The ancients talked about catsFiveSayCat God
Cat 2023 turn the page is also a god and a ghost, both good and evil.
While the ancients worshipped cats as gods, many legends of cat ghosts were spread.
Today we're going to talk about itCat God
Ancient records of "cats" were first found in:"The Book of Songs, Daya, Han Yi"."The bream Fufu, the deer puff." There are bears and cats, cats and tigers. "The cat is juxtaposed here with bears, tigers, etc., and is likely to refer to the bobcats that have not yet been domesticated.
And there is"The Book of Rites: Suburban Special Sacrifice".Recorded: "The Son of Heaven has eight ...... waxes."Welcome cats, for which they eat voles also. ”It is said that every year in the lunar month, Zhou Tianzi will hold a grand ceremony to welcome the cat god and pray for the elimination of voles, smooth weather and good harvest in the coming year. The ancients sacrificed to the cat god to ensure a bumper harvest, which shows that the status of this animal in people's minds at that time was not low.
"Old Tang Book".The ritual of "sacrificing cats" is recorded in detail, which reads:
The cats of the five directions, Yu Su and the dragon, Lin, Vermilion Bird, White Tiger, Xuanwu, each use a small prison, and each seat is a basket, a bean, a fang, a gui, and a figurine. ”
Every winter, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty would sacrifice to the gods in the southern suburbs of the capital, and the objects of sacrifice were not only the gods of agriculture such as Xian Si (Shennong's) and Si Si (Hou Ji), but also the cat gods in addition to the gods of agriculture, such as the green dragon, the white tiger, the vermilion bird, and the Xuanwu.
In the year-end sacrifice, the cat can be sacrificed together with these gods, and can enjoy the sacrifice that only the princes and doctors can enjoy - Taigao (one sheep and one pig), which shows the dignity of the cat's status in the hearts of the ancients.
From the right half of the word "cat" "seedling" can also be seen its importance to agricultural production. Later, Lu Dian in the Song Dynasty was there"Pi Ya".said: "Rats harm seedlings, and cats can catch mice, to the harm of seedlings, so the word cat from seedlings." "Rats eat crops, cats catch mice, so that crops are not destroyed, put cats in the fields. A small beast guarding the seedlings is called a "cat".
During the Northern Wei Dynasty, domestication of domestic cats became more common, and the agronomist Jia Siqian was here"Qi Min's Technique".He said: "The house is pre-occupied with cats for a few days, plugging rat holes, mud walls, and sweeping the floor", keeping cats at home can effectively eliminate mice.
This is a "food plate", which is a plate used by the ancients to eat and serve vegetables, unearthed in the Mawangdui Han Tomb in Changsha, and is now stored in the Hunan Museum.
This lacquer plate is very rounded, with a dark red color and a black pattern, and the cute "little tanuki" is hidden in the print.
During the Western Han Dynasty, people dined separately, and the tableware was placed on a very low table, which was easy to be stolen by mice. At this time, the ancients thought of the natural predator of the mouse - the cat. Draw cats on food utensils, probably to scare mice.
What's even more interesting is that in the middle of these plates is written "Jun Xingshi", which translates into the vernacular: it means "eat and drink well".
In addition, the tanuki pattern is not just to scare mice. This ornamentation, in the eyes of the ancients, was also a symbol of health and longevity.
Because of the exploits of catching rats, cats were constantly revered by humans and worshipped as cat gods, and soon cats were introduced to human habitation. Later, the cat stepped down from the "altar" and became the companion of secular society.