What do we know about dragons?

Dragon, as a unique cultural cohesion and accumulation of China people, has taken root and is deeply hidden in the subconscious of each of us. Not only people's daily life, birth, illness and death are almost branded with dragon culture, but also from the perspective of dragon culture, the aesthetic consciousness of dragon culture has penetrated into all fields and aspects of our social culture.

In China, dragons are associated with everything in the world.

In the traditional culture of China, the dragon is a symbol of power, nobility and honor, as well as luck and success.

The reason why dragons have this cultural symbolic significance has a lot to do with the incomparable magical power of legends and myths that dragons fly in the sky, chase waves in the sea and beg for rain on the ground. But more importantly, because the dragon has often become the exclusive patent of slaves in China, it has become the supreme ruler of feudal society for thousands of years and is synonymous with imperial power. Therefore, the emperor is the real dragon emperor. His whole body is called the dragon body and his clothes are called the dragon robe.

The dragon has a long history of being linked with imperial power, starting from the Yellow Emperor.

In the legendary era, the Yellow Emperor, who is related to the dragon, traveled around and observed the people's feelings. He had Tong Tong mined in Shoushan, and then transported it to the foot of Jingshan to cast a tripod to commemorate his brilliant victory in the war. After a while, the tripod was finally cast, and the Yellow Emperor held a ceremony in Jingshan to celebrate the casting of the tripod. Not only immortals from all walks of life were invited to the ceremony, but also people from all directions were invited. Everyone wants to see what the tripod cast by the Yellow Emperor looks like. It is likely that the emperor will uncover it himself. I saw a bronze tripod as big as a jar, shining with dazzling golden light in front of God and people. Everyone admires it. They came forward to look closely, and the tripod was engraved with a vigorous Youlong shuttling through a piece of auspicious clouds, surrounded by ghosts and gods and all kinds of rare birds and animals. It can be described as varied and lifelike.

When all the gods were admiring the cauldron and the patterns on it with reverence, suddenly the sky was covered with thick clouds, blocking the sun, and soon it was dark. Everyone thought it was going to rain. They realized that a golden light penetrated the thick clouds and a dragon in shining armor broke through the clouds. Its tail and lower body are supported in the clouds and its head rests on a tripod. The dragon had to hang down to the ground along its feet. The Yellow Emperor understood that he had completed his mission on earth, and God sent a dragon to take him to heaven. He jumped on the dragon's back and flew back to heaven. Everyone in the world is unwilling to let a wise monarch like the Yellow Emperor go back, and everyone is dragging the dragon beard and refusing to let it go. As a result, many dragon whiskers were torn off, and the Yellow Emperor and the dragon left anyway. It is said that when this kind of Gracilaria lemaneiformis landed, it gave birth to many tiny and slender grasses, which people later called Gracilaria lemaneiformis.

Most famous monarchs in the legendary era have ambiguous relationships with dragons. When Yao was in power, there was a big flood, and there were floods everywhere. In order to save the people, he ordered guns to control the water. Gun stole the fallow soil of the Emperor of Heaven, blocked the water by the rule of law in vain, and was killed by the angry Emperor of Heaven in Yushan, and Candle dragon happened to be the patron saint here. The landlord, Yushan, doesn't bask in the sun, and is illuminated by candles in Candle dragon's mouth all the year round, so the gun's body won't rot for three years. The Emperor of Heaven was afraid of the resurrection of Gun, seeking revenge and wrangling for himself. The truth never stops. He sent a magical knife named Wu, probably a knife and axe hand in the sky, and used a treasure knife to gouge out the body of the gun in the lower world. When Wu Dao cut open Gun's belly, he suddenly accused a dragon of having a pair of sharp horns. Strange to say, after Yu was born, Gun's body rolled down the feather deep and turned into a dragon, always shaking scales and crossing the waves.

Yu inherited his father's legacy and finally surrendered to the flood, winning the admiration of everyone. Later, the old man abdicated according to public opinion, and Yu became the founding monarch of the Xia Dynasty, which may be one of the historical bases for the emperor to be the real dragon emperor.

Another cultural symbol of the dragon is that it is different from others and ordinary people. Dragons are sacred, and extraordinary people are comparable. Therefore, people often call those who are ambitious, virtuous, capable, promising and successful dragons. When Zhuge Liang and Ge worked hard in Nanyang for a long time, they compared themselves to Guan Zhong, who was called Mr. Wolong, meaning that they failed to display their talents without ambition.

In Chinese, dragons and insects are relative, and snakes are insects. Snakes, also known as long worms, can be seen everywhere, with many kinds, common, not surprising and not expensive. Mixed dragon and snake means that good things and bad things are mixed together, which is difficult to distinguish. This is a phenomenon that cannot be explained by biology-the prototype of the dragon, or the basic physiological animal of the dragon is the snake. Dragons and snakes are not brothers, but at least they belong to the same clan (snakes are also called dragons). But once the dragon is separated from the snake, it doesn't care about the snake, and even kills the snake to show that it is different from the snake. The most typical story is that Liu Bang, the Emperor Gaozu, beheaded a white snake, saying that Liu Bang's mother Liu Wei dreamed of having sex with a dragon and was pregnant and gave birth to Liu Bang. He has no ambition. When he was traveling in the wild, he met a python and blocked the way. He immediately cut the snake with his sword and took courage out of his stomach. This is a beautiful speech, and people think it is very good. At the end of the Qin Dynasty, there was chaos in the world. Liu Bang took the opportunity to dispatch troops in Pei County to pacify the heroes and establish the Han Empire, which made Liu's country pass down in the Han Dynasty for 400 years.

The dragon is not only a symbol of getting ahead, but also an extraordinary symbol. In ancient times, those sages were also called dragons. According to legend, Confucius went to see the old founder Yong and didn't say a word for three days after he came back. His disciples were very surprised and asked him: How did Mr. Li Yong teach him when he met him? Confucius said: what I see is a dragon that changes endlessly along yin and yang. I'm tongue-tied, so where can I teach him? This means that all words are superfluous, and Lao Dan is a rare saint.

In addition, Zhu Gekongming was called Mr. Wolong before his debut, and Cai Yong, a doctor in the Eastern Han Dynasty, was drunk by the roadside, so everyone called him Drunken Dragon. Therefore, anyone who is moral, talented, meticulous in writing, incorruptible as an official, or outstanding in behavior can be compared to a dragon.

As the saying goes, if you want your child to become a dragon, you don't want your child to become a monster with scales on his head, but you want your child to achieve something in the future. One of the popular new children's songs in recent years is "100 is a dragon", which also means this. In addition, we often hear the news of the dragon and tiger charts in the music world on radio, television, newspapers and magazines. What is the Dragon and Tiger List? The Biography of Ouyang Zhan in the New Tang Dynasty says that Ouyang Zhan was among the world celebrities such as Han Yu, Li Guan, Wang Ya and Cui Qun when he was studying, which means that celebrities and superstars gather here, and the dragon here reflects the winners.

After the Tang Dynasty, dragon and phoenix patterns were widely circulated. It not only symbolizes the authority of the emperor and queen, but also symbolizes the happy combination of all human couples. It can also symbolize the harmony of Yin and Yang of all spiritual and material things in the world. It can be said that the dragon and phoenix pattern is the most representative image symbol of the Chinese nation and a wonderful artistic image.

Although the dragon and phoenix in Oracle Bone Inscriptions are amorphous, how can we tell that the dragon is a spirit bug that bends and stretches with time, and the phoenix is a spirit bird with a gorgeous long tail? In ancient bronzes, the image of dragon presents a ferocious, mysterious and dignified overall effect. In the Han Dynasty, it broke through the shackles of mysterious and strange atmosphere by grasping the big plane, bold and unrestrained arc and exquisite points, and formed the main theme of big structure and great momentum. In the Tang Dynasty, it was endowed with a gentle and honest character, and formed a rich and graceful and youthful style. From the Song and Yuan Dynasties to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the exquisite style was emphasized, from exquisite workmanship to complicated piling. But the dragon and phoenix pattern in the middle is still simple and clear, concise and vivid, and has a strong flavor of life.

In practical application, the dragon has always represented an authority or strength, and its divinity is constantly increasing.

Every part of the dragon has a specific meaning: the prominent forehead indicates wisdom; Antlers represent the country and longevity; Cow ears symbolize the top spot; The tiger's eyes are majestic; Eagle claws are brave; Sword eyebrows symbolize bravery; The lion's nose symbolizes preciousness; Goldfish tail symbolizes flexibility; Horse teeth symbolize hard work and kindness. Yunlong in front of Tiananmen Square, Panyunlong stone pillar of Confucius Temple in Qufu, Shandong Province, and the dragon bed of the Forbidden City are all symbols of imperial power in history. Phoenix birds are more secular and less sacred. As the old saying goes, there is Feng Youyou. This ideal spirit bird has always been regarded as the embodiment of good luck and happiness, and it also symbolizes happy love. The theme of auspicious dragons and phoenixes is more vivid in court art, with dragons representing emperors and phoenixes as symbols of female empresses. Today, the dragon and phoenix patterns are re-combined with the artistic creation enthusiasm of millions of people, and they have gained infinite artistic life in the fields of architecture, sculpture, painting, arts and crafts and so on.

The outstanding performance of drawing dragon pattern is the emperor's dragon robe. Its color is bright yellow, the dragon head is embroidered with gold and blue pieces and nine dragons, with five-color clouds in the middle, one dragon before and after the collar, one dragon on the left and right, one dragon at the intersection, one dragon on the sleeve, and the next eight treasures stand around the water. Dragon robe is the supreme costume, which is finely made and passed the inspection. For example, the production of dragon robes in the Qing Dynasty was carefully designed and produced by the first-class craftsmen in the Qing Palace at that time. After the emperor personally examined and approved, he sent volunteers to Nanjing or Suzhou and Hangzhou to supervise the production. Sometimes it takes 190 days for a robe. Its special robes should be twisted with peacock tail hair, spread all over the floor, crossed with thin lines and embroidered with rice beads to form dragons, phoenixes or group flowers. Its huge labor force and luxurious materials are shocking.

Dragon flag with dragon pattern in ancient times. Dragon flags have existed since the Zhou Dynasty, and there are 12 species in the Song Dynasty, such as Huanglong Banner and Qinglong Banner. Although there are many kinds of dragon flags, the patterns of all the dragon flags are similar, all of them are blue and yellow, and there are colored footsteps between red flames, and then the images of dragons with different shapes are painted. For example, the Pearl Flag of Panlong Opera is a kind of dragon flag, which is painted with the pattern of Huanglongbei River Map, so it is also called Huanglong Negative Map Flag.

Emperor Yang Di of Sui Dynasty also built a dragon boat and a dragon boat team for his extravagant and flashy entertainment. Its dragon boat structure and furnishings are extremely luxurious. The Weilong inkstone named after the dragon is a treasure of She Yan, because it is named after the Weilong stone made in Wuyuan. Its inkstone is both rigid and soft, moist and clean, caressing like skin, silent friction, jade-like color and brilliant texture, which provides a broad space for inkstone workers to teach students in accordance with their aptitude. According to the different shapes, colors and patterns of stone materials, inkstone workers carefully designed and deliberately carved to make square inkstones and round inkstones with symmetrical patterns, tall and straight knives and exquisite carvings.

Decorating clothes with dragon patterns has a long history, but for a long time it was only a special product for royalty, and most of it was monopolized by emperors, dragons and grandchildren. According to legend, the Yellow Emperor thought that the dragon was a magical thing with endless changes, and he liked the dragon's appearance very much. He asked the minister Shi to paint the dragon's image on his clothes and paint it with colorful colors. This is the first dragon robe in China history. Because the emperor claims to be the real dragon emperor, the dragon is an indispensable symbol in his family: the emperor wears a dragon crown-a hat with a double dragon pattern; Wearing a dragon robe-there is a raptor on the front and back chest, mixed with clouds; Wearing a dragon belt around the waist-a belt with a dragon as the main pattern, wearing a dragon and phoenix Yu Pei ... We have seen these with our own eyes in museums, imperial tombs and folk art. As for the things used by emperors, they are mostly related to dragons: dragon cases, dragon chairs, dragon beds, dragon boats, dragon fins and so on. The emperor was uncomfortable and scolded the dragon for being unsafe. When he got angry, he flew into a rage. Even the emperor's straight step has a unique wound, calling Yi Long to walk a tiger.

Since it is a royal patent, others can't get their hands on it easily. During the reign of Emperor Yingzong in the Ming Dynasty, such an interesting thing happened, which led to the distinction between dragon robes and embroidered robes. During the period of Zheng De, King Annan paid tribute to China. Ming Yingzong saw that he was absent-minded, so he said he would give him a dragon robe as long as he was happy. The dragon robe symbolizes the country. How could he give it away easily? But there are no jokes in Di Jun. If you can't take it back, what about the spilled water? Ministers discussed it for a long time before they came up with an alternative method of killing two birds with one stone-subtracting one claw from the dragon on the dragon robe and turning it into four claws, with three claws in front and one claw in the back. On the surface, it looks like a dragon robe. In fact, it is no longer a dragon. Five claws are dragons and four claws are pythons. Annan got an impostor and returned to China in high spirits.

Later, the emperor rewarded the closest and most effective ministers with embroidered robes, and all the ministers who wore embroidered robes were proud of it; Later, even the servants and guards of the palace put on embroidered robes, which has always been looked down upon by people. Therefore, people who do odd jobs, flag and shout on the stage under the stage are commonly known as walk-on, which means that there is no real kung fu, just a roast.

Interestingly, while opposing imperial power, ordinary people also attach great importance to depriving dragons of their royal patent rights. According to historical records, by the end of the Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, the people's uprising had raised the banner and put on homemade dragon robes; In the Song Dynasty, Liao, Xia, Jin and later Meng Yuan, the sworn enemies of the two Song Dynasties, all absorbed the Han culture of the Central Plains, and the costumes of the leaders were decorated with dragons. What's more interesting is that there is a chivalrous man named Shi Jin in the Water Margin, who is very good at nine dragons. It is said that he has nine dragons tattooed with ink lines. Most people have the subconscious mind to show off this part, so tattooed dragons are also part of clothes.

According to the legend of China Ancient Mythology Society, both the Yellow Emperor and Yan are dragons. The descendants of the Chinese people are naturally descendants of dragons. In the myths and legends of ethnic minorities, there are also many stories about the ancestors of dragons, the most typical of which is the ancestor story of Ailao people that has been circulating since the Han Dynasty:

Once upon a time, there lived a girl named Sha Yi at the foot of Ailao Mountain. Once she went to the river to wash clothes and saw a fish swimming around. She was so excited that she jumped into the river to catch it. She accidentally bumped into a piece of wood floating down from the upper reaches of the quilt, got pregnant soon after she came back, and later gave birth to 10 sons. The children grew up under her care. On this day, I took them to the river to play with water. Suddenly, I saw a dragon jump out of the water and asked her, Are they the children you gave me? Sha Yi nodded and invited the children to meet their father. The children were frightened by the strange shape of the dragon and dispersed in a hubbub. Only the youngest child is not afraid of it, but also curiously touches its horns and pulls its beard. Finally, he sat on the dragon's back. The dragon liked him so much that he stuck out his tongue and licked it. Sha Yi mistakenly thought that the dragon was going to eat him. He was very anxious and shouted at the child on the dragon's back. He lamented that his back tone was nearly nine and his sitting tone was nearly long. The dragon thought it was the child's name, so he called him Jiulong. Later, the ten brothers in Kowloon married the ten sisters in Houshan, and each of them got married, and * * * promoted Kowloon as the patriarch.

China people are "descendants of the dragon", and the dragon culture is very developed, and there are many explanations for the dragon. Shuowen said: "The dragon, the scale worm's length, can be quiet and bright, can be small and big, can be long and short, the vernal equinox reaches the sky, and the autumn equinox enters Sichuan." "Guangya" says: "The dragon with scales, the Ying Long with wings, the dragon with horns and the dragon with horns." Erya Yi Shi Dragon by Luo Yuan, a poet in the Song Dynasty: "The horn is like a deer, the head is like a camel, the eyes are like a rabbit, the neck is like a snake, the abdomen is like a dragonfly, the scales are like a fish, the claws are like an eagle, the palm is like a tiger, and the ears are like an ox".

Chinese "dragon" is translated from Japanese, from English "dragon" and then from Latin "draco". The scope of "West" in this paper mainly refers to European countries, especially northern Europe and western Europe. They have many explanations for the meaning of "dragon", the most important of which is as follows: a python or a giant snake; The mythical monster is a huge reptile, which usually has a structure similar to that of snakes and crocodiles, hard claws and scales on the skin, usually wings, and sometimes spits fire. It is a combination of reptiles and mammals. The descriptions of dragons in ancient and medieval times include: the guards in the golden apple orchard and the mounts of the goddess of the moon, who were killed by dragon butchers such as Beowulf and St. George ... The third explanation comes from the Bible. In the Latin and Greek translations of the Old Testament, two kinds of behemoths (Leviathan and behemoth) in the sea and land may be related to dragons. What is called the "ancient snake" in the New Testament is Satan. Although most people in modern times think that the dragon is the embodiment of evil because of the influence of the third explanation, this paper focuses on the original meaning of the second explanation as a dragon.

Facing the vast sea of eastern and western cultures, we hope to see their fundamental similarities and differences. However, a closer look reveals that the dragon in China and the dragon in the West are almost completely different animals: the word "dragon" is different from that in China-just like the forced translation of "phoenix" and "phoenix". However, it is undeniable that "dragon" and "dragon" have some common characteristics: they are both legendary things and have not been verified; Big body; Can fly; The shape is very similar. It is not just a coincidence that they are all imaginary legendary animals and have been preserved in culture for a long time.

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In the long history of the Chinese nation, the image we call "dragon" appeared very early. Since the Western Zhou Dynasty, mature dragon patterns have appeared, and since the Han Dynasty, they have been deified and processed step by step, gradually fixing their images. After the Yuan Dynasty, it has established a standard image and become a symbol of the Chinese nation. Different scholars have different views on its origin. Wen Yiduo, a famous scholar, discussed the prototype of the dragon in the 1940s. He thinks that the main part and basic form of dragons are snakes. Later, a group with this serpent as its totem merged and absorbed many other totem groups. Snakes accepted animal feet, horse heads, raccoon tails, deer horns, dog claws, fish scales and beards ... and became the dragon we know now. Juxian Wei first proposed that the prototype of dragon was crocodile in his book published in 1934. Liu Chenghuai believes that the basic form of the dragon's trunk is snake, lizard and horse; In Zhu Tianshun's view, dragons originated from lightning; He Xin believes that the original dragon shape is just an abstract spiral moire. Later, it gradually tended to be figurative and biological, and expanded to the image of amphibians and reptiles close to the real biological world; Hu Changjian believes that the rainbow is the most direct prototype of the dragon, because the rainbow has beautiful and concrete visualization; Sun Shoudao believes that the dragon originated from primitive society, one of the original sources of the image of the dragon head should be related to the pig head, and the origin and birth of the dragon should be closely related to primitive agriculture.

The origin of the dragon is still inconclusive, but from the point of view of a hundred schools of thought, it can be seen that no matter where the dragon originated, it plays a decisive role in the long history and culture of the Chinese nation. So I think it seems more important to discuss why it plays such an important role.

From the evolution of cultural meaning, dragon worship has gone through several stages, from the symbol of god beast, water god and autocratic imperial power to the symbol of national culture.

In the pre-Qin period, the dragon was a kind of god beast. At present, the earliest known dragon carving is a pair of clam shell dragons and tigers found in the tomb of Yangshao cultural area in Xishuipo, Puyang, Henan Province. At this time, the image of the dragon is very simple, with no horns, long body, curved tail and scales. In Shang Dynasty, typical mature dragon patterns appeared on bronzes, jade articles and other handicrafts. At this time, dragons appear as mounts of gods or auspicious beasts.

It is called "dragon, forest, phoenix and turtle" in the Book of Rites, which are collectively called the Four Spirits.

"River Map" says: "Golden chitose gave birth to Huanglong, blue gold chitose gave birth to Qinglong, and Jin Xuan chitose gave birth to Long Xuan."

Twenty-nine years of Zuo Gong: "Therefore, there was a dragon and a summer in the world of Emperor Shun. Kong Jia disturbed the emperor, who gave it to Lapras. There are two rivers and Han, each with its own male and female. "

The sixty-four hexagrams in the Book of Changes are headed by dry hexagrams, which are all about "dragons" and express the philosophy of life and the universe with the change of dragon breath.

"Chronicle of Bamboo Slips" also said that there are so-called long dragons, dry dragons, dragons, dragons, dragons, dragons, dragons, dragons and dragons.

Monsters such as the face of the dragon, the head of a bird and the head of a horse often appear in Shan Hai Jing. Solitary dragons are usually used as mounts for gods, such as "South Zhu Rong, beast face, riding two dragons." "The land of great joy, Xia Hou began in this nine generations, riding Ssangyong and building three floors of clouds." "In the west of Ru Shou, there is a snake in the left ear, riding two dragons."

In Chu Ci, the dragon is also imagined as a beast driving, "driving a flying dragon northward", "the stone wrasse is shallow and the flying dragon is graceful".

Since the Han Dynasty, Confucianism has risen, and the mythical image of the dragon has been destroyed because "the son does not speak Machamp's heart". At this time, dragons are often used to pray for rain in literature. Ryuben is born of water and is closely related to water, which naturally comes down to water. "Xunzi's exhortation to learn" said: "Drops of water pierce the stone, and dragons live." "The History of Xi in the Songs of Chu" also wrote: "Dragons lived on land without water and were cut by ants." "Chu Ci Tian Wen" says: "He welcomes the captain of the sea, how can he do it?" Wang Yi's note: "In other words, when Yu was harnessing water, there was a dragon that drew land with its tail and diverted water, so it was cured. Guo Pu asked, "The rain was caused by Ying Long in later generations, which means something like this. "Huai Nan Zi Tian Xun" said: "Raising dragons belongs to Jing Yun. "

The most clear description of the five-color dragon is Shennong's Book for Rain: "It rains in spring and summer, but it doesn't rain. Party A and Party B are called Qinglong, which is also a fire dragon. It was jumped by oriental children. ..... "Spring and Autumn Stories Begging for Rain" also records the historical fact of using five-color dragons to beg for rain: "A and B are the largest black dragons, eight feet long, occupying the central position, and the seventh little dragon, four feet long, occupying the east. Bingding Day is the big red dragon one occupying the center, 70 feet long, and Xiaolong Six, 30 feet and 5 feet long respectively, in the south. Take Wuji Day as the Great Huanglong I, which is 50 feet long and occupies the central position. It is also the Little Dragon IV, which is 20 feet long and 5 feet south. Take Geng Xin Li as the Great White Dragon One, which is nine feet long and occupies the center. It is also the Little Dragon Eight, each four feet and five feet long, in the west. Ren Guiri is the big black dragon, six feet long, in the middle, and also the little dragon five, each three feet long and living in the north. "

The origin of the dragon emperor should be counted from the Yellow Emperor. There is also a record in Shan Hai Jing: "Chiyou fought against the Yellow Emperor, who ordered Ying Long to attack the wild land of Jizhou and Ying Long to store water. Chiyou invited Fengbo to rain heavily. Huangdi is a female name in the world. When the rain stops, kill Chiyou. " Dragon helped Huangdi defeat Chiyou and made a lot of contributions, but at this time it only appeared as an assistant of Huangdi, and it had nothing to do with Huangdi himself.

Guo Pu in The Classic of Mountains and Seas quoted Seven Feet of Returning to Tibet as saying that Gun failed to control water according to the orders of the Emperor of Heaven and was hacked to death by Yao with lightning. Not only did he die unsatisfied with resentment, but his body did not rot after three years. Yao was afraid of what would happen to Gun's body, so he sent a warrior to cut it open with a sharp martial knife. Unexpectedly, Gun's resentment accumulated in his stomach into a yellow dragon, which was Gun's son Yu. At this time, the dragon has appeared as the embodiment of the emperor, which shows its rapid rise in status. In ancient mathematics in China, the appearance of dragons often indicates the arrival of adults or saints. The Book of Changes said, "In 1992, seeing dragons in the wild was beneficial to adults. Xiang Yue: Seeing the dragon in the field, the virtue is lost. The ninth five-year plan is in the sky, just look at the adults. The elephant said, "The flying dragon is in the sky, and Niu San is also in the sky. "Zhuangzi Waipian Tian Yun XIV" tells the story of Confucius meeting Laozi, in which Confucius compared Laozi to a dragon: "Confucius didn't talk about Lao Dan's return for three days. The disciple asked,' What will the master do when he sees Lao Dan?' Confucius said,' I am here, so I see the dragon. Dragons, combined into adults, are scattered into chapters, relying on clouds to raise yin and yang. Don't open your mouth (left mouth, upper right, force, right middle, force lower right, moonlight sound xié). "What does this have to do with Lao Dan?" "

Liu Bang, the emperor gaozu of Han Dynasty, made up stories because of his humble origins, saying that Liu Bang was born because of the entanglement of dragons, so Liu Bang was the reincarnation of a real dragon. Since then, emperors have followed suit and have a closer relationship with dragons. "Historical Records" and "Closed Meridian" say: "The Yellow Emperor has the virtue of land, and the Huanglong land is humble. In summer, Mude and Qinglong stopped in the suburbs, with lush vegetation ... In the past, Qin Wengong went hunting and won the Black Dragon. This is the virtue of water. "

According to the traditional thinking of China people, unless the emperor is a real dragon, he can't call himself the emperor, and the dragon becomes the patent of the emperor. The emperor's body is a dragon, his face is a dragon face, his residence is called "Long Ting", his clothes are called "Dragon Crown" and "Dragon Clothes", and his thoughts and feelings are also called "Dragon Heart". If subjects use dragons as decorative patterns for utensils and clothes, they will commit the crime of "trespassing" and will be executed. The dragon robe symbolizes the emperor's accession to the throne. ...

Up to now, the meaning of dragon has not been closely related to the royal family, but it has been endowed with many cultural meanings in the long-term development process, including the skill of all kinds of insects, the patron saint, the symbol of water god, the symbol of auspiciousness, the symbol of autocratic imperial power, the symbol of national culture and so on. These cultural meanings are not formed at one time, but gradually enriched. Some cultural meanings have disappeared and some cultural meanings still exist today.

The dragon is magnificent and powerful, and it is the representative image of the masculine beauty of the Chinese nation. This image often appears in traditional palaces and temples in China. There is a main ridge, four vertical ridges and four ridges on the roof of Tiananmen Gate in Beijing. There are ten colored glass dragon ornaments at both ends of the main ridge and vertical ridge, which are called "dragon kiss" and "nine ridges seal ten dragons". The pillars of Tiananmen Square are covered with colorful paintings of "Golden Dragon Seal"; On the Jinshui River, a pair of gorgeous white marble watches stand tall, and a dragon elephant is carved on the column of the watch, which is beautiful. Dragon elephants can be seen everywhere in the Forbidden City in Beijing. In the Hall of Supreme Harmony, there is a carved dragon throne for the emperor to sit on. There are six golden dragon pillars in the hall, which are about 30 feet high and thick enough for two people to hug each other. The golden dragon algae well in the Hall of Supreme Harmony can be described as a westward journey, and all the ceilings in the Hall are painted with dragon patterns. The stone steps carved with dragons in front of the three halls of the Forbidden City, especially the Hall of Supreme Harmony, are extremely exquisite. Nine Dragon Wall is famous all over the world. It consists of 270 pieces of stained glass. It consists of the shapes of Kowloon, clouds, sea water and rocks. Its main dragon pattern fluctuates strongly and is likely to shake the wall and take off. There are also many superb dragon shapes in the buildings of the Temple of Heaven's Prayer Hall and the Ming Tombs' Lingen Hall. There are Jiulong Wall and Wulong Pavilion in Beihai, Longwang Hall in Xishan, Longwang Temple in Summer Palace, and even dragons are carved on the shrines of Yonghe Palace. As for the Confucius Temple in Qufu, there is also a unique stone carving Panlongzhu. The dragon art in traditional architecture in China is firstly a symbol of politics, ethics and positive power. However, as an artistic image, it also deviates from the concept of general political ethics and moves towards aesthetics.

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Legends around the world often have a winged god who separated heaven and earth in chaos and created the world. They all have the spirit of self-sacrifice, and their bodies have become dirt, mountains, rivers and even human beings, which also shows people's worship of mastering natural forces and awe of creativity. Similarly, from the time of written records, every civilization on every continent has been related to the myth of dragon creatures.

No matter how different the dragon-shaped creatures of each nation are, they are always associated with lizards, crocodiles or snakes. It is often related to earth, sky, water and fire.

The first description of dragons in western culture is an animal fable: there are feathers on the faucet and a small mouth. It breathes through the stomata, and the tongue spits out from the stomata; Its teeth and tail are very powerful; It kills enemies by blowing rather than flapping, and its tail can kill everything by rolling up. There is a picture in the book that it killed an elephant with its tail, and it is compared with the devil, which is very similar to the devil.

Western contemporary scholars have summarized the images of dragons in myths and legends and come to the following conclusion: dragons are warm-blooded animals, usually with wings and hollow bones to reduce their weight. Keels are stronger and lighter than reinforced concrete. The muscular system of dragons is the most fascinating and complicated. Its bite force averages two tons per cubic centimeter, that is, it can easily crush steel. On land, its limbs can bear a great load, while in the air it can only bear half of its body weight. Except for the neck and abdomen, the whole body of the dragon is covered with sword shadows and glowing scales. Perhaps this is because he often digs holes underground, but not all dragon experts agree with this view. In order to protect its fragile abdomen, dragons often wear abdominal armor inlaid with jewels. Dragon's saliva is sticky. This is jewelry protection and decoration used to dye his neck and abdomen. Scales are pentagonal, teardrop-shaped, with long and short sides, and the shortest is attached to the skin. Dragons can stand upright when they want to dress themselves up. The wing of a dragon evolved from the upper arm of an animal, so it consists of a thumb and four elongated fingers, which are connected by a diaphragm like a bat. The wings are not connected to the shoulders as shown in some biological pictures, but to the lower back and thigh roots. If the wings are at the top, the dragon will fly vertically upwards, which is not conducive to speed and poor maneuverability. If the wings are at the bottom, the dragon can fly horizontally, and the head and tail can better master the direction and have greater maneuverability. Dragons can be roughly divided into three colors, blue: from deep blue to silver to mother of pearl. Red series: from copper to crimson to red and black. Green series: including green, yellow, light green, gold and even dark brown. Dragons are usually not a single color. Its scales always have several colors in a color system and have metallic luster at the same time, so it is difficult to identify. If the color of Longlin becomes dark and opaque, it must be ill. It is not magic for dragons to use fire as weapons, but there is a scientific explanation. When we eat, our bodies will produce a gas called methane (CH4) through digestion. Unlike humans, dragons store this gas in another lung. Then it is mixed with a small amount of phosphorus (P4), and it will ignite when it comes into contact with air, resulting in a flame. Some dragons spit out frost, and the explanation depends on the food they digest. Food enters the stomach mainly to provide nutrition, and the rest will also undergo some chemical reactions to produce a gas-nitrogen (N2). Nitrogen is naturally compressed in the lungs. When the dragon wants to freeze an object, the compressed liquid nitrogen is released into the air in the lungs, and then the pressure is quickly reduced to absorb a lot of heat in the environment, so that the gas in its breath drops to about MINUS 50 degrees. General animals will be attacked by this kind, ranging from serious injury to death. Living things have acid in their stomachs to help digest food. The acid-spitting dragon has a special organ that can produce powerful acid. When dragons exhale, even with the best shields, their prey will be hurt by acid. The reproductive system of the dragon is in the body, and it is impossible to tell whether the dragon is male or female only from the appearance. Dragons lay eggs like reptiles and birds. The eggshell is hard at first, and then it will become soft, and the little dragon will break out from the inside. The mating process of dragons is interesting. Two dragons are flying high in the sky. Suddenly, they grabbed each other, folded their wings, started to do free fall, and then landed with their wings open when there was still 100 feet from the ground. Dragons love speed and adventure, so the mating process is full of such fun. Dragons generally like to live alone, and there are not many of them. Dragons are art lovers.