Are there really dragons in the world?

I. Before the Spring and Autumn Period, it can be called the "ancient dragon". Ancient dragons were mostly creeping and crawling, and their structure and form were relatively crude, with snake bodies and animal heads, maintaining the characteristics of reptiles. But their shape is extremely rich, but also unusually strange. Or sharp horns, or toothed horns, or no horns, or long nose, or curled nose, or no nose, or multiple fins, or a fin, or no fins, or a foot, or before and after the foot, or no foot ......

They carry a rough and wild, violent and horrible, displaying a mysterious power. This not only reflects the unsystematized form of the local culture of the continent in the ancient times, but also reflects the cultural characteristics of the barbaric tribal annexation war era.

Second, the Warring States period to the Tang Dynasty, can be called the "Middle Ages Dragon". This is a period of the greatest change in the form of the dragon. The "middle age dragon" began to shed the characteristics of reptiles, from creeping to soaring. The body shape of the dragon was mostly S-shaped, which made it look robust and powerful. Morphological structure also began to complicate, the appearance of hair, jointed hair, horns began to fork, from the original bull horns into antlers, goat whiskers began to protrude, and sometimes for the body of the beast. And the momentum is increasing, showing an unstoppable posture.

For example, the blue dragon on the Han painting bricks with its head held high, citing the neck and long whistling, with the momentum of the body to fly. Particularly noteworthy is that the dragon in the Middle Ages, no matter how the dragon changes, how different forms, in addition to the round shape, most of their heads raised high, or cited the neck to sing, there is a tendency to lead the body upward flying. This is very different from the ancient and modern dragons. This kind of modeling art is y rooted in the strong authoritarian empire and Yi Xia culture fusion of historical movement.

Three, after the Song, can be called "modern dragon". After the Song, the dragon's form is basically stereotyped, so the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, there is little change. The main feature of the modern dragon is sinuous, gorgeous body, although still maintains the majesty of the world, but has lost the rigidity of the dragon in the Middle Ages. The horns of their heads have become shorter and longer, and are forked, but they are not aggressive, and display a kind of "majestic dei dei".

The palate was curled and straightened, the mouth deepened and shallowed, and the primitive dragon's bloodied maw was transformed into a foraging tool to fulfill its survival needs. The body is lengthened, the beard and hair are long and flowing, and all parts of the body are shown to be extremely coordinated, and the graceful posture is even richer in charisma. It marks the maturity of the national character and the basic stereotypes of the national culture, marking the end of a historical era.?

People's Daily Online - The Evolution of the Chinese Dragon