How can there be a five-dragon case representing the five elements?

On the Dragon Culture in Northern National Currency

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China's dragon culture first appeared in Yangshao culture in Beishouling, Neolithic Age, about 7000 years ago. In the development process of thousands of years, it has been widely used in religion, politics, economy, literature and art, architecture, stone tools, jade, bronzes, painted lacquerware, musical instruments, ceramics, silk, furniture, cloisonne, currency making and many other fields. I like to use dragon patterns as decorations, which can be seen everywhere in the long-standing traditional culture of the Chinese nation. The national coins of northern China, which have a unique style of Chinese nation, have a long history and are colorful, and are an important part of China's ancient cultural heritage. However, the discussion about the northern national currency dragon culture is still in the primary stage. As early as 1985, the Chinese Coin Society emphasized and put forward the task of attaching importance to and strengthening the research of minority coins and creating a new situation in coin research. In order to explore the significance of dragon culture and make it elegant and popular, I have made a preliminary combing of the dragon culture in the northern national currency, and now I submit my humble work for my colleagues' advice.

I. General comments

Our ancestors created splendid culture with their own wisdom and hands, and the dragon is the best among them. The dragon is not only the symbol of the Chinese nation, but also the embodiment of its great spirit. Dragon culture is an integral part of ancient civilization in China and the main content of commodity (currency) culture. It is a unique artistic treasure in China, which embodies the temperament and aesthetics of the Chinese nation. China is the hometown of dragons, and China people are "descendants of dragons".

In fact, dragon worship as a totem is a precedent for northern minorities. The large-scale C-shaped Jade Dragon discovered in the world-famous Wengniute Banner, Inner Mongolia, Hongshan Culture District, Liaohe River Basin can be said to be the "Yi Long of China" so far. "The most shocking thing at home and abroad is the discovery of a rare sacrificial group ... the ancestral totem treasures worshipped by all chiefs' alliances, thus obtaining a new one. This fully shows that the ancestors of the northern Hongshan Tusi tribe have long had the concept of worshipping dragons. Secondly, Mr. Fang Guancheng recorded many times in the book "Historical Program of the Mongolian World" that "the Chinese word" dragon "is the transition of Mongolian" (Lu) "and the phoneme of" (Lu) ". This is another proof mentioned above. Therefore, there is no doubt that the dragon has naturally become the material in the currency texture of the hometown of "China Yilong". It is a distinctive and meaningful symbol of the Chinese national spirit and a colorful dragon cultural heritage left by our ancestors.

Second, the origin of dragon culture in ancient coins of northern nationalities

(1) dragon coin. According to historical records, as early as 2000 years ago, dragon patterns appeared on coins in the Western Han Dynasty. However, I think that the Khitans are the earliest people in northern China who used dragon patterns in coinage. The Khitan nationality is a descendant of Xianbei nationality. In 9 16 AD, the Qidan nationality unified the north and south of the desert and the northeast, and established the Liao State in Huanglinfu, Balinzuoqi, Chifeng City. After Bao Ji unified Qidan, Liao began to coin in Tianzan period. Casting dragon patterns on money plays a role similar to that of "the god beast in Han Dynasty is the medium to communicate heaven, man and earth". It is also the main feature of "Shaman culture".

From this perspective, money aversion itself is a lucky product or an evil product in the form of coins. Since the Han Dynasty, with the development of religious art and the prevalence of dragon culture, dragons have entered the field of coins, and the dragon patterns on coins made by northern nationalities are also colorful. With the development of China society, the dragon culture of coins has continued.

(2) Long notes. According to "China Ancient Banknotes Collection", the manuscript of "Zhongtong Yuanbao Jiaochao" has water patterns (see figure 1), and there are dragon patterns in the left and right moire patterns. ⑥ In the 24th year of Zhiyuan (A.D. 1287), Zhiyuan Tongbao Annotation was printed, with two treasure beads on it and a dragon style on the bottom. ⑦ This became the earliest "first sound" of the dragon pattern on paper money, and it is a rare treasure that continues to spread. It shines brightly in China's art treasure house, adding the crystallization of the dawn of paper money dragon culture with a history of more than 700 years. It can be said that the image of the dragon pushed the patterns on the ancient banknotes in China to a new peak, which was one of the pioneering works of the ethnic minorities in the Northern Dynasties. This greatly inspired the art of coinage in the Ming and Qing dynasties, so that the dragon pattern continued to prevail on paper money. In modern times, the use of dragon patterns on coins once reappeared.

Third, the shape, weight and material of the dragon coin.

Coins with dragon and phoenix and animal designs are mostly round in shape, which is different from square holes. The money varies in size and the categories are particularly complicated. The maximum diameter is 7.28 cm, and the minimum is 1.84 cm. The heaviest is 98.3 grams, and the lightest is 3.9 grams. From the material point of view, it is mostly red copper and copper, with a small amount of brass and iron. Judging from the paper money, the oversized paper money with dragon pattern is 235.8× 178.9 cm. Generally, paper money is vertical rectangle, with more horizontal rectangles and less horizontal rectangles, which is different from painting and black and white.

4. Names and uses of dragons and dragon coins.

(1) Dragon pattern casting money. The money for casting dragons and dragons and phoenixes includes: Long live the Millennium, auspicious dragons and phoenixes, Daquan 50, Fushou Kangning, Taihe Chongbao, Hejia Qingji, folk dragons and tigers, and heartfelt patience. There are also zodiac signs, such as money or tattoos. There are dragons and phoenixes or turtles, cranes or deer, horses or Beidou, turtles and snakes on the back, including: world peace, long life and wealth, or happiness from now on. There are four words in the Yuan Dynasty: Xiaoping, Fold One, Fold Two and Fold San Qian. As Zhang Duanmu said: "This kind of money used to be called life money. There are twelve characters on the ground, as well as the zodiac and the zodiac. It started in Huainanzi, so it may not have been in the last hundred years. Today, this money has one word, two words, four words and twelve words, ranging in size and variety. " ⑧

There are many kinds of dragon coins in Liao, Jin and Yuan Dynasties. In ancient times, a small number of coins were in circulation at that time, which played a media role in commodity exchange. Most of them are winning money, also called winning money, including auspicious money, support money, magic money, magic money, temple fair money, divination money, easy money and so on. To sum up, the above money has the following uses: in religion, praying to the gods who dominate nature to exorcise evil spirits through offering sacrifices and witchcraft; In the folk, it is used as a wedding token, hanging accounts, and giving gifts to the bride and husband, which is a symbol of husband and wife's love; In the form of blessing, it means wishing the family happiness, or praying for wealth, promotion, wealth and longevity, giving it auspicious meaning, or wishing people good luck, becoming a pillar of the country, meaning that the court is an important official and returning to the top of scientific research. Or congratulate you on living and working in peace and contentment, and expressing your support for the future and blessing the rich folk music in the new year. Generally speaking, winning money is rarely invested by a few regimes, and many are invested by the people.

(2) Long notes. Since the Yuan Dynasty, when the dragon pattern was put into use on paper money, the banknote makers were inspired and used for reference. Since the Ming dynasty, it has been widely used, especially in the middle and late Qing dynasty and the Republic of China. In addition, 1937, 165438, the bank notes issued by "Mengjiang Bank" established on 120, and the "Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture Government Bond" issued on 1 2/0/739 were all listed in dragon stamp during the Genghis Khan era.

Fifth, the artistic style of dragon pattern on the northern national currency.

Regarding the shape and title of the dragon pattern, there is a cloud in Guangya presented by Andy in the Three Kingdoms: "Those with scales are called dragons, those with wings are called Ying Long, those with horns are called dragons, and those with horns are called dragons." Pet-name ruby In fact, it has been recorded in all previous dynasties, and the dragon patterns on the northern countries' loan coins are not only these, but also various, which can be described as varied. For example, according to the posture of dragons, there are Panlong, Longteng, Li Long, Climbing Dragon and Ascending Dragon. According to this, it can also be divided into positive and negative spiral dragons, S-shaped dragons, B-shaped dragons, V-shaped dragons, Ssangyong playing pearls, Ssangyong grabbing pearls and other sports expressions, which fully shows the elegant characteristics of national aesthetic creation. According to the shape of dragons, there are: snake dragon, E Long, beast dragon, single crown dragon, etc. According to the external environment to which dragons are attached, there are hoses, Yunlong, fire dragons and flower dragons. According to the number of dragons, there are single dragons, double dragons, male and female dragons and so on. According to different animal combinations, there are: good luck for dragons and phoenixes, happy events for men and women, marriage of dragons and tigers, dragons, finches, deer and tigers, etc.

From the various parts of the dragon depicted by the painter, it can be divided into the following categories: its dragon head has big head, small head, baldness, long thorns in the back of the head and the difference between the front, side, bottom and top of the dragon head; With its dragon face, beard, dragon forest, dragon tail, dragon horn and its dragon claws, there are three claws and four claws, and at least five claws (which may be related to the restriction of five claws for the royal family in the Yuan Dynasty), there are long-body dragons, short-body dragons and abnormity dragons, all of which are giants with scales all over their bodies. Its longkou, as the painter often says, "a dragon with its mouth open, a cat with its mouth closed", is generally a dragon with its mouth open. It is said that dragons spit pearls. So most money dragons are playing with pearls, grabbing pearls or spitting pearls.

To sum up, the dragon pattern on the northern country's loan currency is magnificent because of its various forms and types. Over time, the dragon became the most acceptable mascot and was widely used. "The Qin and Han dynasties were the times when dragon patterns were popular and popular. During this period, not only the image of the dragon tends to mature, but also the use of dragon patterns is more extensive. " Attending the dragon paintings originally used by northern nationalities in coinage are simple in shape, simple in style and rough in shape. (See Figure 1-3) Since then, the dragon pattern has changed slightly when it appears on the paper money. As shown in Figure 4, it has developed into a dragon with plump figure, strong body, compact composition, distinct layers, winding shape, extraordinary momentum and unique characteristics. (See Figure 5-6).

There is also a square hole money with a unique dragon pattern (see Figure 7).

The dragon pattern has a wide range of fields in which to dip a pen on paper money, and it has formed a watertight, vivid and magnificent artistic image more organically and vividly.

In fact, like the dragon pattern, it is something attached to people. With the passage of time, the dragon pattern is either placed on the surface of the currency, or on the back of the currency, or both, with a long time span and becoming one of the common representative decorations on the currency. The dragon pattern on the currency of the northern countries of China is very exquisite, which adds a lot of color to the splendid monetary culture of China. Moreover, Dragon Coin has been favored by lovers and collectors from all walks of life at home and abroad since it entered the art field with its rich national style.

In a word, these money dragons are dignified and elegant, colorful and lovely, and have high artistic appreciation value, so they have become special items loved by the people.

Sixth, the connotation and implication of the dragon pattern on the currency.

(1) Hate is better than good luck. It is said that China is the hometown of dragons, so in recent years, archaeologists believe that the most "primitive" cradle of dragons appeared in Liaohe area in the north, which of course has a certain coherence and promotion effect on the excavation of ancient coin dragon culture in the north. Being tired of winning and prospering is the concrete manifestation of the immortal thought in Han Dynasty. At that time, believers dedicated it to the gods. During the Liao, Jin and Yuan Dynasties, the northern nationalities often used dragon patterns on coins and other coins, with the intention of directly integrating the traditional concepts of ghosts and gods and witchcraft in China, and presenting dragons as messengers of God and auspicious animals. As Hegel said: "Only art is the earliest image translation of religious ideas." The dragon itself is derived from the artistic image of famous painters in past dynasties. The remaining antiques created by ancient northern nationalities, such as money-weariness, are the products of various Buddhist activities, which provide a basis for us to explore the religious concepts of our ancestors. Description: Dragon is the most concentrated deified thought, which appears in money-weariness, making money-weariness a carrier with special religious significance, a product reflecting people's ideology at that time, and a product of the prevalence of superstition and ghosts. China's primitive religious concept takes dragons, tigers, deer, crocodiles, snakes and other beasts as heavenly beasts, and "Taoist immortals also take dragons and tigers as mounts". According to Ge Hong (about 283-343) in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, he said: "He who has no monarch is also a great fairy. He can reconcile yin and yang, serve ghosts and gods, ride the Twelve Tigers in Kowloon and record all the immortals in the world. There are three ways to ride Qiao (Qiao) Road: Longzu Bridge, Huzu Bridge and Luzu Bridge. This cultural phenomenon, including dragons, conforms to the special status of currency people who hate winning prizes. Therefore, the concept of dragon, such as winning money and getting tired, can be said to be an integral part of the traditional concept since the ancient people of China attached themselves to Jackie Chan. Dragon pattern is also a profound reflection of China's ancient thought of Yin-Yang and Five Elements on coins. The androgyny of dragon and phoenix is the intercourse of yin and yang, so the combination of dragon and phoenix is widely popular in currency as an auspicious pattern of prosperous population. The dragon and phoenix patterns are colorful and vivid, and there are eight diagrams, which make them have the auspicious meaning of harmony between yin and yang; There is a pattern of Long Yun on the coin, which makes the world rich and rainy, and sends the meaning of "Peace in the world, seeking wealth and longevity"; It also contains the meaning of profit, smooth sailing, good weather, peace and prosperity.

In religious form, the ancient people used dragon and other beasts to make money and eliminate disasters, auspicious words, support and spells. Most of them are gods in charge of good and bad luck, or pray for prosperity, longevity and happiness as congratulations, or estimate that people and animals are prosperous and crops are abundant. When the Chinese zodiac is used for money-weariness, people of all kinds of Chinese zodiac have the meaning of good luck, prosperous population and peace from generation to generation. It can be seen that these contents reflect that people win money through the dragon pattern of the gods, pray for the blessing and evaluation of the gods, and pray for the blessing and increase of wealth, live a rich life and have more money.

In addition, there are four groups of characters on the other side of the zodiac, namely, back, down, left and right. The first person is Lapras's zodiac money. Everyone in each zodiac has the hope of fame and fortune, and "put on an actor, Lapras, and become a top scholar and map. The other three groups each voted for three people, all of which are stories of "three yuan of Jinshi".

To sum up, we believe that all the winning money, offering money, temple fair money, Tibetan Buddha money and other coins of the northern nationalities are related to the worship of gods and ancestors, which is a reflection of China's traditional thought of Yin-Yang and Five Elements and the primitive religious concept, and serves the religious and political concept. In addition, the fantasy of the beast tools used by ancestors to ascend to heaven (reflected in coins) has become a reality today with the development of science and technology. Aviation tools such as "J-8 II aircraft", "rocket" and "satellite" have appeared on contemporary coins one after another, and the ancient beast patterns have gradually withdrawn from the coin stage.

In Hanshu Food Records, "Therefore, goods are more expensive than gold, beneficial to knives, flowing in springs and coming from springs." Yan Shigu in Kang Dynasty noted that "its vulgarity is like a spring", which clearly explained the significance of calling money a spring. Today's currency (fountain) tool is used as a medium of barter. each

The connotation of dragon money in different dynasties is different, but it is similar in a certain sense. Long Qian's rich religious, supernatural and sacrificial connotations endow it with the responsibility as a medium for commodity trading between heaven and earth. It also expresses that dragon money is like a rolling spring, which benefits everything and is a symbol of making money and getting rich.

In short, the dragon pattern in currency, as Mr. Liu Zhixiong said: "We look at the development process of dragon pattern, not only to watch the wonderful dragon pattern art unique to China, but more importantly, to further understand the connotation and significance of dragon and its development and changes through the understanding of the application of dragon pattern in past dynasties, so as to have a more comprehensive and objective understanding of the position and role of dragon in China culture." The author thinks that his theory is also applicable to the dragon of money, which is an appropriate comment.

Seven, the dragon in the northern national currency and literature, folk culture.

The dragon and beast currency of the northern nationalities is an important part of the whole currency culture. While expressing the value of circulation, religion and the scale of sacrifice, it was also immersed in folk culture, and gradually formed a unique coin dragon culture.

In ancient times, northerners used to hang copper coins decorated with dragon and phoenix patterns on palace lanterns as accessories during the Spring Festival and Lantern Festival. People vividly call these coins "hanging money" Among Mongolian herders in modern Ordos, there is also the custom of praying to the Dragon King, so as to bless people and animals to prosper and the weather is favorable. After the prayer, the snake-wrapped frog made of pasta, together with the dragon-shaped winning money (or tokens), was thrown into the lake to show respect for the dragon god, and water was thrown at the throwing place in order to get rain. This custom existed as early as in the "Dragon King Begging for Rain in Taishang Cave". "In case of drought or fire, chanting the scriptures to call the dragon king can cause heavy rain." Record. This is precisely "in the concept of the ancients, the dragon is a kind of beast that can affect the spread of clouds and rain, so the dragon has become the protagonist in the witchcraft of praying for rain." This folk custom is quite common.

In northern folk customs, people put rice in a dragon basin on New Year's Eve, and put homemade money strings and ingots on the rice, which became the cash cow of the "God of Wealth". As mentioned above, there are dragons on the leaves of these cash cows, and the dragons on the pots are always inseparable from the expression of dragon culture.

To sum up, the dragon culture is long and rich. Since it was introduced into the currency of the northern countries, it has expanded from the economic and religious fields to the political and economic fields, and finally shines in the economic, cultural and artistic fields. As a decorative currency with dragons (including spending money to win, of course), the dragon pattern is a unique artistic treasure in China, which makes the dragon a sacred symbol of the East and shows the temperament and aesthetics of different tribes in ancient North China. In the modern Qing Dynasty, the dragon culture rich in Manchu people in the north was particularly popular and developed, which further promoted the northern national culture. All this is in line with what Professor Hu said "... from totem worship to ancestor worship, which reflects the historical process from primitive ancient natural culture to humanistic culture and also reveals the information about the origin of Chinese civilization". In any case, the author believes that although the dragon in money has become a "hundred-legged worm", it still adds aesthetic interest to money, which embodies the traditional culture of the Chinese nation and has high appreciation value and collection value. The northern tribes in China have made positive contributions to the development of China culture since ancient times, among which the Qianlong culture has far-reaching influence. Although it appears in the northern area of hometown and "mother's family", it does not exclude the developed culture of the Central Plains. The development, enrichment and absorption of Qianlong culture are inseparable, and it will play a long-term role in the thoughts, arts, beliefs, life and customs of the Chinese nation.

Pay attention to and release:

① ② Hu: loong, China City Press, 2003.

③ Taiyi Man Cang: Hongshan Yulong, Golden Key Magazine (Mongolian), the first issue in 2000.

④ ⑨ ⑩ Liu Zhixiong and Yang Jingrong: Dragon and China Culture, People's Publishing House, 1992.

⑥ Coin Research Association of Inner Mongolia and the editorial department of China Coin: Collection of Ancient Banknotes in China, China Financial Publishing House, 1987.

Ding: Dictionary of Ancient Currency, published by Zhonghua Book Company, 1982.

Lin He: On Folk Currency Map, Academy Press, 2003.

Jin Yongtian: Liao Tieqian, Inner Mongolia Finance and Economics, 1987 Coin Supplement.

Wang Xinwen: Culture in the Eyes of Money, Hunan Literature and Art Publishing House, 1992.

Hong: Practical knowledge of coins in China and currency in Yuan Dynasty, Inner Mongolia Culture Publishing House, 1997.

Ren: Religious Dictionary, Shanghai Dictionary Publishing House, 198 1 year.

Authors: China Agricultural Bank Eqianqi Sub-branch.