The nine-headed bird was first seen in Shan Hai Jing. There is a proverb in Shan Hai Jing Bei Da Huang: "In Bei Da Huang, there is a mountain called Arctic Pavilion. There are nine gods in Beihai, named Jiu Feng. " You can know from this sentence that the nine-headed bird is also called the nine-headed phoenix. Jiutou Fengqi originated from Shan Hai Jing and was one of the most worshipped gods of Chu people in the Warring States Period.
Since ancient times, Chu people have worshipped the phoenix most and regarded it as a totem. According to ancient documents, Zhu Rong, the ancestor of Chu people, is the incarnation of Feng. Lu said, "Zhu Rong, its god, is a bird and its teacher is a phoenix." Qu Yuan, Confucius, Sima Qian and others all described the Chu people's worship of the phoenix in their works. Among a large number of Chu tombs unearthed in the 1960s, the woodcarving of a tiger sitting on a phoenix terrace and the phoenix pattern on silk all proved the Chu people's love and reverence for the phoenix.
Nine-headed phoenix is a divine bird, highly respected. But after the Qin and Han Dynasties, the name of the nine-headed bird disappeared and was replaced by various names, among which the nine-headed bird was one. The nine-headed phoenix, known as the "ghost car", has gradually changed from a god bird to a monster. In the ancient books "White Tiger and Five Elements" and "Confucius Collection", Jiutoufeng is called "Ghost Bird", Xuanzong and Zhongtian are called "Ancient Firebird", and natural history is called "Nine-headed Bird".
After Qin and Han Dynasties, Jiutoufeng was not only renamed, but also subverted as a whole. The nine-headed phoenix has changed from a beast to a monster. It has become a monster that people talk about. The nine-headed bird changed from a beast to a demon, which originated from the myth of Zhou people. In the wild times, the monster Nine-headed Birds ran rampant, so God sent dogs to destroy the Nine-headed Birds. The dog bit off a head of the nine-headed bird, and the nine-headed bird has been dormant ever since. Once it appears, there will be a catastrophe.
Mainly violence. First, they often fly to ordinary families to feed on children. Second, the nine-headed bird especially likes to steal other people's nails at night. You can pry into other people's privacy by eating their nails. So some places have the custom of not cutting their nails at night; The third kind is the bird with nine heads, and each bird has a pair of wings on its neck. Once the nine-headed bird appears, there will be a catastrophe.
Why did the totem worshipped by Chu in Qin and Han Dynasties become a monster? The main reason lies in the changes of the times and dynasties. During the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, the relationship between Zhou and Chu was once hostile. King Zhao of Zhou went to Chu, died in Hanshui, and became a ghost in a foreign land. Zhou people's hatred for Chu has a long history.
The ancient feud deepened the hatred between the Zhou people and the Chu people, so the Zhou people called the totem of the Chu people the "nine-headed phoenix" monster, and fabricated the legend that the nine-headed phoenix was bitten off by a dog. After the Qin dynasty, the king of Qin unified the world, and the Qin dynasty implemented the policy of cultural unification. The legend of the Nine-headed Peak in the history of the Three Kingdoms worshipped by Chu people has since disappeared, but the legend of the nine-headed bird and the nine-headed monster has spread widely, forming the most famous myth of the nine-headed bird.
Myth, a kind of nine-headed bird, has been circulating for thousands of years and has far-reaching influence. But why does it become a proverb: nine birds in the sky, Hubei guy underground? What's going on here? To understand this problem, we must first talk about the spread history of the first nine-headed bird.
First Edition: In the era of Ming Shenzong, officials were corrupt, bribery was rampant, and people complained bitterly. Zhang, a native of Jiangling, Hubei Province, was ordered to turn the situation around. He chose nine smart patrols and traveled all over the country. Through in-depth investigation and unannounced visits, he arrested and executed a large number of corrupt elements. So people clap their hands and say, "Nine birds in the sky, Hubei guy underground" proverb says he is smart and upright.
Judging from this version, this proverb of nine-headed birds does not mean to defile Hubei and Hubei people, but is a kind of praise, praising Hubei people's wisdom and ability, as well as their possessiveness.
The second edition is mainly about Liu Ji, Zhu Yuanzhang's counselor in the early Ming Dynasty, who wrote Shan Hai Jing. In the book, Liu Ji wrote a fable: a bird with nine heads pecked at each other, because the bird with nine heads scrambled for food, resulting in excessive blood loss. But they think that all nine heads will not eat, but will go into the same stomach. This fable shows that the nine-headed bird likes intrigue and has no foresight.
The background of Liu Ji's fable alludes to the subtle relationship among Xu Shouhui, Chen Youliang and Zhu Yuanzhang in the peasant uprising at the end of Yuan Dynasty, and belittles the fact that peasant uprising teams kill each other. But among the three leaders, Xu Shouhui and Chen Youliang were both from Hubei, so later generations thought that Liu Ji had derogated from Hubei people through this fable, so he left this proverb. In fact, Liu Ji didn't mean to belittle Hubei people in his fable, but reflected the situation that the peasant rebels went their own way at that time.
Because of the existence of these two versions, people's understanding of this proverb is mixed with many emotional factors. Some people think this is a compliment. This proverb reflects the intelligence and enterprising spirit of Hubei people; Some people think that this sentence shows the character defects of Hubei people and is a derogatory term.
The famous writer Lin Yutang belongs to the latter. He wrote in the book Yu Ion: "In the north and south of Hankou, in the so-called Central China, there are arrogant and abusive Hubei people. There is a saying in China that there are nine birds in the sky and people in Hubei are underground. Hubei people are smart and strong, and they taste like peppers. " In Lin Yutang's view, Hubei people swear fiercely, so they are called nine-headed birds. Lin Yutang's views represent his views on this proverb and some people's understanding.
Proverbs have both praise and criticism, depending on people's understanding of them. But on the whole, this proverb is of great significance.
1. Why do nine birds have nine heads? There may have been deformed nine-headed birds in ancient times. However, according to the characteristics of Chu people advocating nine words and nine numbers, the nine-headed bird is more of a metaphor, a metaphor of "many". The nine-headed bird is a metaphor of wisdom and brain. From ancient times to the present, only Chu Youcai is talented, which is a good proof and obvious.
Second, a bird with nine heads will have strong vitality. We all say that cats have nine lives. The monster with strong vitality is called "nine-tailed fox", and the one that can survive the greatest difficulty is called "eighty-one difficulty", all of which are related to nine. Similarly, the nine-headed bird symbolizes extremely tenacious vitality. After the demise of Chu, Chu people issued the slogan "Although there were three Chu, Qin died", and Wuchang Uprising, which changed China's fate, played a leading role, which was a manifestation.
So why is this proverb derogatory? The ancients said: "People are not sages, to err is human." No one is perfect, but there are always shortcomings. The nine-headed bird is manic, tenacious, impatient, impulsive, uncooperative and anticlimactic, which is roughly the same as that of Hubei people. This book hits the nail on the head: "Chu people struggle for their homes." They have their own distractions and have no fighting spirit. "
This is also one of the reasons why Chu was big but not strong during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. People's inner imbalance, go their own way, anticlimactic, manic, impatient, not good at cooperation, and so on. This has been repeated over thousands of years of history. This refers not to the wind, but to slander.
Therefore, this proverb mixed with praise and criticism is not just a casual language. This sentence can spread for thousands of years, that is, it hits the nail on the head and is full of fun. This is the essence of Chinese and the wisdom of the ancients to create proverbs.