Talking about the Chinese Dragon in the Year of the Dragon

 

Talking about the Chinese Dragon in the Year of the Dragon

 

Allusions about dragons

 

Archeology believes that the image of the Chinese dragon has a history of at least 8,000 years. In early historical books, the most detailed descriptions of dragons are closely related to national leaders such as Fuxi, Nuwa, Huangdi and Yu:

Fuxi was born with the body of a dragon, the head of an ox, and the lips of a dragon and the teeth of a turtle. The Feilong clan was appointed to create the Six Books, the Qianlong clan was to make the armor calendar, the Shuilong clan was to regulate water and soil, the Huolong clan was to govern the weapons and equipment, and the Jianglong clan was to lead the people. The picture of a dragon and a horse emerging from the river", Fuxi referred to this picture "to draw the Eight Diagrams".

Fuxi has a scale body, and Nuwa has a snake body. It is said that Nuwa had the head of a human and the body of a snake, and she transformed into seventy-seventy-year-olds in one day.

A divine dragon's head emerged from the Changyang, and he was inspired by Ren Si, and gave birth to Kuei, the Red Emperor. His body name is Emperor Yan and his world name is Shennong. Emperor Yan is obviously a "dragon species". Legend has it that Emperor Yan had the appearance of a dragon when he was born. His mother Nüdeng once bathed Emperor Yan in Jiulong Spring on the east bank of Jiangshui River in Baoji. After bathing, she rode a green dragon and flew to the Mengyu Stone Cave to live in seclusion. It was also because of the birth and visit of Emperor Yan that nine little dragons appeared in the spring. It is also said that Emperor Yan visited the Dragon King when he was three years old and asked the Dragon King to rain evenly. When he died of old age, dragon kings everywhere were vying to bury Emperor Yan's body in the places under their jurisdiction. Finally, the dragon in Ling County got his wish. Until now, the dragon brain stones and dragon claw stones by the Mishui River at the foot of Yanling Mountain are still showing their teeth and claws, smiling triumphantly.

During the war, Huangdi asked Yinglong to use his ability to control water to lead the battle. Later, the Yellow Emperor also "rided the dragon and ascended to heaven" and rode the dragon away.

According to legend, Yao was the son of Chilong. He upheld the virtue of fire, so "Red Dragon Yingyan". When Shun came to the throne, there was a yellow dragon carrying the river map; he himself also turned into a swimming dragon. They assigned Gun to take on the important task of controlling floods. Gun had a kind heart and loved the people, but it was a pity that he used the wrong method. He just blindly filled up the embankment, and the result was that the embankment became more and more swollen. Unfortunately, Gun worked hard but in vain, and was eventually killed by Yao in the desolate Yushan Mountain. After Gun's death, his body remained incorruptible for three years. Later, a hornless horned dragon jumped out of his belly. This was his son Yu. Gun himself turned into a dragon. Yinglong, who fought for the Yellow Emperor, also controlled floods for Yu Lai. He used his head and body to break up the mud, and used his long tail to plan water channels and guide the water flow.

Therefore, the legendary Yu himself is a dragon, and the oracle bone inscriptions with the word Yu are like someone holding a snake in his hand.

Therefore, the Chinese nation calls itself: Descendants of Yan and Huang, descendants of the dragon.

 

The origin of dragons

 

From ancient divination to the Book of Changes and even later Kanyu (Feng Shui), the image of the dragon is closely related to the destiny of the ruler and the country. For many reasons, the dragon has been used by emperors of all dynasties as a symbol of destiny and power.

Past theories believed that dragon belief originated from the totem worship of "snake", and the snake totem can be clearly seen in the images of Nuwa, Fuxi, etc. It began to reach its peak during the reign of Emperors Yan and Huang, and the dragon pattern and shape experienced a lot of changes. Art metamorphoses and evolves. However, Emperor Yan and Huang lived in the Yellow River Basin about 5,000 years ago, and archeology has discovered that there are many dragon images from non-Yellow River basins dating back more than 5,000 years ago, such as the 8,000-year-old dragon image unearthed from Chahai, Fuxin, Liaoning. There are dragons carved out of stones, a pottery dragon unearthed in Zhaobaogou, Chifeng, Inner Mongolia, dating back 7,000 years, a painted pottery dragon unearthed in Beishouling, Baoji, Shaanxi, dating back 7,000 years, and a dragon unearthed in Xishuipo, Puyang, Henan, dating back 6,000 years. A dragon made from clams that is more than 1,400 years old, a dragon made from rammed loess that was unearthed from Qingshuihecha River in Inner Mongolia for 6,000 years, a dragon made from river pebbles that was unearthed from Jiaodun in Huangmei, Hubei that is nearly 6,000 years ago, and a dragon made from river pebbles unearthed from Xiping in Gangu, Gansu. A painted pottery dragon dating back 5,500 years, a jade dragon unearthed in Sanxingtala Village, Wengniute Banner, Inner Mongolia dating back more than 5,000 years, a painted pottery coiled dragon unearthed in Xiangfen Tao Temple, Shanxi, dating back 5,000 years, Hanshan Mountain in Anhui The white jade dragon unearthed in Lingjiatan dating back five thousand years, and so on. The image of the dragon is distributed in such a wide range and period, which makes the origin of the dragon obscure again.

Before Buddhist scriptures were introduced to China, the term Dragon King had already appeared in Chinese Taoism. In the relevant Taoist classics, there have long been statements such as the Dragon King of the Heavens and the Dragon King of the Five Directions.

In fact, Indian Buddhism also has a great influence on Chinese dragon culture. It is said that the dragon in Buddhism is derived from the original snake-shaped god in India, Sanskrit: Naga, who can live in the mountains and waters and become king.

Due to the striking similarity between "Naga" in Indian Buddhist scriptures and Chinese dragon, "Naga" was consistently translated as "dragon" during the translation of Buddhist scriptures into Chinese.

In ancient times, the image of the Chinese Poseidon was that of a bird, which later evolved into an aquatic creature. After Buddhism was introduced to China, a large number of titles and deeds of the Dragon King were found in Buddhist scriptures, which also led to the emergence of familiar concepts such as the Dragon King of the Four Seas among the people. "Tongdian" says: "The Emperor Ming of the Tang Dynasty granted the title of Dragon King of the Four Seas." During the Tang Dynasty, a system of offering sacrifices to the Dragon King of the Four Seas was established.

Shuowen says: The dragon scale insect is the leader. Neng Neng Neng Ming. Can be small or big. Can be long or short. Climb to the sky at the Spring Equinox. The autumnal equinox enters the earth smoothly.

Guang Ya said: Those with scales are called dragons. It has wings and is called Yinglong. There is a horn called Qiu (qiú). The hornless one is called Chi (chī). Before ascending to heaven, it is called Panlong.

The poet waved the rhinoceros and said: The shape of the dragon is like a snake, its head is like a tiger, it can be several feet long, and it mostly lives under the stone caves of streams and pools, and its sound is like the croaking of a cow. If the dragon sees a person walking on the bank or in a valley, it will wrap its mouth with fishy saliva, make it fall into the water, and then suck its blood under its armpits until the blood is gone. People on shore and people on boats often suffer from it.

 

worship of the dragon

 

The Year of the Dragon is calculated from the beginning of spring in the twenty-four solar terms, because the zodiac year is dependent on the chronology of the stems and branches, and the chronology of the stems and branches is the method of the ganzhi calendar. This is true for all official almanacs (i.e. almanacs) of all dynasties. The lunar calendar only uses the stems and branches to mark the year, and its year range is from the first day of the first lunar month to the New Year's Eve. This point is not controversial. The lunar calendar and the Ganzhi calendar are two different calendars. They are different in the starting point of the year, the rules of dividing the months, and the number of days in each year. Since the Gregorian calendar was adopted after the Republic of China, many people lacked knowledge of the calendar, so the two are often confused.

The Ganzhi Calendar is a calendar that uses 60 different groups of heavenly stems and earthly branches to mark the year, month, day, and time. It is a unique solar calendar in China. It starts with the beginning of spring and divides the twelve months with twenty-four solar terms. Each month contains two solar terms and there is no leap month. The Ganzhi calendar is related to the cyclical movement of the earth around the sun, which can reflect climate changes throughout the year.

Since ancient times, the Ganzhi Calendar has been commonly understood by officials and people. It has been used in subjects such as astronomy, Feng Shui, numerology, selection, and traditional Chinese medicine, and has been recorded in the official almanacs of all dynasties (i.e., the Yellow Calendar). Take the Qing Dynasty's official history book "Qing Shi Lu" as an example. The chronology of the stems and branches in the book all use the beginning of spring as the dividing point: For example, Zhonghua Book Company photocopied the seventeenth volume of "Qing Shi Lu", the ninth volume of Qianlong Shi Lu, page 573, Qianlong Spring began on December 22nd of the twenty-seventh year (Gengxu). The record in "Records" is: "Gengxu. It was the beginning of spring in the year of Guiwei." See also Chapter 95 of "A Dream of Red Mansions" in the Qing Dynasty: "It is the beginning of spring." Spring begins on December 18th of the year Jiayin, and the death day of Yuanchun falls on December 19th, which is already the Yin month of the year Mao." This clearly points out the switching point of the Ganzhi calendar in the calendar year.

In fact, the worship of dragons by the ancients is not only reflected in the zodiac culture. The ancient emperors who regarded themselves as the "true dragon emperor" and the beautiful expectations of "hoping that their children will become dragons" are actually derived from the awe and respect for dragons. worship. To this day, even though most people know that dragon does not exist, its status in the hearts of Chinese people is still very high.

 

Ancient image of Qinglong

 

tomb

 

In the midsummer of 1987, an ancient tomb was discovered on Xishui Slope in Puyang, Henan. Its age was about 6,500 years ago. The so-called "first dragon and first tiger in China" were found in the tomb. However, after nearly three years of research, experts concluded that this is not an ordinary tomb with dragon, tiger and clam sculptures. The entire tomb is a complete celestial phenomenon with a "round sky and a square place" reflecting the "Supreme Sky Theory" In the picture, dragon and tiger are the blue dragon and white tiger in the celestial phenomena.

 

Year number

 

Among the many dynasties, some monarchs took Qinglong as their reign name, such as Emperor Wei Ming of the Three Kingdoms. It is also mentioned in the historical records that the Xia Dynasty was a dynasty of Mu De, so he had the auspiciousness of "the Qinglong was born in the suburbs" records of omens.

 

Cultural relics related to Qinglong

 

The lacquer box from the tomb of Marquis Zeng Yi is a cultural relic of the Warring States Period. It was unearthed in 1978 when archaeologists from Hubei Province excavated the tomb of Marquis Zeng Yi in the early Warring States period at Leigudun, Suizhou. The lacquer box cover has astronomical images painted on the left and right sides and the front side. The lacquer box There is also a four-character annotation on the cover of the box "Jiayin Sanri", which records the complete names of the twenty-eight constellations for the first time, as well as the names of the four elephants such as Qinglong.

In 1968, a jade jade with double dragon valley pattern was unearthed from the tomb of King Jing Liu Sheng in Mancheng, Hebei Province. It is 25.9 centimeters in height, 13.4 centimeters in outer diameter, and 0.6 centimeters thick. Openwork • Flat body, the same pattern on both sides of the jade, with ribs on the periphery, fully decorated with grain patterns, and orderly arrangement • The upper end of the jade is decorated with an openwork double dragon pattern, with the dragons on their backs, their mouths open and their chests raised, the long horns on the back of the head rising, and the tail curled upwards , there is a symmetrical double-stranded cirrus pattern on the upper part of the tail, a pointed crown-shaped object emerges from the middle, and there is a small perforation. It is now on display in the Mancheng Han Tomb Exhibition Area of the Hebei Provincial Museum.

The Four Elephant Jade Bisqing Dragon exhibit is a jade ritual vessel of the Han Dynasty with the theme of "Four Elephants". There are four pieces in a set, namely "Qinglong, White Tiger, Suzaku, and Xuanwu". The main part of the body is a chi tiger jade bi, the chi tiger part in the middle of the jade bi is rotatable, and there are 16 relief characters engraved around the outer edge of the jade bi. There is a green dragon carved on the upper edge of the outer edge of the jade. It is now collected in Xiamen Ancient Culture and Art Museum. [54]

The tiles with green dragon pattern of the Han Dynasty were unearthed from the Hanshi City ruins in Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province. It was used in the construction of Chang'an City in the Han Dynasty. The diameter is 18.6 cm and the side wheel is 2 cm wide. The tile surface is decorated with a green dragon. The body of the dragon is carved with chariot armor. The feet pedal on the inner edge of the wheel. The branches at the end of the flying wings are rolled up. The eyes are angry and the mouth is open. The dragon beard is connected to the neck. The deified dragon on the tile surface has the characteristics of a dragon and a dragon. The dragon is the first of the four gods and represents the east, so the green dragon pattern tiles are used in the east of the building. Now in the collection of Shaanxi Provincial Museum.

The painted green dragon portrait brick is 19 cm long, 38 cm wide and 6 cm thick. The bricks are rectangular in shape, with a rope pattern on the back and a green dragon pattern on the front. The dragon's body is curled into an S shape, with a thin neck and a snake body. The dragon's claws are extended forward, the two horns are thrown back, the mouth is open and the teeth are exposed, the chest is raised and the neck is raised, and the wings are spread and the tail is raised like a gallop. The dragon body is decorated with flowers and X-shaped cloud patterns. The portrait was originally painted in red, yellow, green and other colors.

A brick with a green dragon pattern unearthed from a Han tomb near Renjiazui, Xianyang, Weiyang District, Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province. This brick is a bas-relief portrait, with double dragon arches on the front and side, and a single blue dragon leaping on the two end faces. It is the only Maoling style work found among the blue dragon portrait bricks.

 

folk activities

 

temple fair

 

The Chaozhou Qinglong Temple Fair is the fourth batch of intangible cultural heritage in Guangdong Province. It has held a centralized display of 28 Chaozhou intangible cultural heritage items, a Chinese Chaozhou embroidery exhibition, a special session of Chaozhou opera and Chaozhou opera, a large Chaozhou painting, a photography competition, a Chaozhou salon and other activities. . The event attracted more than 3 million people in China to watch or participate in the event. Chaozhou groups from Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Macau and other groups participated.

 

sacrifice

 

The worship of the Five Dragon Gods in Xingqing Palace that emerged in the Tang Dynasty is one of the links in the development of the Five Dragons belief. Modern worship of the Five Dragon Gods has been included in the national sacrifices. The rituals of worshiping the Five Dragon Gods are mainly based on "Zhou Rites" The standards for the small sacrifices of the middle group of sacrifices are formulated, and the contents of the sacrifices and blessings reflect the belief in the Five Dragons, with the Qinglong God as the main one and the other four dragons as the supplement.