The tiger is a popular theme in chinese folk art.One may encounter numerous images of tigers in almost all forms of folk art:paper-cuts, embroidery,sculpture, new year prints and others.

The earliest image of the tiger was discovered iv an ancient tomb unearthed in central China'sHenan Province in 1987. A tiger made of shells was found lying on the left side of a body buried there. On the right side was the earliest image of a dragon ever found, also made of shells. These images are believed to be some 6,000 years old. Experts say that both tiger and dragon were totems in ancient times.

The Han people ps actually a mixture of may ancient tribes from all oner China. Tribes from the west,including the tribe of the Yellow Emperor, worshipped the tiger, while those along the eastern seashore worshipped the dragon.Of course, there were many other tribes with different totems. After many wars of Expansion, These tribes gradually mixed to form the Han nationality. Because tribes worshipping the tiger and dragon were more powerful, other totems disappeared while these two continued to exist.

Worship of the tiger came from the nomadic and hunting life style of our ancestors. On the grassland, a tiger was a powerful animal. People held a contradictory attitude towards it. They both respected and feared it. They took it as a symbol which could protect their descendants.

With the development of agriculture,people began to rely more on the climate and were concerned with its changes. Since the dragon is said to be in charge of weather, it replaced the tiger. Gradually, the dragon came to hold the dominant powition in the heavens and the tiger became one of his subordinates, the king of mountains. Ever since the Qin Dynasty in the third century BC,emperors have monopolized the right of using the dragon symbol.Qinshihuang proclaimed himself the son of the dragon and said his power to rule was given by Heaven. Later on, all the emperors in Chinese history followed wuit.The Emperor's chair was called the dragon chair, his dress the dragon robe.Dragons appear everywhere in the imperial palace. Anyone else who dared to connect himself with the dragon symbol would be sentenced to death for a crime against the emperor.

The tiger,on the other hand, has always belonged to the people. It is loved not merely as a totem, but has been secularized through the years. People love its beauty and strength,find spiritual sustenance in it,and use it as a protector and symbol of good luck. For example, in new year prints, we can often see a picture called "The Tiger guards the House" People will put it on the front door at the beginning of the year,so that the tiger will protect the family and let it have a peaceful life during the rest of the year.