The legend of the dragon

Chinese loong

Dragon is a miraculous animal in China mythology, fickle, sexually stimulating and beneficial to all things. It is said that it can be hidden and displayed, reaching the sky in the spring breeze and diving in the autumn wind. It can also cause clouds and rain. It was the leader of many scales, the head of the four spirits (dragon, phoenix, unicorn and turtle), and later became a symbol of imperial power. Emperors all claimed to be dragons, and their vessels were decorated with dragons. According to Shan Hai Jing, Xia Houqi, Ru Shou and Ju Mang all "rode the rain dragon". There are other secretaries, Zhuan Xu, Lapras and the Four Seas, Di Ku, Spring and Summer, Lapras. The predecessors divided dragons into four types: the scaly ones are called dragons; The winged one is called Ying Long; Those with horns are called dragons; A man without horns is called a dragon.

For modern people in China, the image of the dragon is a symbol, a mood and a feeling of flesh and blood. Titles such as "Descendants of the Dragon" and "Descendants of the Dragon" are often exciting, energetic and proud. Besides spreading and inheriting in China, Dragon Culture has also been brought to all parts of the world by overseas Chinese. In China residential areas or in China, dragons are still the most eye-catching decorations. Therefore, "Descendants of the Dragon" and "Dragon Country" have also been recognized by the world. Dragon is a unique cultural creation, concept creation and symbol creation of China people. "Dragon Spirit" is a symbol of the Chinese nation, a symbol of China's 5,000-year great history, and the spirit of the great China people who are industrious, brave, indomitable, bold and innovative, honest and harmonious.

The origin of dragons

The earliest dragon pattern found in China came from the Chahai site in Xinglongwa Culture 8,000 years ago (Xinglongwa Culture was named after the excavation of Xinglongwa site in Aohan Banner, Inner Mongolia, adjacent to Liaoning Province, and the Chahai site was in Fuxin County, Liaoning Province). Found a dragon about 19.7 meters long, piled with reddish-brown stones. The discovery of this dragon in Xinglongwa Culture pushed the history of dragon worship in China to 8,000 years ago.

In the early days, the ancients could not make a reasonable explanation for most natural phenomena, so they hoped that their national totem would have the power of wind, rain and lightning. The mountains are so majestic that they can swim in the water like fish and fly in the air like birds. Therefore, the characteristics of many animals are concentrated on dragons, and dragons have gradually become: camel's head, snake's neck, antlers, turtle's eyes, fish scales, Tiger Claw, eagle's claws and cow's ears. This composite structure means that the dragon is the head of all animals and an omnipotent god.

It is important to note that dragons only have five fingers, and the four fingers are not dragons, but lizards and crocodiles.

As the totem of Chinese ancestors, dragon was just a piece of rubble just collected from barren hills at first, which was rough and crude. In the hands of the historical old man, it is constantly cut and pondered. Shang and Zhou dynasties gave it strength, and Han and Tang dynasties gave it generosity; Dragons are like the seven sages of bamboo forest in Wei and Jin Dynasties, but also like sages; In the Liao and Jin Dynasties, it was like a wild horse on the grassland, galloping wildly. The emperors and nobles honored it as supreme, while the people let it do as the Romans do.

There are many different images in ancient books. Speaking of slender, it has four feet, anticlimactic. Speaking of piercing scales, there are whiskers on the head and five claws. Compendium of Materia Medica says that "dragons have nine similarities", which is a heterogeneous animal with the advantages of all kinds of animals. It has many names. Those with scales are called dragons, those with wings are called Ying Long, those with horns are called dragons, and those without horns are called dragons. The little one is called Jiao, and the big one is called Dragon. Legend has it that it can be hidden, detailed and huge, short and long. The vernal equinox ascends to the sky, and the autumnal equinox dives into the deep, omnipotent. In mythology, it is the master of the underwater world (the Dragon King), a symbol of good fortune among the people, and the embodiment of ancient imperial power.

There are "Dragon King Products" in Taishang Cave's Divine Mantra Classic, which lists "Five Emperors Dragon King" by orientation, "Four Seas Dragon King" by ocean, and lists the names of 54 dragon kings and 62 dragon kings by everything in the world. In Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty, an altar official was set up to offer sacrifices to the Dragon King. Song Taizu followed the Five Dragon Sacrifice System in Tang Dynasty. In the second year of Song Huizong Daguan (1 108), all the five dragons in the world were crowned kings. Seal Qinglong God as King of Ren Guang, Red Dragon God as King Jiaze, Huanglong God as King Fu Ying, White Dragon God as King Yiji, and Black Dragon God as King Lingze. In the second year of Tongzhi in Qing Dynasty (1863), the dragon god of the canal was named "the dragon god who should divide the water", which made the river chief sacrifice in time. The dragon kings in The Journey to the West are Ao Guang in the East China Sea, Aoqin in the South China Sea, Aorun in the West Sea and Aoshun in the North Sea, which are collectively called the Four Seas Dragon Kings.

Regarding the birthday of the Dragon King, there are differences between various literature records and local folklore. In the past, temples dedicated to the dragon king were almost as common as temples in the city god. Whenever the wind and rain are unbalanced, it doesn't rain for a long time, or it rains for a long time, the people will go to the Longwang Temple to burn incense and pray for the Dragon King to control the water and the good weather.

Archaeologists believe that the early dragons were snakes with horns on their heads and were pure reptiles; Some people think that dragons are primitive, with a head like a pig and a body like a snake. Others pointed out that dragons evolved from crocodiles.

With regard to the origin of the dragon, after long-term research and textual research, people finally reached a relatively consistent understanding: the dragon is a synthesis of various animals and a symbol of totem worship formed in primitive society.

Dragons originated in the early Neolithic age, and the time from today will not be less than 8000 years. During this period, primitive ancestors did not simply and passively rely on God's reward. They raise wild horses, bison, wild boar and so on. We don't just eat those picked wild fruits, but selectively plant grains to harvest them. They can skillfully use fire, learn to build simple houses with wood, start grinding stone tools and bone tools, make pottery by hand, and gradually settle down and engage in production activities. Production activities make people's contact with nature more and more extensive, and nature, as an incredible force outside people, has a greater impact on people's spiritual world.

Why can't fish swim? Crocodiles in the bay sound like Hong Zhong, snakes are eerie and lizards have strange shapes. Why are clouds rolling, thunder and lightning, and heavy rain pouring down? Why do waves roll, rainbows run through the sky, and mudslides roar down, devouring people and animals and being invincible? ..... The behavior of these animals and the ever-changing natural phenomena are beyond the scientific explanation of the ancients.

They vaguely guessed that there should be such a powerful "sacred object" related to "water" to command, manipulate and manage these animals and astronomical phenomena, just as a clan must have a leader; In other words, these animals and natural phenomena are the embodiment of this "sacred object", just like people want to talk, scream, eat, drink, sleep, laugh and curse.

As a worship phenomenon and an "understanding" of incredible natural forces, the dragon began its "fuzzy collection" from this time.

The "dragon carving" unearthed from the site of the original village of Chahai in Fuxin, Liaoning Province provides evidence for our "time positioning". Chahai site belongs to the "pre-Hongshan Culture" remains, dating back about 8,000 years. The "Dragon Sculpture" is located in the central square of this primitive village site and is made of red-brown stones of equal size. This dragon is nearly 20 meters long and 2 meters wide. Its first mouth is tilted, its back is bent and its tail is looming. This stone dragon is the oldest and largest dragon found in China so far. It is said that there is a 10,000-year-old fish-tailed deer Longyan painting on the stone cliff of Persimmon Beach in Jixian County, Shanxi Province, which is considered as the earliest prototype of the dragon. This rock painting has not been published, and its appearance is still unknown. Then there are pottery dragon patterns unearthed in Xinglong Valley, Aohan Banner, Inner Mongolia, painted pottery dragon patterns unearthed in Beishouling Site, Baoji City, Shaanxi Province, and dragon patterns unearthed in Xishuipo, Puyang City, Henan Province, dating back more than 6,400 years.

The process of fuzzy dragon mining began in the Neolithic Age, and it basically took shape in the Qin and Han Dynasties after considerable development in the Shang, Zhou and Warring States periods. This "basic" has two meanings. One is that the framework, elements and styles of dragons were basically available in Qin and Han dynasties; Second, the dragon is an open and constantly absorbing new system, which does not conform to the basic formation of the Qin and Han Dynasties. Later dynasties, until today, are constantly changing and developing.

The prototype of the dragon has sprouted in the late Neolithic period, and it is a virtual imagination with the totem of Xia nationality as the main body. The ancients had various explanations for this. It is said that [tng] snakes can fly without feet (see Xunzi? Persuade "); Those with scales are called dragons, those with horns are called dragons, and those without horns are called dragons. (See Li Sao and Guang Ya quoted by Hong Bu. ) The one with wings is called (Wang Note). Some people say that dragons are like dogs and cows, while Lun Heng said, "The image of dragons is anticlimactic. "Others say that the shape of the dragon is the horn of a deer, the ear of a cow, the head of a camel, the eyes of a rabbit, the neck of a snake, the belly of a slug, the scales of a fish, the soles of a deer and the claws of an eagle. This is obviously the late development of the dragon image, which is more and more complicated than the original dragon, and more and more totems are integrated, indicating that it is constantly enriching and developing. Scholars have done a lot of useful research on the main prototype of the dragon. There are crocodiles, lizards, horses and so on. But it is generally believed that the keynote of the dragon is snake. Wen Yiduo's masterpiece Fuxi Kao was the first to put forward this view systematically. The dragon is a big snake and the snake is a little dragon. Wen Yiduo believes that after the snake clan merged with other clans, it "absorbed many other totem clans (clans), and the serpent accepted the four feet of animals, the head of horses, the tail of raccoons, the horns of deer, the claws of dogs, the scales and whiskers of fish" and became the later dragon. On the basis of Wen Yiduo's research, later generations have done a lot of enrichment and supplement.

To investigate the dragon, we must first understand its tone, trunk or subject prototype. To sum up briefly, the dragon has been continuous since its initial appearance and is the main part of the dragon. Without it, the dragon is not a dragon. This is the keynote, trunk or main prototype of the dragon. On the dragon, if the snake's body is removed, the dragon will not exist. Long Bian comes and goes. Sometimes his head looks like a crocodile, sometimes like a horse. Its feet are sometimes like lizard's feet and sometimes like dog's claws; Only the snake's slender body has never changed. In ancient times, the clan tribes who worshipped snakes were very common. Snakes have strong vitality, which accords with the wishes of primitive ancestors. Snakes are also a great threat to people, especially poisonous snakes, which can kill people and make people afraid. Many gods in Shan Hai Jing are snakes or dragons. Snakes themselves are multi-ethnic. In modern terms, the worship of snakes was very popular at that time. Taking it as the main body of the dragon is a sign of great national integration, and even those who are integrated are willing to accept it. The formal formation of the dragon may have started in the Yu Xia period. After Yu consolidated his position in the Central Plains, the social conditions for combining snakes with other tribal totems to create dragons were ripe. Dragons were made to adapt to the emergence of the country. Because of the wide coverage of snake worship, taking snakes as the main body of dragons can be recognized by all ethnic groups in the north and south of the Chinese people. Dragons are the crystallization of multiculturalism. Once it was formed, it firmly established its authoritative position as a symbol of the Chinese nation.

The dragon is great because it is respected by all people in China. The dragon is nothing, because it is only a spirit, not a substance.

In China's myths and legends, it is a magical animal, with the image of snake body, lizard legs, talons, snake tail, antlers, fish scales, whiskers in the mouth and beads under the forehead. According to Shan Hai Jing, Xia Houqi, Ru Shou and Ju Mang all "rode the rain dragon". There are other secretaries, Zhuan Xu, Lapras and the Four Seas, Di Ku, Spring and Summer, Lapras. The predecessors divided dragons into four types: those with scales, those with wings, Ying Long, those with horns and those without horns. Some people think that this is the image formed by the totem of each clan after the ancient Yanhuang unified the tribes in the Central Plains. Legend has it that you can hide and show, climb the sky in the spring breeze and dive into the deep sea in the autumn wind. It also brought clouds and rain, and later became a symbol of imperial power. Emperors of past dynasties used dragons as costumes, and their utensils were also decorated with dragons. Dragon was worshipped by Chinese ancestors as the ancestor god, and was generally called "dragon". People in China often call themselves "descendants of dragons".

Dragon ranks fifth among the traditional Chinese zodiac animals in China. Dragon, phoenix, unicorn and tortoise are also called "four great beasts". (There are also many ancient books and history books that refer to the "four auspicious beasts" as: caring for each other, nurturing, caring for each other and caring for each other. ) Qinglong and Baihu, Suzaku and Xuanwu are the four astronomical phenomena in China.