What does the legendary beast Qinglong, one of the four ancient mythical beasts, represent? The green dragon is a spiritual beast in ancient Han myths and legends. It is one of the four elephants in the traditional culture of the Han nationality. The four most fearsome monsters in ancient China and whose power is boundless are the green dragon, the white tiger, the red bird and the black basalt. According to the theory of five elements, the east is green, so Qinglong is the god of the east, also known as "Cang Long". The dragon is the totem of the Chinese nation. Since the Yellow Emperor assigned it to the sky and brought power to all directions, the dragon has become a symbol of the Chinese nation and even China as a whole.
In Eastern legends, the green dragon has a body like a long snake, a unicorn head, a carp tail, a long beard on the face, antlers like a deer, five claws, and a majestic appearance.
In the era when the Five Elements theory was popular, stories about the Green Dragon slowly began to spread; Five Elements masters assigned five colors to the southeast, northwest, and middle according to the yin and yang and the five elements, and each color was matched with the five elements. The previous mythical beast and a god; the east is cyan, with the dragon, the west is white, with the tiger, the south is vermilion, with the bird, the north is black, with the martial arts, and yellow is the central color.
Among the gods from all directions, according to the Book of Mountains and Seas, ‘Zhurong from the south has a beast body and a human face, riding two dragons. ';'To the west, there is a snake in the left ear, riding on two dragons. ';'There is Jumang in the east, with the body of a bird and the face of a human, riding on two dragons. ';'In the north of Yujiang, a man with black body and limbs rides on two dragons. ', a more interesting point is that the dragons in the Classic of Mountains and Seas are all ridden, while the snakes of the same kind are held, manipulated or wrapped around the neck, showing the difference between the two; but in the Five The five gods of Fang are quite different from the four gods of Sifang, so I won’t go into details here.
Suzaku, Xuanwu (black turtle and snake, Wu means turtle and snake), Qinglong, and White Tiger respectively represent the twenty-eight constellations in the four directions, and the dragon is the seven constellations in the east: Jiao, Kang, Di, and Fang. , heart, tail, Ji, and the shape of these seven constellations is very similar to the shape of a dragon. It can be seen from their meanings that the horn is the dragon's horn, the kang is the neck, the di is the base, but the root of the neck, and the room is The shoulder is the side, the heart is the heart, the tail is the tail, and the Ji is the end of the tail.
Also in the part of the dragon’s heart, some people call it the ‘big fire’, which is related to sunshine and rain. And because Qinglong belongs to wood, it is also the year of Jupiter in that year. After the rise of Taoism, these four spirits were also given human names to make it easier for humans to call them. The green dragon was called "Mengzhang", the white tiger was called "Jianbing", the red bird was called "Lingguang", and the Xuanwu was called "Zhi Ming". Among the many dynasties, some monarchs took Qinglong as their reign name, such as Emperor Wei Ming of the Three Kingdoms. In the historical records, it is also said that the Xia Dynasty was a dynasty of Mu De, so it had the auspicious title of "Qinglong was born in the suburbs". Records of trillions.
In ancient China, those with horns on their heads were called male dragons; those with two horns were called dragons, those with one horn were called dragons; The status of mother and child Chi; dragon is much higher than that in India. Because in China the dragon is a divine creature, the supreme being, and the symbol of the emperor. It is also a representative of the East. Among the five elements, it belongs to wood. Because cyan belongs to wood, there is a saying that it is a green dragon on the left and a white tiger on the right.
Among the twenty-eight constellations, the seven constellations in the east are used - Jiao, Kang, Di, Fang, Xin, Wei and Ji. The ancients imagined them to be the image of dragons. Because they are located in the east, they correspond to the five elements of Yin and Yang. According to the theory of color matching for the five directions, the east is green, hence the name 'Green Dragon'.
There is also a folk saying that the dragon's nature is lustful. When having sex with an ox, a unicorn will be born, and when having sex with a pig, an elephant will be born.
The so-called dragon gave birth to nine sons, none of whom are like dragons. This is the saying--
The eldest son is called Prison Niu: it loves music, so it always stands on the head of the piano. . Such as the Huqin of the Han people and the Sanxianqin of the Bai people. The Mongolian Morin Khuur may also be a variant of the Prison Niu.
The second son is Jai Pi: it loves to kill, so it is often placed on weapons to intimidate the enemy. At the same time, it is also used in ceremonies to appear more majestic.
The third son is Chaofeng: a beast-shaped dragon that looks a bit like a dog. It is good at looking out, so it is often placed in the corner of the palace. It is said that it can intimidate demons and eliminate disasters.
The fourth one is Pulao: it likes to roar, so people put it on the bell, mostly in the image of Pulao. It is said that it lives on the beach, but is very afraid of whales. Once a whale attacks, it will scream in fear. Therefore, people shaped the wooden pestle into the shape of a whale to make the copper bell extra loud.
The fifth child is Suanni: shaped like a lion. It is a foreign product that was introduced to China with Buddhism, so its personality is a bit like that of Buddha. It is so quiet and loves fireworks. Therefore, it is often placed on the Buddha's throne or on the incense burner to protect Buddhism.
The sixth son is Baxia: also known as __, he looks like a turtle. According to legend, in ancient times, it often carried three mountains and five mountains on its back to create trouble. Later, he was subdued by Xia Yu and made many great contributions to Xia Yu. After the flood control was successful, Xia Yu let it carry out its achievements. Therefore, most of China's stone monuments are carried on its back.
The seventh child is Bian: also known as Charter, it looks like a tiger. According to legend, it upholds justice and can distinguish right from wrong, so it is placed above and below the prison door, on both sides of the door lobby, and on top of the cards that officials quietly avoid when they go on patrol to maintain the solemn atmosphere of the court.
The eighth child is negative_: because it loves literature, it is placed on two sides of the stone tablet.
Mozi is Chiki: also known as Ouwei, a fish-shaped dragon. It is said that around the time of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the Indian ‘Moji Fish’ was introduced with Buddhism. It is the object under the seat of the rain god in Buddhist scriptures and can extinguish fire. Therefore, the chi kiss was transformed from this, so it is often placed at both ends of the roof ridge to eliminate disasters and extinguish fires.
The Legend of Qinglong
Qinglong Lake
In ancient times, near Jufeng Mountain on the northern outskirts of Anqiu City, there was a huge pond that was not deep. See the bottom, regardless of drought or flood, the blue waves are rippling and sparkling, the shore is full of strange rocks, the cliffs are covered with rare flowers and grasses, and the creeping plants hang down to the water like waterfalls. People call this bottom Qinglong Lake. Legend has it that there is a huge green dragon lurking in the lake. Speaking of this Qinglong, we have to start with Jufeng Mountain.
A long time ago, phoenixes gathered and roosted on the treasure mountain of Jufeng Mountain all year round, bringing blessings to the people here. This matter was known by Qinglong, the eldest son of the Dragon King of the East China Sea. This green dragon is tall and majestic, has strong magic power, is kind-hearted, and yearns for good luck and happiness. Qinglong heard about this phoenix settlement and heard that there was a beautiful lake there, so he was moved. He thought, that place must be extremely beautiful. Besides, with the phoenix and the dragon, it would be even more auspicious. It would be great if I could live and live in that new world.
While he was thinking about it, one day he suddenly heard that there were two monsters causing trouble at the mouth of Wenhe River east of Jufeng Mountain. One was a one-horned dragon, which led fish, turtles, shrimps and crabs to light lanterns. They lead floods to destroy villages and farmland; one is the loach spirit, which has been enlightened for thousands of years. It often opens its bloody mouth to bite the sky, blocking the sun and rain and dew, so that farmers have no harvest; they also work together to destroy the Phoenix gathering. After hearing this, Qinglong became angry. He came to his father and asked him to go to Jufeng Mountain.
When the Dragon King of the East China Sea heard this, he was furious, his eyes widened, and he cursed his son: "I thought I would let you inherit the throne of the Dragon King when I get old, but you, you bastard, have no ambitions, and you still want to swim with the dragon. Play with the Phoenix!" After hearing what his father said, Qinglong shed tears of grievance, knelt down with a plop, and carefully explained his idea of ??going there to eliminate evildoers and benefit the people. When the Dragon King heard his son say that there were monsters in Wenhekou, he was surprised at first, and then became worried: "Can you deal with the monsters in Wenhekou?" "With the martial arts taught by my father, I will definitely defeat them!" Qinglong replied. Seeing that his son had made up his mind, the Dragon King of the East China Sea had no choice but to agree.
Qinglong bid farewell to his parents, left the rough sea, and went up the Weihe River to the mouth of the Wenhe River, where he was blocked by the one-horned dragon and the loach spirit. The one-horned dragon and the loach spirit thought that the green dragon was coming to steal their territory, and seeing that the green dragon was alone, they took the lead in provoking them, and both pounced on the green dragon. The green dragon showed no fear, and stood up to meet them, and started a fight with the two monsters. The fight to the death lasted for three days and three nights, with no winner or loser. In a direct fight, the mountains and rivers will change their appearance, and the sun and moon will lose their light.
Qinglong’s brave act of exorcising evil spirits moved Anqiu elders. One day, an old man collecting firewood took advantage of the truce between the two sides and gave Qinglong an idea to separate the two monsters with a piece of sand and a stone. .
Treat the loach essence first. The greatest ability of the loach is its ability to drill through mud, and it has great powers in the mud at the mouth of Wenhe River. The old man suggested to Qinglong that the loach spirit should be lured to Wenhe River and then get rid of it. Because there is no mud at the bottom of Wenhe River, it is just hard sand washed down from Xilaoyi Mountain. The loach cannot get in, and there is nothing we can do about it. cast.
How to lure it up? All fish hope that they can become dragons. It is said that fish can transform into dragons after drinking the wine. So, the villagers poured Jingzhi wine into Wenhe River. Sure enough, the loach spirit smelled the aroma of wine at the mouth of the river, and greedily followed the scent and swam into the Wen River.
The opportunity was not to be missed, the green dragon rose into the air, raised its horns, opened its sharp claws, and suddenly attacked the loach spirit. The Loach Spirit was intoxicated when he suddenly noticed a sudden change in the sky and realized something was wrong. He bent down and dived underwater, but the sand was too hard to get in. Qinglong caught him and locked him under the gorge.
Treat the one-horned dragon again. The one-horned dragon's horn is extremely sharp, and it uses this weapon to show off its power and do bad things. The loach spirit was captured and the one-horned dragon lost his lover. He became angry and vowed to fight Qinglong and the villagers. Qinglong followed the old man's instructions and climbed a nearby stone cliff called Jingang Cliff with his fellow villagers. The stone cliff stood thousands of feet high, and the one-horned dragon couldn't climb up. It became more and more angry, so it went crazy and slammed its horn against the stone cliff, hoping to knock down the stone cliff first and then attack Qinglong and the villagers. But the rock on the cliff has sharp edges and corners and is extremely hard.
Not only did the one-horned dragon fail to knock over the stone cliff, but its horn was knocked off by the rock. Blood suddenly burst out of its head, and it screamed in agony before falling into the dust.
Qinglong defeated the monsters and eliminated harm for the people, and finally came to the shores of Jufeng Mountain and the lake that he had long desired. The phoenixes screamed joyfully in the mountains and in the sky to express their gratitude to him. From then on, the phoenixes sang in harmony all year round in the Jufeng Mountain; beside the lake, the green dragon planted crops and sown rain on time. The people of Anqiu have good harvests every year and are auspicious every year. What a harmonious and perfect picture of dragons and phoenixes in auspiciousness!
Qinglong Cave
To the east of Chengjiang Bazi, surrounded by mountains A small mountain village with green trees. At the head of this mountain village, there is a majestic and tall mountain with lush flowers, plants and trees, making it feel like spring all year round. This mountain is called Qinglong Mountain.
Under the cover of red flowers and green trees, there is a bottomless hole called Qinglong Cave on the mountain. Many people crawl into this hole out of curiosity to see what is inside. What, but it failed every time. Because the hole is very deep, no one can get to the bottom. A wonderful story has been handed down since then.
A long time ago, there was no rain for dozens of miles around this village. Under the baking heat of the sun as hot as fire, the land was cracked, the crops withered, and the water in the well became smaller and smaller. In times of hardship, the desire to survive led people to carry shrines to offer sacrifices to God, hoping that rain would come to save these suffering people. But even though they prayed every day, it still didn't help. Not a drop of rain fell.
People’s sincere prayers reached the Dragon Palace, but the old Dragon King not only ignored them, but also ordered his dragons not to rain, otherwise they would be severely punished. People's prayers moved a little green dragon. He went to beg the Dragon King to let him send rain to save the suffering people. Not only did the Dragon King not listen to Xiao Qinglong's pleading, but he even scolded Xiao Qinglong severely.
After being scolded, Xiao Qinglong had to return to his residence angrily, feeling angry and anxious. He was angry that the Dragon King was too cruel, and he was anxious that there were still suffering people in the world. He thought that it was useless to ask the Dragon King. Only by risking his own life to get rain could he save the suffering people. Therefore, he quietly flew into the sky. The sky was suddenly covered with dark clouds, and soon heavy rain poured down. After the poor people got this relief from the heavy rain, they were so happy that they jumped for joy, thinking that their prayers had moved the Dragon King.
The dry crops in the fields also cheered up, and within a few days they became green and full of life.
But the good times did not last long, and the Dragon King found out about it. Upon inquiry, they found out that it was Xiao Qinglong who came to the world and caused several heavy rains. The old Dragon King was so angry that he imprisoned Xiao Qinglong angrily.
Since then, Xiao Qinglong spent several months in that lonely Dragon Palace. People's prayers reached the Dragon Palace again, and the old Dragon King laughed with joy. The little Qinglong sneaked into the world while the guards were not paying attention and caused a bigger rainstorm. This time he was discovered by the old Dragon King again, so he was kicked out of the Dragon Palace and locked in a bottomless cave. He was never allowed to return to the Dragon Palace.
In order to commemorate the little Qinglong who was implicated by everyone, people called this tall and majestic mountain Qinglong Mountain, and the cave where the little Qinglong was imprisoned was called Qinglong Cave.