The Dragon in China Mythology
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.
The origin of dragons
The dragon first appeared in the tomb of a primitive society 5000 years ago, and now it is displayed in the museum of Puyang City, Henan Province. This is a dragon made of shells. It looks rough and looks like a lizard without bright colors. Archaeologists call it "a dragon in China".
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 the dragon, and gradually become: Luo head, snake neck, antlers, turtle eyes, fish scales, Tiger Claw, eagle claws and ox ears. This composite structure means that the dragon is a beast of all beasts, an omnipotent beast 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", and it is a heterogeneous animal with the advantages of various 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 more consistent consensus: 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 bones, 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 ten thousand-year-old fish-tailed deer Longyan painting on the 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 systems, which does not meet the basic formation of 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).
Excerpted from Baidu netizens, thank you.