178 Field Museum of Natural History — Anth., Vol. X. 



alleged tiger-jades are therefore not tigers at all and have nothing to do 

 with the ancient hu of the Chou period; they are simply ornamental 

 fantasies and inventions of the Sung epoch. The present specimen in 

 Fig. 85 is said in the accompanying text to be of red jade, a statement 



Fig. 83. 

 Jade Carving of Tiger. 



plainly contradicting the tradition of the Chou li that they were made 

 of white jade, as the specimens of Wu are in fact. 1 The body of the 

 monster is filled with meanders, the "thunder pattern" {lei wen), and 

 the explanation is that the tiger has a voice like" thunder and was 

 therefore adorned in ancient times with the pattern of thunder, a 

 statement not warranted by any ancient text. 



x The white color is necessary, as it constitutes the symbolism of "the white 

 tiger" {pat hu) who presides over the western quadrant of the celestial sphere. 



