Why does a toad have three feet? (abstract)

Walking into the old temple gold or a jade trading market, we can easily find that toad is one of the most animal images except the ten zodiac signs. In fact, many antiques and decorations on the market are represented by toads. If we say that the zodiac corresponds to the birth of a person, it is solid and has a guardian effect on people; Phoenix bird is the king of birds. It is beautiful and rich, and can bring blessings to people. So, why did the ugly toad go to the elegant hall? Looking closely at these toads made of various precious materials, we will find that they all have only three feet, which is even more puzzling. The three-legged golden toad got its meaning of "the way to make money" from the folklore of "Liu Hai beating a toad": Liu Hai, a disciple of Lv Dongbin, has profound martial arts, and likes to travel around the world, to cast evil spirits and give alms to benefit the world. One day, he surrendered to the golden toad demon who had harmed the people for many years. In the process, Jin Chan was injured and broke one foot, so there were only three feet left. From then on, Jin Chan surrendered to Liu Hai's door. In order to atone, Jin Chan used her unique skills to bite into the treasure, helping Liu Hai to benefit the world, helping the poor and distributing money. People call it a lucky toad. Qing Dynasty recorded in his Fuzhou dialect novel A Farewell to Du Min that Liu Hai's father was extremely stingy before his death and fell into hell and became a toad after his death. Liu tried his best to save his father, but it was always in vain. Finally, he fished his father out of the sea with a gold coin. Beijing folk literature believes that "Liu Hai plays a golden toad" should be "Liu Hai is a golden toad". It is said that Liu Hai once traveled with his master, the monk Ningyuan, who loved money. When Master went out, Liu Hai poured the treasure into the well, and Master jumped into the well to look for it. Seeing that Master had not come out for a long time, Liu Hai took money as bait and fished out a three-legged golden toad. Liu Hai in "Liu Hai Beats Toad", five generations and ten countries, whose real name is Fuck. Legend has it that Liu Hai was admitted to the Ministry at the age of sixteen and became the prime minister of Liu Shouguang, the prince of Yan (Liu Shouguang 9 1 1 proclaimed himself emperor in Youzhou, with the year number "Dayan", only two years old). Enlightened by Zhong Liquan, the founder of Zhengyang, he abandoned his official position and followed the Tao. He changed his name to Hyun Ying, and his name was Haizichan. Many people called him Liu Haichan, and later he was called Liu Hai. After he became an immortal, he was listed as one of the five northern ancestors of Taoism Quanzhen. According to Liu Tiansu and Xie Xichan's "Jin Ping Mei Authentic Fairy Source Biography: Haichan" in the Yuan Dynasty, it is said: "The surname of the teacher is Liu, and the word Zongcheng, Haichan is also from Yanshan. Sixteen years ago, I was promoted to the first division of the Liao Dynasty, and my official position was supreme ... Suddenly a Taoist priest came to pay his respects, and the teacher politely extended his hand. Asked his name, he didn't answer silently, but asked for ten eggs and a money. If you put money on the box, ten eggs won't fall. The teacher sighed and said, "It's dangerous." The Taoist priest said,' Your life and death are in danger, which is even more dangerous.' The teacher asked again,' How can we not be dangerous?' Picking up eggs on the road flyover, throwing money on the ground and leaving with a long smile. The teacher suddenly realized ... he took photos, wore a Yi Dao, pretended to be fascinated by singing and dancing, and then went to Qinchuan. When I met the last Taoist priest again, I learned that it was Zhengyangzi (that is, Zhong Liquan, the founder of Quanzhen Zhengyang). "Liu Hai is not only a Taoist master, but also a sea toad. Taking him as the protagonist of "toad fighting" is naturally suspected of attachment. It is also said that the three-legged toad was made in the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon and was also the result of folk processing. From the T-shaped painted silk painting of the Western Han Dynasty unearthed from Mawangdui No.1 tomb in Changsha, we can see that the toad in the story of "the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon" in the Han Dynasty still has four legs. " "Three-legged golden toad" is the product of toad being immortal by the people, and its way of making money comes down in one continuous line with ancient reproductive worship. We know that in primitive society, toad became the totem of some human tribes because of its amazing reproductive ability-the female frog laid thousands of eggs at a time, and the frog's potbellied posture also resembled that of a pregnant woman, which was easily regarded by ancestors as a symbol of female reproduction. There are obvious frog patterns on painted pottery pots unearthed from Jiangzhai site in Lintong, Shaanxi Province in the early Yangshao culture. Naxi people in Lijiang, Yunnan still worship frog shape and regard it as a totem symbol worshipped by female reproductive ancestors. Considering the backward productivity of primitive society, people's own production is of great significance to the continuation of race. So "many children" and "many blessings" are the same meaning. The early worship of human beings is related to the need to reproduce-in Chinese culture, the phoenix and the toad live in the sun and the moon respectively, which is not unreasonable. This concept of "abundance" and "happiness" has been internalized in the course of historical development. Now we use phoenix birds and toads to express good luck. Actually, we have gone through a process of "stealing the concept". In ancient literature, it was first proposed that the golden toad was three-legged, and it was called "the toad is three-legged, living in the cave and living in the moon, being a fairy worm" in the strange novel "The Story of Yi Shu" written by Zu Chongzhi in the Southern Dynasties. Here, "live in a cave on the moon and be a fairy worm" reveals the reason why toads only have three feet. On the one hand, primitive worship attaches importance to the reproductive symbolic significance of the worshipped object, on the other hand, it tends to deify the worshipped object, such as unicorns, two-headed snakes and three-legged birds. Only by being different can you be a fairy. Reflected in people are immortals, who often have various defects, such as Tie Guai Li. These physical defects not only show their alien identity, but also reflect the perfection of their personality through comparison. The earliest use of this contrast is probably Zhuangzi's "De Chong Fu". Laozi and Zhuangzi thought flourished again in Wei and Jin Dynasties. The three-legged golden toad appeared in the Jin Dynasty, the Southern and Northern Dynasties and was inevitably influenced by the strong strange atmosphere at that time.