Do you know anyone born in the Year of the Tiger? What's their personality like? Are they brave, strong and determined? If so, then they are a typical "tiger".
In Chinese culture, tigers are seen as the king of all animals. They stand for power, energy and protection. Tigers are seen as fearless animals, so that's why in China you can see pictures of tigers on the walls of houses and temples to ward off (抵御) danger and disasters.
Tigers have an important cultural meaning not just in China, but across Asia where they live in the wild. For example, in South Korea, the animal is a symbol of justice, humanity and righteousness in local folk tales. Both the 1986 Seoul Asian Games and the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics used Hodori, a friendly cartoon tiger, as the mascot. A tiger is also on the logo of the South Korea national soccer team.
In the West, tigers are also seen as powerful animals. And we often use "tiger" in English. If we say someone "works like a tiger", we mean he or she works hard. If you want someone to calm down, you can say to them "easy, tiger". Another famous phrase is "eye of the tiger", which means having strength. There are also some other phrases about tigers, such as "a tiger can't change its stripes", "paper tiger" and "have a tiger by the tail".
