驳

The Classic of Western Mountains: On Mount Zhongqu — jade on its sunny side, realgar and white jade and gold on its shaded side — lives a beast shaped like a horse. White body, black tail, a single horn, tiger's teeth, tiger's claws. Its call is a drumbeat. Its name is Bo. It eats tigers and leopards. Keep one, and weapons cannot touch you. Read that again. A horse. With a horn, tiger teeth, tiger claws. That eats tigers. The Shan Hai Jing is full of creatures that eat people. Bo is the only one that eats the things that eat people. The food chain gets flipped: horses are prey, tigers are hunters — Bo reverses the equation. It isn't fierce. It's fiercer than fierce. The last three characters matter more than the monster: "can ward off weapons." Own a Bo, and blades will not find you. It's not a disaster beast. It's a talisman with hooves. The Guanzi records a story. Duke Huan of Qi rode out one day. A tiger saw him from a distance and lay flat on the ground, frozen. Back home, the Duke asked his chancellor Guan Zhong: why would a tiger refuse to move when it sees me? Guan Zhong asked: were you riding a mottled horse, galloping into the sun? Yes. Then it was a Bo, he said. Bo eats tigers and leopards. The tiger was hesitating. One horse, and a tiger lies down. That story survived two thousand years — which tells you Bo was not purely invented. In the pre-Qin world it was a real kind of horse, believed to dominate predators. As for what it looked like: "bo" literally means a coat of mixed colors. Someone probably did see a black-and-white horse, and imagination supplied the horn and the tiger's teeth. That seam between observation and invention is where this whole book lives.

西山经: เขาจงชีมีสัตว์รูปร่างเหมือนม้า ตัวขาว หางดำ มีเขาเดียว เขี้ยวและเล็บเหมือนเสือ เสียงร้องเหมือนกลอง ชื่อโบ มันกินเสือและเสือดาว เลี้ยงไว้กันอาวุธได้ ในตำรานี้มีสัตว์กินคนมากมาย แต่มีเพียงโบที่กินผู้ล่า ม้าเป็นเหยื่อ เสือเป็นผู้ล่า โบกลับด้าน กวนจื่อเล่าว่า ท่านดยุกฮวนแห่งฉีขี่ม้าออกไป เสือเห็นแล้วหมอบลงกับพื้น ไม่กล้าขยับ กวนจงบอกว่า นั่นคือโบ โบกินเสือ เสือจึงลังเล ม้าตัวเดียว ทำให้เสือหมอบ

Klasik Gunung Barat: Di Gunung Zhongqu ada binatang seperti kuda — badan putih, ekor hitam, satu tanduk, gigi dan kuku harimau. Bunyinya seperti gendang. Namanya Bo. Ia makan harimau dan macan tutul. Pelihara seekor, senjata tak dapat melukaimu. Banyak binatang pemakan manusia dalam kitab ini. Hanya Bo yang memakan pemangsa. Kuda jadi mangsa, harimau jadi pemburu — Bo membalik urutannya. Guanzi mencatat: Duke Huan dari Qi menunggang kuda, seekor harimau melihatnya lalu rebah ketakutan. Guan Zhong berkata: itu Bo, pemakan harimau. Satu kuda, dan harimau tiarap.

Kinh Sơn Tây: núi Trung Khúc có loài thú hình ngựa — mình trắng, đuôi đen, một sừng, răng và vuốt hổ. Tiếng kêu như trống. Tên là Bác. Nó ăn hổ và báo. Nuôi một con, binh khí không chạm được vào bạn. Sách này đầy thú ăn thịt người. Chỉ Bác ăn kẻ đi săn. Ngựa là mồi, hổ là thợ săn — Bác đảo ngược trật tự. Quản Tử kể: Tề Hoàn Công cưỡi ngựa ra ngoài, hổ thấy liền bẹp xuống đất. Quản Trọng nói: ấy là Bác, giống ăn hổ. Một con ngựa, khiến hổ phải nằm.

Klasik Gunung Barat: Gunung Zhongqu punya binatang seperti kuda — badan putih, ekor hitam, satu tanduk, gigi dan cakar harimau. Bunyinya seperti genderang. Namanya Bo. Ia makan harimau dan macan tutul. Pelihara satu, senjata tak melukaimu. Banyak pemakan manusia di kitab ini. Hanya Bo yang memakan pemangsa. Kuda jadi mangsa, harimau jadi pemburu — Bo membalik urutannya. Guanzi mencatat: Adipati Huan dari Qi berkuda, seekor harimau melihatnya lalu tiarap. Guan Zhong berkata: itu Bo, pemakan harimau. Satu kuda, harimau tak berani bergerak.