Pixiu
| Pixiu | |||||||||||
Pixiu
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| Chinese | 貔貅 | ||||||||||
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| Alternative Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Chinese | 辟邪 | ||||||||||
| Literal meaning | to ward off evil spirits | ||||||||||
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| Transcriptions | |
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| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | píxiū |
| Transcriptions | |
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| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | bìxié |
| Southern Min | |
| Hokkien POJ | phì-siâ, phek-siâ |
Pixiu (Chinese: ; pinyin: píxiū; Wade–Giles: P'i-hsiu), is a Chinese mythical hybrid creature considered to be a very powerful protector to practitioners of Feng Shui. It resembles a winged lion. Pixiu is an earth and sea variation, particularly an influential and auspicious creature for wealth. It is said to have a voracious appetite towards only gold and silver. Therefore, traditionally to the Chinese, Pixiu has always been regarded as an auspicious creature that possessed mystical power capable of drawing Cai Qi (財氣 wealth) from all directions. Thus, it is helpful for those who are going through a bad year according to Chinese zodiac.
There are two different types of Pixiu. The difference is with their horns. The one with two horns is known as Bixie and the one with one horn is called Tianlu.
Pixiu craves the smell of gold and silver and it likes to bring his master money in his mouth. Statues of this creature are often used to attract wealth in feng shui.
Today, Pixiu is also a popular design on jade pendants.
Fierce looking and covered with whitish-grey fur, Pixiu has the head of a Chinese dragon, but is commonly depicted with only one antler as time passes. Ancient Chinese depictions of Pixiu show the male with the single antler, and the female with two. As with the Chinese Phoenix, the common image today is a representation of a single sex. Pixiu has protruding eyes and sharp teeth. Its body resembles a Chinese lion and the legs of Pixiu are those of a qilin. Looking at the posture of the Pixiu, the creature seems to project a sense of strength, elegance and mobility. Its obvious characteristic is its fat body to indicate a full stomach loaded with unlimited amounts of good fortune. It has a single horn on its head and a pair of wings. Likewise it has a big opened mouth ready to gobble up fortune. because of this, a Pixiu statue is often employed in the home as a way of receiving and keeping fortune.
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Wikipedia