”. In the book Life of Pi, Canadian writer Yann Martel chose a Bengal tiger as the partner for Indian boy Pi on his survival adventure in the Pacific Ocean. French fashion brand KENZO takes the tiger as its main theme when it tries to embody Eastern elements with European design. Instead of tigers, lions are considered as the king of all beasts in the West. Brave warriors were given the name “the lion”. In Europe, the animal is a national emblem for England as well as for Norway, Spain, Belgium and 13 other countries. But in the West, tigers are also seen as a very powerful animal. In English, if you want someone to calm down, you can say to them, “easy tiger”. Another famous phrase is: “Eye of the Tiger”, which means fierceness and strength. Tigers are also one of my favorite animals. I first learned about the beauty of tigers as a child, while watching animal documentaries. If you ask my mom, she’ll tell you that my most precious toy while growing up was my toy tiger, which I still treasure dearly to this day. As a young animal lover, I felt so sad that they were an endangered species and I wanted to help protect them. This is why I love that China has its animal zodiac system, as it shows the connection, understanding and respect that humans can have for animals. Just like tigers serve as a symbol of protection in Chinese culture, we can only hope that in the upcoming Year of the Tiger more people can learn about tigers and help protect them and their habitats from further destruction. (Translator & Editor: Li Xinzhu AND Luo Sitian)
https://www.i21st.cn/story/3761.html |
辞海拾贝
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