Chinese Life in the Tibetan Foothills/Book 8/Snakes and Dragons
Snakes and Dragons (蛇龍), shê lung
The snake is an object both of loathing and reverence among the Chinese. In Ssŭch‘uan there are many kinds, of different colours and sizes. It is said that the small are snakes (蛇), the medium serpents (蟒), and the large are dragons (龍). A few of the different kinds of snakes as known by the Chinese are herewith given:—
Sang kên tzŭ (桑根紫), or ch‘êng kan shê, the steelyard snake, is red with spots and is very deadly.
Ts‘ai hua, the rape-flower snake, a yellowish coloured snake from four to eight feet long and very poisonous.
Ch‘ing chu piao, the green snake, just the colour of a green bamboo stem. It is from four to eight feet long and less poisonous than the former ones.
The speckled snake, ma pan (麻斑), believed to be poisonous.
Wu shao (烏稍), a grey snake, reckoned to be poisonous.
Wu pang (蜯), a grey tailless snake or one whose tail does not taper like the other species. It boldly faces men and when attacked shows no inclination to flee.
Chüeh shê and shou kung (守宮), the lizard. The Chinese fear these entering the tea-cups and leaving poison.
The snake's body is very cold, its teeth of the finest, its bite the most venomous. On seeing it every Chinese gets a fright, and generally speaking the belief is that they should be killed, with exceptions which will be given. The saying runs that if you see a snake and do not kill it, in the next life you will be dumb. Snakes in private homes and temples must not be killed. Those in private houses are believed to be the spirits of the ancestors come back in this form to present themselves to the family, and incense is often offered inviting them to go.
Those in temples are called shén shê, spirit snakes; it is said that the god of literature and the city god are snakes and come to receive the incense at the altar. It is said if one goes very early to the bedroom of the city god in his temple one will find two snakes asleep on the bed.
Besides this 眞武足踏龜蛇, the chên wu idol or Liu Ch'ang shêng has his foot on tortoise and snake, that is, he is able to subdue them.
Country people declare that by suddenly entering a bamboo grove a snakes' gathering, shê hui, may be seen; but on being disturbed they flee in all directions.
Snakes have a propensity for stealing living creatures such as chickens, rabbits, etc., and in so doing it is believed that the ancestor is only taking his due. Such are some of the ideas which run in the minds of the people regarding snakes, and we now turn to the king of the scaly tribe. The dragon bore nine sons something as follows:—
Hsieh chai (獬豸), a fabulous monster like a deer, which it is said can discriminate between right and wrong. Said to be the shên yang, or spirit sheep, which takes away seditious and disloyal intentions from the minds of the people.
T'ao T'ieh (饕餮). This is a monstrous tiger-like animal with horns. It ornaments every yamen entrance exactly facing the magistrate's office and is called t'an (貪) by the people. Opposite the animal is a picture of the sun, which the monster appears to be intent upon devouring. The sun is representative of the ruling emperor, and the picture is supposed to be a continual warning to the officials to avoid covetousness and rebellion. This monster also appears on old rice basins, etc., in the form of a head without the body or a headless trunk to warn people against the vice of gluttony. In the yamen entrance there is another picture of a crane and a deer these face outward toward the people the idea is that if the official is not avaricious there will be long life and spring on all sides, lu ho t'ung ch'un (鹿鶴同春). The people eat hartshorn in great quantities and at great expense, hoping for long life, as both the crane and the deer are believed to live to a great age.
Pi hsi (贔屭) A male and female tortoise borne down by affliction. This emblem is now largely used as a pedestal for tombstones, one head looking each way. The allusion is to the tortoise bearing its great burden of grief from which it cannot be relieved.
Lang pei (狼狽), a fabulous animal said to be a native of water regions, but it can be at home on land; it is popularly believed to have short hind legs, unsuitable for locomotion, so when it desires to move from one place to another it is necessary for two animals to be together, when one rides the other making use of the two pairs of fore legs. This combination is used as a symbol of two persons joined together for wickedness.
Kan (豻) is a monstrous scaly beast with one horn, the image of which is painted on the wall above the doors of jails, as a warning to people to repent of their evil deeds and not enter therein.
The influence of the dragon is very far reaching; the saying runs (飛龍在天), fei lung tsai t‘ien, the flying dragon is in heaven.
Ti mei lung shên is the dragon’s pulse of the earth; the geomantic influence.
Hai lung wang, the dragon of the deep, who has his dwelling in the depths of the sea.
The wicked dragon: 惡龍難絆地頭蛇. The wicked dragon has difficulty in tripping up local snakes. A wicked emperor cannot overcome public opinion.
Another saying is, When the dragon moves a step even the grass renews its spring appearance.
Clouds follow the dragon and wind the tiger.
When a sage appears all nature stares.
If a snake bites a man there is a medicine to heal it, but if man bites man there is none. This latter half of the proverb refers to being wrongly involved in the law courts, a thing difficult indeed to heal; but a real human bite is also very difficult to cure, and they are not uncommon among the many quarrels of the people.
[The end]