关键词: 政治寓意, 宗教譬喻, 民俗信仰

Abstract: At present, the discussion of the elephant in the academic circle mainly focuses on the field of ecology or history, and more concerns are given to the relationship between the environmental changes and the changes of elephants, and the relationship between humans and elephants in the historical period. The cultural studies mostly discuss the cultural meaning of elephants in a certain period, but less on the overall study of the cultural implication of the ancient Chinese elephants. The elephants, having existed in ancient China, are closely related to the production and life of the ancestors, and given various symbolic meanings in the historical process. Therefore, we should pay attention to the discussion of the cultural connotation of elephants. As elephants are widely involved in human social activities, it is an effective way to explore the cultural connotation of elephants from the perspectives of politics, religion and folklore.

Key words: political moral, religious metaphor, folk beliefs