When did the earliest dragon image appear in China?

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, dragons are also imagined as beasts 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 clearest 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 first black dragons, eight feet long, occupying the central position, and the seventh little dragons, four feet long each, are in 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. Renguiri 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 dragons and emperors 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. "The dragon helped the Yellow Emperor defeat Chiyou and made a lot of contributions, but at this time it only appeared as the assistant of the Yellow Emperor and had nothing to do with the Yellow Emperor 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 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?" "Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang made up a story because of his humble origins, saying that Liu Bang's mother was entangled in a dragon and gave birth to Liu Bang, 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 ... until now, the meaning of the dragon has not been closely linked with the royal family. In the long-term development process, it has been endowed with many cultural meanings, mainly including the skill of all kinds of insects, the patron saint, the water god, the symbol of good luck, the symbol of autocratic imperial power and the symbol of national culture. These cultural meanings are not formed at one time, but gradually enriched. Some cultural meanings have disappeared and some cultural meanings still exist today.