虎
← →
tiger
On-Yomi: コ — Kun-Yomi: とら
Elements:
tiger, magic wand, augury, cliff, hook, diced, seven, human legs
Heisig story:
The kanji in this frame recalls the famous Bengali fable about the group of magicians (the magic wand) who decided to make a tiger. It seems that each of them knew how to make one part of the beast, so they pooled their talents and brought all the pieces (diced into pieces) together, at which point the fabricated tiger promptly ate its makers up (the bodiless human legs). Whatever the parable's significance for modern civilization and its arsenals, it should help with this kanji. Oh yes, we should not forget that cliff-like element. Think of it as an abbreviation of the primitive for zoo (the first and fourth strokes, actually), in order to fit the tiger somewhere into the picture. In fact, the abbreviation is perfectly logical, since the bottom elements usurp the room for the rest of the primitive for zoo.
Heisig comment:
* As a primitive element itself, the human legs are also swallowed up, but the meaning of tiger is kept, and the whole serves as a roof for what comes beneath 虍, giving the tiger something else to eat.
Koohii stories:
1) [raulir] 9-4-2007(122): Magic wand + first two strokes of pelt ( 皮 ) + diced + human legs. A wizard who turns people he doesn't like into newts with his magic wand goes for variety - he has always wanted a tiger pelt - but things go awry when the tiger promptly dices and eats him, leaving only a pair of legs. (a fitting end for a wicked wizard).
2) [CharleyGarrett] 23-4-2007(107): Tigger, the tiger, (from Pooh stories) is happy to have found a magic wand. Using it he can bounce up to a the top of a cliff, seven times as high as some human legs could bounce. Tigger thinks "Its great to be a tiger!
3) [Filip] 10-3-2008(50): The 7 very smart magicians were standing on top of a cliff. The 7 very smart magicians wanted to create a tiger. The smart tiger ate 6 and a half magicians, leaving a pair of human legs as a snack for later. The smart tiger hang the pair of human legs on a tiny hook, so that no other predator could reach it. Moral of the story: tiger wins.
4) [uberclimber] 18-12-2010(16): This kanji is symbolic of the tiger Hobbes: he's sort of magical, a toy come to life, hence the magic wand; he and Calvin are always riding their go-cart off the kicker (hence the little hook) at the edge of the cliff; Hobbes and Calvin are both about seven years old; and Hobbes often walks and stands as though he has human legs. 虎 (とら) : tiger.
5) [mezbup] 10-7-2009(10): The magic wand on top of the cliff spawned 7 tigers that ate human legs.