The cultural symbol of the monkey
The monkey saves the tiger, and the tiger helps the monkey - the myths and legends of the monkey
As the saying goes, "There are no tigers in the mountains. "The monkey is called the king." Obviously, in ancient times, people believed that the tiger was the king of beasts, while the monkey also had a place due to its cleverness. However, tigers and monkeys do have a close friendship. It is said that the monkey became the zodiac sign only because of the success of the tiger king from Zhongzhou.
It is said that the tiger became the king of beasts at the beginning due to its power of controlling mountains and controlling beasts. At that time, all the animals in the mountains immediately avoided the tiger when they saw it. Of course, the tiger was both proud and lonely. The monkey and the tiger were neighbors at that time, and they were brothers and very affectionate. Later, the monkey almost became the tiger's right-hand assistant. When the tiger king went out, the monkey took over the command of the mountain. The beasts were intimidated by the Tiger King's majesty and had no choice but to listen to the monkey's call. This is the origin of "There are no tigers in the mountains, but the monkey is the king".
One day, Tiger King unfortunately fell into the hunter's net, and he couldn't get out even though he struggled desperately. Just as the monkey came, the Tiger King shouted for help. When the monkey saw it, he quickly climbed up the tree, untied the hunter's net rope, and rescued the tiger king.
After the Tiger King escaped from danger, although he kept thanking the monkey brother, he was thinking in his heart: "I am the king of beasts, and I fell into the trap of the hunter. I have to be rescued by a little monkey. If the monkey publicizes this, it will destroy my majesty as the tiger king. I might as well eat the monkey." But then I thought, now I am alone. If I eat the monkey again, I will not have a friend in the future. No more. "If there is another danger, who will help me? Besides, the monkey is afraid of me and will never dare to tell what happened today."
So, the tiger told the monkey: The life-saving grace he received today will definitely help him in the future. repay. If the monkey encounters any difficulties in the future, he will definitely help him with all his strength. Of course, the monkey kept silent about the Tiger King's distress in order to save the Tiger King's face. After that, the relationship between the two became even more extraordinary.
Many years later, the Jade Emperor began to choose the zodiac sign. As the king of beasts, the tiger naturally becomes the zodiac sign. When the monkey saw it, he also wanted to be the zodiac sign, but the Jade Emperor had a principle in choosing the zodiac sign, which was to do merit to mankind. Monkeys have no merit to humans, so they are naturally not chosen. So the monkey asked the Tiger King to intercede with the Jade Emperor and let him be the zodiac sign. Because the Tiger King owed the monkey a favor, he had no choice but to do his best to intercede for the monkey. He told the Emperor of Heaven that the monkey was smart and witty and was the first of all beasts. He also said that the monkey also contributed to the mountain control when he was not around. Therefore, the Jade Emperor issued a decree to include monkeys in the zodiac signs.
The monkey became the zodiac sign, and the Tiger King also returned the favor of the monkey. Of course, the Tiger King was still unhappy. The incompetent monkey and himself were listed as human animals, and the friendship between the two was severed. Today, all animals are no longer afraid of monkeys. Of course, the true saying "There are no tigers in the mountains, and monkeys are kings" has also become a sarcastic meaning.
"Monkey" originally means "Monkey", and "Hou" is also the same as "Hou".
The original meaning of "Hou" is "waiting, observing", which is a manifestation of the monkey's cleverness and intelligence. The ancients said that monkeys are good at waiting. When you see people setting up food and hiding places, you should look around from a high position. Those who are good at waiting are also called monkeys. In other words, apes are smart and alert by nature, and are good at identifying the hunter's bait. They do not take it easily when they find food. They wait and explore for a long time and only act when they feel that there is indeed no war.
"Hou" is a compliment to the beautiful monkey, which is extended to a kind of beauty. "The Book of Songs" contains the sentence "Hai Zhi and Hou", and "Han Shi" explains: "Hou is beautiful." It is quoted as the second level of ancient noble titles, the so-called "Gong, Hou, Bo, Zi,"
The "Marquis" in "Male". It also generally refers to local monarchs with titles, such as the princes of various countries during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. During the Qin and Han Dynasties, people were granted titles and worshiped generals. Therefore, the title of "monkey" added an auspicious symbolic meaning.
The surname "Hou" is said to come from Cangjie, a historian during the Yellow Emperor's time. He was originally the surname of Hou Gang, and was later shortened to Hou. According to historical records, in the Spring and Autumn Period, there was a Hou family in the Jin State. During the Warring States Period, there was a famous hermit in Wei named Hou Ying, who helped Lord Xinling steal amulets to save Zhao. In the Han Dynasty, there was a great Situ Houba. In the Tang Dynasty, there was a prime minister named Hou Junji. In the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, there was a talented scholar named Hou Fangyu. In modern times, there is the famous cross talk master Hou Baolin.
"Ape" originally means "Yuan". The character "Yuan" looks very much like an ape, with its tail even drawn. Therefore, it is said that White Ape often calls himself "Yuan Gong". "Yu" is originally a pictographic character describing the appearance of an ape. Lu Xun's "New Storytelling" said that Yu of Dayu is actually "Yu", which was also changed from "big monkey".
"Yu" also means "apartment", which means that monkeys were locked in a house, so it was called "Yuyu". Later, it gradually turned into a human residence. "Yu" also means "foolishness", implying that monkeys can evolve into humans only if they get rid of ignorance.
The ape's common name is "Heng", also known as Hu Sun. Therefore, the surnames "Hu" and "Sun" are also closely related to monkeys. The surname "Hu" is also said to come from a descendant of Dashun. In the Zhou Dynasty, Hu was granted the title of "Hu" because he took it as his surname. Hu was a small country and was destroyed by Chu. In the Song Dynasty, there was Hu Quan, a bachelor of Zizheng Palace. There was a writer named Hu Yinglin in the Ming Dynasty. There is a famous modern scholar Hu Shi. According to legend, there were three branches of the surname "Sun" in ancient times. One branch comes from the surname "Ji", a descendant of the Duke of Wei in the Spring and Autumn Period. One branch comes from the Chu State and is a descendant of Sun Shuao. The other branch comes from Qi State and is a descendant of Chen Tian. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, there were famous military strategists Sun Wu and Sun Bin. In the Tang Dynasty, there were medical scientist Sun Simiao and calligrapher Sun Guoting. In particular, Sun Wukong in "Journey to the West" made the surname "Sun" even more famous.