In Praise of Nothing: An Exploration of Daoist Fundamental Ontology by Ellen M. Chen

Author:Ellen M. Chen [Chen, Ellen M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781456826116
Publisher: Xlibris US
Published: 2010-12-22T05:00:00+00:00

“The Taotie motive on Chinese ritual bronzes.” (Copied from Treasures of China by Michael Ridley, Universal Tandem Publishing Co., London, 1973, p. 60.)

4. Taotie, the Ancient Chinese Swallowing Monster

a. The Taotie Figure on Ancient Chinese Bronzes

b. Symbolism of Taotie: Tiger, Dragon, Composite Animal

c. Origin of the Term “Taotie”

d. Taotie as the Deity of Death: Tiger, Metal, Law, the West

e. Shamanism and Political Power: Taotie Representing the Power of the Ruler

f. From the Tiger to the Dragon

g. The Yellow Emperor (Huangdi) and Chaos

h. Taotie as Symbol of Transformation, Regeneration, and Immortality

i. Gentrification of Taotie

j. Conclusion

Huntun or Chaos, in the West, the terror that obliterates all creatures and values, is usually grasped as the creative principle in classical Chinese texts. This seeming absence of fear of Chaos in ancient Chinese records belies an earlier stratum of Chinese consciousness, in the ubiquitous taotie design on ancient Chinese bronzes.

a. The Taotie () Figure on Ancient Bronzes

The most prominent design on ancient Chinese bronze vessels and implements is the taotie monster mask. In its rich variations and its persistent repetitions, the taotie design exudes a mystery and a noumenal power that casts a powerful spell on the viewer.

The main feature of the taotie on sacrificial vessels is that of a tiger or tigress,213 with protruding eyes and a wide-open mouth ready to swallow its victim. The taotie figure is generally interpreted as an animal split in two and spread out like in Egyptian paintings so that both sides of the animal are shown.214 The absence of a lower jaw gives the impression that it has infinite swallowing capacity. The taotie design was found not only on the bronzes, but also on potteries, bone ladles, and stone chimes215 (an ancient musical instrument) in the Shang remains. We are particularly interested in those designs showing a man’s head between two side views of a tiger or tigress.

b. Symbolism of Taotie216

Many who have examined the taotie design have been either technical archeologists unwilling to delve into its symbolism or art historians too busy with the design to discuss its possible profounder religious motives. One prominent interpretative scheme says that these ferocious forms are just the free artistic expressions of design or “mythological imagination” with no deeper significance apart from their simple delight as decoration.217 Robert Bagley, following Max Loehr,218 states that “the history of the motif suggests that Shang decoration is an art of pure design, without any specific symbolism attaching to particular motifs.”219

Now to dismiss the taotie as simply artistic design without any deeper significance is to remove the very soul of these bonze vessels. It would be like treating the Declaration of Independence as any free scribble. The Shang were an extremely religious people, whose royalty lived almost exclusively for sacrifices to their dead. These bronzes were sacrificial vessels, sacred implements (zhongqi) for conducting the most serious religious and state matters. These were food vessels for spirits, not ordinary food vessels for the use of the living.220 In the serious business of sacrificing to ancestors and

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