The origin of the dragon.

As a symbol of China culture, dragons are not completely occupied by emperors. In the folk, dragons still appear in various ways. Almost all ethnic groups in China have legends and stories about dragons. People celebrate festivals with dragon boat races and lanterns, and pray for good weather by offering sacrifices to dragons. Here are some legends about dragons:

The legend of the dragon-Tianlong;

Taiyuan Evening News Supplement was named "Tianlong". A friend asked: What is Tianlong? Why are there dragons?

Tianlong, of course, refers to the dragon in the sky, or the dragon ascending to heaven. The reason why dragons can soar in is determined by their materiality and divinity. The divinity of the dragon can be summarized by being fond of water, good at flying, flying, fickle, showing spirits, seeking wealth, omening disasters and demonstrating. Among them, "flying well" and "flying into the sky" are the decisive factors for the formation of "dragon" We know that as a collection object of dragons, lightning, clouds, rainbows, etc. Originally, it was a "celestial phenomenon" flying in the air; Fish, crocodiles and snakes dive into the water, and horses, cows and deer run on land at the same speed as "flying" dates. Due to the fuzziness of thinking, the ancients often regarded fish, crocodiles and snakes diving in water, horses, cows and deer running on land, and lightning, clouds and rainbows soaring in the air as different manifestations of a sacred object.

"Good flying" is bound to "soar into the sky". Because the direction and field of "flying" is natural, it can only be mysterious, vast and supreme. Therefore, from ancient times to the present, people always let dragons often appear in the boundless sky and clouds. On the black pottery ear basin unearthed from Hemudu site in Yuyao, Zhejiang Province, there are patterns depicting "fish algae pattern" and "bird pattern" at the same time; The "bird fish pattern" unearthed at the Beishouling site in Baoji, Shaanxi Province also connects birds flying in the sky with fish, dates, dragons and other collectibles swimming in the water. This shows that as early as the early Neolithic age, at the beginning of the fuzzy collection of dragons, dragons began to have the meaning of "reaching the sky". A silk painting of dragons and phoenixes reaching the sky was unearthed in the Chu tomb of Chenjiadashan, Changsha. The dragon on the screen, with its tail curled vertically, its head facing the sky, and its limbs leaping with claws. Next to it is its companion, the phoenix with its head held high and its wings spread. Under the dragon and phoenix, stood a woman in a skirt with her hands folded. Obviously, this woman is praying, guided by dragons and phoenixes, and wants to fly into the sky and be a free "fairy".

In this way, the dragon has the ability and identity to communicate with heaven and earth, and becomes a bridge and messenger between heaven and earth. The reason why those autocratic emperors call themselves "real dragon emperors" lies in their accurate understanding of the divinity of dragons and their ability to act as bridges and messengers between heaven and earth.

For ordinary people, "Dragon and Eight Branches" is a kind of correspondence, release and externalization of national psychology. Our ancestors lived in an extremely difficult environment, with frequent natural disasters, clan struggles and many pains of birth, illness and death. After entering the class society, the pressure from autocratic imperial power has increased, and this latter kind of pressure is combined with morality and ethics, which is poured into people's blood in the form of "three cardinal guides and five permanents" and irrefutably binds people's hands and feet. However, the pursuit of freedom is human nature, but it is always bound. Therefore, people hope, hope and fantasize to break free from the rope, escape from the world and live an unrestrained life that can fully develop nature.

Dragons provide the possibility of satisfying people's psychology. It can swim comfortably in the water, walk nimbly on the ground and fly smartly in the sky. How beautiful the sky is! The bright moon, the snow-white clouds, the gorgeous glow, the leisurely wind, the electric switch Wan Ren and the thunder all around ... Tianlong, Tianlong, in fact, people want to fly high and fly high.

Dragon Legend-Dragon Ball;

People often find "dragon playing with pearls" (including "single dragon playing with pearls", "double dragon playing with pearls", "three dragons playing with pearls" and "multi-dragons playing with pearls") on architectural colorful paintings, sculptures and costumes embroidery. A friend asked: What is the "Dragon Ball"? Where did the "Dragon Ball" come from? What about "dragon playing with pearls"?

Dragon balls are related to dragons. "The pearl of a thousand dollars must be under the dragon's jaw of the nine abyss." That's what Zhuangzi said. "Yaya" also said that "the dragon ball is in the jaw". Strange Tales says: "Where there is a dragon ball, the dragon will spit it out ... The Vietnamese proverb says,' It is better to plant a dragon ball than to plant a thousand mu of wooden slaves. "The above statement has two meanings: first, the dragon ball is often hidden in the dragon's mouth, and at the right time, the dragon will spit it out; Second, the value of the Dragon Ball is very high. In the folk proverb, it is better to plant a thousand acres of citrus than to get a dragon ball.

So, where did the Dragon Ball come from? Why do dragons play with pearls?

As we know, pearls are some mollusks in the water. Under certain external conditions, their shells are endocrine and form round particles, which are popular because of their bright luster, so they are called pearls. Since animals in the water can give birth to pearls, as the dragon of the aquarium, it is natural to have pearls and give birth to jujubes, which should be a basic idea of the Dragon Ball myth.

However, it seems that things are not that simple. Dragons are vaguely assembled creatures in mythology, and the objects of assembly are fish, crocodiles, snakes, pigs, horses, cows, lightning, clouds, rainbows and so on. Among them, crocodiles and snakes lay eggs. Eggs are round or granular, much larger than pearls. Then, will the ancients regard crocodile eggs and snake eggs as a kind of "bead"? The answer is yes. The ancients could mainly collect crocodiles and snakes, and naturally they would not ignore their eggs; For crocodiles and snakes, eggs are of great significance and the source of life. If there are eggs, there will be crocodiles, snakes and then dragons. So eggs can completely enter the dragon's life as "beads". Then, the dragon ball is the dragon egg; Playing with pearls is actually an "egg" played by dragons, a sacred object of dragons, and a care, caress and respect for life. Among them, it embodies and expresses a kind of "life consciousness" of the ancients, that is, the understanding, understanding and exertion of endless life phenomena.

The folk legend of swallowing pearls and turning dragons provides a footnote for our point of view: a teenager mows grass (or draws water), gets a treasure pearl, puts it in a rice jar to increase rice, and puts it in a till to make money. When a rich man found out, he brought people to rob pearls. The teenager put the beads in his mouth in a hurry, but accidentally swallowed them. So I longed for water, and when the water in the jar dried up, I went to drink river water, river water. Drinking and drinking, his head has horns, his eyes protrude outward, and his body has scales, turning into a dragon. Such legends are widely circulated in Sichuan, Zhejiang, Guangdong and other places, revealing the preciousness of "pearls" and the relationship between pearls and dragon life.

The sun is another understanding of "pearl". Some dragon-playing bead patterns we have seen, especially two dragon-playing bead patterns, mostly have flames rising, which are clearly a "fire bead" or a "fireball"; Below is the turbulent sea, which can be understood as a fireball jumping out of the sea. In people's vision and concept, it can be called "fireball", and the sun can rank first. So, obviously, the fireball went out to sea, which means the sun went out to sea. Now that the sun is out to sea, why should dragons "play"? Here we would like to introduce the four gods in the eyes of the ancients: Oriental Dragon, Western White Tiger, Southern Suzaku and Northern Xuanwu. The sun rises in the east, and the dragon is a sacred object representing the east. In this way, dragon playing with beads is the sun worship, which is the fusion of sun worship and dragon worship.

Dragons are divided into male and female, which is also the reason why Erlong plays with more bead patterns. If a pearl lays an egg, it means that both parents care about and care for the child; If pearls are the solution of the sun, then it is the male dragon and the female dragon that greet the rising sun and let the bright sunshine shine on the earth. Furthermore, the two dragons are symmetrical, the dragons are long, the beads are round and smooth, and there is also a sense of composition.

The legend of the dragon-Oolong;

There are only a dozen families in Longtan Fort under Shaohua Mountain. There are two people living in the village: a father and a daughter named Liu, who make a living by selling tofu. My daughter is a pearl phoenix. She looks beautiful and handsome.

One day, Zhu Feng went to fetch water and caught a little black snake. She caught the little black snake, put it on the well platform and said, "Poor thing, let it go!" " "The little black snake nodded to her, turned and ran into the well.

Zhu Fenggang came into the room carrying water when she heard someone calling her from behind. Turning around, I saw a beautiful young man in his twenties. The young man grabbed Zhu Feng's hand and put a round bead in her hand. He said, "I am the fifth prince of the Weihe Dragon King. Just playing in Longtan, I accidentally bumped into your hook and broke free. Thanks for saving my life. This is a dragon ball. If you put it in a water tank, you don't have to carry water every day. If you have any difficulties in the future, just tell me. " Say that finish, suddenly disappeared. Zhu Feng chased out the door, only to see a white mist at the wellhead, and heard the well water rushing a few times. She felt as if she were in a dream, looking at her hand, which was obviously a treasure. After entering the room, she threw the dragon ball into the water tank. Wow, the water splashed everywhere, and the tank was full of clear water. It's sweeter than well water. Zhu Feng knew it was a treasure. She didn't tell anyone, even her parents. I just often think of Oolong, and go to the well every day to pick a handful of water and secretly look into the well.

In Sunjiabao, four or five miles away from Longtan Fort, there lived a rich family, Yin Lixian. When his mother died, Liu Laohan had no money for burial, so he borrowed 12 silver from Yin. Life is poor and I can't afford it, but I often send some tofu to Yin's family, and I should pay the interest. These twelve books are not hurried, and I am happy to eat tofu all year round without spending money.

Miss Zhu Feng is one year older, and the worse she falls. Yin Lixian cunning turned around, playing the Zhu Feng idea. First, I hired a glib matchmaker to give Zhu Feng a bride price. Liu Laohan refused, but Zhu Feng was strong-willed. She raised the gift box and threw it outside the door, and the matchmaker ate a rebuff.

When Yin knew this, he rolled his eyes in anger and scolded, "This old thing is shameless. He has owed ten taels of silver for more than ten years. Hum! Even if you pay one hundred and twenty pieces of silver with interest, you can't pay anything in three days! " He squinted and sneered: "Call Miss Zhu Feng to pay the bill!" When the words reached Liu Laohan's ears, he didn't have an idea. Zhu Feng just crawled on the edge of the kang and cried, but she couldn't get over it. "She fell asleep in the middle of the night and ran to the drilling platform. She gritted her teeth and shouted sideways, "mom, I'll go with you!" "As soon as you close your eyes, you jump into the well.

Zhu Feng only felt dizzy, like walking on clouds. Suddenly I heard someone shouting in my ear: "Zhu Feng, sister Zhu Feng!" " I slowly opened my eyes and saw that I didn't fall into the water, but lay on Oolong's arm. "Brother Oolong!" Like seeing relatives, she threw herself into Oolong's arms and burst into tears. Oolong advised her, "Zhu Feng, I know everything about you. Don't be sad. Dogs are rich and cruel. God bless. Watch me clean up this old dog. " ... I'll take you home! "Zhu Feng refused, he whispered in her ear, said, tears streaming down her face, nodding.

I heard that Zhu Feng jumped into a well and the villagers went down with torches to save people. Oolong saw someone coming down and whispered to Zhu Feng, "Good sister, I won't see you off." Hold Zhu Feng up with both hands. The person who went down the well touched Zhu Feng, tied a rope and saved her.

In the dead of night, Zhu Feng told her father about her and Oolong from beginning to end. The old man was secretly surprised, but dubious. Zhu Feng fished out the dragon ball from the urn. When the old man saw that it was not a common thing, he believed Zhu Feng's words. The news that Zhu Feng jumped into a well and was rescued reached Yin Lixian's ears. The old thief smiled cunningly and smoothed his moustache: "Hey, it's obviously sunny. My Yin family is very rich, and gold and silver are everywhere. Really ... Ah, hey ... "I took one look and ordered the servants to prepare separately. Early the next morning, the old thief ran to Zhu Feng's house with a group of servants. On the way, a gust of wind blew away the sand and the bride price. The thief Yin Lian fell to the ground with his horse. After the gale, the old thief saw that the bride price was empty and everyone was there, so he rubbed his crooked nose, took a bunch of servants, waved a stick and went straight to Liu Laohan's house to grab the Pearl Phoenix.

Oolong saw the old thief do three things, but he still didn't know how to change it. The old thief rushed to the well platform and showed his true colors, with a dragon ball and a clear spring in his mouth. At that time, there was lightning and thunder, and the waves were huge. Yin thieves cried and cried, rolled with the waves, and were washed into the Weishui River to feed the fish and turtles.

After a while, the dark clouds cleared and the sky was full of sunshine. A black dragon is dancing in the clouds, and Miss Zhu Feng is sitting on its back. Flying to the top of the mountain, Oolong lay down to rest, and Zhu Feng waved goodbye to his father and villagers.

From then on, people called this village Longquan Village, and later changed it to Longtanbao. The mountain where the dragon rests is also named Wulong Mountain Scenic Resort, which has long been called Wulong Mountain Scenic Resort Scenic Area.

The legend of the dragon-dragon boat;

Dragon boat race, also known as "dragon boat race", "dragon boat rowing" and "dragon boat race", is a mass entertainment activity with a long history. The reasons have always been different, mainly as follows:

One theory is to commemorate Gou Jian, the king of Yue, who trained the navy and defeated Wu. "The story of crossing the sea spreads to the clouds, and the competition begins with Gou Jian, the king of Yue, and now the dragon boat is also." ("The Original Things, Duanyang") wuyue was at war, and Gou Jian was defeated and captured. He lived in Wu for three years, won the trust of Fu Cha, the king of Wu, and was put back to Yue. After returning home, he was determined to avenge himself. On the fifth day of May of that year, the Navy was established and began to practice. Finally, a few years later, Wu was wiped out in one fell swoop. In order to show Gou Jian's indomitable spirit, later generations followed the practice of the Yue navy and held a boat race on May 5 as a commemoration.

Second, to commemorate the legend of Wu Zixu and Cao E, Wu Zixu was slandered by Fu Cha, the prince of Wu, and ordered to throw him into the waves of Qiantang River and sail to save him. "Meet Wu Jun on May 5th, swim against the waves and be submerged" (Cao Ebei). Later generations rowed dragon boats to rescue soldiers.

Third, in memory of Chu doctor Qu Yuan. This statement is generally accepted, and its written record began in the book "Continued Harmony" written by Liang people in the Southern Dynasties: "Chu doctor Qu Yuan died in the Miluo River, and the Chu people mourned it and saved it with a boat. Running in Duanyang is a legacy. "

In addition to the above, there are also some different opinions in various places. In southeastern Guizhou, there is a saying that the dragon boat race is to commemorate the old man who killed the dragon. Dai people in Yunnan believe that it is to commemorate the ancient hero Yan Hongwo (also known as "Yan Hongwo"). There are also some sayings, such as "welcome the summer solstice" and "avoid evil days"-May is an "evil month" and the fifth day of May is an ominous day.

The dragon is an auspicious animal. Xilong is synonymous with evil.

Not long ago, a professor at a university in Shanghai published an article about "abolishing the dragon as a symbol of China's national image", which made the word "dragon" a hot topic overnight. The main argument of teaching "Fei Long" is that in the eyes of westerners, dragon is an evil animal. Then, as an animal with a history of thousands of years, which only exists in legends, why did the dragons in the west become so notorious, and how did the dragons in China evolve into auspicious animals?

In ancient times, dragons were auspicious beasts, and west dragons were loyal guards.

As early as 4000 years ago, there appeared a monster called "dragon" in western fairy tales, and this monster is the "dragon" in the west. In contrast, dragons appeared much earlier. According to archaeological findings, in the Neolithic Age more than 7,000 years ago, our people began to worship the primitive dragon totem. In ancient times, "foreign dragons" were usually described as ugly, evil and simple-minded monsters like pythons or lizards. Most of them are blue-black, with invulnerable scales, wedge-shaped heads and long fangs, and some have more than one head. Although people are still controversial about what animal the prototype of the Western Dragon is, many people think it is closely related to snakes. For example, the dragon in Norwegian ancient mythology is a "human python". It is said that its body length can circle the earth. When Thor was ready to destroy it, it was instantly killed by its venom. In contemporary China, dragons are basically regarded as auspicious animals. The dragon in China's mind is often the mount of a god or a man of god. In the Book of Rites and Li Yun, the dragon is also called the head of the four spirits: dragon, forest, phoenix and turtle.

Among the western myths and legends about dragons in this period, the most famous one is the ancient Greek myth. In Greek mythology, the dragon mentioned above is a dragon-shaped giant fighting Zeus, the god of gods. These dragon giants were born of Gaia, the goddess of the earth, and Uranus, the god of the gods. They are fierce, with messy hair and a scaly tail dragging behind them. In most Greek mythology, the dragon plays the role of such a rebel, but it is repeatedly defeated by gods and heroes, and even becomes the object of being fooled.

In ancient Greek mythology, dragons also played another important role ―― loyal guardians. Hercules is a hero in Greek mythology. His father Zeus wanted him to live forever, but Hera didn't like him and asked Hercules to complete twelve terrible tests first. The tenth test is to steal the golden apples guarded by Long Ladon. Ladon, a hundred-headed dragon, waits under the golden apple tree day and night, guarding the fruit tree for the daughter of Night God, and never sleeps. Hercules took great pains to deal with him, and finally asked others to hypnotize Ladon before he killed Ladon and stole the golden apple. In another Greek myth, the story of golden fleece, there is also a dragon guarding the treasure. In order to get golden fleece in the sacred forest, hero Jason asked his lover Medea to pray for the sleeping god Slavic and invited the goddess of hell, which made the dragon guards who had been on alert sleepy. Then Jason spilled magic liquid into the dragon's eyes, making it unconscious, and then he got golden fleece. But the dragon was lucky not to be killed.

Due to the far-reaching influence of ancient Greek civilization on the west, the image of the Greek dragon has been inherited and carried forward throughout Europe, and the dragon appears in myths and legends or folk stories of Italy, Germany, Nordic countries and Britain.

Middle Ages: The dragon became the symbol of the emperor, and Ou Long degenerated into the incarnation of the devil.

Around the 2nd century AD, the image of European dragons changed greatly. It is poisonous, spits fire, and has wings like a bat and a big belly. This is grotesque, greedy, cunning and cruel. This appearance is completely different from the image of the dragon. At the same time, people in China usually think that the dragon is a beast with "horns like deer, head like camel, eyes like rabbits, neck like snakes, abdomen like slugs, scales like fish, claws like eagles, hands like tigers, ears like cows", and "beards beside the mouth, beads under the jaw and scales under the throat". Being good at change can make sex and rain beneficial to everything. Dragons in China mythology generally live in the abyss or the sea, and don't eat fireworks. If the environment is not quiet, they will fly away. Western dragons, on the other hand, like to live in huge caves, craters, lakes or oceans, often feeding on people or animals, and like to stay in places where gold and silver treasures are stored. If someone infringes, they will take crazy revenge.

Since the Tang Dynasty, the dragon has a close relationship with the emperor, so there are some sayings such as the real dragon emperor, the dragon cheongsam, the dragon court dragon chariot and so on. With the rise of Christianity in Europe, the Bible has once again changed the image of dragons in the western world. In the biblical story, Satan turns into a red dragon, and his tail sweeps across the stars in the sky13. It has seven heads, each wearing a crown, greedily devouring the newborn baby. As a result, Xilong degenerated from a "miser" to the most evil devil, and was described as a representative of evil, cunning and cruelty. With the spread of Christianity and the expansion of Europeans, the dragon is the devil, and the notoriety of Satan has spread in Europe and even the whole world.

So in the Middle Ages, a large number of fairy tales about dragon slaughter appeared in Europe. In the story, the battle between the knight and the dragon is considered as a contest between good and evil. In Christian legends, there are many saints fighting dragons, the most famous of which is St. George. In this fairy tale, St George is a Roman general and a Christian living in the 4th century. When he traveled to a place, he heard that there was a dragon in the local lake. The dragon asked the local people to dedicate a girl to it every day, or cut off their water supply. Just as the dragon was about to eat the last local girl, St. George appeared. He stabbed the dragon to death with only one shot. After the dragon died, blood spilled all over the earth, and delicate and charming roses grew. To this day, Catalans living in northeastern Spain still commemorate St. George with bright red roses.

The story of St George has a great influence in European countries. It preaches the spirit of protecting the weak, facing the aggressors and not being afraid of sacrifice. St George is also regarded as the guardian saint of England, and the British flag with the Red Cross on a white background is called the "St George's Flag".

In modern times, the dragon was once printed with the national flag, and the west became a derogatory term.

In modern times, with the development of science, people gradually got rid of ignorance, and westerners finally realized that the dragon was just an imaginary animal and no longer feared it. However, dragon has still become a fixed derogatory term in western culture. For example, the old dragon has become synonymous with the devil. In western literature, dragon has become a vivid word to describe evil. In the classic Hard Times, Dickens satirized Mrs. Sparsit as a dragon guarding the bank. In Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, when Juliet heard that her cousin was killed by Romeo, she said sadly, "Ah, there is a snake-like heart hidden in a flower-like face! Which dragon once lived in this elegant residence? "

During this period, the dragon also entered the western political culture, and the two opposing camps often called each other dragon. During World War II, German posters often showed such scenes: Nazi soldiers armed with lightning, grenades and swords killed dragons-enemy troops and Jews. Of course, the opponent has not let go of the real dragon Germany. A famous Polish poster painted Germany as an ugly dragon, while Poland was painted as St George, fighting the Nazi dragon.

In the modern history of the East, East Asian countries, including China, still keep dragons at arm's length. At first, the Qing government regarded the dragon as a symbol of the royal family. Later, when dealing with the West, I specially painted it on the national flag as the national flag of China. Since then, the dragon has become the national image of China. At first, the dragon flag was triangular. Later, considering that the national flags of all countries are rectangular, the Qing government changed the dragon flag into a rectangle. After the dragon flag is the national anthem with the theme of dragon. 1906, the war department of the Qing Dynasty wrote a military song "Ode to the Dragon Flag", which was once used as the national anthem. The military song sang: "In 40,000 years, the East Asian Empire! Mountains are independent vertically and horizontally, and rivers spread the wave of civilization; 400 trillion people are gods and the land is rich in natural resources. Raise my Huanglong imperial emblem and sing my imperial song! " Through the contact with the Qing government and China people, some western Renye Fang people gradually realized that the dragons in China are actually different from those in the west.

Although the dragon flag fluttered, the weak empire perished. After the fall of the Qing government, the dragon is no longer the official symbol of the country, but in the eyes of China people, the dragon is still the embodiment of Chinese ancestors and the cultural symbol of the Chinese nation, and China people are proud to be "descendants of the dragon". Through the evolution history of dragons in the East and the West, we can see that although the western "dragons" and China's "dragons" are both products of imagination, they can never be equated. They have different cultural origins, different images, different mythological responsibilities and contradictory symbolic meanings. I believe that foreigners will fall in love with dragons after learning about China's cultural traditions.