The story of Tian Lu and Bi Xie - 天禄与辟邪

Written by Master Rayden | 10 March 2010

Pi Xiu (貔貅) is one of the celestial beings namely the Dragon (龙), Phoenix (凤), Tortoise (龟) and Qilin (麒麟). There is always a concern of placing a pair of Pi Xiu (貔貅) or just a single piece. In the olden days, there are a lot of versions and stories about Pi Xiu, which is also known as Tian Lu (天禄) or Bi Xie (辟邪).

Pi Xiu is also known as the Emperor’s Treasure (帝宝) because it was used for guarding the fortunes of the emperors in the past. Initially, it was said to have male and female difference, however, as time passed by, it was said to be more appropriate to be placed as a single entity.

Actually, all the names are pointing to the same celestial being. It was said that Tian Lu (天禄) is meant for guarding the house of the living while the Bi Xie (辟邪) is used more towards guarding of tombs. It was also said that many unorthodox "businessmen" would like to use the power of Bi Xie (辟邪) to aid them in their "businesses". However, it is more advisable to place a Pi Xiu (貔貅) aka Tian Lu (天禄) at home or in your business rather than using a Bi Xie (辟邪).

据古书记载，貔貅是一种猛兽，为古代五大瑞兽之一（龙、凤、龟、麒麟），称为招财神兽。貔貅曾为古代两种氏族的图腾。传说帮助炎黄二帝作战有功，被赐封为 (天禄兽) 即天赐福禄之意。它专为帝王守护财宝，也是皇室象征，称为 (帝宝) 。又因貔貅专食猛兽邪灵，故又称 (辟邪) 中国古代风水学者认为貔貅是转祸为祥的吉瑞之兽。貔貅有二十六种造型，七七四十九个化身，是凶狠的瑞兽，有镇宅辟邪的作用，古代还用它来镇墓，是墓穴的守护兽，一般古墓的墓前都可以看到，可知其杀气的勇猛。

在中国南方，一般人是喜欢称这种瑞兽为"貔貅"，而在北方则依然称为(天禄)/(辟邪)。致于天禄则较为少人用以称这类瑞兽，还有些人将它称为"怪兽"或"四不像"等。

古时貔貅是分为一角或两角的，一角称为(天禄)，两角称为(辟邪)，后来再没有分一角或两角，多以一角造型为主。在古时候人们在阴宅，阳宅，生意上或军队上都会用到貔貅。用在阳宅叫(天禄)，用它是为了挡煞，如路冲煞，刀形煞，枪煞等或家中犯鬼怪，或流年不利。用在阴宅里，名称叫(辟邪)，是利用它来驱邪，以免先人在地下受到阴灵，妖物的骚扰，也有防盗的功效。

用在生意中或军队中叫貔貅，用在军队中可令士兵好象猛虎下山一样的冲锋杀敌，所以有这样一首诗叫做"行军司马智怯勇，十四万众有虎貔"。