Asking about the origin of dragons

In China culture, dragons have an important position and influence. From the Neolithic Age more than 7,000 years ago, ancestors worshipped the primitive dragon totem, and today people still use idioms or allusions with the word "dragon" to describe the beautiful things in life.

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.

As a descendant of the dragon, you can't know nothing about the dragon culture in China. Without understanding the dragon culture, it is impossible to understand the ancient civilization of China. What is the prototype of the dragon? How did the concept of dragon come into being? How did its image and cultural meaning develop and change? What influence does the dragon have on China culture? These problems have been puzzling people in different ways since ancient times, and they have not all been solved so far, giving people a confusing feeling. Here, we will trace back to the dragon, enter the ancient history and dragon world, and understand and explore the mystery of the dragon. ...

The origin of the dragon-the mystery of life experience (1);

Two thousand three hundred years ago, there was a scholar-bureaucrat who was both a poet and a philosopher wandering around Dongting Lake. Sometimes he bowed his head and meditated, and sometimes he sang to the sky. In the poem "tracts", he poured out the doubts accumulated in his heart:

Who handed down that ancient initial state?

Heaven and earth have not yet formed, so there is no need for textual research.

It is wet and dark day and night.

Who can say the limit?

The weather is moving and the surplus is invisible.

How can we know heaven and earth?

Used.

How to communicate with rivers and seas?

How did Ying Long draw land with his tail?

What is the experience of the river flowing to the sea?

Sunlight is everywhere,

How to take another photo of Candle dragon?

The sun has not yet risen,

Why does the holy tree shine brightly?

This scholar-bureaucrat is Qu Yuan, a famous poet in the Spring and Autumn Period.

The poem above is from his Tian Wen. In the poem, Qu Yuan raised more than 100 questions in one breath, from nature to society, from history to legend, and he boldly questioned them. Naturally, the "dragon" did not escape his keen eyes. Because according to legend, when Dayu was controlling water, he used his tail to delimit the land, which pointed out the route of flood diversion for Yu, so there were mighty rivers in later generations.

The origin of the dragon-the mystery of life experience (2);

In Qu Yuan's time, few people dared to question the dragon, because the dragon was the image of God. However, such a question raised by Qu Yuan has been echoing in the valley of history. When we wander in front of the Nine Dragon Wall, stroll in the Forbidden City, or stand in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the images of mighty and magical dragons with different expressions give people a vivid feeling, as if they were about to smoke and fly away. But science and reason tell us that the dragon is a fictional god, and its image is a combination that absorbs the most magical parts of many animal images. Wang Chong, a scholar in the Han Dynasty, once pointed out that the dragon horn is like a deer, the head is like a camel, the eyes are like rabbits, the neck is like a snake, the abdomen is like a dragonfly, the scales are like carp, the claws are like eagles, the hands are like tigers, and the ears are like cows. How did this dragon image form, evolve and develop? To answer these questions, we need to go back to distant prehistoric times.

When our ancestors changed from apes to humans, they faced a very difficult natural environment. Due to low productivity and backward knowledge, primitive humans tried their best to obtain food and other resources from nature, and on the other hand, they worshipped and feared the powerful and mysterious nature, thus gradually producing primitive religion and witchcraft. Primitive religion believes that everything in nature is spiritual and there is a "god" who dominates nature. This (or more) palm holds all the forces in the universe, which can bless and punish mankind. But people can communicate with God through witches and seek God's protection and help.

In primitive religion, animal worship is one of its important contents. The initial economic activity of human beings is hunting, so animals are the most interesting objects of human beings in nature. Primitive man escaped the attack of fierce animals that threatened life by grasping the belly of animals. In this process, primitive people worship and fantasize about the gestures of some animals, such as crocodiles, pythons, snakes, birds and some insects, and their peculiar abilities, such as soaring in the sky, swimming underwater, walking without feet, sleeping and so on.

The origin of the dragon-the mystery of life experience (3);

Worship of animals and natural phenomena has become an extremely important part of witchcraft activities. Primitive humans often regard the success or failure of hunting, whether it is harmed by wild animals or whether it is harmed by the gods who dominate nature as the expression of God's will, and these animals become the embodiment of God's will. This led to the sacrificial activities of primitive people, that is, after returning from hunting, some hunted animals were sacrificed to the gods to express their gratitude to the gods, and then they were eaten. In this activity, sacrificial animals become the intermediary between man and God, and these animals express primitive people's desire and worship for God. When primitive humans transformed from hunting economy to agriculture and animal husbandry economy, although the importance of hunting animals as food sources gradually weakened, the fact that animals were used as sacrifices did not change, and animals were still used as tools for communication between man and god.

As a result, the sacrificed animals were gradually sanctified.

This ritual activity may be simple at first, but it has gradually evolved into a solemn ceremony, which is widely used in various matters that need to pray to God, such as the illness and death of tribal members, conflicts between tribes, hunting, farming and gathering, migration and so on. In addition to using animals as sacrifices, a large number of sacrificial vessels and ritual vessels were used in the ceremony. On these ritual vessels and vessels, primitive humans described or carved various natural images they revered, such as the sun, the moon, mountains, Sichuan, clouds, animals and plants, etc. , with great piety. Although these paintings or sculptures are imitations, many imitations, especially those of animals, are exaggerated, reflecting the religious concept of the creators. Therefore, these patterns, decorative patterns or sculptures formed by imitation are not only different from prototype animals, but also have sacred religious significance. It is in this religious animal image that primitive animal patterns with dragon characteristics appear, which experts call primitive dragon patterns.

1987, archaeologists found a "dragon" pattern with a white clam shell beside the owner in an ancient tomb about 6500 years ago in Xishuipo, Puyang, Henan. Painted pottery with giant patterns has also been unearthed in Gansu, a jade "dragon" dating back 5,000 years has been discovered in Liaohe River Basin in Northeast China, and painted pottery with "dragon pattern" has also been unearthed in Shanxi. Of course, there is still a big gap between this "dragon" and the dragon image we see today.

The development of dragons-a myriad of weather (1);

Since the formation of Shang Dynasty, the totem image of dragon has been changing and developing with the circulation of long years. The rise and fall of politics, the change of dynasties, the vicissitudes of the world and the pulse of history have left a deep or shallow mark on the image of the dragon, which has a direct or indirect impact.

In Shang dynasty, the dragon was regarded as a strange beast. Its horrible and fantastic image gives people a strong sense of mystery and a fierce beauty, which shows that the dragon has authority beyond the gods in the world. Dragons in Shang Dynasty were mainly carved on bronze ritual vessels, with lines strewn at random and protruding, deep and vigorous. Coupled with the heavy and steady shape of the bronze ritual vessels, the dragon has a great deterrent, which embodies an unspeakable religious concept.

Shang dynasty was replaced by Zhou dynasty in 1 1 century BC. In the primitive religion of the Zhou people, there was a strong humanistic color, because the Zhou people attacked and overthrew the Shang Dynasty because the Shang Dynasty had no virtue and harmed the people, and the Zhou people punished the Shang Dynasty on behalf of heaven. Because Zhou people have "virtue", they can match the sky and win the world. After defeating the merchants, Zhou people not only seized the tripod that embodied the merchants' power (in fact, the ruling power), but also highlighted their religious ideas in the newly cast ritual vessels. Legend has it that there was a huge red phoenix when the Zhou people crusaded against the Shang Dynasty, and the jade and silicon in its mouth (also recorded as the calligraphy of Dan in its mouth) fell on the Zhou people's country hall, representing that it was given to Zhou by heaven. Therefore, in the ritual vessels of the Zhou Dynasty, the image of the phoenix is more prominent, and the image of the dragon tends to weaken. Even in some designs, the crown of the phoenix is put on the dragon's head, and the dragon's posture is less flashy and ferocious.

The development of the dragon-the dragon gives birth to nine children;

In the Ming Dynasty, dragons were associated with a wealthy family. In the history of its image formation, the dragon once evolved from a collection of various animal images into a dragon. However, not all weird animal images are brought into the dragon image. While forming and developing together with the dragon image, some weird animal images are also developing, and some image characteristics of the dragon are combined in some way. So someone linked the two again. In the folk, the saying that the dragon gave birth to nine sons has been circulating for a long time, but there is no exact record of what nine sons are. However, this case-solving has a result because of the curiosity of the "real dragon emperor". It is said that as early as a dynasty, Zhu Youtang, the Emperor Xiaozong of Ming Dynasty, suddenly had a whim and asked Li Dongyang, a scholar of Wenyuange who is famous for his extensive reading, "I heard that Dragon gave birth to nine sons. What's the name of Jiuzi? " Li Dongyang hurriedly couldn't answer. After leaving North Korea, he thought about it and asked several colleagues. After mixing folklore, he pieced together a list and took a job with the emperor. According to Li Dongyang's list, the nine sons of the dragon are:

(Insect+Eight) (Insect+Summer): Sexually fond of water, carved into the shape of a beast on the bridge column;

Mocking wind: adventurous, so people cast their statues and put them in the corner of the temple;

Yazi: I like killing people all my life, and I like bloody gas. Its shape is an animal image carved on the handle;

Elasticity: great strength, heavy load on the back, that is, the stone turtle carved under the stone tablet today;

Pepper map: It looks like a snail and has good sex. The first link is its image;

Kissing: easy to swallow for life, that is, the shape of the animal head on the ridge of the temple;

Not old: it has a good voice all its life, and its head is used as the button of the big clock;

Sister-in-law: I like squatting. The lion under the Buddha statue is its shape.

Prison cow: sex music, shaped like a sculpture on the top of a harpsichord;

The so-called dragon gave birth to nine children, not that the dragon happened to give birth to nine children. In the traditional culture of ancient China, nine is often used to express many things, which has a supreme position. Nine is an imaginary number and an expensive number, so it is used to describe the dragon son.

The development of dragons-flying dragons are in the sky (1);

Since ancient times, the boundless sky has been a place where people fantasize about galloping.

The vastness of the Milky Way, the bright moon, the brilliance of the sunrise and the magnificence of the clouds all arouse people's infinite reverie and regard the sky as an unparalleled beauty on earth; However, the evolution of the sky, the changes of four seasons from winter to spring, lightning, rain, snow and frost, floods, hurricanes, even earthquakes, landslides, tides, tsunamis and other natural phenomena and disasters have aroused people's great fear, thinking that there are infinite forces in the sky, which can protect people and punish them. These gods live in a wonderful fairyland, watching everyone's every move on the ground and expressing their emotions with strength. So the ancestors produced the original concepts of fairy and fairyland. According to the ancient books Huai Nan Zi and Mu Chuan, the sky is divided into three parts. There is cool water on Kunlun Mountain, which is called the next day. People can live long or die. Further up is Zhongtian, called the Hanging Garden, which is a spiritual world that has not weathered the wind and rain; Further up is heaven, where the gods headed by the great emperor live. There are mountains in spring, clear springs, mild and windless, birds flying and animals playing.

The ancient concept of fairyland was not a model. In addition to the majestic Kunlun Mountain in the northwest, the vast sea in the east also stimulates people's imagination. Liezi described it this way: a few trillion miles east of the Bohai Sea, there is a grand canyon, which is actually a bottomless gully called the Old Market. All rivers and water between heaven and earth flow here, but the water in the valley neither increases nor decreases. There are five fairy mountains, namely Daiyu, Qiao Yuan, Fanghu, Yingzhou and Penglai. Each mountain is about 30,000 miles, and its top is 9,000 miles flat. The two mountains are 7000 miles apart. There is a stone platform on the mountain, all the animals are as white as snow, and there are clusters of Yushu, whose fruits are so sweet that they will never die after eating them. There are countless people who live on the fairy mountain, either immortals or saints. You can fly in a day.

The Development of Dragons-Yu Pei (Ⅰ);

In dragon culture, another function of the dragon is to distribute water and rain. Song of the Dragon by Lu You, a poet in the Southern Song Dynasty, depicts the spectacular sight of dragons flying in the clouds and rain;

Surrounded by giant trees, they are old and useless, but sink into thousands of feet Dragon House.

The claw marks are several inches into the wood, and the musicians dare not wow.

Last year, the drought stretched for thousands of miles, and the wheat was dying.

The ghost in the forest shrine is helpless, and the old dragon owes Xu a hand.

Roaring thunder and strong wind swept the river into the void.

The fire between scales makes lightning, and the golden snake is caught in the clouds at night.

In the Ming dynasty, elders came to compete in the rain, and wizards played flutes and danced.

The word Lord scattered the moon, and the dragon returned to sleep at the bottom of the pearl.

Why is the dragon regarded as the god of sex? This is closely related to the imitation prototype of the dragon and the ancient agricultural economy. We know that although dragons are a combination of various animal shapes and artistic exaggeration, most of these animals are related to water, such as fish, crocodiles, python, snakes, etc. Some natural phenomena related to the origin of dragons, such as clouds, rainbows, lightning, etc., are also closely related to water or rain. In this way, the dragon is easily imagined by ancient ancestors as a kind of god beast that can dive in Yu Yuan, soar in the sky, walk in clouds and thunder, and influence the sex in Sichuan. In the Book of Changes, it is believed that the cloud follows the dragon and the phoenix follows the tiger. Wang Chong, a scholar in the Eastern Han Dynasty, said: "The dragon listens to thunder. There must be clouds in the dragon and thunderstorms in summer. Long Panyun, the cloud goes in the rain. "

Dragons have the function of distributing water and rain, and are also God's assistants. Therefore, in ancient legends, the dragon has also become a tool for the struggle between God and God. The Classic of Mountains and Seas records a story about the battle between the Yellow Emperor and Chiyou. In the story, Chiyou led an army to attack the Yellow Emperor, who ordered Ying Long to resist Chiyou's attack in Jizhou wilderness. After Ying Long was ordered, he used water control skills to accumulate water, causing water shortage in an attempt to stop the enemy. But Chiyou invited Fengbo and Rain God to rain. The Yellow Emperor sent a goddess named Yan from heaven to help stop the storm and finally defeated Chiyou. But he Hao couldn't return to heaven, so there was a great drought.

The development of the dragon-the real dragon emperor (1);

In the second year of Yuanfeng in the Northern Song Dynasty (1079), the great poet Su Shi was demoted to Huzhou. The reason for his demotion is that he disapproves of Wang Anshi's new law. Su Shi paid tribute to Song Shenzong as usual. He knew that he was released, and it was the hint of the new party that did something to him. He couldn't help but hold back his grievances. He couldn't help but write a slightly grumbling "knowing that he was born at the wrong time, it was difficult to catch up with the newcomers;" Check the suffering of the elderly, or you can raise the king. " After the dinner, the new party officials immediately sniffed out Su Shi's dissatisfaction, and they decided to find an excuse to give Su Shi some color to see.

The excuse was soon found, and this is Su Shi's poem.

The poet's nature is chanting, and whether he is happy or angry, he can enter the poem. Su Shi's younger brother, Su Zhe, knew his brother's fault, so he specifically warned him: "The north guest came to the south to ask questions. Although the West Lake is good, it doesn't recite poems. " However, Su Shi still used poetry to express his feelings and vent his chest, so he was arrested. Three months later, he was sent back to Wutai (that is, the institution that corrected officials in the Song Dynasty-Yushifu).

The poem that made Su feel unlucky was two lines praising the juniper tree: "There is no bend from the root to the grave, and only dragons are known in the world." These two poems are accused of stabbing the emperor: "The emperor is like a dragon in the sky, but Su Shi wants to find a dragon under the grave. There is nothing better than this! "

This is the famous Wutai Poetry Case in history, which is only one of the ten thousand literary inquisitions in Qian Qian in feudal society, but the reason is quite special, because of the "dragon" and the attitude of the characters towards it is problematic. Because in the feudal society of China, the dragon was also the name of the emperor, and the emperor was the "real dragon emperor".

Dragon culture-the legend of dragons;

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:

grand

own goal

dragon dance

Blind dragon

Dragon and tiger

The origin of dragons

Kowloon Fair Cup

Dragon Ball

dragon boat

Dragon King

Xueshanlong

Longtu Qufu

Jiro chased the dragon.

The dragon and the sick dragon.

The development of dragons-the influence of dragons (1);

Dragon culture, up and down 8000 years, has a long history. The image of the dragon has penetrated into every corner of society, and the influence of the dragon has also spread to all levels of culture, rich and colorful.

Poetry is the earliest form of China literature. There are descriptions of dragons in the ancient Book of Songs: "Ten Rides of the Dragon Flag" and "Yang Yang of the Dragon Flag", which show the sacred and solemn scene of dragons hunting in the wind in grand sacrificial activities. In Chu Ci, which rose in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the dragon was also the object of the poet's fantasy praise. Qu Yuan, a great patriotic poet, expressed his lofty personality and strong feelings of worrying about his country with warm and sincere sentences and rich rhetoric in the well-known Lisao. When the poet said that because he could not tolerate the clique of Chu, he wanted to go to heaven to ask for a virtuous woman and a holy princess, he imagined himself driving a dragon cart through the colorful clouds like a fairy:

Driving a flying dragon for me, Zayao thought it was a car,

What's the use of centrifuging Xi? I will be more suitable for self-thinning.

There are thousands of chariots, but Chyi Yu gallops.

Driving the Eight Dragons is graceful and elegant, holding the cloud flag like a snake.

(to the effect that:

Drive that charming dragon for me,

Take a car decorated with jade and ivory.

Can you think differently?

I will leave myself, far away!

There are thousands of cars in my motorcade, arranged neatly.

The ranks are mighty and rumbling.

Each car is dragged by eight winding dragons.

Colorful flags are flying in the car. )

The development of dragons-the influence of dragons (2);

In the poet's other group of poems, Nine Songs, Qu Yuan artistically processed folk witchcraft songs offering sacrifices to gods, which injected his passion and made the poems full of fantastic, magnificent, romantic colors and attractive charm. Most of the immortals described in the poems are driven by chariots, so there are many poems about dragons in the poems.

After the Han Dynasty, Fu style became popular. Thanks to the advocacy of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, especially Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Fu developed rapidly, but at the same time, it became beautiful and empty in content and style, and became a style of praise. After the Han Dynasty, the theory of Rui Fu prevailed, and Rui Fu focused on dragons, so dragons became the main theme of Fu. During the Tang and Song Dynasties, the so-called "Dragon Fu" appeared from time to time, but most of them were illusory, and some of them were purely flattering. There is no great merit in art, only a few people's dragon poems have a different flavor, such as Bai Juyi's "Black Dragon Drinking Wei Shui Fu". Although it is entirely the poet's imagination, it gives people a vivid feeling and has considerable literary value. In Song Dynasty, Wang Anshi wrote "Dragon Fu", which is a unique metaphor for people with dragons.

In ancient seven-character and five-character poems and songs, there are very few directly chanting dragons. "All Tang Poems" only records a poem by Li Cheng in the early Tang Dynasty: "Candles illuminate the secluded places, including chapters, and the western Qin Dynasty drinks Wei water, and the eastern Luo Dynasty recommends the river map. Move the stars and bring the fire to the ground, climb the clouds out of Dinghu Lake, hope to meet the saints, and go to court in the morning. " In the Northern Song Dynasty, Han Qi also wrote a poem about dragons: "When you know the virtue, you will see the spirit in the morning.

Although there are images in the game, the solution is invisible. This is a world full of things and a legacy. If Dan Qing has a good figure, try Ye Gongting. "This kind of dragon poetry is not desirable in content and art ... On the contrary, some poems describing natural phenomena and folk activities related to" dragon "are vivid, true and delicate because of the careful observation of the author. For example, Ouyang Xiu's Poem of the Dragon in Baizikeng in Song Dynasty mainly focuses on praying for rain by the people. The poet first wrote about the rainfall situation, and then wrote about the situation that the farmers were extremely happy when the rain was verified: "In the Ming Dynasty, the old farmers worshipped the pool, the drums rang in the mountains, the wild witches were drunk in the temple, and the wolves fought for the disabled. "The scene is very vivid. Another example is Lu You's poem "Dragon Hanging": "Chengdu is windy in June and full of momentum. Dark clouds are ghostly in the wind, filling the void like ghosts and gods. Thunder bursts into fire, the earth is red, and God has a life of ups and downs. The dragon's tail does not roll or the sky is east, the raindrops and axles are the same, the mountains destroy the river and overflow the road, and the thousands of feet pine is uprooted. "The terrible momentum and destructive power of tornadoes are vividly on the paper.

The development of dragons-the influence of dragons (3);

In China's ancient novels, dragons also played an important role. China's novels originated from Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio and legends, and the legends of Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio are related to ancient myths and legends, so the mythical dragon also entered the novel. The earlier ones are Search, Continued Mystery Record, Xuanshizhi and so on. The most wonderful thing is the biography written by Li.

In the novel, Liu Yi, a scholar, returns to his hometown and meets Yilong's daughter through Jingyang. The dragon girl was abused by her husband's family and driven to the wilderness to herd sheep. Liu Yi sympathized with the Dragon Lady and sent a message to her father Dong Tingjun. Qiantangjun, the younger brother of Dongting Jun, was furious when he saw the letter. He went to Jingyang, killed the dragon lady's in-laws, rescued her, and wanted to marry her to Liu Yi. Liu Yi refused because of Qian Tang's arrogant words. Dragon girl worships, so she changed her appearance, took the name of Lu's daughter, and finally married. The novel is full of imagination and romantic plot, and the portrayal of the dragon girl and Qiantang Jun is extremely vivid. This story is widely circulated, and the operas adapted from it have been adapted in Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. Ghost novels flourished in the Ming Dynasty, and the description of dragons and their plots was mixed with the contents of Buddhism and Taoism, among which dragons were often the object of condemnation, banter and ridicule by the authors. For example, the passage of time in the Romance of the Gods, Wei Zhi's River-cutting Dragon in Journey to the West, and the Monkey King's Dragon Palace's golden hoop.

Novels in the Qing Dynasty have a strong artistic tendency of realism, such as A Dream of Red Mansions appeared, and novels with ghosts and gods as roles declined sharply. Dragons are left out in the cold, and there are more than ten articles about dragons in Pu Songling's Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio alone. However, most of them pick up the rural words and treat them artistically, because Pu's writing is concise and vivid, and the description is full of charm and wonderful.

Dragon has also exerted an important influence on the traditional opera art in China. Among the traditional operas in China, there are not many plays that take dragon as the character directly and take the story of dragon as the plot, only Liu Yi's Biography, Zhang Sheng's Boiling Sea and Journey to the West's adaptation of Chentangguan, Juelongling and Fishing Boat. However, there are many dramas in the name of dragons, such as Locking Five Dragons, Sleeping in a Dragon Bed, Long Hudou, playing with dragon robes, the Double Dragon Club, dragons and phoenixes becoming fortunes, princes and dancers, and so on. The reason why this kind of drama has the role of dragon is because the protagonists in the drama are all dragons, mostly belonging to emperors. Many terms in China's traditional dramas are related to dragons, such as Longtao, Jiulongkou, Helong, Erlong Chushui, Xiaolongyin and Huilong. The facial makeup of Beijing opera has dragon patterns, and the costumes of Beijing opera (commonly known as costumes) are also inseparable from dragon patterns.

The development of dragons-the influence of dragons (4);

The 8,000-year-old dragon culture also has a deep accumulation among the people in China. Countless folk customs, folkways and national festivals are all related to dragons. As far as the Han nationality is concerned, although the origin of the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first month is related to dragons without husbands, there must be dragons in the celebration of the festival. On the Lantern Festival, you must dance dragon lanterns, plunge into turtle mountain or grass dragons, and put lanterns and candles on them. In the Qing Dynasty, there was a poem "Dragon Lantern Fight", which recorded the grand occasion of the dragon lantern dance at midnight in the Yuan Dynasty: "Bend over with people, and the golden snake moves in the shadow of the spring lantern. Candle dragon's sacred objects spread to the mountains and seas, and the waves said that the red clouds revealed their minions. " The second day of February is the day when dragons look up. On this day, it is an old custom to sprinkle grass ash into the kitchen from the outside, which is called "bringing the dragon back". On this day, the children began to study in the study, which is called "taking the lead"; Literati have to have their hair cut on this day to get the auspicious meaning of the dragon's head rising. The fifth day of May is the Dragon Boat Festival, which originated from an ancient ceremony to ward off evil spirits and eliminate disasters (because the ancients thought May was an ominous month) or from the Dragon Boat Festival, but was later attached to the commemoration of Qu Yuan, a poet who died in the river. It is said that after Qu Yuan threw himself into the river, the Chu people were heartbroken, and rowing the boat couldn't save him, so they had to throw zongzi into the river so that the dragon in the water wouldn't bite Qu Yuan's body. However, it is also said that after Qu Yuan's death, Chu people threw the rice stored in bamboo slips into the river for sacrifice, but most of them were eaten by mosquitoes and dragons, so they wrapped the rice in brown leaves and tied it with five-color lines instead. It is said that dragons are afraid of these two things. This is the origin of palm colored silk thread and Dragon Boat Festival. There is no way to prove whether these statements are right or wrong, but they are all related to dragons. Dragon Boat Race has a long history in China, and its origin may be related to the belief of ancient immortals flying by dragon boat. The ancient dragon boat race was very spectacular. In the Tang Dynasty, dozens of dragon boats took part in large-scale dragon boat races. Zhang Jianfeng's Song of Crossing the River in the Tang Dynasty depicts a wonderful and intense competition scene: "On May 5, the sun is shining, the flowers on the riverside sing Xiao Luan, and you will never leave the village, and the river will hear harmony early." ..... The drums sounded three red flags, and two dragons jumped out of the floating water, and the shadows flew to Wan Jian. The drums beat waves and thundered. "Today's dragon boat crossing has not only become an inevitable celebration of the Dragon Boat Festival in the southern water town of China, but also the giant has gone global and become a symbol of the unity and rejuvenation of China by descendants of dragons at home and abroad.

Among the ethnic minorities in China, there are countless festivals and folk customs related to dragons.

Yao people in Yunnan celebrate the Dragon Head Festival on the fifth day of the first month and prepare sacrifices for the Dragon King. Hani people also have similar festivals. On the second day of February, the Dong people in Guizhou will receive dragons. On this day, the whole village will kill a cow, and every household will be given a piece of beef, which is called "eating dragon meat". When eating meat, they will sing the wine songs of the five dragons, and finally their horns will be buried underground. Miao people in the border areas of Hunan and Guizhou celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival on the fifth day of May, and compete in the Qingshui River, accompanied by other celebrations. Yao people in Hekou, Yunnan have Dragon Mother Festival and Dragon Gong Festival. Tujia nationality in western Hubei is the Dragon Robe Sun Festival on the sixth day of June. On this day, every household should put on new clothes, and at the same time, there should be sacrificial activities to judge the rain situation in the second half of the year according to sunny or cloudy days. Every Pumi ethnic group in Yunnan has its own "Longtan" in the deep mountains and forests. Before coming to the altar, each family will stay at the edge of their own Longtan for three days, and build a "Long Ta" as a palace where the dragon god lives, and then offer sacrifices in front of the tower, and then the wizard will pray for the dragon god's blessing. After the ceremony, 50 dough figurines made of flour and ghee were put into Longtan. The festivals and customs related to dragons of all ethnic groups in China are different and have their own characteristics, but they are all based on the ancient concept that dragons can give water and rain and benefit the world, which embodies the identity and individuality in the cultural diversity of the Chinese nation.

The development of dragons-the influence of dragons (5);

Dragons are almost ubiquitous in China culture. All provinces and regions in China have places of interest or mountains and lakes related to dragons, and every place has wonderful legends. Dragons are also associated with many industries, which often take couplets related to dragons as industry symbols. These couplets are neat in antithesis, harmonious in melody and delicate in language, which makes them interesting to read. Here are a few examples:

Looking for the legacy of a hundred generations and looking back at the tiger view;

Jiahui came from all directions to study, and the price was heavy.

Bookstore alliance

The sea and the city are deep clouds, and mosquitoes hold treasures;

Lantian jade is warm, and the dragon lady measures beads.

-Jewellery Association

Being good at carving dragons is a gentleman's weapon;

When you succeed, you have the demeanor of a master.

-Bamboo carving shop couplets

There are 10 thousand copies of the secretary of the gold plaque,

There are 30 forbidden items in the Dragon Palace.

-Medical Association

Snow grinds brome on the altar,

Huanglong became a dragon beard.

noodle restaurant

Friends of the mountain musk deer,

The private room is called Long Bin.

-Association of Paper and Ink Stores

Nine bends and one mountain gather finches' tongues,

A string of live cooked dragon balls,

-Tea Shop Association

The development of dragons-the influence of dragons (ⅵ);

Dragons have a far-reaching influence in China, which is multifaceted. The following is a list of "Eight Thousand Years of Dragon Culture" edited by Pang Jin, a famous dragon culture research expert and director of Shaanxi Dragon Culture Research Center, and published by People's Daily Press. You can see:

1. The definition of magical animals-the length theory of scale worms-comprehensive totem theory-fantasy animal theory-tribal emblem theory-mythical image theory-imaginary fiction theory-mysterious animal theory-general theory of reptiles-fuzzy set theory-life symbol theory-phantom sustenance theory

2. There are nine similarities in form-the dragon's tongue is like a sword-it is necessary to shave the scales-three stops and nine similarities-eighty-one scales-hermaphroditism-a ruler on the head-Wen Yiduo said-Wang Dayou said-the evolution of the dragon shape-three twists and turns and others-folk artists draw dragons.

Third, the classification of jiaozi should be thorn-the fairy is underground-the egg is wet-like horse, fish, frog, snake, fish, turtle, beast and bird.

Fourth, family.

(1) Zhuolong in Candle dragon-Shishou in Yin Candle-Zhongshan-Zhangweishan God-Yuweishan God-He Zhao in Candle dragon-Candle Holding in the Arctic-Dragon Holding Fire Spirit-Northern Totem-Truth of Candle dragon Myth-Candle dragon Zan

(2) Ying Long (Dragon Map) has wings for thousands of years-livestock water-air in the south-should be invisible-guide water-dragon map-dive pond-see Ying Long's article-the evolution of Ying Long's image-the characteristics of Ying Long-worshiping dragon map-appearing as a donkey-dragon media.

(3) Dragon Dragon-the courage of fishermen-the god of water bugs-born in scales-soaring in the sky-cutting dragon to take giant salamander-fear of neem leaves-things that are not in the pond-dragons made by jellyfish-dragons with many dumplings in the water-the first bunch and the last bunch. Dive dumpling-get angry-haunt the sky-fish dumpling-Yu Zi hits dumpling-kill dumpling with his heart-flies stab dumpling every time-Emperor Wu shoots dumpling-Emperor Zhao catches dumpling-Dongfeng kills dumpling with spells-catch dumpling tomorrow-Zuo Zongtang chases dumpling-Wang Shu sees dumpling-Dragon kneading machine-dumpling makes people cry-Wei Taizu hits dumpling-dumpling concubine.