What animal is the "chong" in "wolf, chong, tiger, leopard"? Common knowledge about fierce beasts in old rural sayings
In rural areas, older people often mention "wolf, chong, tiger, leopard", using it to refer generally to all fierce and terrifying wild beasts, and sometimes also to describe vicious and ruthless villains. Many people think the "chong" here means an insect, but it actually does not. Today we will break down these four characters and explain clearly what animals they each refer to.
"Chong" actually refers to snakes
The three animals wolf, tiger, and leopard are easy to understand. They are respectively the wolves, tigers, and leopards in the mountains and forests, all large fierce beasts that can harm people and livestock. The key lies in the character "chong". The chong here cannot be understood as an insect or bug, nor as some small animal, and certainly not as a tiger, because a tiger has already been mentioned earlier, and a term would not repeat one. Taken together, "chong" should refer to venomous snakes, or generally to fierce reptiles such as pythons. Snakes have always made people shudder, and placing them alongside wolves, tigers, and leopards is a fitting match in weight. In addition, in many places the dialect still calls snakes "changchong" to this day. For example, older people say, "I saw a changchong in the field again," and they mean a snake. From this it can be seen that "chong" referring to a snake makes complete sense.
Why these fierce beasts are spoken of together
In the past, most villages were close to mountains and forests. Wolves came into villages at night and carried off pigs and sheep, leopards injured calves, and snakes hid in woodpiles and grass and bit people and chickens and ducks. These were all very real threats to farming families. Putting together these several animals that frightened people most became "wolf, chong, tiger, leopard", and later it was extended to describe vicious and malicious people. Behind these four characters is in fact the production and life experience accumulated by older generations of rural people over countless generations in dealing with wild beasts.
When working in the mountains nowadays, keep these reminders firmly in mind
Nowadays wolves, tigers, and leopards are mostly protected animals, and their numbers are fewer than in the past, but traces of activity still remain in some mountainous areas. Households that raise livestock should close and secure their pens and be vigilant at night; when grazing, try not to go alone into deep mountains and dense forests. In summer and autumn, when going into the fields or pushing through grass, it is best to take a stick and "beat the grass to startle the snake", wear high-top shoes and long pants, and if you see a snake, quietly go around it. Never tease, provoke, or try to catch or hit it. If bitten, seek medical care immediately, and do not trust folk remedies or local methods and delay treatment. If wild animals damage crops or harm livestock, you can report it to the local forestry department. Different places have corresponding handling and compensation measures, and the specifics should be based on what the local competent department publishes. Recognizing the origin of "wolf, chong, tiger, leopard" is both understanding an old saying and learning a piece of rural common knowledge about the nature around us.