The self of the heavens has billions of clones

Chapter 150

"Taotie" is a ferocious beast in ancient Chinese legends. Its biggest feature is that it can eat. This monster has no body. It eats its own body because it is so eatable. It only has a big head and a big mouth. It is greed. symbol, so it is often used to describe gluttonous or greedy people.

Later generations exaggerated the greedy part of the gluttonous image. Su Dongpo once wrote an "Ode to the Glutton", saying: "The beauty of gathering things is to nourish my old glutton", adding loveliness and liking to the gluttony. Friends of delicious food are also called "gluttons".

Du Fu's poem "Muntjac" of the Tang Dynasty: "He is also a thief in clothes and hats, and he is a glutton with whiskers." Li Yu of the Qing Dynasty "Nai He Tian· Huo Jian": "In the end, the greedy glutton who breaks into the banquet will be the first to come and bear in vain." Nie Gannu's " Briefly talk about Mr. Lu Xun's "Wild Grass": "And the evil spirits of human beings sit high on these living bones and dead lives, feasting on the feast of human flesh."

"Ci Hai" records: Taotie is "the legendary gluttonous beast. The shape of its head is often carved on the ancient bells, tripods and Yi vessels as decorations." Book·Li Le Zhi": "Greedy is dangerous." Yan Shigu's note: "Greedy is gluttony." It refers specifically to gluttony."

"Shenyi Jing·Southwestern Wilderness Jing": "There is a man in the southwest who has a hairy body and wears a pig on his head. He is greedy and evil, hoarding money without using it, and is good at taking other people's grains." "Man-eating Valley", according to the "Historical Records: The Chronicles of the Five Emperors" quoted by Zhengyi). The strong take over the old and the weak, and they are afraid of the strong and attack singles. They are called gluttons. "Spring and Autumn" The gluttons are the untalented sons of the Jinyun family."

"Zuo Zhuan·Wen Gong 18th Year" says: "Jinyun has a talented man who is greedy for food and drink, risking goods and bribes, invading and adoring extravagance, and not being greedy; accumulating solid things, not knowing the extremes of discipline; regardless of orphans and widows, not caring for the poor. The people of the world regard it as more fierce than the three, and call it gluttony." The so-called "Spring and Autumn Annals" in "Shen Yi Jing" is exactly this.

"Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals: Xian Shi Lan": "Zhou Ding's gluttonous food has a head but no body. It eats people without swallowing them and harms its body. It is better to repay them with words."

Luo Mi of the Song Dynasty notes in "History of Chi You: Biography of Chi You": "The god of Chi You's heavenly talisman has an unusual shape. Among the Yi utensils of the three generations, there are many images of Chi You, which are warnings for those who are greedy and abusive. The image is in the shape of an animal, and is filled with flesh. Wings." According to what he said, he is probably gluttonous.

"Zuo Zhuan" said that Taotie was "the untalented son of the Jinyun family", and "Historical Records: The Five Emperors' Collection" quoted Jia Xuan as saying: "Jinyun's family, Jiang's surname, is a descendant of Emperor Yan. He was an official in Jinyun when he was the Yellow Emperor." Chiyou's surname is Jiang, and he is also a Miao descendant of Emperor Yan ("Lu Shi·Chiyou Biography"), so Chiyou is probably the "untalented son" Taotie of this Jinyun family.According to legend, Taotie was the head of Chi You who was beheaded after being defeated by Emperor Yan and Huang. It was transformed from a collection of grievances in different places. It has the ability to devour everything. Generations of guards (gatekeeper stone lions).Also, the "roe owl" recorded in "Shan Hai Jing·Bei Ci Er Jing" was annotated by Guo Pu as gluttony in "Zuo Zhuan".

"Strange Stories of Gods and Demons: Strange Beasts": There is an evil beast in the far south of China, with four eyes, black skin, a long neck and four legs. It is fierce and extremely greedy.Traveling as fast as the wind is a disaster.It is a kind of dragon water beast. It has a pair of horns on its head and is surrounded by cold air. Most of them are blue-white and are dozens of feet long. They are sometimes gentle and sometimes violent. They rise into the air and stir up waves of several feet, which is extremely powerful.

"Shan Hai Jing Bei Shan Jing" has a cloud: "The mountain of Gouwu has a lot of jade on it, and a lot of copper below it. There are beasts, which look like a sheep's body and a human face, with eyes in the armpits, tiger teeth and human claws. Such as babies, called roe owls, are cannibals.

"The Book of Miracles: The Classic of Western Desolation" says: "Taotie, the name of a beast, the body is like an ox, the face of a man, the eyes are under the armpit, and it eats people."

"Shu Yi Jing" said that Taotie refers to the Sanmiao people in the southwest, and Chen Mengjia, a close friend, further stated that Taotie was Chi You, while Mr. Liu Chiping's "Questioning the Taotie Pattern on Bronze Wares" believed that it was Shennong.

Later, there were many folk legends about the nine sons of the dragon. Lu Rong and Yang Shen in the Ming Dynasty listed Taotie as one of the nine sons of the dragon, which is already a kind of attachment.

Lu Rong's "Shuyuan Miscellaneous Notes" records that Taotie "is good at water, so it is built on a bridge", while Yang Shen's "Sheng'an Ji" records it: "Gaotie is good at food, so it stands on a cauldron".

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As a ferocious man-eating monster in "Shan Hai Jing", Taotie has been regarded as a symbol of greed for thousands of years. The movie "The Great Wall" regards this monster as the greatest threat to human survival. It is not only a tribute to ancient Chinese legends, but also Give this monster new characteristics.

The birth of "monsters" has various origins, including the invasion of alien creatures, the consequences of human biochemical experiments, and the legendary magical creatures that once existed.The Taotie depicted in the movie "The Great Wall" originally came from ancient Chinese myths and legends, but the film treats this creature more like an "alien race" that exists from the sky as a punishment for human greed.

What is Taotie?

——One of the "Four Great Beasts", a symbol of greed
More people are familiar with the "Four Great Beasts" Qinglong, Baihu, Xuanwu and Suzaku are the bright side in the myth, and the corresponding dark side is the legendary "Four Great Beasts" Chaos, Qiongqi, Zhuwu and Taotie .

There are many historical records about Taotie. The "Shenyi Jing·Xihuang Jing" says: "Taotie, the name of the beast, has a body like an ox, a human face, eyes under the armpits, and cannibalizes people." "The Classic of Mountains and Seas·Beishan Jing" also says: "Gouwu Mountain has a lot of jade on the top and a lot of copper on the bottom. There is a beast. Its shape is like a sheep's body and a human face. Its eyes are under the armpits. It has tiger teeth and human claws. Its voice is like that of a baby. It is called a roe owl. This is Cannibalism." According to Guo Pu's annotation of "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" of the Jin Dynasty, the roe deer owl (páo xiāo) mentioned here refers to gluttony.

Nowadays, most people think that Gouwu Mountain is in Shanxi, which borders Henan. The story of the movie "The Great Wall" took place in the Northern Song Dynasty. The capital at that time was Bianliang (that is, Kaifeng, Henan). Liang attacked.

The Taotie in the movie moves swiftly, with the speed of tigers and leopards. The scene of "climbing the wall" in the style of stacking arhats reminds people of the scene of massacring a city on a mountain of corpses in "World War Z"; This feature puts Taotie's eyes on both sides of the forearm (although it looks more like it is on the shoulder, but the lines in the film clearly indicate that it is in the armpit, and if a monster has to lift its forelimb to look at you from the armpit , it is estimated that it will become a comedy).

It is also said that Taotie is the incarnation of Chiyou. In the past, the Yellow Emperor fought a decisive battle with Chiyou.But Chi You's resentment persisted, and his head fell to the ground and turned into gluttony. .

Song Luomi's "Road History Chi You Biography" has a cloud: "The god of Chi You's talisman, the shape is not normal, three generations of Yi wares, there are many statues of Chi You, which is a ring for those who are greedy and abused. The image is usually in the shape of a beast, Fu Yirou Wings." It is said that Chi You looks thin and is a representative of greedy and cruel people, which coincides with Taotie.

(End of this chapter)