How did the image and meaning of "dragon" evolve?

Interpreting the Evolution Connotation and Significance of loong Culture

Dragon is the totem of the Chinese nation, and dragon culture is deeply rooted in the social life of the Chinese nation. Loong culture, which happened 6,000 years ago, reveals the history of China people's worship of reproduction, China people's worship of new life and China people's worship of life creativity. The evolution history from "Dragon", "Wei Long" to "Dragon" shows that the Chinese civilization with a history of 6,000 years is ups and downs, endless and harmonious forever, becoming the only great civilization in the world that spans human history without interruption, which fully embodies the noble temperament of Chinese dragon culture.

The dragon is the totem of the Chinese nation, and we are all "descendants of the dragon". "In the ancient East, there was a dragon. Its name was China."

Dragon Culture in China

In ancient China, the emperor was called the "real dragon emperor", the emperor's seat was called the "dragon chair", and the palace was decorated with dragons everywhere. It is also common to use the word "dragon" as a name. For example, Zhao Yun, a military commander in Romance of the Three Kingdoms, was called "Zhao Zilong of Changshan". There are also place names: Longkou, Longshan and Longgang, as well as Longshou Mountain, Longshouguan and Longmen Mountain. The world-famous Great Wall of Wan Li rises from the "Old Dragon Head" east of Shanhaiguan and on the coast of Bohai Sea. Folk also like to decorate dragons at home. There is a story about "Ye Gong loves dragons". It is said that in ancient times, a man named Ye Gong liked dragons very much, and his home was decorated with dragons everywhere. Even though Zhenlong heard about it, he went to visit Ye Gong. When Lord Ye saw the real dragon, he was terrified out of his wits and fled everywhere. It turns out that Ye Gong's good dragon is fake (he just likes fake dragons). In daily life, every household must use the "(water) faucet" every day. In temples all over China, the image of dragons is always essential. "Dragon and phoenix are auspicious" is a beautiful blessing. "Dragon and Phoenix Dance" is to praise the artistic beauty of weeds in calligraphy, a treasure of China culture. "Dragon and Tiger Leap" is a vibrant scene. "Traffic" is a scene of market prosperity. There are different images in the Book of Changes, such as "Don't hide the dragon", "See the dragon in the field", "Flying dragon in the sky" and "Conquer the dragon", which are different characteristics in the evolution of natural and social things. Here, dragon is synonymous with the evolution of all natural and social things. China polar scientific research ship was named "Snow Dragon"; The computer chip independently developed by China was named "Godson".

Loong culture deeply affects everyone in China. No matter where you go to the ends of the earth, you can always see dragons in places where Chinese people gather all over the world. Especially during the Spring Festival and other traditional festivals in China, "Dragon Dance" has become an indispensable celebration program. Dragon has become a symbol of Chinese national cohesion. Loong culture has begun to influence the world.

The Origin, Connotation and Significance of loong Culture

However, why China people worship dragons has been a mystery for thousands of years. The "dragon" unearthed in Hongshan Culture and Dawenkou culture has uncovered this mystery.

The "Dragon" unearthed in Hongshan Culture was named "Jade Pig Dragon" by archaeologists. Because its head image seems to be a pig's head, while its body is a "C" shape, and its head and tail are almost connected. "Some scholars believe that the pig is the early image of the dragon. In ancient China, people used pigs as sacrifices to pray for a bumper harvest in agriculture. Later, the pig was mythologized as a dragon, and the dragon became the symbol of China and the incarnation of the emperor. Jade Pig Dragon is one of the images of early dragons, which fully proves that the dragon culture created by our ancestors has a long history, and also reflects the mutual influence and blending of northern national culture and Central Plains culture as early as ancient times. "

The shape of the Jade Pig Dragon in Hongshan culture seems to have the evolution law of the head from big to small, the body from thick to thin, and the gap between the head and the tail gradually increasing.

If we look at the early form of human embryonic development-human newborn embryos, we can see the embryonic evolution of all vertebrates (fish, salamanders, turtles, chickens, pigs, monkeys, rabbits and people). We can clearly see the shape of early embryonic development. We know that the embryos of these animals are almost identical in early embryonic development, and their bodies are all "C"-dragon-shaped. This is also one of the important evidences of Darwin's theory of evolution.

Let's look at sperm chasing eggs. Isn't the sperm wagging its tail a jade dragon? Moreover, Yulong also has the shadow of male genitalia in a sense. Therefore, in the dragon culture of China, dragons are also represented as males and heroes. If we look at the "Jade Dragon" in Hongshan Culture again, a pair of male genitals (two halves) hold up a jade dragon, which vividly expresses the artistic conception of "the essence of life" of the jade dragon.

Obviously, the essence of loong culture is to express the reproductive worship of the Chinese nation. Reproductive worship is a common phenomenon of all ancient nations in the world. For example, there is a national reproductive worship, and a woman holds a male penis the size of a baby. For another example, a nation regards pigs as its ancestors; Another nation regards dogs as ancestors; There is also a nation that regards frogs as ancestors; Other nationalities regard gourd as their ancestors, and so on. And all these animal and plant totem worship, its meaning is the same: it means "many children are more blessed", that is, these animals and plants have strong reproductive ability (many children), thus expressing the expectation of national prosperity. Another "Dragon and Phoenix Totem" unearthed in Hongshan Culture vividly shows the reproductive worship of Chinese dragon culture.

If we look at the jade carving of Hongshan Culture Zhongzhongfeng again, it is also C-shaped, which is no less shocking to us than the C-shaped dragon. First of all, the phoenix in China culture can generally represent women, while the "C"-shaped phoenix represents "newborn women". This proves once again that Longfeng culture is the creation of Chinese ancestor's reproductive worship. Because dragon (including "C" Phoenix culture) also means "primitive life", loong culture also means the Chinese nation's worship of primitive life, the worship of life creativity and the worship of primitive life that can transform everything.

Obviously, the Yi culture in China is another manifestation of reproductive civilization and life civilization. It can be said that loong culture is the temperament of the Chinese nation; China Yi culture is the essence of Chinese civilization.

The different "Jade Dragons" introduced earlier express the differences of people's cultural cognition in different regions. Except Yulong (Figure 3) looks like a pig's head, nothing else looks like or is not. Yulong (photo 1) has the basic temperament of a chicken in an eggshell-round eyes and obvious cockscomb, and it is also like a monkey in a sense; Yulong (Figure 2) is a galloping horse, which shows people's love and admiration for horses on the grassland. This should also be the source of "Dragon Horse" and "Dragon Horse Spirit". "Zhou Li Shimonoseki Xi Ren" said: "A horse is a dragon over eight feet." The "White Horse Dragon" in the mythical novel The Journey to the West is the incarnation of the little white dragon, which clearly expresses the artistic conception of "one horse is the dragon". Dawenkou Dragon, on the other hand, has the head of a sheep or a deer, which shows the feelings and worship of the ancestors of the Chinese nation in ancient Anhui for the horned animal sheep or deer. This is very close to the leading image we see now.

The face of the dragon's "dragon head" that we see now is very similar to that of a crocodile (it is the face of an animal living in water, such as a hippo, which is very similar to crocodiles and dragons); And the four "dragon claws" are also very similar to the four claws of crocodiles. The trunk of the dragon we see now is very similar to that of a python or a snake. This snake looks like sperm. "Zuo Zhuan Xiang Gong Twenty-eight Years" said: "Snake Lapras." It means turning a snake into a dragon. The "snake", one of the 12 zodiac animals, is also called "Xiaolong". When it is young (without scales and claws), it can be understood as "dragon"-that is, a "C"-shaped dragon. In addition, the legendary Fuxi is a "face-to-face snake" (actually it should be a face-to-face dragon, and the snake is the evolutionary result of the life form image of the jade carving dragon, a newborn animal. The statue of Fuxi Nuwa unearthed in the Spring and Autumn Period is quite different from that of Fuxi Nuwa in the Han Dynasty, which shows the worship of Chinese ancestors to the dragon, the primary image of life. In traditional Chinese medicine, earthworm is called "earthworm", which is a good annotation to the meaning of "continuous ups and downs" expressed by dragon.

In China's traditional culture, there is the culture of Xiao Sheng. The traditional order of the 12 zodiac animals is Rat, Ugly Cow, Silver Tiger, Cat Rabbit, Chen Long, Four Rats, Five Horses, Weiyang, Monkey, Friendship, Filial Piety and Haizhu. If dragons take the lead, there will be dragons, snakes, horses, sheep, monkeys, chickens, dogs, pigs, rats, cows, tigers and rabbits. In addition to dragons, there are 1 1 animals in the zodiac, all of which are well known in reality. Only dragons have no realistic comparison. Now we can be completely clear. First of all, dragons are the early embryos of all animals, and all animals evolved from dragons. Then the dragon is the fusion of all animals, including at least the above-mentioned animals: first, the embodiment of snakes (including crocodiles), horses and sheep; Then it includes chickens (or monkeys) and pigs. Therefore, what the dragon expresses is the image of "life is called change"; The dragon expresses the image of natural integration of life; Dragons also express social cohesion for people of different cultures and ages (heavenly stems and earthly branches is a 60-year cycle) (represented by twelve animals with different attributes).

Chinese civilization has a history of more than 5,000 years, with ups and downs, endless life and eternal harmony. Becoming the only civilization in the world that spans human history without interruption fully embodies the noble temperament of Chinese dragon culture. From the shape of the dragon 6,000 years ago to the present, it is a gradual evolution process.

There are many theories about the evolution of loong culture, but it is generally believed that the dragon that people know now is the result of various ancient evolutions. Loong culture has gone through five stages: germination, gestation, maturity, development and prosperity. The early dragon culture mainly occurred in Hongshan Culture, Dawenkou culture and other times, which we have introduced more. "In the Bronze Age (Xia, Shang, Western Zhou, Spring and Autumn, 21~ 5th century BC), dragon patterns and spiral patterns appeared on bronze ritual vessels, but the position of dragon patterns is not important. During the Warring States, Qin and Han Dynasties, the dragon pattern changed the variation and diversification in the past, and the common stereotyped and formulaic shapes appeared in later generations, which matured with the prevalence of Confucianism and Taoism. From the Three Kingdoms to the Song and Yuan Dynasties (AD 220 ~ 1368), the image of the dragon experienced the evolution and development from simple to exquisite, from rigid to vivid, from claw-free to claw-scaled, from single dragon to group dragon, from moral story to pure decoration. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368 ~1911), the dragon pattern became the symbol and symbol of imperial power and reached its peak, ushered in its golden age. "

In fact, the so-called "heyday" began in the Ming Dynasty, and it was also an era when China's feudal civilization reversed from its heyday (the climax was Zheng He's seven voyages to the West to integrate the world < 1405 ~ 1433 >) and went into decline. Can it be said that the dragon culture in China has been "aging" at the "royal culture level" after the Revolution of 1911, and with the disappearance of the Qing Dynasty, the "Royal Dragon Culture" has also ended as a historical culture. In modern times, loong culture has mainly become an expression of folk customs and happiness of ordinary people. Especially when young men and women get married, there are often dragon and phoenix patterns as the main scene decoration of the wedding-the dragon represents men and the phoenix represents women, expressing the profound connotation of the reproductive culture of the Chinese nation. As the "descendants of the dragon", the Chinese nation's loong culture is manifested by the deep cognitive feelings of every Chinese descendant for the motherland. No matter where you go, no matter where you are in a foreign country thousands of miles away, no matter how many generations you have settled overseas, as a "descendant of the dragon", you will always bury your motherland deeply in your heart. In modern times, the patriotism of overseas Chinese is a vivid portrayal of the cohesion of the Chinese nation.

What needs to be pointed out in particular here is that the plastic beast with mussel shell unearthed in Puyang 6000 years ago is generally regarded as "the Yilong of China", but this interpretation is problematic. There should be no problem that the owner of the tomb is a tribal leader. The two animal models buried with him, one on the left and the other on the right, should be the "mountain king"-the tiger, and the other is the "overlord in the water"-the crocodile (this issue has also been demonstrated by other scholars), with the head down and the middle guarding the "king of people". There is a saying in China culture that "the left green dragon is the right white tiger", and idioms such as "Entering the Dragon" and "Dragon Pan Tiger" should be the continuation of this culture. Therefore, the dragon here should be a kind of "Wei Long"-the dragon to defend, or "Wei Long"-the mighty dragon. And Hongshan Yulong can be called "the dragon of life"-the dragon of reproduction. The dragon after the fusion of the dragon of life and the mighty dragon can be called "dragon", which is also the beginning of calling the emperor "the real dragon son of heaven" in China culture. Calling the emperor "the real dragon son of heaven" and the queen "the rockhopper gown" should be the highest expression of reproductive culture in China culture. The majestic shape of the dragon embodies the supremacy and sacredness of the royal family, and the dragon has become the only symbol of the royal family. The form of dragon is formed by the fusion and sublimation of various ideas contained in concrete life and animal form, and its connotation is still the highest expression of the reproductive culture of the Chinese nation, which embodies the ups and downs and endless natural life development of the Chinese nation (it should be referred to as kingship at that time). So in the real nature, it is impossible to find the corresponding creatures. However, simply using the image of the dragon now to demonstrate what animals the dragon is in history will not get the correct result.

Dragon culture will go to the world.

Chinese civilization is endless, and it is the only great civilization in human history. The two sources of Chinese civilization-Long Culture and Yi Culture-are the fundamental reasons for the endless growth of Chinese civilization. Loong culture is the temperament of the Chinese nation; China Yi culture is the essence of Chinese civilization. The so-called "fate is Yi" is a vivid expression of loong culture and China Yi culture-two-sided palm. As the source of loong culture, Hongshan Dragon is small and lovely, expressing a great creativity of endless life; Loong's golden snake dance is a symbol of the brilliant development of Chinese civilization and expresses the meaning of "longevity". Obviously, loong culture is people's hope for good luck, harmony and happiness. Nowadays, people in more and more countries in the world are infected by the lively scene of Spring Festival in China. China's Zodiac culture has been accepted and appreciated by people in more and more countries in the world, and people are willing to taste their feelings about China's Zodiac. China culture is going to the world.

Carrying forward Chinese culture is not only the necessity of the re-emergence of Chinese civilization, but also brings new business opportunities for goods with China cultural characteristics. The life creativity and auspicious artistic conception of loong culture revealed in this paper will surely make dragons loved by people in more and more countries. With the prosperity of China, more and more people will have a daily necessities and a dragon-shaped artwork with a dragon logo and a dragon pattern as a blessing for their future life. Dragon culture will surely become a culture shared by people all over the world.

Because the dragon and the west dragon are not only different in form, but also different in essence (this has been demonstrated and suggested by many experts); As the dragon has become a symbol of the Chinese nation, it is not appropriate to simply modify the image inheritance of history. However, in order to let people all over the world know loong better, we can consider using some standard sample dragons on different occasions.

For thousands of years, loong culture, which contains the meaning of happiness, harmony and prosperity, has become a sacred symbol of the rise and fall of the history of the Chinese nation and the human world. We need a thorough and comprehensive understanding of the connotation and historical evolution of loong culture, so as to enhance the self-esteem and self-confidence of China people who stand on their own feet among the nations of the world and re-enter the forefront of world development. Moreover, people all over the world need to know and understand the connotation and historical evolution of loong culture, which is also a necessary cultural exchange for China to go global and the world to know China, and also a very important cultural communication work to realize "China 2 1 century". Let people all over the world respect and love loong culture, thus becoming a positive cultural identity for the harmonious development of human beings in the 2 1 century.