A man walked into a crowded jewelry shop and proceeded to
complacently pick up objects of his desire and then walk out without
paying for them. He was immediately arrested and then asked why–with
so many people around to witness the crime–he had been foolish
enough to steal those items in plain sight. His response was that he
saw no one there… he could not see the people… all he could see
was the gold. Hey. If you’re going to tell one… make it a huge one.
You might get off the hook for no other reason than just plain gall.
The Warring States Period was a time when regional warlords of the
Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region annexed smaller states around them
and consolidated their rule. It was a time when the fascination for
gold was so strong that the story above was created in order to
demonstrate the draw this magical metal had upon the populace.
The wolf: A symbol of fierceness and cruelty. A bloodthirsty devourer
of evil. In Norse mythology there existed a giant wolf whose jaws
gaped so widely they stretched from the heavens to the earth. This
was not your puny Little Red Riding Hood wolf who --in his best
day–could not do much better than eat a helpless old grandmother.
This was the real thing.
The Tiger: Also a tough cookie. Solar and lunar… creator and
destroyer… cruel of greed and royal in strength… a male symbol in
China… depicting authority and courage as it guards graves and
chases away demons. In China it takes the place of the wolf in their
version of Little Red Riding Hood… for them it is the tiger that
eats the little old grandmother.
Which brings us to a gold ornament of the Warring States Period,
found in Dongsheng City of the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region. It
is a representation of a wolf and a tiger fighting. What are they
fighting about you may well ask. Of course… this is only conjecture
for there is no one around to ascertain the veracity of this
statement… but I suspect they are fighting about that little old
gray haired grandmother and who will get to eat her.
The primal urges–it would appear–are the cause of much conflict…
whether between the beasts of the animal kingdom… or the beasts of
the human kingdom… if such a distinction actually has merit.
For those of you who are new to this thing called Tidbits…may I
direct you to my home page at www.tyler-adam.com where you will
scroll down the left side menu till you get to the area that says
Current Tidbits… and then click on it in order to view a gold
ornament of a Wolf and a Tiger in battle… cause unknown… of the
Warring States Period.
And there ya have it.
That’s it for this week folks.
Catch you all next week.
Benjamin Mark