As a descendant of the dragon, you can't be ignorant of the dragon culture in China. Without understanding the dragon culture, it is impossible to understand the ancient Chinese civilization. What is the prototype of the dragon? How did the concept of dragon come into being? How did its image and cultural meaning develop and change? What is the influence of dragons in China culture? These problems have been puzzling people in different ways since ancient times, and they have not all been solved yet, giving people a confusing feeling.
Here, we will follow the trail of the dragon, enter the ancient history and dragon world, and understand and explore the mystery of the dragon ...
Records about the dragon
According to ancient scriptures, the dragon is a creation with deer-like horns, camel's head, hare's eyes and the neck of a giant snake. Its abdomen looks like a kind of "Shen" (a fictional water hose similar to a crocodile). Its claws are like eagles, its fingers are like tigers, and its ears are similar to a buffalo. Dragons have the ability to change from one object to another in an instant; From fat to thin, from tall to short. It can also fly to the sky and go down to the bottom of the sea. It seems that the dragon is a creation with super powers, which can be transformed into various forms. In China, the symbol of the dragon was born in Shang and Yin Dynasties (16th-11th century BC, when the earliest hieroglyphs appeared in China), and it was carved on the bones of animals and the shells of turtles. These carved flowers describe a horned reptile, which has teeth, scales and some claws. The above symbols usually indicate that the dragon is regarded as a cruel, evil and unfortunate creation. Based on these symbols, scientists in China concluded that it is actually an alligator fish. Over the centuries, scientists have put forward many explanations and speculations about dragons. Undoubtedly, the dragon in its original image must be a reptile, a snake, an alligator or a lizard. Fossils and monuments dating back 5-6 years show that lizards, alligators and dragons were adapted from totems symbolizing honor and religions. By studying these portraits, we can trace back to the earliest image of the dragon, its evolutionary history and its present appearance.
Although the first dragon has only a single image, with the increasing contact between the ancient people in China, people began to paint their totems more imaginatively. After a long time, this image has evolved into a dragon or totem with completely different properties.
Therefore, the dragon is the crystallization of people's imagination and a mysterious creation worshipped by people for centuries. In modern Chinese painting, dragons also appear in various forms. Ethnic minorities describe dragons in various ways, from a fish to crocodiles and people.
types of dragons
Kuilong: an imaginary one-legged monster, which is the embryonic stage of dragons. "Mountain and Sea Classic Wild East longitude" describes Kui as: "It looks like an ox, with a pale body and no horns. When you enter and leave the water, there will be wind and rain. Its light is like the sun and the moon, its sound is like thunder, and its name is Kui". But more ancient books say that Kui is a snake-like monster. "Hey, God is charming, like a dragon's foot." ("Shuo Wen Jie Zi") "Hey, one foot,? Walk away. " (Liutie) In the decoration of bronzes in the late Shang Dynasty and the Western Zhou Dynasty, the dragon pattern was one of the main decorative patterns, and the image was mostly a long strip with a long mouth and a curly tail. The shape was suitable for the structural line of the bronze decorative surface, with straight lines as the main part and arcs as the auxiliary part, which had the aesthetic feeling of Gu Zhuo.
slug: it's an early dragon, imagined by taking a reptile-snake as a model, often in the water. "It takes five hundred years to turn into a dumpling, and a thousand years to turn into a dragon." It is the infancy of the dragon, which once appeared on the bronze decoration at the end of the Western Zhou Dynasty, but not much.
Qiu: generally speaking, a little dragon without horns is called Qiu? Shallow sand, mechanical grazing? 9. Make Pannan fierce [6]. Stop stealing from the dam or pay for it? Huo stealthily? ! What's the matter with you? What's wrong with you? What's wrong with a street? And martyrdom and mechanical herding? Hey? Ah; Do you want to wear machinery and candy? Pasturing? Hey? Proud? Fight? Do you know how to shoot and hunt? What's the matter with you? Hey?
the dragon is a snake-like monster of the dragon genus, and it is an early dragon without horns. In Guangya, there is a description of "killing dragons without horns". There are also two kinds of views on the dragon, one refers to the yellow horned dragon, and the other refers to the female dragon. In the biography of Han Sima Xiangru, there is a note that "the red dragon is also a female dragon", so there is a combination of dragon and dragon for decoration on the unearthed Warring States Yu Pei, which means mating between men and women. From the Spring and Autumn Period to the Qin and Han Dynasties, bronze wares, jade carvings, bronze mirrors or buildings are often decorated in the shape of flat flies, which are single flies, double flies, three flies, five flies and even group flies. Or as a title card, or as a ring, or as a book. In addition, there are various changes such as Bo Gu beetle and ring beetle.
Jiao generally refers to scaly dragons that can flood. According to legend, Jiaolong's water can make clouds and fog and soar into space. In ancient Chinese, it is often used to mean that talented people get the opportunity to display their talents. There are different opinions about the origin and shape of jiaozi in classical literature, some say that "the dragon has no horns and calls it jiaozi", while others say that "the scales call it Xiaolong". The third volume of "Mo Ke Ways the Rhinoceros" is more specific: the dumpling is shaped like a snake, its head is like a tiger, and its elders are tens of feet. Most of them live under the stone cave in Xitan, and the sound is like a cow. If Jiao sees a pedestrian on the shore or in a ravine, he will wrap it around his mouth and make people fall into the water, that is, he will suck his blood under his arm until the blood is exhausted. Shore people and boat people often suffer from it. In Liu Yiqing's Shi Shuo Xin Yu in the Southern Song Dynasty, there is a story that Zhou Chu went into the water for three days and three nights to chop dumplings and came back. Jiao may be a crocodile.
ceratosaurus: refers to a horned dragon. According to "The Story of Different Stories", "Jiao turned into a dragon in a thousand years, and dragon five turned into a horned dragon in a hundred years", and horned dragon is the old man among dragons.
Ying Long: The winged dragon is called Ying Long. According to "The Tale of Different Stories", "dragon five was a Ceratosaurus for a hundred years, and Ying Long for a thousand years", Ying Long was the essence of dragons, so he grew wings. According to legend, Ying Long was the dragon of the Yellow Emperor in ancient times. It was ordered by the Yellow Emperor to crusade against Chiyou, and killed Chiyou to become a hero. In Yu's flood control, Shenlong made contributions by sweeping the floor with its tail and diverting floods. This Shenlong is also called Huanglong, and Huanglong is Ying Long, so Ying Long is the hero of Yu. Ying Long is characterized by wings, spiny scales, long head, small nose, eyes and ears, large eyes, high eyebrow arch, sharp teeth, protruding forehead, thin neck, long tail tip and strong limbs, just like a winged Chinese alligator. The image of Ying Long often appears on jade carvings in the Warring States period, stone carvings, silk paintings and lacquerware in the Han Dynasty.
fire dragon: it is a dragon threatened by fire. There is purple fire all over the body, and wherever a fire dragon passes, everything is burnt.
Panlong: refers to the dragon that has been dormant on the ground but not ascended to heaven, and the shape of the dragon is coiled around. In ancient Chinese architecture, dragons coiled on columns and dragons on decorative beams and ceilings are customarily called panlong. In Taiping Yu Lan, there is another explanation for Panlong: "Panlong is four feet long, blue-black, with a red belt like brocade, and often goes down with the water and into the sea. Toxic, it hurts and dies. " I mixed the dragon with dumplings, snakes and the like.
Qinglong is one of the "Four Spirits" or "Four Gods", also known as black dragon. Astronomers in ancient China divided a number of stars in the sky into twenty-eight star zones, namely, twenty-eight nights, to observe the movement of the moon and divide the seasons, and divided the twenty-eight nights into four groups with seven nights in each group, with four directions of east, south, west and north, four colors of blue, red, white and black, and four animals of dragon, bird, tiger and Xuanwu (where turtles and snakes intersect), which are called "four elephants". Dragon means the east, blue, which is called "East Palace Qinglong". By the Qin and Han Dynasties, these four images had become "four spirits" or "four gods" (dragons, phoenixes, turtles and forests), and their mysterious colors became more and more intense. The stone reliefs of black dragon Constellation in the Eastern Palace in the Han Dynasty, existing in Nanyang Han Painting Museum, are composed of a dragon, eighteen stars and the moon engraved with jade and toad. This dragon is the symbol of the whole black dragon constellation. Among the brick, stone and tile in the Han Dynasty, there are a large number of "four spirits" images.
yuhualong: it is a dragon with a dragon head and fish body, and it is also a form of "dragon-fish mutual change", which has existed for a long time in ancient China. In Shuo Yuan, there is a record that "the cold deep under the white dragon turned into a fish in the past", and "the big fish in the East China Sea turned into a dragon" in Chang 'an Ballad and the carp circulated among the people jumped over the dragon gate, all of which tell the mutual change of dragon fish. This kind of modeling appeared in jade carvings as early as the late Shang Dynasty, and it has been developed in past dynasties.
dragon form
sitting on a dragon: it is in the form of sitting in a dangerous position, with the head facing forward, a fireball standing under the chin, and four claws extending in four directions in different forms. The dragon body curls up and then bends downward in an arc, with a correct posture. Sitting dragons are generally set up in the center, solemn and serious, and are often lined with galloping dragons up and down or left and right. In feudal society, sitting on a dragon is a noble dragon pattern.
dragon walking: it walks slowly, and the whole dragon is the front side of the horizontal state. Dragons are often decorated in pairs to form a picture of playing with pearls in Shuanglong. They are often decorated on the double sides of the front of the temple, and the long and narrow decorative surfaces of utensils are often used. If it appears as a single phase, the dragon's head often turns back to make the picture more vivid.
dragon rising: the head is above, galloping and dancing, showing a rising momentum. If the faucet rises to the upper left, it is called "dragon rising on the left" and the faucet rises to the upper right, it is called "dragon rising on the right". There are different priorities for the promotion of the dragon. If the promotion is slow, you will "slowly promote the dragon". Those who are in a hurry to rise are called "rapidly rising dragons". The ascending dragon on the head moves downward again, which is called "returning the descending dragon".
Dragon-lowering: The head is below, galloping and flying, showing a downward trend. If the faucet moves down to the left, it is called "dragon descending on the left" and the faucet moves down to the right, it is called "dragon descending on the right". There are different priorities for descending the dragon. Those who descend slowly are called "slow descending the dragon". Those who fall more rapidly are called "descending dragons rapidly". The descending dragon with its head down moves upward, which is called "rebounding dragon" or "upside down dragon".
Double Dragon Playing with Beads: The expression of two dragons playing with (or grabbing) a fire bead. Its origin comes from the planetary chart in astronomy, and the fireball evolved from the moon. Since the Han Dynasty, the double dragon playing beads have become an auspicious and festive decorative pattern, which is mostly used in architectural color paintings and noble and prosperous vessel decoration. The form of Shuanglong depends on the area of decoration. If it is long, the two dragons are symmetrically located on the left and right sides, showing a dragon-walking posture. If it is square or round, (including blocks similar to these shapes) the two dragons are arranged diagonally up and down, with the upper dragon descending and the lower dragon ascending. Whether it is long or block-shaped, the fire beads are in the middle, showing a lively momentum.
Yunlong: generally refers to the dragon galloping in the clouds. Dragons and clouds are combined, and clouds are the basis of dragons. And the dragon's breath becomes a cloud. Cloud dragon pattern is the same body of cloud and dragon, which "breaks up" the dragon's head, tail and feet and blends them with abstract clouds, showing a mysterious pattern like cloud Feiyun and dragon.
grass dragon: it is a kind of grass-rolling pattern with dragon image, also called "grass-rolling and branch-binding dragon". The head has obvious faucet characteristics, while the body, tail and limbs have become grass-rolling patterns. The whole often presents the main theme of "S" shape, and continues to extend the "S" shape, resulting in a continuous and eternal artistic effect. The rich changes of the head and the curly grass form a picture with uneven movement, mutual echo and rich layers. In the composition, it adopts a balanced form, pays attention to the beauty of curves and is full of dynamic sense. In the form of expression, romanticism is used to integrate the content of "Ruyi Wen" with auspicious meaning into a picture, giving people room for imagination. Grass-rolling and twig-binding patterns are often used in the decoration of buildings, furniture and utensils.
turning to the dragon: it originated from the grass dragon and was born out of it, forming a unique form of expression. The line decoration of the dragon is tall and straight, tough, and the turning point is a square angle. The dragon's head is also a square circle, which is coordinated as a whole, concise and lively, and has a certain decorative interest. It is often used in furniture, interior decoration and building frames.
Tuanlong: It is called Tuanlong when the shape of the dragon is suitable to be round. It originated in the Tang Dynasty and was widely used in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. "Four dragons", "Eight dragons" and other group flowers were designated as the crown service system at that time, that is, four or eight dragons on a dress were the most distinguished. Later, it developed into ten regiments, twelve regiments, sixteen regiments, and twenty-four regiments, and the number was increasing, and the scope of use was also relaxed. Brocade, embroidery, ceramics, architecture, furniture and other decorations all had dragon regiments, which had strong applicability, maintained the integrity of dragons, and had a strong decorative flavor and were widely used. There are also many forms of dragon regiment, such as "sitting on the dragon regiment", "ascending the dragon regiment" and "descending the dragon regiment". The round edge of Tuanlong is also decorated with patterns such as water waves, ruyi and grass dragons, and the dragon pattern of the mission is gorgeous and rich.
why do we Chinese people say that we are descendants of dragons?
In the ancient myth of China, human beings were made by Nu Wa squeezing loess. Nu Wa created human beings, so who created Nu Wa herself? Generally speaking, Nu Wa was first created by the people who worshipped snakes as totems.
what is a totem? Totem is a symbol of the clan in primitive society. Totem belief is a very primitive belief. The color of the snake totem can be clearly seen in the images of Nvwa 、 Fuxi and others. Snake totem is widely distributed, and now it is mainly concentrated in the southeast and southwest of China. During thousands of years of continuous migration, the cultures of various ethnic groups have blended with each other, and snake totems have spread all over the north and south of the Yangtze River. There are traces or customs of snake totems in Gaoshan nationality in Taiwan Province and Li nationality in Hainan. In areas where snakes are regarded as totems, people generally think that "snakes" are the prototype of "dragons" and "dragons" are the divine manifestation of "snakes". Therefore, in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui, domestic snakes are called "black dragon", "Tianlong" and "Jialong". In Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian and other places, some ethnic groups call themselves "Dragon Species", "Dragon People" and "Dragon Houses" and build snake temples to worship snake gods.
It can be seen from this that our Chinese nation is a descendant of the dragon and has a deep historical origin. The dragon is a symbol of China people, and the Chinese nation proudly considers itself a "descendant of the dragon".