The top ten mythical beasts in ancient times refer to the monsters in Han myths and legends. These dozens of mythical beasts are Baize, Kui, Phoenix, Qilin, Yuzhu, Xiezhi, Jian, Chongming Bird, Bi Fang, Taotie, Feofiao, Zhujian, Chaos, Qingji, Qinglong. It comes from "The Classic of Mountains and Seas", "Huainanzi" and other works. It doesn’t just mean the number of ten. But there are no top ten ferocious beasts, they were created by fantasy novel authors themselves.
Ancient Chinese mythical beasts refer to the creatures represented by the six ancient gods, which can be found in Chinese classics. These creatures come and go without a trace, but they are often mentioned in Chinese classical books and legends. The common modern scientific statement is that these mythical beasts are images composed of real animals. Certain ancient mythical beasts play an important role in Chinese divination, especially Qi Men Dun Jia and Liu Yao.
There are nine mythical beasts widely circulated in Chinese history, including five auspicious beasts and four ferocious beasts. Five auspicious beasts "Auspicious" means good and auspicious; auspicious beasts are auspicious mythical animals. The worship of auspicious animals expresses the simple desire of the working people in ancient China for peace and happiness; the totem worship of auspicious animals is a kind of worship and reverence for the relatives, ancestors and patron saints of primitive people. It is the earliest one in human history. a cultural phenomenon. They have been around since ancient times.
One of the ancient Chinese mythical beasts: dragon
The dragon is the main totem and symbol in Chinese culture, and has the meaning of the throne. The main ethnic group of China (that is, most Chinese), Koreans, Vietnamese, and Cambodians call themselves descendants of the dragon. The dragon was also a symbol of emperors in China and other East Asian countries during the feudal era. The dragon, together with the phoenix, Pixiu, turtle and unicorn, are collectively known as the "Five auspicious beasts". The banknotes issued by Standard Chartered Bank of Hong Kong since 1979 are all based on these auspicious beasts. Dragon ranks fifth among the twelve traditional Chinese zodiac signs, and the corresponding earthly branch is Chen, so there is a saying of Chen Long. In China, dragon culture and dragon legends contain the cosmology of the unity of nature and man that Chinese people value; the appeal of the intersubjective view of benevolence and love; the development view of yin and yang; and the inclusive multicultural view.
The second ancient Chinese mythical beast: Phoenix
Phoenix is ??the "king of birds" and the most famous auspicious bird in ancient China. The prototype of the chicken in the Chinese zodiac is the phoenix. The phoenix is ??originally masculine and is also called the sun bird. It also has the characteristic of being reincarnated from the fire, just like the phoenix in the West, so it is also called the fire phoenix. Phoenix is ??a spiritual creature that represents happiness in China. There are many forms of it. Such as golden pheasants, peacocks, eagles, swans, black birds (swallows), etc. It is also said that they were transformed from the Buddhist roc Garuda. The phoenix mentioned in the myth has the head of a chicken, the chin of a swallow, the neck of a snake, the tail of a fish, and has five-color patterns. There are five kinds of phoenixes, divided by color: red is phoenix, green is phoenix, white is swan, and yellow and purple phoenix can also be said to be red bird or black bird.
The third mythical beast in ancient China: Pixiu
Pixiu is also known as Tianlu and warding off evil spirits. It is a mythical beast in ancient Chinese myths and legends. It has a dragon head, a horse body, and lin feet. It is shaped like a lion, has gray hair, and can fly. Pixiu is a ferocious and powerful creature. It is responsible for patrolling the heavens to prevent demons, ghosts, plagues and diseases from disturbing the heavens. It is an ancient auspicious beast, with one horn and two horns. The one with one horn is called the sky deer, the one with two horns is called to ward off evil spirits, and the one with two horns is called Pixiu to ward off evil spirits. Its shape is short wings, curly tail, and mane. People regard Pi Xiu as auspicious. The bigger the mouth of Pi Xiu is, the more money they can earn. The rounder belly is, the more money they can hold. Pi Xiu is very popular because Pi Xiu has an extremely rare feature: it has a mouth, but There are no excretory organs, that is, there is only in and no out. Therefore, people hope to be like Pixiu, who "can only go forward without exiting", and people will spend thousands of dollars in order to attract endless wealth. Generally, people who work in eccentric industries believe that "Pixiu" will bring prosperity and wealth, so they will place a Pixiu in their company or business place. Industries that belong to eccentric industries include foreign exchange, stocks, finance, horse racing, futures, etc. But it does not work on those who commit crimes because they are spiritual beasts.
The fourth ancient Chinese mythical beast: the Xuanwu Turtle
The turtle, the texture of the turtle's back is secret. The Chinese have always believed that the turtle hides the secrets of heaven and earth, so it has also become a kind of mystery. And animals contain rich cultural connotations. At the same time, because the turtle has an extremely long lifespan, it has become a symbol of longevity. People often use "turtle age" to describe people's longevity, or combine it with "crane age" to call it "turtle age and crane longevity" and "turtle age and crane age". Since ancient times, people have believed that it can bring auspiciousness. Turtles have become a spiritual creature that predicts the future. Placing jade turtles can transform yin and replenish yang, adjust the balance of yin and yang in the room and the natural magnetic field, and replenish luck and wealth. The house can be peaceful, prosperous and prosperous.
The fifth ancient Chinese mythical beast: Qilin
Qilin, Pixiu (pì xiū), phoenix, dragon, and turtle are collectively called the "Five Spirits", and Qilin is the first of the "Five Spirits" . As early as the Zhou Dynasty, there was a legend of Qilin in our country. The most detailed record is in the book "Mao Shi Zhengyi": "Lin, elk body, horse feet, ox tail, yellow hair, round hooves, and meat on the horns---". According to legend, Qilin has a gentle character, does not grow insects, does not grow grass, has horns on its head, and grows meat on its horns. It is a virtuous and benevolent beast. Therefore, emperors of all ages loved Qilin and regarded its appearance as a wonder of the country. Show that you are a powerful emperor, and the edict is clear.
Four directions mythical beasts:
Qinglong
Qinglong, in China, the status of dragon is much higher than that in India.
Because in China, the dragon is a divine creature, the supreme being, and a symbol of the emperor. It is also a representative of the East. Among the five elements, it belongs to wood. Because cyan belongs to wood, there is a saying that it is a green dragon on the left and a white tiger on the right.
It is the general name for the seven eastern constellations among the twenty-eight constellations: Jiao, Kang, Di, Fang, Xin, Wei, and Ji. The ancients imagined them as the image of dragons. Because they are located in the east, they are assigned according to the five elements of Yin and Yang. According to the theory of color matching in the five directions, the color in the east is green, hence the name "Green Dragon". There is also a saying that the dragon's nature is lustful. When it has sex with an ox, it will give birth to a unicorn, and when it has sex with a pig, it will give birth to an elephant. There is also a saying that a dragon gave birth to nine sons, none of whom looked like a dragon.
White Tiger
In China, the white tiger is the god of war and killing. Tiger has many magical powers such as avoiding evil, warding off disasters, praying for prosperity and punishing evil, promoting good deeds, making wealth, and getting married. And it is one of the four spirits, and of course it is also made of stars. Among the twenty-eight constellations, there are seven in the west: Kui, Lou, Wei, Ang, Bi, Xi, and Shen. Therefore, it is the representative of the West, and its white color is because it is the West. The West belongs to gold among the five elements, and its color is white. So it is called White Tiger not because it is white, but because of the five elements.
Phoenix
Phoenix is ??a spiritual creature that represents happiness in China. There are many forms of it. Such as golden pheasants, peacocks, eagles, swans, black birds (swallows), etc. It is also said that they were transformed from the Buddhist roc Garuda. The phoenix mentioned in the Phoenix myth has the head of a chicken, the chin of a swallow, the neck of a snake, the tail of a fish, and has five-color patterns. There are five kinds of phoenixes, divided by color: red is phoenix, green is phoenix, white is swan, and yellow and purple phoenix can also be said to be red bird or black bird.
Suzaku is one of the four spirits. Like the other three, it also comes from the stars. It is the general name of the seven stars in the south: well, ghost, willow, star, Zhang, Yi and Zhen. Zhu is red, like fire, and the south belongs to fire, so it is also called Phoenix. It also has the characteristic of being reborn from the fire, just like the Phoenix in the West, so it is also called the Fire Phoenix.
Xuanwu
Xuanwu is a spiritual creature composed of a turtle and a snake. The original meaning of Xuanwu is Xuan Ming, Xuan means black; Ming means Yin. Xuan Ming originally described turtle divination: the back of the turtle is black, and turtle divination is to ask the turtle to go to the underworld to ask the ancestors, bring the answers back, and show them to the world in the form of divination. Turtles live in rivers, lakes and seas (including turtles), so Xuan Ming became the god of water; turtles live long, and Xuan Ming became a symbol of immortality; the original underworld was in the north, and the oracle bone divination of the Yin and Shang Dynasties stated that "the divination must be northward", So Xuan Ming became the Northern God again.
The four most famous evil beasts in ancient times are Chaos, Taotie, Qiongqi and Taotie. "Zuo Zhuan" said in the 18th year of Duke Wen: "Shun and Yao were guests of the four gates, and the four evil tribes, Qiongqi, Taotie, and Taotie, joined the four descendants to ward off evil spirits."
Chaos
Chaos is the evil god in ancient times. Legend has it that it is fat and round in shape, as red as fire, with four wings and six legs. Although it has no facial features, it can know songs, dances and music. There is also a saying that Chaos is an animal like a dog or a bear. Humans cannot see or hear it. It often bites its own tail and giggles; if it meets a noble person, Chaos will do violence; When encountering an evil person, Chaos will obey his command.
梼杌
There is a beast, which looks like a tiger with dog hair, two feet long, a human face, tiger feet, pig mouth teeth, and a tail one foot or eight feet long, causing chaos in the wilderness. , named 梼杌. It is used to describe a person who is stubborn and has a vicious attitude. According to legend, he is the son of Zhuanxu, the Northern Emperor of Heaven. He is also named Aohun, which is difficult to train. From these names, you can roughly infer what he does. Like Qiongqi, Yaozhu later became one of the Four Evils.
Qiongqi
In Chinese legend, Qiongqi is an evil god who suppresses good and promotes evil. He is the size of an ox, looks like a tiger, is covered in hedgehog fur, and has wings. Qiongqi is It barks like a dog and makes a living by eating people. It is said that Qiongqi often flies to the scene of a fight and bites off the nose of the rightful party; if someone commits an evil act, Qiongqi will capture the beast and give it to him, and encourage him to do more bad things. However, Qiongqi also has a beneficial side. In a ghost exorcism ritual called "Da Nuo", there are twelve kinds of beasts that eat evil spirits, called twelve gods or twelve beasts, and Qiongqi is one of them.
Taotie
It is said that during the battle between Xuanyuan and Chi You, Chi You was beheaded and his head fell to the ground and turned into a Taotie. The Classic of Mountains and Seas says that there is a beast, which looks like a sheep with a human face, its eyes under the armpits, tiger teeth and human claws, and its voice is like that of a baby. It is called a roe deer owl, and it is a cannibal. There is also a legend that "the dragon is born nine times" One of the nine sons. He was very greedy and ate whatever he saw. He ate too much and eventually died of starvation. It is a symbol of greed.
Others
犼
There is a beast named Yong in the East China Sea. It can eat borneol brains, fly up and down in the air, and is extremely ferocious. Every time he fights with a dragon, he spits out fire for several feet, and the dragon is always victorious. It looks like a horse, one to two feet long, has scales, and is covered in fire. It can fly and is extremely ferocious. When fighting a dragon, if you spit fire from your mouth, the dragon will be defeated. "Shu Yi Ji" describes that Jian Nai feeds on dragons and is said to be the ancestor of Qilin.
Zhong Shan Shen
There are sixteen mountains from Nvnu Mountain to Jiachao Mountain, covering a radius of 3,500 miles. The mountain gods are all gods with horse bodies and dragon heads. Also known as Zhongshan God.
瓓铓(狗之义) (ao yin)
The giant man-eating beast in Sanwei Mountain looks a bit like a cow, with four horns, and its hair is very long. Like a coir raincoat draped over the body.
狰(zheng)
Zhang'e Mountain has no vegetation for thousands of miles and is mostly surrounded by blue rocks. There is a fearful beast in this mountain, with five tails and one horn, its roar is like thunder chopping stones, and it feeds on tigers and leopards.
Gu diao
It is a man-eating and fearful beast that looks like a bird but not a bird, and looks like a leopard but not a leopard. It has a single horn and its cry is like a baby's cry.
Dijiang
The Western Mountain Classic, the second volume of the Classic of Mountains and Seas, says: "Three hundred and fifty miles to the west is called the Tianshan Mountains. There are many gold and jade, some are green and real yellow, and the Yingshui comes out. Yan, while flowing from the southwest to Tanggu, there is a sacred bird, which looks like a yellow sac, is as red as red fire, has six legs and four wings, and has no face. There is a magical bird on Tianshan Mountain, shaped like a yellow cloth bag, as red as a red fire, with six legs and four wings. It has no ears, eyes, mouth or nose, but it knows how to sing and dance. Its name is "Dijiang". In addition, the monsters recorded in "Zhuangzi" and "Shenyi Jing" are also called this name. The Yellow Emperor and the leader of the Gong family are also called "Dijiang" in some records.
Ju Fu
The people of Chongwu Mountain are afraid of beasts. They are good at throwing, and tigers and leopards are afraid of them.
Li Li (li li)
The fear beast on Cabinet Mountain looks like a pig, but its limbs have claws and serrations. Wherever I saw it, the ground was undulating, so I guess Lili was good at digging.
Nine-tailed Fox
“The Qingqiu country is in the north, and its fox has four legs and nine tails.” “Overseas East Classic” “There is the Qingqiu country, and there are foxes with nine tails. "The Great Wilderness Eastern Classic" records that the nine-tailed fox brought about the good relationship between "Dayu" and "Tushan" and became the earliest "marriage agency" appearing in ancient Chinese books. Legend has it that people ate her flesh. You can avoid evil spirits and resist poison. The nine-tailed fox appeared three times in "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" and later became a symbol of auspiciousness and prosperity for descendants.
Jingwei
Two hundred miles to the north, it is called Fajiu Mountain. There are many dead trees on it, and there are birds. Their shape is like a raven, with a literary head, a white beak, and bare feet. The name It is called "Jingwei", and its name is "Jingwei". She is the daughter of Emperor Yan, named Nvwa. A female child swam in the East China Sea and drowned, so she became a Jingwei. She often held trees and rocks from the Western Mountains in her hands and threw them into the East China Sea. The Zhang River flows out and flows eastwards into the river.
Zhu Jiuyin (Zhu Long)
When Zhu Long opens his eyes, the world becomes day; when Zhu Long closes his eyes, the world becomes night; when Zhu Long blows a breath, the world becomes night. It is winter; when the candle dragon exhales, the world is summer. The candle dragon never eats, drinks, or breathes. Once he takes a breath, the world becomes windy. His body is like a snake, his length is thousands of miles long, his face is like a human, and his whole body is red.
Bai Ze
The famous mythical beast on Kunlun Mountain, covered in snow-white body, can speak human language, understand the emotions of all things, and rarely appears, unless there is a saint who governs the world at that time, he only follows the book. to. It is an auspicious beast that can turn misfortunes into good fortune. Huang Di traveled to the East China Sea and met this beast. He could speak and express the feelings of all things. When asked about the ghosts and gods in the world, since ancient times, there are 520 kinds of ghosts and ghosts. Bai Ze said it and the emperor wrote it in pictures to show the world.
Qilin
Also known as "Qilin", referred to as "Qilin", it is an animal recorded in ancient Chinese books. Together with the phoenix, turtle and dragon, it is known as the "four animals". "Spirit" is the mount of God. The ancients regarded Qilin as a benevolent and auspicious beast. The male is called Qi and the female is called Lin. After Zheng He brought giraffes from his voyages to the West in the Ming Dynasty, they were used to refer to giraffes (this is still the case in Japan). Often used to describe outstanding people.
The legendary Bai Jian (xǐ)
It is said that after the creation of the world, Nuwa was very lonely, so she made humans out of clay, and also created a snake god like herself. pet. One is a white worm, which is female; the other is a soaring snake, which is male. Nuwa used her body to mend the sky because the five-color stones she collected were not enough, and Bai Jian and Teng She also followed suit and mended the sky with their bodies.
Fat Yi
It was first recorded in the Xishan Jing of "The Classic of Mountains and Seas": There is a strange snake called "Fat Yi" on Mount Hua. Once it appears, it indicates that something will happen. Widespread drought.
Roar
It is shaped like a rabbit, with long ears that are just over a foot long. The lion is afraid of it, and its body will rot when it roars and drowns.
Yinglong
A winged dragon in ancient legends. According to legend, when Yu was controlling floods, Yinglong used his tail to draw the ground into rivers and let the water flow into the sea.
Jiaolong
Jiao is a genus of dragon. There are three thousand six hundred fish in the pond, and the dragon comes to grow it, and it can lead the fish to fly into the water. The horned dragon is a small dragon with horns and no beards in ancient legends. Qu Yuan's "Tianwen": "The horned dragon bears the bear." "Rui Ying Tu" of the Song Dynasty: "Dragon, horse, god, horse, the spirit of the river, eight feet and five inches high, long neck, wings, trimmed down hair, and a nine-note sound. It will be seen if there is a king of Ming Dynasty." The horned dragon is a legend. Among the auspicious animals, "the divine horse", "a horse over eight feet tall is a dragon", "a horse with two horns is a Qiu".
Panlong
It is four feet long, green and black, with red ribbons like brocade inscriptions. It often floats down with the water and enters the sea. It is poisonous and will kill people if it hurts.
Prison Cow
The eldest of the nine dragons, he loves music all his life. He often squats on the head of the piano to enjoy the music of plucked strings, so his name is engraved on the head of the piano. Portraits. This decoration is still in use today. Some precious Huqin heads are still engraved with the image of a dragon head, which is called "Dragon Head Huqin."
Ya Pi (ya zi)
Long Jiu The second eldest child in the family, because it loves to kill, it is often placed on weapons to intimidate the enemy.
At the same time, it is also used in ceremonies to appear more majestic.
Chaofeng
The third among the nine sons of Long. He looks like a dog and has a lot of dangers in his life.
Pulao
The fourth of the nine sons of the dragon likes to roar, so people put it on the bell, mostly in the image of Pulao. It is said that it lives by the sea and is timid. It is afraid of whales in the sea and will scream when it encounters them, so it is placed on the bell, and the image of the whale is carved on the crossbar of the bell.
Suān ni
The fifth of the nine sons of the dragon is shaped like a lion. It is a foreign product that was introduced to China with Buddhism, so its personality is a bit like that of Buddha. It is so quiet and loves fireworks. Therefore, it is often placed on the Buddha's throne or on the incense burner to protect Buddhism.
Baxia
Also known as Bibi, he is the sixth of the nine sons of the dragon and looks like a turtle. According to legend, in ancient times, it often carried three mountains and five mountains on its back to create trouble. He was conquered by Xia Yu and made many great contributions to Xia Yu. After successfully controlling the flood, Xia Yu let it shoulder its own merits. Therefore, most of China's stone monuments are carried on its back.
Bi'an
The seventh of the nine sons of the dragon, also known as the charter, looks like a tiger. According to legend, it upholds justice and can distinguish right from wrong. Therefore, it is placed above and below the prison door, on both sides of the door lobby, and on top of the cards that officials quietly avoid when they go on patrol to maintain the solemn atmosphere of the court.
Negative Xi (xi)
Eight of the nine sons of the dragon, with bodies like dragons, elegant and graceful, coiled around the top of the stone tablet. He is shaped like a dragon, ranked eighth in the family, and was good at literature throughout his life. The literary dragons on both sides of the stone tablet are his portraits.
Chiki (chī wěn)
Mo'er, one of the nine dragons, is also known as the owl tail, a fish-shaped dragon. According to legend, around the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the "Moji Fish" from India was introduced with Buddhism. It is the object under the seat of the rain god in Buddhist scriptures and can extinguish fire. Therefore, the chi kiss was transformed from this, so it is often placed at both ends of the roof ridge to eliminate disasters and extinguish fires.
Pi Xiu (pi xiu)
A ferocious and auspicious beast in legend, with different origins. Pixiu can swallow all things and never release it, so it has the meaning of receiving wealth from all directions. Chinese tradition has the custom of "Pixiu", which, like the dragon and the lion, has the function of driving away evil spirits from the place and bringing joy and good luck. Speaking of Ksitigarbha's mount, Tingting, it seems to be the same species as Pixiu. A ferocious auspicious beast in legend, with different origins. Pixiu can swallow all things and never release it, so it has the meaning of receiving wealth from all directions. Chinese tradition has the custom of "Pixiu", which, like the dragon and the lion, has the function of driving away evil spirits from the place and bringing joy and good luck. Speaking of Ksitigarbha's mount, Tingting, it seems to be the same species as Pixiu.
Yayu (ya yu)
Also known as "竫窳", it is a man-eating monster in ancient legends, like a dragon, with tiger claws, and runs very fast. Legend has it that Yuqi was once a god and the son of Zhulong. There are many theories about the appearance of the wild beast. For example, it has a human face and a dragon body and is the same size as a raccoon dog. Some say it is a giant beast with a human face, an ox body and horse legs, or a dragon head and a tiger body. It is said that Emperor Yao ordered Hou Yi to kill him because he liked to eat humans.
Papi
The actual writing is {Chongba}{Chongxia}, pronounced as eight (bā f?). The creature located by the bridge likes water the most and is often decorated on stones. The top of the bridge railing. The viper is lying on the four corners of the back door bridge. It has a very beautiful shape. It is said that its image looks like a dragon but not a dragon, and it looks like a shrimp but not a shrimp. It loves water most in its life and lives with it. It loves waves and water, and plays in the river all year round. It is also known as the sail centipede. It is good at water and likes to eat water monsters. It is said that it is the favorite son of the Dragon King.
Fu Dou
The appearance is no different from ordinary dogs. However, its fur is all black and has a special luster. There are a few ferrets with slits at the tip of their tails, but other than that, there is nothing special about them. In fact, you can't tell anything unusual about their appearance just by looking at them. But this does not prevent them from serving as Vulcan's assistants. Sometimes Vulcan leaves his job due to some reasons, and Fuji even has to take over the god's duties.
Fei
It comes from Mount Tai, looks like a bull, has a white head, one eye, and a snake tail. It is an ancient plague beast.
Snake
This is a monster with the face of a jackal and the body of a jackal, with wings on its back, walking like a snake, coiling and squirming. Its voice was like a baby crying loudly, or like a woman scolding. The snake rarely speaks, but once it does, it will cause a huge flood. It is recorded in "The Classic of Mountains and Seas (Zhongci Er Jing)". It is said that during the Spring and Autumn Period, a farmer heard a baby crying near Daliang City in the State of Wei. When he found it, he found that it was a snake-shaped monster. In the next three days, the Yellow River overflowed, flooding more than 850 towns and villages along the way.
Chong Ming Bird
Yao reigned for seventy years, and he had a country with accumulated branches. He presented the Ming Bird, and every man had two clear words in his eyes.
Bifang
A kind of bird, shaped like a crane, with one leg, red stripes and a white beak.
Ghost car
Also known as the nine-headed bird. They are red in color and look like ducks. The larger ones have wings that are about ten feet wide. They are blind during the day and at night. If there is slight darkness, they will fly by. Falling in love sparkles people's soul. There is also a saying that the Nine Heads were once one of the dogs barking and often dripping blood. A house with drops of blood will bring bad luck. (This suspicion is an individual case) It is recorded in "Three Kingdoms Classics", "Lingbiao Luyi", "Zhengzitong" and "Gufeng".
Chisel Teeth
The humanoid beast has teeth three feet long, shaped like a chisel, going down to the chin, and holding a shield (should have certain intelligence).
He was shot by Yi in the fields of Shouhua. It is recorded in "The Classic of Mountains and Seas (Overseas Southern Classic) (Dahuang Southern Classic)" and "Huainanzi (Ben Jing Xun)".
Three-legged Crow
The sun elves in ancient China are also regarded as the messengers of the sun's movement. According to ancient Chinese legend, the three-legged crow lives in the sun. People worship the sun, and the three-legged crow is also worshiped as a symbol of auspiciousness. It is said that because there are ten three-legged crows in one wing, they are constantly moving in the sky, causing drought and scorching heat on the ground. Emperor Yao ordered Hou Yi to shoot all the three-legged crows, but Hou Yi shot down nine and left one. From then on, there was only one sun and it set in the evening. There is also a saying that the three-legged crow is an elf who serves the Queen Mother of the West.
Feilian
It has the body of a deer, a head like a sparrow, horns, and a snake tail with leopard characters. Some say he is Feng Bo. "Chu Ci (Li Sao)" contains it.