Tell me about your favorite animal, even the legendary one. But be sure to write the reason.

1. The miraculous animal in ancient legends of China has a long body, scales, horns and feet, and can walk, fly, swim, cloud and rain.

2. In feudal times, the dragon, as a symbol of the emperor, was also used to refer to the emperor and their affairs: Long Yan | Longting | Dragon Robe.

3. Shaped like a dragon or equipped with a dragon totem: dragon boat | dragon lantern | dragon car.

4. Long.

5. Dragon ranks fifth among the traditional Chinese zodiac 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.

6. Winged animals in western mythology. Look at the western dragon

Chinese loong

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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 thousands of years, dragons have penetrated into all aspects of China society and become a kind of cultural cohesion and accumulation. Dragon has become a symbol of China, the Chinese nation and China culture. For every Chinese descendant, the image of the dragon is a symbol, a mood, and a feeling of flesh and blood! . The names "Descendants of the Dragon" and "Descendants of the Dragon" often make us excited, 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.

The origin of dragons

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In the early days, the ancients could not make a reasonable explanation for most natural phenomena, so they imagined that there was such an animal that could dominate, manipulate and manage these animals and astronomical phenomena, just as a clan must have a leader. The characteristics of many of their animals are concentrated together, gradually forming the dragon's appearance: a snail's head, a snake's body, antlers, turtle's eyes, fish scales, Tiger Claw, eagle's claws and bull's ears. This composite structure means that the dragon is the head of all animals and the almighty god.

The fuzzy collection process of dragons began in the Xia Dynasty of Neolithic Age, and various dragons were developed from Shang and Zhou Dynasties to Warring States Period. By the Qin and Han dynasties, the shape of the dragon was gradually unified and fixed, and its shape continued to change and develop in subsequent dynasties until today.

At present, there are crocodile theory, lizard theory and horse theory about the prototype of the dragon, 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. 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 (see below):

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. 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. There is also a saying that snakes evolved after eating elixir.

Classification of dragons

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And [tng] snakes that 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 autumn (Hongbu quoted Sao and Guangya). The one with wings is called (Wang Note). We can see these different kinds of dragons on the bronzes of Shang, Zhou and Warring States in China.

Lun Heng said: "The image of a dragon is the tail of a horse." It is also said that the shape of the dragon is the horn of a deer, the ears 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's feet and the claws of an eagle. Compendium of Materia Medica says that "dragons have nine similarities", which is a heterogeneous animal with the advantages of all kinds of animals. 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. After the later development, the images of these dragons are more and more complex than the original dragons, and more and more totems are incorporated, which shows that they are constantly enriching and developing.

Probably five-claw dragon, four-claw dragon, three-claw dragon;

Before the Yuan Dynasty, the dragon spine had three claws, sometimes the first two feet had three claws, and the last two feet had four claws. Examples can be found in porcelain ornamentation in Tang, Song and Yuan Dynasties. Four-claw dragon was popular in Ming dynasty, and five-claw dragon was the most popular in Qing dynasty.

The folk saying that "five claws are dragons and four claws are pythons" was formed in the Qing Dynasty, mainly because of the difference in clothing between emperors and ministers. The emperor wears the "dragon robe", while other royal families and ministers wear the "embroidered robe", but this is only the difference in name. Judging from the shape of dragons, dragons and pythons are quadrupeds, and there is no difference in appearance.

[Guo Longqiujiao /b]

Octopus: It's an early kind of dragon, which is modeled on a reptile-snake and often moves in the water. "It takes five hundred years to become a jiaozi, and it takes a thousand years to become a dragon." It is the embryonic form of the dragon, which once appeared on the bronze decoration in the late Western Zhou Dynasty, but not much.

Qiu: Generally speaking, a little dragon without horns is called Qiu Long, which is a growing dragon. Therefore, the ancient literature records: "The horn is called autumn, and the horn is called dragon." The other is that the young dragon is called autumn after it has horns. Although there are differences between the two statements. But everyone is called the growing Longqiu. Others call the dragon of Panqu the dragon, and Du Mu, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, has a sentence of "A thousand plays play a sheep's intestines" in his poem "Talking about Qingyun".

Pan Guo is a snake-shaped monster of the genus Dragon, which is an early dragon without horns. There is a description of "killing dragons without horns" in Guangya. There are also two views on dragons, one refers to the yellow horned dragon and the other refers to the female dragon. There is a note in Han Zhuan that "the red dragon is also a female dragon", so the unearthed Warring States period is decorated with dragons and dragons, which means that men and women mate. From the Spring and Autumn Period to the Qin and Han Dynasties, bronzes, jade carvings, bronze mirrors or buildings were often decorated in the shape of flat flies, including single flies, double flies, three flies, five flies and even swarms of flies. Or as a title card, or as a ring, or as a book. In addition, there are Bo Gu beetles, ring beetles and other changes.

Jiao: Generally speaking, it refers to a scaly dragon that can cause floods. According to legend, the water of the dragon can make clouds and fog and soar in space. In ancient Chinese, it is often used to mean that talented people get the opportunity to display their talents. There are different opinions about the origin and shape of jiaozi in classical literature, some say that "dragons have no horns and are called jiaozi", while others say that "scales are called Xiaolong". The third volume of Mo Ke Dao Rhinoceros is more specific: Jiao is shaped like a snake, with a head like a tiger and an elder of dozens of feet. Most of them live under the caves in Xitan, and their voices are like cattle. If Jiao sees pedestrians on the shore or in the ravine, he will entangle them with his mouth and make people fall into the water, that is, suck their blood under his arm until the blood runs out. People on shore and on board often suffer from it. There is a story in Liu Yiqing's Shi Shuo Xin Yu in the Southern Song Dynasty, saying that he went into the water for three days and three nights at the beginning of the week to chop jiaozi back. Jiao may be a crocodile.

Ceratosaurus: refers to a horned dragon. According to Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio, "A Thousand-year-old Dragon, a Hundred-year-old dragon five Horned Dragon", Horned Dragon is an old man among dragons.

Ying Long: The winged dragon is called Ying Long. According to Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio, "dragon five has been a Ceratosaurus for a hundred years, and Ying Long for a thousand years", Ying Long is the essence of the dragon, so he has wings. According to legend, Ying Long was the dragon of the ancient Yellow Emperor. It was ordered by the Yellow Emperor to crusade against Chiyou and kill Chiyou to become a hero. In Yu's flood control, the dragon swept the floor with its tail and diverted the flood. This dragon is also called Huanglong, and Huanglong is it, so it is the hero of Yu. Ying Long is characterized by wings, prickly scales, long head, small nose, eyes and ears, big eyes, high eyebrow arch, sharp teeth, protruding forehead, thin neck, long tail tip and strong limbs, just like a Chinese alligator with wings. The image of Ying Long often appears in jade carvings, stone carvings, silk paintings and lacquerware in the Han Dynasty during the Warring States Period.

Fire dragon: It is a dragon threatened by fire. The whole body is purple fire, and wherever the fire dragon passes, it is all burnt.

Panlong: refers to the dragon that crouches on the ground and does not ascend to heaven. The shape of a dragon is coiled. In ancient buildings in China, dragons coiled on pillars and dragons on decorative beams and ceilings are customarily called Panlong. There is another explanation for Panlong in "Taiping Magnolia": "Panlong is four feet long, blue-black, with a brocade-like red belt, and often goes down with the water and into the sea. Toxic, it hurts. " I mix dragons with jiaozi, snakes and things like that.

Qinglong is one of the "four spirits" or "four gods", also known as the black dragon. Ancient astronomers in China divided some stars in the sky into twenty-eight star zones, that is, twenty-eight nights, to observe the movement of the moon and divide the seasons, and divided the twenty-eight nights into four groups, with seven nights in each group, four colors of blue, red, white and black, and four animals, namely dragons, birds, tigers and basalts (where turtles and snakes intersect), called "four elephants". Dragon means the east, blue, the so-called "East Palace Qinglong". In the Qin and Han dynasties, these four images became "four spirits" or "four gods" (dragon, phoenix, turtle and forest), and their mystery became more and more intense. The existing stone relief of the East Palace Black Dragon constellation in Nanyang Han Painting Academy consists of a dragon, eighteen stars and the moon, and is engraved with jade toad. This dragon is the symbol of the whole black dragon constellation. In the bricks, stones and tiles of the Han Dynasty, there are many images of "four spirits".

Yu Hualong: It is a dragon with a dragon head and a fish body, and it is also a form of "mutual change of arowana and fish", which has existed for a long time in ancient China. In Shuo Yuan, there is a record that "the white dragon turned into a fish in the cold abyss in the past", and in Chang 'an ballad, "the big fish in the East China Sea turned into a dragon", and the carp circulated among the people jumped over the Longmen, all of which told the mutual changes of arowana. This kind of modeling appeared in jade carvings as early as the late Shang Dynasty, and it has developed in all previous dynasties.

archaeological finds

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●/Kloc-In the 1970s, the "C" Jade Dragon was unearthed in Sanxingtala Village, Wengniute Banner, Chifeng City, Inner Mongolia. After archaeological investigation, it is confirmed that Yulong belongs to the site of Hongshan Culture about 5000 years ago.

1987 A clam-shaped dragon and tiger was found in Tomb 45 of Xishuipo Site in Puyang, Henan Province. Archaeology and carbon-14 dating indicate that the tomb is about 6500 years ago. According to the research of scholars Li Xueqin and Shi Feng, the clam-shaped dragon and tiger found in Tomb 45 is closely related to the four images in traditional astronomy in China.

● "Dragon-shaped plastic sculpture" made of reddish-brown stone unearthed from the site of the original village of Chahai, Fuxin, Liaoning. The site belongs to the remains of "pre-Hongshan Culture", dating back about 8,000 years. "Dragon-shaped plastic sculpture" is located in the central square of this primitive village site, with a total length of nearly 20 meters and a width of nearly 2 meters. It raises its first mouth, bends its back, 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. )

history

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Fu Shi, there are dragons, so there is a dragon chronicle, creating words.

Zuozhuan? In the seventeenth year of Zhao: "The Taigang family was named the Dragon Master because of its dragon discipline. "

According to the Chronicle of Bamboo Slips, Fuxi Shi has clans such as Qianlong, Julong, Longjiang, Longtu, Shuilong, Qinglong, Chilong, Bailong, Black Dragon and Huanglong.

Zuozhuan? Twenty-nine years of Zhao: the record of "the public gave the public a lamb and a fur, so that the dragon was offered to assist Qi Hou"; "Notes" also said: Shun Dynasty "Nanxun country presented Mao Long, a woman and a man, and set up the Dragon Palace. In Zhixia's generation, dragons were controlled because they were ordered by their families. ". It shows that the custom of raising dragons and taking them as family names prevailed in Xia Dynasty. Some ancient books recorded that the ruler of Xia Dynasty raised dragons named Liu, which is impossible to test!

Yi Kun: "The dragon fights in the wild, and the blood is mysterious and yellow."

Zuozhuan? Zhao nineteen years: "Zheng Dashui, the dragon is fighting outside the door. "

"Ceremony? Liu Yun: "Scaled phoenix ichthyosaur is called the Four Spirits."

Zhuangzi? Lieyukou: "The pearl of a thousand dollars must be in the nine depths, under the dragon's chin."

Religion and dragons in China

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Taoism

Taoism, a native religion in China, was formed on the basis of primitive religion, which combined witchcraft, nature worship, animal worship and fairy witchcraft in the Qin and Han Dynasties, and became theoretical and systematic. Early Taoists had realized that dragons came from snakes. There is a cloud in "Yellow and White Articles": "The dragon of the snake is no different from the one he gave birth to. However, the root causes are all caused by natural feelings.

Obeying the emperor in the Eastern Han Dynasty, Zhang Daoling advocated the Five Mi Dou Doctrine, with Laozi as the leader and Laozi's Five Thousand Books as the main classic, and gradually formed an artificial religious form with doctrine, doctrine and canon as the main content. Taoism has had an indissoluble bond with dragon worship since its formation. In the pre-Qin period, Lapras's belief in Zhou Zhou's four seas, Lapras's belief in ascending to heaven, and the belief in connecting heaven and man with dragons were all completely inherited by Taoism.

The descendants of Zhang Daoling, the founder of Taoism, all inherited his career and were called "Shi Tian", and were told that they were predestined friends with dragons. According to legend, the third generation surnamed Lu had ten sons, nicknamed "Zhang's Ten Dragons". Another legend is that Zhang Lu's daughter was washing clothes at the foot of the mountain, and suddenly there was white fog around her, so she got pregnant before marriage and committed suicide in shame. Leave last words before dying. Be sure to dissect the body and see what's in it. As a result, there were two twin dragons in the belly, and the maid put them into the Hanshui River. Many later Taoist representatives are said to have a mysterious relationship with dragons, such as Tao Hongjing, a Taoist representative in the Southern Dynasties. It is said that his mother was born a dragon, and he is a kind of dragon.

The most important role of dragons in Taoism is to help Taoists bury themselves and communicate with ghosts and gods. The dragon is considered as one of the "three sedan chairs". The "three sedan chairs" referred to here are dragon sedan chairs, tiger sedan chairs and deer sedan chairs. The sedan chair of Taoism is mainly used as a riding tool for burial. Mr. Zhang Guangzhi thinks: "The owner of No.45 tomb in Puyang is the primitive Taoist or wizard in Yangshao cultural society, and the dragon, tiger and deer made of clam shells are the artistic images of the three sedan chairs he can summon." He linked the clam, dragon, tiger and deer with the three sedan chairs in ancient primitive Taoism, and thought they were related.

Legend has it that Shi Tian and Zhenjun, who have magical powers, can also summon and drive away dragons. Youyang mixed. Strange art said: in a landlord's house called Yun 'an, there are fifteen dangerous beaches by the river, and no one can pull the fiber boat across. Zhai Ganyou, a thin generation of Shi Tian, saw a business trip, tied an altar, called a dragon, *** 14, and all became old people. Zhai Shitian asked them to level the dangerous beach to make it easier to travel by boat. The dragon was led away, and overnight, the wind and thunder struck, and all the rapids in 14 turned into Pingtan, leaving only one mile. Zhai knew at a glance that the dragon didn't arrive yesterday, so he went to the altar and called him. Three days later, a woman came to Fang. It turned out to be a female dragon. Eloquence: wealthy businessmen cross the river by boat, and the poor in Yunan pull the fiber for them. They always make a living by pulling fibers. If the shoal is gone and the boat is unimpeded, how can we eat and wear it? I would rather take a dangerous beach to support a tracker than use a boat to help a rich businessman. Zhai Shitian nodded after hearing this, so he told Zhu Long to put everything back to its original state.

Buddhism

In Buddhist scriptures, there are many names of dragon kings, such as the Lotus Sutra, which says that there are eight dragon kings, one is the dragon king who is difficult to reach, the other is the dragon king who is difficult to reach, the third is the dragon king who is in Gajiluo, the fourth is the dragon king who is in Hejiu, the fifth is the dragon king who is in Germany, the sixth is the dragon king of Anaboda, the seventh is the dragon king of Monas and the eighth is the dragon king of Fupolo.

The relationship between dragon and Buddhism is still controversial in academic circles. It is said that China's worship of the "Dragon King" was introduced from India with Buddhism. The reason is that there is no "Dragon King" worship in China. Before the Han Dynasty, there were only "dragon gods" but no "dragon kings". After the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Buddhist beliefs were introduced into China, and the belief in the Dragon King spread throughout the Middle-earth.

Another way of saying this is that the dragon in Indian Buddhism was handed down from China and recreated by Indians to become the "Dragon King". With the spread of Buddhism to the east, the worship of the Dragon King returned to China. There are seven reasons for this:

First, the dragon culture of the Chinese nation has a long history and has been excavated in an orderly way. The earliest dragon image is a Xinglongwa Culture stone carving dragon found in the Chahai site in Fuxin, Liaoning Province, followed by the clam shell dragon in Xishuipo, Henan Province, attracting worldwide attention. The third piece is a dragon made of pebbles found in Jiaodun site of Zhangcheng Village, Baihu Township, Huangmei County. The fourth is the well-known Inner Mongolia Samsung Tara Yulong and so on. All these fully prove that dragon worship was very common in China as early as six or seven thousand years ago, and that dragon culture is a local culture in China, not a foreign culture.

Secondly, according to the earliest archaeological data of Indian dragons, the mural "The Dragon King and His Family" in the first century BC and the dragon worship of Bodhi trees before and after the times are about 5,000 years later than the Shilong in Chahai, Liaoning, China.

Thirdly, in terms of written records, according to the known historical materials, the earliest written record of dragons in India is The Theory of Wisdom written by Long Shu around the second century A.D., which is only about 1800 years ago. China recorded dragons much earlier than India. There are many "dragons" and some records of dragon worship in Oracle Bone Inscriptions in Shang Dynasty, which shows that dragon worship in China was very common 3500 years ago.

Fourthly, since its formation, Dragon Culture has spread rapidly not only at home, but also abroad. Long Dan in Indian Buddhism was handed down from China. There may be two ways of transmission: one is through the southwest of China. According to archaeological data, as early as the Neolithic Age, the stone culture in the Yellow River Basin spread to Tibet and its south. In the early Qin and Han Dynasties, the commodity trade between China and India was frequent. Therefore, it is entirely possible that China's dragon worship was introduced into India in this way. Another way to spread dragon culture is the Silk Road in the Western Regions. The Central Plains Dynasty had contact with the Western Regions as early as 3,000 years ago. It is said that immigrants came to Conglindong at the beginning of the week. After the Shang Dynasty destroyed Xia Hou, some people in Xia Xunluo migrated to the northwest. After arriving in Gansu and other places, they continued to migrate to the west and entered the Yanqi country in the western regions. Later, these dragon tribes who moved into Yanqi were the rulers of the country in the Jin Dynasty, taking "Dragon" as their surname. To be sure, they brought their own dragon culture to the western regions.

Fifthly, from the linguistic point of view, there is no special word for "dragon" in Sanskrit in ancient India, and "dragon" and "elephant" are represented by the same word. In ancient Indian mythology, lightning was caused by Indra, a great god riding a white elephant and holding a lightning chisel. After the dragon was introduced into India, the dragon god quickly replaced Indra and became the master of wind, rain, thunder and lightning. So the word "elephant" also means "dragon".

Sixthly, there are about 20 dragon legends recorded in "The Tale of the Western Regions of Datang", including 5 in the Western Regions, 5 in North India, 0/0 in China and 0/0 in South India. Judging from the contents of the coming year, the dragon legends of Qiuci and Yutian are very similar to those of ancient China. There is a story about Lapras and dragons mating with women, which has nothing to do with Buddhism. However, the myths and legends about the dragon south of Congling and adjacent to India in the Records of the Western Regions of Datang are related to the figures in Buddhism. This also shows that the western regions are a way for the dragon culture to spread to India.

Seventh, primitive dragons in China have many images and attributes of snakes, and so do Indian dragons, which are closely related to snakes. In Buddhist painting and sculpture, the dragon king usually has an unfolded cobra crown with three or five or seven heads behind his head. In addition, Buddhist scriptures often say that "dragons are shaped like snakes", which also shows that Indian dragons have the attributes of snakes.

Dragons native to China have the characteristics of horses, cattle, fish, deer, snakes and other animals. The dragon king in Buddhism is similar, with the characteristics of animals such as elephants, snakes, horses, fish and shrimps. According to the facts, it is reasonable to think that the dragon in Buddhism was introduced from China.

There are also differences between dragons and dragons in Buddhism, mainly in the following aspects:

First, the biggest difference between dragons and Indian dragons is their different social status. Among dragons, dragons have a supreme position, especially after the combination of dragon worship and politics, dragons have become the symbol of the emperor. Indian dragon is a general god, such as the "dragon" in Buddhist scriptures, but it is just an ordinary protector and has no supreme status. In the animal worship in India, the golden winged bird is the highest worship, and the dragon is often the prey of the golden winged bird. In Buddhist scriptures, one of the "three evils" of dragons is the golden winged bird. Legend has it that the golden-winged bird feeds on dragons every day, and it needs a big dragon king and 500 little dragons a day. This shows that the status of the dragon is far below that of the golden-winged bird, while that of China is just the opposite, far above that of the phoenix bird.

Second, the dragon in the ancient legend of China can ascend to heaven and enter the earth to communicate with heaven and man; You can ride for god and shuttle between heaven and earth. For example, the Yellow Emperor ascended to heaven, and Zhuan Xu and He Kai also arrived. The dragon in Indian Buddhism has no such divinity. The great god rides a golden winged bird. For example, Vishnu, an ancient Indian god, often flew on a golden winged bird. Manjushri in Buddhism rides a lion or sits on a white lotus platform; Bodhisattva Samantabhadra rides a six-toothed white elephant or sits on the Qinglintai.

Thirdly, before the introduction of the worship of the Buddhist Dragon King, the dragon in China had no regional characteristics, and was regarded as the dominant rain god, which was widely worshipped by all ethnic groups. The images of dragons are basically the same, but the colors are different, which are divided into five types: blue, red, white, black and yellow. Although Indians regard dragons as their "kings" and "palaces", the local gods of Indian dragons are obvious. There are many kinds of dragon kings, and there are dragon kings and dragon palaces in all waters, which shows that dragons are only the dominant gods in a certain water area.

Fourthly, in India, the Dragon King is a believer, provider or patron of Buddhism, while in China, influenced by Taoism and Confucianism, the belief in the Dragon King has also undergone various changes. Under the influence of Taoism, the Dragon King of China became a subordinate of the Jade Emperor. Under the influence of Confucianism, the legend of the Dragon King in China emphasizes benevolence, faith and righteousness, and emphasizes the love between husband and wife, brothers and father and daughter, which is divided into good and evil. In addition, the Dragon King in different parts of Chinese herbal medicines generally has a surname, a first name and a title, which is also unique to China.

Judging from the above differences, dragon culture was introduced to India before Qin and Han Dynasties, because in Qin and Han Dynasties, dragons began to combine with emperor worship. Before this, the dragon god naturally dominated the rain, and so did the Indian dragon king, which dominated the sea, lakes and pools. After dragon worship was introduced into India, it was recreated and combined with local culture to form a dragon culture with Indian characteristics.

At the same time, the introduction of Indian Buddhist art had a great influence on the image of the dragon. From the Han and Jin Dynasties to the Tang and Song Dynasties, the image of the dragon was obviously influenced by Buddhist art during its evolution. For example, the dragon on the murals of the Northern Wei Dynasty in Dunhuang is dynamic, but it gives people a sense of tranquility. This shape obviously comes from the flying in contemporary Buddhism. The lion in Indian Buddhism also has a great influence on the evolution of the image of the dragon. The dragon in the Tang and Song Dynasties absorbed the image of the lion. The head is round and plump, the back of the head is covered with shackles, and the nose is similar to a lion's nose. The dragon on the mural of Nantang Tomb in Jiangning, Jiangxi Province looks like a lion not only in the head, but also in the whole body. The dragon absorbs the image of a lion mainly to show its great power and increase its magical power.

summary

The belief in the Dragon King in China came into being with the rise of Buddhism, but it is very different from the Dragon King in Indian Buddhism. It can be said that the Dragon King in China is the product of Buddhism and Taoism. Taoism introduced the Buddhist dragon king and reformed it to form its own dragon king system, which is called the heavenly dragon king, the four seas dragon king and the five sides dragon king. Specific examples:

The "Dragon King Product" in The Mantra of Taishang East Shen Yuan lists the "Five Emperors Dragon King" based on orientation, the "Four Seas Dragon King" based on the ocean, 54 dragon king names and 62 dragon king names based on everything in the world.

Four Dragon Kings in Journey to the West (Ao Guang in the East China Sea, Aoqin in the West Sea, Aorun in the South China Sea and Aoshun in the North China Sea)

During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, the Dragon Pool in the temple was called and an altar official was set up to worship the Dragon King.

In the second year of Song Huizong Daguan (1 108), all the five dragons in the world were given titles. Qinglong God was named King Ren Guang, Red Dragon God was named King Jiaze, Huanglong God was named King Fu Ying, White Dragon God was named King Yiji and Black Dragon God was named King Lingze.

In the second year of Tongzhi in Qing Dynasty (1863), the dragon god of the canal was named "the god of the dragon king who should divide the water", so that the river chief could pay homage at the right time.

Because the dragon is the god of water control, where there is water, there are dragon kings in rivers, lakes and seas and deep ponds and wells, which are responsible for floods and droughts in this area. So there are many temples of Wang Long in the north and south of the Yangtze River, which has become an important part of dragon worship.

The origin of dragon ball

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People often see "dragon playing with beads" (such as "single dragon playing with beads" and "double dragon playing with beads") on architectural colorful paintings, sculptures, clothing embroidery and other carriers. What is "Dragon Ball"? Where did the "Dragon Ball" come from? What about "dragon playing with pearls"?

The orb related to the dragon was first seen in Zhuangzi: "The pearl of a thousand dollars must be under the dragon's jaw of Jiuyuan." Yaya "also said that" the dragon ball is in the jaw. " "Strange Tales" said, "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.

Speculation about the origin of Dragon Ball;

1. Pearl. We know that some mollusks will form round particles in their shells in water, which are loved by people 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.

It comes from the saying that dragons originated from crocodiles and snakes. Because crocodiles and snakes lay eggs, the ancients may regard crocodile eggs and snake eggs as a kind of "bead". If the image of the dragon comes from reptiles and amphibians such as crocodiles and snakes, then the dragon ball is the dragon egg, and the dragon ball is the dragon play "egg", which shows that the dragon is a sacred object and cares for life, and expresses the ancient people's understanding and understanding of the endless life phenomenon. The folklore of "swallowing pearls to turn dragons into dragons" provides a footnote for this view: when a teenager mows grass (or draws water), he gets a treasure, 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.

3. the sun. Dragons play with bead patterns, especially the two dragons play with bead patterns. There are many flames rising on the beads and turbulent sea water below, which can be understood as fireballs jumping out of the sea. This has to be reminiscent of the scene where the sun rises at sea level, so "fireball going out to sea" can be understood as "the sun going out to sea". Four gods in the eyes of the ancients: Oriental Dragon, Western White Tiger, South Suzaku and North 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.

4. Dragon Ball comes from the treasure of Buddhism. In Buddhism, there is a treasure called Manizu, also called Ruyi Pearl. The image of dragon playing beads appeared only after Buddhism spread to the east. Before the Tang and Song Dynasties, there were often jade or coin patterns between symmetrical Ssangyong. After the Tang and Song Dynasties in China, the appearance of dragon playing with pearls was closely related to Buddhism.

Dragons in the western world

See the entry of Xilong.

The dragon in the west is a legendary creature with great power and magical ability. There are many kinds, and the family size is not inferior to that of dragons in the East. China's dragon is "the dragon gives birth to nine children, and each child is different", while the western dragon is "the dragon gives birth to a hundred children, and each child is different". There are sea dragons living in the deep sea, fire dragons sleeping in volcanoes, poisonous dragons dormant in swamps and countless grotesque dragons, as well as nine-headed dragons, dragon beasts, Yalong, biped dragons and so on.

Western dragons have strong bodies, long thick necks, angular or wrinkled heads, sharp teeth and long tails. It walks with four powerful feet and flies with a pair of big wings like bat wings. Its body is covered with scales to protect it. Its eyes have four layers of eyelids, of which the inner three layers are transparent, which can protect the eyes from injury and the ears can be opened and closed, but not all dragons have external ears. Teeth are sharp and sharp, usually bending inward to tear prey.

It can carry out spewing attacks, depending on the type of dragon. For example, the red dragon can fire and the blue dragon can spray electricity. But also immune to similar energy attacks. The dragon is a terrible creature, which exudes a frightening momentum. It can also use some magical effects, depending on the species.

Western dragons live in caves and like treasures. Usually, there are many treasures in caves.