In ancient Chinese society, tigers and humans coexisted in close proximity, leading to inevitable clashes for survival. As society and culture advanced, human activity expanded, intensifying these conflicts.
Also tigers in classical Chinese literature often symbolized natural forces, danger, or moral tests.
Human-Tiger Conflict in Classical Chinese Literature
During the Tang and Song dynasties, many novels were filled with scenes of tigers devouring humans or humans battling tigers.
Deforestation and human expansion during the Ming-Qing period disrupted tiger habitats, forcing them into closer contact with human settlements. Tigers began emerging from their remote forests and mountains, and the dangers associated with them reached unprecedented levels. Government officials became the primary force spearheading efforts to track down and drive out these predators.
Ming-era classics like Water Margin and Romance of the Three Kingdoms immortalized tiger-slaying heroes, most famously Wu Song , who kills a tiger barehanded. Unlike the legendary Wu Song, who fought a tiger unarmed while drunk, Li Kui, another important role in the novel Water Margin, hacked four tigers, a mother and her three cubs, to death with his blade to avenge his mother.
The Tiger-Slayer of Journey to the West
In Journey to the West, Liu Boqin, also known as the Guardian of the Mountain, resides near the Double-Forked Ridge and lives as a hunter. His pivotal role emerges early in the narrative.
They passed the slope and again heard the howling of the wind. “Sit here, Elder,” said Boqin, “and don’t move. The sound of that wind tells me that a mountain cat is approaching. I’ll take him home so that I can make a meal of him for you.” When Tripitaka heard this, his heart hammered and his gall quivered and he became rooted to the ground. Grasping his trident, that Guardian strode forward and came face to face with a great striped tiger. Seeing Boqin, he turned and fled. Like a crack of thunder, the Guardian bellowed, “Cursed beast! Where will you flee?” When the tiger saw him pressing near, he turned with flailing claws to spring at him, only to be met by the Guardian with uplifted trident. Tripitaka was so terrified that he lay paralyzed on the grass. Since leaving his mother’s belly, when had he ever witnessed such violent and dangerous goings-on? The Guardian went after that tiger to the foot of the slope, and it was a magnificent battle between man and beast.
— Journey to the West, Chapter 13
While hunting, Liu encounters a tiger poised to attack Tang Sanzang (Xuanzang), who is en route to retrieve Buddhist scriptures. He intervenes and kills the beast, saving the monk.
Liu escorts Tang Sanzang to the Mountain of Two Frontiers, where they meet the imprisoned Sun Wukong. Though his role is brief, Liu symbolizes the first mortal guardian of the pilgrimage, bridging the human and divine realms.
The tiger, a natural threat, bridges the mundane and the mystical, setting the stage for later encounters with demons and deities.
While Liu Boqin fades from the narrative, his role as a guardian mirrors the novel’s ethos—every being, mortal or divine, contributes to the quest for enlightenment.
Contrasts with and transits to the Supernatural
In Journey to the West, Sun Wukong killed a tiger as well. After Tang Sanzang (Xuanzang) rescues Sun Wukong from imprisonment under the Five Elements Mountain, the two begin their westward journey. While traveling, they encounter a ferocious tiger that attacks them. Sun Wukong swiftly kills the beast with a single blow from his staff, then strips off its pelt to craft a tiger-skin loincloth, which he wears as his garment.
they saw a fierce tiger approaching, growling and waving its tail. Tripitaka, sitting on his horse, became alarmed, but Pilgrim, walking at the side of the road, was delighted. “Don’t be afraid, Master,” he said, “for he’s here to present me with some clothes.” He put down the luggage and took a tiny needle out of his ears. One wave of it facing the wind, and it became an iron rod with the thickness of a rice bowl. He held it in his hands and laughed, saying, “I haven’t used this treasure for over five hundred years! Today I’m taking it out to bag a little garment for myself.” Look at him! He strode right up to the tiger, crying, “Cursed beast! Where do you think you’re going?” Crouching low, the tiger lay prone on the dust and dared not move. Pilgrim Sun aimed the rod at its head, and one stroke caused its brain to burst out like ten thousand red petals of peach blossoms, and the teeth to fly out like so many pieces of white jade. So terrified was our Chen Xuanzang that he fell off his horse. “O God! O God!” he cried, biting his fingers. “When Guardian Liu overcame that striped tiger the other day, he had to do battle with him for almost half a day. But without even fighting today, Sun Wukong reduces the tiger to pulp with one blow of his rod. How true is the saying, ‘For the strong, there’s always someone stronger!’”
— Journey to the West, Chapter 14
Leave a Reply